J.J. Spaun weathers the worst of wet Oakmont to win US Open

J.J. Spaun weathers the worst of wet Oakmont to win US Open
J. J. Spaun of the US celebrates winning on the 18th green during the final round of the 125th US Open at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (AFP)
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Updated 16 June 2025
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J.J. Spaun weathers the worst of wet Oakmont to win US Open

J.J. Spaun weathers the worst of wet Oakmont to win US Open
  • “I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career

OAKMONT, Pennsylvania: J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a US Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship.

First came his driver on the 314-yard 17th hole onto the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a 2-over 72.

That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntire of Scotland.

And it made Spaun, the 36-year-old Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second US Open.

“I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career. “I always had aspirations and dreams. I never knew what my ceiling was. I’m just trying to be the best golfer I can be.”

It was calamity for so many others.

Sam Burns had a two-shot lead going to the 11th tee, made a double bogey from a divot in the first cut and from a lie in the fairway so wet he thought he deserved relief. He shot 78.

Adam Scott, trying to become the first player to go more than 11 years between major titles, was tied for the lead with five holes to play. One of the best drivers could no longer find the fairway. He played them in 5 over and shot 79.

“I missed the fairway. I hadn’t done that all week really. Then I did, and I paid the price and lost a lot of shots out there,” Scott said.

Carlos Ortiz and Tyrrell Hatton also slashed away in slushy lies, all making mistakes that cost them a chance to survive this beast of day.

The rain that put Oakmont on the edge of being unplayable might have saved Spaun.

One shot behind at the start of the day, he opened with five bogeys in six holes with some horrific breaks, none worse than hitting the pin on the second hole and seeing it spin back to the fairway. And then came a rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes.

“The weather delay changed the whole vibe of the day,” Spaun said.

Remarkably, he made only one bogey the rest of the way.

But oh, that finish.

MacIntyre, the 28-year-old from Oban toughened by the Scottish game of Shinty, became the new target. He also struggled at the start and fell nine shots behind at one point. But he birdied the 17th and split the fairway on the 18th for a key par, a 68 and the clubhouse lead.

Three groups later, Spaun delivered what looked like the winner, a powerful fade that rolled onto the green like a putt and settled 18 feet behind the cup.

And then the final putt — no one made a longer one all week. He was helped by Viktor Hovland being on the same line and going first. Spaun rapped it through the soaked turf, walked to the left to watch it break right toward the hole and watched it dropped as thousands of rain-soaked spectators erupted.

He raised both arms and tossed his putter, jumping into the arms of caddie Mark Carens.

The celebration carried into those who lost the battle.

MacIntyre, so close to becoming Scotland’s first major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999, sat in scoring in front of a TV and applauded.

Hatton was talking with reporters, bemoaning a bad break on the 17th ended his chances of winning. He watched the Spaun’s putt and it brightened his mood.

“Unbelievable. What a putt to win. That’s incredible,” he said. “I’m sad about how I finished, but I’m very happy for J.J. To win a major in that fashion is amazing.”

Hovland, who shot 73 to finish third, saw it all — the putt at the end, the bogeys at the start.

“After his start, it just looked like he was out of it immediately,” Hovland said. “Everyone came back to the pack. I wasn’t expecting that really. I thought I had to shoot maybe 3-under par today to have a good chance, but obviously the conditions got really, really tough, and this golf course is just a beast.”

Hatton (72) and Ortiz (73), both part of LIV Golf and in serious contention at a major for the first time, tied for fourth along with Cameron Young (70). The consolation for Ortiz was getting into the Masters next year.

Scottie Scheffler, 10 shots behind early in the final round, was somehow still part of the conversation on the back nine. But he missed far too many birdie chances even three-putting from 12 feet no the 11th hole. The world’s No. 1 player finished with a 70 to tie for seventh with Jon Rahm (67) and Burns, his best friend who will feel the sting.

He had a double bogey by missing the green into a bad lie on the slope of a bunker. He missed a pair of 6-foot birdie putts to seize control. And when he made a mess of the 15th for another double bogey.

Through it all, Spaun emerged as a US Open champion hardly anyone saw coming — not at the start of the year, not at the start of the round.


Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville
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Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville
  • Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville
MIAMI: Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville.
Just days after he became the first player to score multiple goals in four straight MLS matches, Messi did it again as Miami continued their climb up the Eastern Conference standings after their league hiatus for the Club World Cup.
Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a trademark left-foot free-kick, which found the only gap in Nashville’s defensive wall to go past goalkeeper Joe Willis.
Miami dominated in the first half but, just four minutes after half-time, Hany Mukhtar’s header pulled Nashville level.
Messi grabbed the winner in the 62nd minute when he capitalized on a bad mistake from Willis, who misjudged a pass to tee up the Argentine for the strike.
The two goals — on the heels of his two in a 2-1 win over New England on Wednesday — took Messi’s total to 16 in 16 appearances this season, tied with Nashville’s Sam Surridge, who was unable to add to his tally of 16 on Saturday.
“There are not many words. It’s incredible what he keeps doing, breaking records now every three days, not even every weekend,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.
“He is the standard-bearer of our team that shows us the way to compete. He is the leader.
“It’s a blessing for me to accompany this stage of his career.”
Miami were playing their third match since returning to MLS action in the wake of a month-long Club World Cup campaign that ended when they were eliminated in the last 16 by Paris Saint-Germain.
With 38 points from 19 matches, they are in fifth place in the East, five points behind leaders Philadelphia with three games in hand.
Philadelphia went top with a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls, Indiana Vassilev and Bruno Damiani delivering the goals.
Cincinnati slipped to second in the East on 42 points after falling 4-2 to Columbus. Nashville and Columbus both have 41 points.
Miami’s jam-packed schedule continues Wednesday against Cincinnati, with the New York Red Bulls coming up next weekend.
Mascherano knows he will have to find time to give the 38-year-old Messi some rest.
“At some point we are going to have to find a space to give him some rest, we are going to talk about it day by day,” he said.
“He is feeling good and when we think it is time to give him some rest, we will do it.”

Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis

Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis
Updated 1 min 39 sec ago
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Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis

Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis
  • The English fighter moved up in weight to make his debut at super middleweight and showed he has plenty of power for it
  • In the co-main event, Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated and defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant performance, beating William Zepeda

NEW YORK: Hamzah Sheeraz punctuated the first boxing card held on the grounds of the US Open tennis tournament by stopping Edgar Berlanga in the fifth round Saturday night.
The English fighter moved up in weight to make his debut at super middleweight and showed he has plenty of power for it, dropping Berlanga twice in the fourth round and then pouncing quickly to start the fifth before referee David Fields stopped the fight.
Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) has been touted as a potential opponent for 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez and would not only deserve it but have a chance to win if if he looked as good as he did against Berlanga (23-2), who had boasted that he would have an easy night.
In the co-main event, Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated and defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant performance, beating William Zepeda by unanimous decision.
One judge favored Stevenson 119-109, while the other two had it 118-110 for the 2016 Olympic silver medalist.
Stevenson (24-0) won just before Berlanga and Sheeraz fought in the final bout of the night in Louis Armstrong Stadium, the No. 2 venue at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
But it was a main event-level performance from Stevenson and the first wide victory of the night after the previous two bouts were close right to the finish.
Zepeda (33-1) landed a left hand shortly after the opening bell that drew a smile from the champion, and he was able to get inside a number of times to unload a series of shots at Stevenson. But he was often powerless to stop the flurries that were coming back at him from Stevenson’s hand speed that is up at the top of boxing.
The Ring Magazine held its second fight card in New York after staging one in Times Square in May. Tickets weren’t sold then and just a few hundred people were able to see it, creating an atmosphere where the scene was impressive but the sounds were almost non-existent, leaving fighters to say it felt like a sparring session.
This time, seats were sold and many were occupied well into the second deck of the 14,000-seat stadium, which had its retractable roof closed to create comfortable conditions on a humid day.
And the fans saw good action early in a brilliant performance from Stevenson, who has been criticized at times for a style that that seems too dependent on avoiding pain and not dishing it out.
But he seemed happy to trade Saturday and most times came out ahead when he did.
Zepeda did trap Stevenson in a corner to score with some shots in the third round, bringing his Mexican fans out of their seats, but many other times Stevenson’s quick head movement allowed him to dodge potential trouble. By the middle of the fight, Stevenson was firing off two, three, sometimes four unreturned shots
There was a title change in the previous fight, when Subriel Matias (23-2) edged Alberto Puello (24-1) by majority decision to take the WBC’s 140-pound belt.
Before that, Cuban David Morrell (12-1) got up from a fifth-round knockdown to rally late and edge Imam Khataev (10-1) by split decision in a light heavyweight bout.


Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s
Updated 13 July 2025
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Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

LONDON: England and India accused each other of sharp practice after Zak Crawley’s conduct at Lord’s on Saturday drew an angry reaction from visiting captain Shubman Gill.
India ought to have been able to bowl two overs late in the third day’s play of the third Test after being dismissed for 387 — exactly level with England’s first-innings total.
Crawley, however, ensured there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps by twice withdrawing from his stance and then calling for the physio after the fifth ball appeared to make only minimal contact with his glove.
Tempers flared as it became evident India would not be able to bowl another over before the close, with host broadcaster Sky Sports issuing an on-air apology after a stump microphone picked up Gill swearing angrily at Crawley.
Crawley and Gill jabbed fingers at each other as they exchanged choice words, with Ben Duckett, England’s other opener, also getting involved.
Tim Southee, England’s bowling consultant, suggested Gill was guilty of double standards after delaying the end of the hosts’ innings to receive treatment on the second day, while India all-rounder Washington Sundar also held up proceedings for what appeared to be a comfort break while batting.
“I’m not sure what they were complaining about when Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday,” Southee told reporters after stumps on Saturday.
“It’s obviously part of the game. It’s always exciting to see both sides animated toward the end and it was an exciting way to finish the day. It was good to see energy from both sides.”
The former New Zealand paceman, asked about Crawley’s fitness, gave a deadpan reply by saying: “He’ll be assessed overnight. Hopefully he’ll be alright to carry on tomorrow .”
India opener KL Rahul, who scored his 10th Test century and second at Lord’s on Saturday, was far from shocked by Crawley’s behavior.
“Two overs is a no-brainer with six minutes to go,” he said. “But it was a bit of theatrics at the end.
“I know exactly what was going on; everyone knows exactly what was going on. But an opening batter will understand completely what happened in the last five minutes.”
Meanwhile, former England captain turned BBC pundit Michael Vaughan had no qualms about the flare-up.
“It’s as good a piece of time-wasting as I’ve ever seen,” he said. “India can’t complain because yesterday Gill was down with the hamstring strain... But what great drama and what a great day.”
 


Poland end Euro 2025 on high note with historic Padilla-Bidas goal, win over Denmark

Poland end Euro 2025 on high note with historic Padilla-Bidas goal, win over Denmark
Updated 13 July 2025
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Poland end Euro 2025 on high note with historic Padilla-Bidas goal, win over Denmark

Poland end Euro 2025 on high note with historic Padilla-Bidas goal, win over Denmark

LUCERNE, Switzerland: Poland’s Natalia Padilla-Bidas scored her country’s first goal at a major women’s tournament in a 3-2 victory over Denmark on Saturday that sends Poland home from their European championship debut on a high note.
Both teams had already been eliminated from quarter-final contention so Saturday’s match was about final group placings with Poland finishing third and Denmark fourth.
Bayern Munich’s Padilla-Bidas brought the Polish fans to their feet at Allmend Stadion with her historic strike in the 12th minute when a loose ball fell at her feet and she fired home.
Ewa Pajor, Poland’s all-time leading goalscorer, doubled their lead eight minutes later when she intercepted the ball in the midfield, laid it out to Padilla-Bidas then charged to the back post to head it in.
Janni Thomsen pulled one back in the 59th minute but Poland restored their two-goal lead when substitute Martyna Wiankowska struck from the edge of the box, firing the ball in off the bar.
Denmark, runners-up at Euro 2017, replied in the 83rd minute when Signe Bruun headed in Katrine Veje’s pinpoint cross.


PSG-Chelsea final ‘is not going to be simple formality’

PSG-Chelsea final ‘is not going to be simple formality’
Updated 13 July 2025
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PSG-Chelsea final ‘is not going to be simple formality’

PSG-Chelsea final ‘is not going to be simple formality’

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has urged his team to round off the best season in the club’s history by winning the Club World Cup, but warned not to expect Sunday’s final against Chelsea to be a “simple formality.”
“This is absolutely not going to be a simple formality,” the Spanish coach insisted, refusing to accept that PSG are necessarily overwhelming favorites to lift the trophy at MetLife Stadium despite their fearsome form.
“I have analyzed Chelsea. They have a great squad. Enzo Maresca is doing a great job and I really like what he is doing,” Enrique said. “They are a very complete team.”
PSG can complete a remarkable clean sweep of trophies with victory, having won a French league and cup double before claiming the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history at the end of May.
“We want to finish this historic season in the best possible way,” said the former Barcelona coach.
“Now we must open the next chapter, win more major trophies. We want to make more history by winning on Sunday.”
PSG were spellbinding at times in their 4-0 victory against Real Madrid in the semifinals and also put four goals past Atletico Madrid and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami during the
competition.
“But we have to win this game to round things off. However, in a final, there is always a winner and a loser, and that doesn’t mean the loser has necessarily done anything wrong,” Enrique added.
“We will lose again at some point, because that is what happens in top-level football, but I think the path is clear for everyone.”

HIGHLIGHT

PSG can complete a remarkable clean sweep of trophies with victory, having won a French league and cup double before claiming the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history at the end of May.

This is the first edition of the 32-team Club World Cup, and whoever wins on Sunday will be world champions for four years, with the next tournament scheduled to take place in 2029.
“We are aware of the importance of this match, that it is a golden opportunity to be in a World Cup final,” said captain Marquinhos.
“This only happens every four years, and we don’t know where we will be in four years.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez said the scorching heat at the event in the US left him feeling dizzy and described the high temperatures as “dangerous” to play in.
Tuesday’s semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense which took place at 3 p.m. local time in New Jersey saw temperatures soar past 35 degrees Celsius with over 54 percent humidity, prompting a National Weather Service warning.
Soaring temperatures in several cities hosting the contest have been a focal point in the tournament, which is seen as a dry run for next year’s men’s World Cup.
“Honestly, the heat is incredible. The other day, I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy,” Fernandez told reporters on Friday.
“Playing in this temperature is very dangerous, it’s very dangerous. Moreover, for the spectacle, for the people who come to enjoy the stadium, for the people who watch it at home.
“The game, the speed of the game is not the same, everything becomes very slow.
“Let’s hope that next year they change the schedule, at least so that it remains a beautiful and attractive football spectacle, right?” the 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina added.
Chelsea’s manager has also previously complained about the heat, saying it was “impossible” to organize regular training sessions in the afternoons in Philadelphia.
“Some places have been really hot, the last round was hot and I was stuck watching it and I was thinking: ‘wow, this is so tough.’ I felt bad for them but they managed it really well,” Chelsea center back Levi 
Colwill said.