GOLF
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Cameron Smith made history on the Old Course, Sunday’s stunner at St. Andrews sent the Australian to his first major by defeating Rory McIlroy to win the British Open.
The stage was set for McIlroy to end his eight-year drought at the majors and cap off the weekend at the home of golf in the 150th Open.
Smith stole the show and reeled off five straight birdies to start the back nine and provide more minutes at the end. His 8-under 64 was the lowest finish by a professional in the oldest golf tournament ever played in St. Louis. Andrews.
Smith won by one shot over Cameron Young, who hung a 15-foot eagle putt on the final hole. It wasn’t enough, and there was nothing McIlroy could do.
He couldn’t make the putt fast enough. He couldn’t hit it late enough. His last good chance was a 15-foot birdie attempt on the dreaded Road Hole on No. 17, and it missed a little to the left.
TRACK AND FIELD
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce raced back to the top of the athletics world on Sunday, winning her fifth world title in the 100 meters by leading the Jamaican sweep and knocking out Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah.
Fraser-Pryce, 35, mother of 4-year-old Zyon, led the way and crossed the line in 10.67 seconds. She beat Shericka Jackson by 0.06 seconds while Thompson-Herah finished an impressive third in 10.81.
A night that began with speculation that Thompson-Herah could topple Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 34-year-old world record of 10.49 was capped instead by Fraser-Pryce setting a new world record. Marion Jones set the previous record of 10.70 in 1999.
With her dark green hair blowing in the wind as she raced through her victory lap, stopping to pose for photos with fans who cheered her as loudly as anyone on Sunday, Fraser-Pryce was all smiles – something she did differently than last year in Tokyo. , while he finished second with 0.13.
BASEBALL
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Angels pitcher Mike Trout will miss the All-Star Game because of a back strain, joining Bryce Harper on the sidelines and canceling a showcase for two of baseball’s most iconic players.
Dodgers star first baseman Freddie Freeman was added Sunday as a 14th place player, giving the Dodgers six All-Stars to join the New York Yankees in most.
Trout, the three-time American League MVP, has not played since Tuesday and was scratched from the Los Angeles Angels’ lineup against the Dodgers on Saturday night.
Trout was replaced on the AL roster Sunday by Seattle infielder Ty France for Tuesday night’s game at Dodger Stadium.
The 30-year-old Trout is a 10-year All-Star and was selected to start for the ninth time. He finished second to Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge in AL middle polling, with 39%.
Harper, the two-time NL MVP, is a seven-star pick for the sixth time. He broke his left thumb after being hit by a pitch from San Diego’s Blake Snell on June 25.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jackson Holliday and Druw Jones, sons of major league All-Stars Matt and Andruw, were taken by Baltimore and Arizona with the first two picks in Sunday night’s amateur baseball game.
Holliday, whose father was former batting legend Matt Holliday, was taken first overall by Baltimore over Jones in a surprise move.
Texas used the third pick on Kumar Rocker, a senior right-hander who failed to sign with the New York Mets after being selected 10th last year. Rocker will be reunited with Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter, a teammate on Vanderbilt’s first NCAA baseball team in 2019. Texas selected Leiter with the No. 2 pick last year.
Holliday, a lefty shortstop from Stillwater High in Oklahoma, is 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds. He hit .685 with 89 hits in 41 games and broke the national record for hits in a high school season held by JT Realmuto.
His father was a seven-time All-Star and 2007 NL batting champion. Matt was taken by Colorado with the 210th pick in the seventh round in 2007.
NEW YORK (AP) – Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale left Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees after being hit by a line drive in the first inning.
With two outs, Aaron Hicks hit a 106.6 mph fastball off the hands of Sale. The ball bounced up the middle as Gleyber Torres scored to give New York a 3-0 lead.
Sale screamed in pain, immediately ran off the field and was replaced by Hirokazu Sawamura.
Sale was making his second start since coming off a broken rib Tuesday at Tampa Bay. He threw 78 pitches in five scoreless innings and threw 24 pitches Sunday before leaving the game.
During the major league shutout, Sale broke a rib while working out on his own.
Car racing
TORONTO (AP) – Scott Dixon snapped a 22-race winless streak Sunday and tied with Mario Andretti for second on the IndyCar winning streak as he left Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist on the back-to-back Canadian streak.
Dixon won second and spent the day racing to the front, despite the fuel and tire breakdowns as the teams jockeyed for a chance to win early in the race. And the six-time winner was still in front when Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Kirkwood collided to bring out the final caution and force a restart with 18 laps to go.
Dixon quickly opened up a 2-second gap over Herta and the rest of the field and never stopped on his way to his fourth victory in Toronto, where IndyCar returned for the first time since 2019, and his 52nd victory overall.
Not the first birthday present for the New Zealander, who turns 42 on Friday.
His first win since May 2021 at Texas extends Dixon’s streak to 17 consecutive wins, leaving him behind only AJ Foyt’s 67th career win. It also pushes Dixon into the race as he chases a seventh title, which would match Foyt’s most in Open Championship history.
LOUDON, N.H. (AP) — Christopher Bell crushed the NASCAR playoffs, winning Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to become his 14th Cup Series winner this season.
“That was very important there,” said the 27-year-old Bell.
Bell was familiar with the way he won the Xfinity Series races in 2018, 2019 and 2021, after leaving Chase Elliott, the winner last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Bell is the 14th driver to earn a spot in the 16-driver playoff road. With six races remaining in the regular season, it leaves a chance for 16 drivers to win the race and the final playoff spot or spots could be decided on points.
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