Entertainment
Scottie Scheffler sits five back as Akshay Bhatia shoots career-best 62 to lead FedEx St. Jude Championship
Akshay Bhatia had a blazing finish to get his PGA TOUR postseason off to a good start, closing eagle-birdie-birdie for an 8-under 62 to post his career low and take a one-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
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Join us on WhatsAppScottie Scheffler, playing for the first time since winning The Open Championship for his second major of the year, made bogey on the final hole for a 67, his 10th straight round in the 60s.
Bhatia comes into the FedExCup Playoffs at No. 45, with only the top 50 advancing to the second of three tournaments in the lucrative postseason. The idea is to be among the top 30 who reach East Lake for a shot at the $10 million bonus.
He was paired with Harry Hall of England, who is at No. 44. Hall was matching Bhatia until the final two holes, when Bhatia rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th and stuffed a short iron into 2 feet on 18.
Bhatia said he has been spending too much time thinking about numbers, whether it’s his score or his world ranking or his position in the FedExCup. The goal is to keep his mind peaceful.
“I felt pretty relaxed, and I’m just not trying to force anything,” he said. “It’s OK to get mad at golf shots but not at yourself.”
Justin Rose and Bud Cauley, who is at No. 53, also were at 64 on a TPC Southwind that has 18 new greens and a course with much thicker rough.
Fleetwood is all but set for the FedExCup finale at No. 9, though he would love to get that first PGA TOUR title to go along with DP World Tour wins against strong fields. He hit 13 out of 14 fairways, and the one he missed led to a birdie when he holed a bunker shot on No. 9.
“People talk about this golf course as a second-shot golf course, but it’s only a second-shot golf course if you’re in the fairway,” Fleetwood said. “I hit the ball so well off the tee that I was always giving myself an opportunity.”
And then it helped to see the putts drop, four straight birdies to close out his round.
Fleetwood has the right outlook for this postseason series. Asked if he looked at the three weeks as one big event or each tournament on its own, Fleetwood said, “(It’s) really day to day.”
Projections can fluctuate with shots from anyone on any part of the course. Rickie Fowler, who missed the top 70 who qualify for the postseason last year, came in at No. 64 and shot 66, which projects him inside the top 50.
Jordan Spieth was at No. 48. He had to rally on the back nine for a 69 that put him out of the top 50, and then back to No. 50 by the end of the day.
Scheffler is assured the No. 1 seed for at least another week. He looked plenty sharp, giving himself a lot of looks at birdie and converting four of them. He missed out on a good birdie chance at the par-5 16th when he drove into the rough and sent the next shot into a bunker about 100 yards short of the green. He also took three putts from 70 feet on the final hole.
“Today was a good day. I did some solid stuff,” Scheffler said. “Felt like I was close to playing a really great round but ended up with a solid round. Overall a decent start.”
This is one of the more important weeks of the PGA TOUR because of what’s at stake. Not only do the top 50 advance to the BMW Championship, but they are assured of being in all the $20 million Signature Events for next year.
Among those on the bubble, Si Woo Kim (No. 46) opened with a 65 and former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark had a 67.
“It’s kind of like dicey spot right now,” Kim said. “And started struggling, so I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can get through to next week.’ But tried to keep it as simple as possible, and that helps me a lot. I had a great round, so hopefully I’ve got more room the next couple days. Just trying to make it simple and not much think about next week.”
Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who might be the first playing captain since 1963, opened with a 72. Bradley is No. 10 in the Ryder Cup standings. He played with Maverick McNealy, who is 11th in the standings. McNealy shot 66.
Entertainment
Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture
The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.
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Join us on WhatsAppWith the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.
Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?
Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.
“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.
Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..
Entertainment
Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.
Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.
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Join us on WhatsAppIt’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.
These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.
Entertainment
Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses
It looks like LIV Golf is over.
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Join us on WhatsAppThe Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.
That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.
So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.
But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?
Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.
Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour
Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.
That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.
If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.
But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.
Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.
For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.
Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time
With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.
He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.
DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.
He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.
He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.
He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.
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