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JaMarcus Russell facing lawsuit over missing donation to high school football program  jamarcus,russell,facing,lawsuit,over,missing,donation,to,high,school,football,program,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl

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Former first-overall NFL Draft selection JaMarcus Russell is facing a lawsuit over a check written to him in the summer of 2022, and allegations that the former NFL quarterback misappropriated donation funds for weight-room equipment at the school where Russell was a football coach for his benefit.

As first reported by WKRG it is alleged that Russell approached Chris Knowles seeking a donation for the football program at his alma mater, Williamson High School, where the former LSU passer was a volunteer coach. According to court documents obtained by WKRG and reviewed by SB Nation Knowles wrote a check to the retired quarterback, which he deposited at Navigator Credit Union (NCU) in July of 2022.

According to Simone Eli of WKRG, Knowles stopped payment on the $74,000 check when “ … Russell wouldn’t provide a receipt of the donation and quit returning his phone calls.” NCU then filed a Complaint against Russell in the Circuit Court for Mobile County in March of 2023, alleging that Russell breached the terms and conditions of his demand deposit account. Specifically, NCU alleges that Russell “ … breached the agreement by failing or refusing to comply with its payment terms and conditions and by specifically drawing a check on his account with [NCU] for which payment was stopped.”

The lawsuit filed by NCU against Russell — Case No. CV-2023-900559.00 — is seeking $56,826.08 in specific damages, plus “attorney fees, punitive damages, and costs.”

Russell, in his Answer to the Complaint which was obtained by WKRG and reviewed by SB Nation, generally denied the allegations set forth by NCU in the lawsuit. While admitting that he deposited the check, Russell, through counsel, asserted that he did not stop payment on the check. Russell has also demanded “strict proof” of the allegations set forth by NCU in their Complaint.

Furthermore, Russell has since filed a Third-Party Complaint against Knowles and Selwonk Enterprises, asserting that Knowles “ … stopped payment on the check causing substantial losses” to the retired QB.

The matter is set for a trial in October of this year.

According to WKRG Russell lost his volunteer position with Williamson High School last fall. “JaMarcus Russell was relieved of his volunteer coaching duties at Williamson High School during the fall of last year,” Mobile County Public School officials confirmed to WKRG.

WKRG also reports that Williamson High School “never saw any of the money.”

Rickie Fowler, PGA Tour players lurking for survival, spot in playoffs rickie,fowler,pga,tour,players,lurking,for,survival,spot,in,playoffs,sbnation,com,golf,us-open-golf,golf-majors,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

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Welcome to Playing Through’s morning ritual — Golf Talk Today.

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, where the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.

There are six normal events, a major championship and the Olympics until the FedEx Cup Playoffs are here. Only the Top 70 get into the Aug. 15-18 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

While there is still plenty of time to gain much-needed FedEx Cup points, the clock is ticking for some of these guys.

Last year, the PGA Tour moved the playoff number from 125 to 70 for its first event. From there, only the Top 50 survive to play in the BMW Championship. To cap off the three-week playoff, the top 30 make it to the Tour Championship in Atlanta, where a FedEx Cup champion will emerge.

Let’s take a way too early look at those on the outside looking in that need a solid finish to the regular season so they can live to fight another day in the playoffs.

Notable PGA Tour Players outside the Top 70

*as of July 1, 202

— Nicolai Højgaard (No.74)
— Justin Rose (No. 75)
— Keith Mitchell (No. 76)
— Nick Dunlap (No.87)
— Rickie Fowler (No. 93)
— Joel Dahmen (No. 103)
— Daniel Berger (No. 123)
— Webb Simpson (No. 131)
— Matt Kuchar (No. 140)

These are just a handful of players that will currently not make the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Rickie Fowler could miss the playoffs if he does not go on a solid run in the next few weeks. He has just two Top 25s on the season and has missed five cuts in 18 starts.

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy finished T31 last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Fowler finally got his second Top 25 at the Travelers as he was T20.

His best finish came at the RBC Heritage, a T18.

Nicolai Højgaard is another name that is interestingly outside the Top 70. He has a runner-up finish, a top 10, and two top 25s. The former Ryder Cup member has missed five cuts this season, though.

He has not completed a tournament inside the Top 20 since the Masters, where he was T16. Since that week, Højgaard missed three cuts, and his best finish came at the RBC Canadian Open in a T35.

However, he is still close enough with a strong stretch of golf and could see himself in Memphis for that first playoff event.

Justin Rose, who is ranked No. 75, is another who could make the playoffs.

It has not been the Englishman’s best season, with just one Top 10 and two Top 25s. He did finish T6 at the PGA Championship but missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

There is a lot of golf left for players to earn FedEx Cup points and a spot in the playoffs. Nonetheless, time is not on these golfers’ side, as they need a momentum boost to push their way into the Top 70.

ICYMI: Top stories across professional golf

Check out these stories:

U.S. Senior Open: Golfer makes mind blowing consecutive holes-in-one that will make your jaw drop

Cameron Davis wins Rocket Mortgage Classic thanks to Akshay Bhatia’s 3-putt

Former World No. 1s Ruoning Yin, Atthaya Thitikul prevail in LPGA team event

DP World Tour’s Italian Open sees ‘Comeback King’ Marcel Siem triumph in playoff

Rocket Mortgage Classic: Akshay Bhatia leads tournament, best dressed players

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

U.S. Senior Open final round suspended due to bad weather u,s,senior,open,final,round,suspended,due,to,bad,weather,sbnation,com,golf,golf-champions-tour,golf-news

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A little after 3:00 p.m. ET, the United States Golf Association (USGA) suspended play at the U.S. Senior Open as dangerous storms rolled into the Newport, Rhode Island area.

Tournament officials tried to get ahead of the weather, scheduling final round tee times to begin at 8:20 a.m. ET. But fog delayed play by two hours, putting the field in Mother Nature’s hands.

The USGA also hoped to resume the final round on Sunday, but storms dampened the course, and humid conditions called for more thundershowers later in the evening. As a result, the USGA called the shot to restart the final round on Monday morning, but an official starting time is TBD. The forecast calls for more rain in Rhode Island on Monday afternoon.

Hiroyuki Fujita holds a three-shot lead over LIV Golf’s Richard Bland, as Fujita sits at 16-under. Richard Green is 12-under, while Steve Stricker, the 2019 U.S. Senior Open champion, is at 11-under.

Players faced challenging conditions during the final round as a stiff breeze blew off the Atlantic Ocean and across Newport Country Club. But the one contender who thrived on Sunday was Bland, who won the Senior PGA Championship last month at Harbor Shores in Michigan. Bland birdied his first three holes to soar into contention and was 4-under through 10 holes when officials called players off the golf course. He owned one of the best rounds on Sunday, as only Ernie Els had a better day. The South African is 5-under through 15 holes but 10 back of Fujita.

The leaderboard follows below:

1. Hiroyuki Fujita -16 (10)
2. Richard Bland -13 (10)
3. Richard Green -12 (10)
4. Steve Stricker -10 (10)
T5. Vijay Singh -7 (15)
T5. Paul Stankowski -7 (10)
T5. Bob Estes -7 (10)
T8. Ernie Els -6 (15)
T8. Stephen Ames -6 (14)
T8. Thongchai Jaidee -6 (12)
T11. Padraig Harrington -5 (14)
T11. Y.E. Yang -5 (12)
T11. Steven Alker -5 (11)

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone qualifies for Olympics with epic world record in 400m hurdles sydney,mclaughlin,levrone,qualifies,for,olympics,with,epic,world,record,in,m,hurdles,sbnation,com,front-page,olympics,summer-olympics,olympic-track-and-field,dot-com-grid-coverage

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The USA Olympic Track and Field Trials ended with a major statement by arguably the most dominant track athlete in the world right now.

There was never any doubt that women’s 400-meter hurdles superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone would qualify for Paris; it was all about how fast she would run and by how wide a margin she’d win by.

The 24-year-old McLaughlin-Levrone promised to “let it fly” prior to the final, and she lived up to her word. Competing against a talented field, McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her own world record from 50.68 to 50.65 seconds to cap off the final day of competition at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

“I’m just amazed, baffled, and in shock,” McLaughlin-Levrone told NBC’s Lewis Johnson after the race.

Unparalleled dominance

For context, second-placed Anna Cockrell (52.64 seconds) and third-placed Jasmine Jones (52.77 seconds) both ran personal bests to seal their Olympic spots, becoming two of the 12 fastest women of all-time in the process, yet still finished two seconds behind the reigning Olympic champion. That’s a level of domination straight out of a video game.

No one has owned this event like McLaughlin-Levrone. She owns seven of the 10 fastest times in history, and has not lost a 400m hurdles race since a silver medal finish in the 2019 World Championships to fellow American Dalilah Muhammad, who ran what was then a world record time of 52.16 seconds. (Incidentally, Muhammad finished 6th in Sunday’s race, the final Olympic trials of her decorated career)

McLaughlin-Levrone’s incredible world record progression

McLaughlin-Levrone, who missed last year’s World Championships in Budapest due to injury, has set 400-meter hurdles world records in her last five US and global championship finals.

2021 US Olympic Trials – 51.90 seconds
2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021) – 51.46 seconds
2022 US World Championship Trials – 51.41 seconds
2022 World Championships – 50.68 seconds
2024 US Olympic Trials – 50.65 seconds

For 16 years, Russia’s Yuliya Pechonkina held the world record at 52.34 seconds. Dalilah Muhammad set a new standard in the 2019 US World Championship Trials at 52.20, lowered it again to 52.16 in the aforementioned Worlds in Qatar, and McLaughlin-Levrone has since taken this race to unprecedented heights. She’s running high-level 400m flat times but with ten 30-inch barriers in the way.

Is there anyone who has any shot at beating McLaughlin-Levrone in Paris?

Barring something completely unexpected, the one woman within shouting distance of McLaughlin-Levrone is Femke Bol of The Netherlands. Bol won bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, silver in the 2022 Worlds, and gold in last year’s Worlds in McLaughlin-Levrone’s absence. Her personal best of 51.41 seconds is the third fastest in history, and she broke the indoor 400m flat world record earlier this year, so she’s a force to be reckoned with.

It’s been nearly two full years since the last time Bol’s silver to McLaughlin-Levrone’s gold at the World Championships in Oregon. The stars have otherwise not aligned for those two to race each other in any of the 400m hurdles, 400m flat, or even the 4x400m relays. We should see them competing in both the hurdles and as anchors for their respective countries in the Olympic relays. If anyone stands a chance to create an epic long-term rivalry with the former University of Kentucky standout, it’s the 24-year-old Bol.

What is abundantly clear is that McLaughlin-Levrone is one of one. It is inarguable that she is the greatest of all-time in this discipline, and when the track portion of the Olympics begins in early August—women’s 400m hurdles qualifying starts Aug. 4 and the final is Aug. 8—a worldwide audience will get to see why she’s one of the most special athletes of her generation.

Paul George to 76ers rumors heat up after Clippers divorce announcement paul,george,to,ers,rumors,heat,up,after,clippers,divorce,announcement,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-free-agency

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The Philadelphia 76ers opened up more than $61 million in cap space this summer in an effort to lure another star to come play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. As NBA free agency opened on Sunday evening, there’s serious optimism that Philly is on the cusp of landing the top player on the market.

The Sixers are “strong frontrunners” to land Paul George in free agency, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. George and the Los Angeles Clippers have “moved on” from one another in free agency, according to Woj, opening the door for George to join a new team.

The Sixers are the only suitor for George ahead of his Sunday night meeting with Philadelphia, according to Clippers reporter Law Murray.

The Clippers have put out a statement on George’s departure even before he officially signs with a new team:

The Clippers cited the more punitive luxury tax thresholds under the new CBA in their statement on George’s exit. The threat of penalties for crossing the “second apron” also played a role in the Denver Nuggets losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic in free agency.

The Clippers had reportedly offered George a similar deal to Kawhi Leonard’s three-year, $153 million extension, but were unwilling to go to four years. George is seeking a four-year max contract.

The Clippers agreed to a two-year, $70 million extension with James Harden as free agency opened on Sunday.

Maxey is a restricted free agent this offseason, meaning the Sixers have the ability to match any contract he receives. Maxey is expected to re-sign with the Sixers after the franchise takes its big swings in free agency.

George is 34 years old, and is coming off another strong season with the Clippers where he averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game wiht 41.3 percent shooting from three-point range (on 7.9 attempts per game) and 90.7 percent free throw shooting.

We’ve already seen the New York Knicks load up to challenge the Boston Celtics with a bold trade for Mikal Bridges. Now that George is leaving the Clippers, it’s possible Philadelphia will form a third legitimate East contender.

Russell Westbrook to the Nuggets trade rumors show time may be a flat circle russell,westbrook,to,the,nuggets,trade,rumors,show,time,may,be,a,flat,circle,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-trade-rumors,nba-free-agency,dot-com-grid-coverage

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The year is 2021. I am blogging about the Lakers. The team has failed to defend its title and is trading Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma while letting Alex Caruso walk for nothing, and replacing them with Russell Westbrook.

The year is 2024. I am blogging about the NBA. The Denver Nuggets have failed to defend their title, and are letting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave for the Orlando Magic, and may add Russell Westbrook to their backcourt in his stead:

Further proving that NBA time may move in patterns rather than a series of unique events, this would also be the second time in two seasons that a team has salary-dumped Reggie Jackson to the Hornets in order to make room to add Russell Westbrook.

Now, obviously the context of these situations is different. The Lakers didn’t send out Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma for Westbrook because of second apron considerations (they are cheap and will likely never cross the second apron, but it didn’t exist yet). They just made a dumb trade.

The Nuggets are cheaping out on KCP not just for financial reasons or because they think Westbrook is as good or better, but also to avoid the myriad of actual roster penalties that would come from extending him at his market value, as my friend Ryan Blackburn summarized well recently at Mile High Sports:

Unfortunately, writing a blank check, while certainly appealing to Caldwell-Pope, is not in the best interest of the Nuggets competitively. The second tax apron, a new stipulation agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, isn’t just a financial burden, but a competitive one. The Nuggets will not be able to make competitive trades if they are over the second apron. They will not be able to use the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception in free agency. Even their first round draft pick in 2032 will be “frozen” if they finish the end of the 2024-25 season over the second apron, meaning they cannot use it in future trades. If they stay above the second apron in three of the next five seasons, that 2032 first round draft pick will be automatically sent to the end of the first round, regardless of Denver’s record.

Still, while the context may be different, it’s still hard not to feel like Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen here while watching the Nuggets echo the Lakers’ previous mistake. Replacing the ultimate 3-and-D wing with the ultimate… well, opposite of those two qualities didn’t work out for the Lakers. Maybe Jokic making Westbrook a champion is the final way he can more thoroughly defeat LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers… but it’s difficult not to be skeptical that may be beyond even his talents.

So we’ll see if this works out better for Denver than it did the Lakers, but for now, it’s hard not to be tired of Earth. These people. Tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.

PGA Tour: Cameron Davis wins Rocket Mortgage Classic for 2nd time pga,tour,cameron,davis,wins,rocket,mortgage,classic,for,nd,time,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

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One man’s loss is another man’s treasure, and that mantra certainly applied to the conclusion of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

With Cameron Davis in the clubhouse at 18-under-par, Akshay Bhatia arrived on the 72nd hole tied for the lead. The 18th hole is a long par-4, measuring 472 yards. This dogleg left ranked as the most challenging hole during the final round, as a creek bisects the fairway and snakes up the right side of the green.

But Bhatia had no issues off the tee. He striped his drive down the middle of the fairway and then knocked his approach to 32 feet away from the back right pin, with his ball nestling in the back left corner of the green.

Then disaster struck.

Bhatia hit a poor stroke with his birdie attempt, coming up four feet short. He then pulled his par putt, which lipped out on the low side and handed Davis the victory. It was the first three-putt Bhatia had all week.

“It sucks, no other way to put it,” Bhatia said after his round.

“Just sucks. It’s hard; you’ve got so much slope there, so you don’t want to run it five, six feet by. Yeah, just a little bit of nerves, honestly. I’m human, and the greens get slower throughout the day here; the poa annua is pretty tough.”

Davis, meanwhile, posted a 2-under 70, which included four birdies and two bogies. His first bogey came at the par-4 1st hole, and his second one came at the par-5 14th, thanks to an unfortunate break. The Australian hammered a 3-wood from 281 yards out and landed onto the front of the green, but his ball trickled back into the penalty area.

It looked like his chances had sunk there, but Davis bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 17th to get back to 18-under. He smashed his 3-wood on that hole again, as his second shot landed just short of the green. Davis then got up and down for birdie with ease.

With Davis at 18-under, a playoff seemed possible, but with the par-5 17th yielding plenty of birdies, somebody, like Bhatia or even Min Woo Lee, looked destined to reach 19-under and leave Davis just short of his second career PGA Tour victory.

But fate left Davis with his second career Rocket Mortgage Classic title, as he now hopes to make the International Team at the President’s Cup this Fall. He has the game to do so, so hopefully, this win will give him some momentum in the coming months—something he has not had as of late.

Before this week, Davis had not recorded a top-20 finish since The Masters, when he tied for 12th at Augusta National. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open and most recently tied for 48th at the Travelers Championship. But Davis proved to International Captian Mike Weir that he can turn things around quickly, a necessity for match play.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Live NBA free agent signings 2024 for every deal and trade this summer live,nba,free,agent,signings,for,every,deal,and,trade,this,summer,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-free-agency,draftkings

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The Boston Celtics are NBA champions, the 2024 draft class has come and gone, and now it’s time for the free agent frenzy. The league has already seen some wild trades in the early days of the 2024 offseason, and it’s only going to get more chaotic when NBA free agency opens on Sunday, June 30 at 6 p.m. ET.

While signings can’t be officially announced until July 6, teams are allowed negotiate with free agents at the start of the moratorium. While this isn’t the strongest free agency class, it feels like there are enough desperate teams right now to facilitate some big moves.

Paul George feels like the biggest star who could change teams. That scenario received a boost on Saturday afternoon when George opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, per Adrian Wojnarowski. George is expected to test the open market, and per Wojnarowski will meet with “cap space teams plus the Clippers” starting on Sunday evening. The Philadelphia 76ers are rumored to make a strong push for George in the open market, and plenty of other teams will be interested.

Isaiah Hartenstein is another major name to watch in free agency. The 26-year-old center is coming off a breakout season with the New York Knicks where he provided elite interior defense, efficient scoring, and a pinch of playmaking. The Knicks would love to retain him, but their payroll is getting high after extending OG Anunoby on a $212 million deal and swinging a trade for Mikal Bridges. Hartenstein could have a wide market, with the Oklahoma City Thunder frequently mentioned as a potential suitor.

There are several future Hall of Fame inductees near the twilight of their careers who are also unrestricted free agents. DeMar DeRozan, who turns 35 years old next month, could leave the Chicago Bulls after three fantastic seasons with the franchise. James Harden is also up for a new deal with the Los Angeles Clippers or anyone else just ahead of his 35th birthday. Klay Thompson is expected to leave the Golden State Warriors for the first time in his career at 34 years old.

Other names to monitor in free agency include Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tobias Harris, Jonas Valanciunas, Buddy Hield, Kelly Oubre, Tyus Jones, and Isaiah Joe.

We’re keeping track of every free agent signing and trade in 2024 NBA free agency here.

Day 1 NBA free agent agreements

  • Pat Williams agrees to a five-year, $90 million deal to return to the Bulls, per Shams Charania
  • Obi Toppin intends to sign a four-year, $60 million deal to stay with the Indiana Pacers, per Adrian Wojnarowski
  • Alex Len intends to sign a one-year, $3.3 million deal to return to the Sacramento Kings, per Shams
  • Chris Paul waived by Golden State Warriors, per Chris Haynes and Woj
  • James Harden will sign two-year, $70 million deal to stay with Clippers, per Shams
  • Max Christie will sign four-year, $32 million deal to stay with Lakers, per Woj
  • Luke Kornet will re-sign with the Boston Celtics on a one-year deal, per Woj
  • Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors working on a sign-and-trade, per Shams
  • F/C Kevin Love is finalizing a two-year, $8 million-plus deal to return to the Miami Heat, per Shams

Early 2024 NBA free agency moves

LPGA: Dow Championship sees pair of former World No. 1s win title lpga,dow,championship,sees,pair,of,former,world,no,s,win,title,sbnation,com,golf,lpga-golf,golf-news

LPGA Dow Championship sees pair of former World No 1s
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Although Nelly Korda currently occupies the top spot in the Women’s World Golf Rankings, Ruoning Yin and Atthaya Thitikul looked like the best players on the planet on Sunday.

Yin and Thitikul, both 21, briefly held the World No. 1 moniker last fall but have since given that distinction to Korda. Yet, these two players, who hail from China and Thailand, respectively, carded an 8-under 62 in best ball format to win the Dow Championship by one.

The Dow Championship is not unlike the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour, which employs a two-man format with two rounds of Alternate Shot and two rounds of Best Ball. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry won this year’s event at TPC Louisiana, marking McIlroy’s 25th career win on the PGA Tour and Lowry’s third.

Ruoning Yin (left) and Atthaya Thitikul (right) Thailand take a selfie with the trophy after winning the Dow Championship.
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Sunday’s win for Yin and Thitikul marked their third career LPGA victory, as they defeated 54-hole leaders Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing by a stroke.

Kupcho and Ewing began Sunday’s final round at 15-under, while Yin and Thitikul sat at 14-under. The Americans went on to shoot a 6-under 64, but it was not enough. Kupcho and Ewing made pars over the final three holes, while Thitikul stuffed one inside of 10 feet on the par-3 18th hole. She then made the birdie putt for her and Yin, which proved to be the difference in the end.

The LPGA will have one week off before the Amundi Evian Championship, the fourth major of the season. France’s Celine Boutier won this title last year at the Evian Resort Golf Club, which sits along Lake Geneva on the French-Swiss border. Surely, Yin and Thitkul will arrive in France for the Amundi Evian Championship as two of the favorites.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

DP World Tour’s Italian Open sees Marcel Siem win in playoff dp,world,tour,s,italian,open,sees,marcel,siem,win,in,playoff,sbnation,com,golf,golf-dp-world-tour,golf-news

DP World Tours Italian Open sees Marcel Siem win in
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The DP World Tour has officially awarded Marcel Siem as the ‘Comeback King,’ and rightfully so. The 43-year-old Siem underwent hip surgery in February, roughly one year after winning the Hero Indian Open, which marked his first title since 2014.

He subsequently missed three months, returning to the Soudal Open in late May, where he missed the cut. Siem said he felt old that week because of his hip, a far cry from the emotions he felt on the 18th green on Sunday. The German defeated Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland in a sudden-death playoff, making an 8-footer for birdie on 18 to clinch his sixth career victory on the DP World Tour.

“Holing that putt on 18 was one the coolest moments in golf for me, and doing it again in a playoff was fantastic,” Siem said.

“I love this sport, and these moments, I work really hard for them. When you get rewarded like this, it’s a very special moment. I think it’s the second-oldest trophy in mainland Europe. So I’ve got the French Open and this one now. I’m so proud of that. My journey is just beginning, it feels like.”

Siem looked in control of the tournament after birdieing the par-3 8th, as he went on to card a 3-under 32 on the front to make the turn at 13-under overall.

But the train veered off the tracks for Siem on his second nine. He bogeyed the par-4 11th, thanks to a terrible lie he faced to the right of the green. He then went on to bogey the 14th, 16th, and 17th holes, dropping him to 9-under-par for the championship and in a dire situation.

While Siem faltered down the stretch, McKibbin, who carded a 6-under 65 earlier in the day, waited in the clubhouse at 10-under-par. The 21-year-old from Belfast looked unflappable on Sunday, making six birdies to zero bogies. He posted the lowest round of the day at the Adriatic Golf Club Cervia—located on the Italian coast about 100 miles south of Venice. He waited three hours to see if he would make a playoff, but it was almost good enough for the victory.

Marcel Siem celebrates his Italian Open victory.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Siem, who has a penchant for bouncing back, did just that on the 72nd hole. He holed a 22-footer for birdie to match McKibbin and force a playoff, which he wound up winning.

Now, the German has two goals in his career: to play in the Ryder Cup and make it to the Masters. He has never played at Augusta National before. But if he can secure another victory this year on the DP World Tour and shoot up the season-long rankings, perhaps he will earn his PGA Tour card in December through the top 10 eligibility rankings.

Beginning last year, the top 10 players—not otherwise exempt—in the final DP World Tour standings received invitations to join the PGA Tour. Matthieu Pavon took full advantage of this opportunity—the Frenchman earned his PGA Tour card in December and then won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January, which booked his ticket to Augusta.

Maybe Siem can follow a similar blueprint, but he still has some work to do. His win propelled him 95 places in the Race to Dubai standings, yet he sits in 31st.

Nevertheless, he had already qualified for the Open Championship at Royal Troon, so perhaps the ‘Comeback King’ can make some noise there.

The same mantra applies to McKibbin, who, as a consolation prize, earned a trip to Royal Troon via the Open Qualifying Series. The R&A invited the top two finishers from the Italian Open—not otherwise exempt—to join the field of 156 in Scotland in three weeks. Sean Cocker of the United States received the other invite.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.