This past Monday, the International Golf Federation released the golfers who will represent their home countries at the 2024 Olympics in Paris later this summer. That list includes seven LIV Golf players who will represent their nations.
Then, on Thursday, ahead of the LIV Golf Nashville event, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, and Dean Burmester—all South African players—detailed what it felt like not to make the South African Olympic team. PGA Tour players Erik van Rooyen and Christiaan Bezuidenhout will represent the country instead.
Grace felt strongly that the Olympic committee got it wrong.
“These are the two guys [Burmester and Oosthuizen] that should be representing South Africa this year,” Grace said ahead of the Nashville tournament.
“I think that’s maybe a good call for each country to pick or try to get their own solution on how they get the criteria right for guys to qualify. But the system at this stage is not very accurate. We all know that. We all talk about it, week in and week out, but these should be the two guys probably representing South Africa.”
Burmester won his first LIV Golf title in Miami earlier this year. Not to mention, he has three other top-10 finishes. The worst performance came at LIV Las Vegas, but for the most part, he has played well.
At the two major championships, Burmester tied for 12th at the PGA Championship. He then captured 69th place at the U.S. Open last week.
Oosthuizen, meanwhile, has two runner-up finishes this year at LIV Adelaide and LIV Jeddah. Two more top-10s followed suit at Mayakoba and Miami. While he has been successful, the Olympics are not high on his radar.
“I grew up with the four majors being your main events, and I don’t really see the fit of professional golfers playing golf in the Olympics,” Oosthuizen said.
“I had the opportunity to go to one of the Olympics and pulled out at the end. It was more getting scheduling-wise getting everything—I think it was close to a major, and that was my main focus always, majors, so the Olympics didn’t fit into my schedule that year.”
Oothusizen represented his country at the World Cup and in the Presidents Cup before, so missing the Olympics is not a big deal to him. Regardless of tour affiliation, he wished the two participants good luck.
“I hope the boys play well and that they perform well, and it’s still going to be a strong South African team playing,” Oosthuizen said.
Burmester followed suit, praising van Rooyen and Bezuidenhout for their performances. Van Rooyen has one runner-up finish, three top 10s, and seven top 25s. As for Bezuidenhout, he has second place at the American Express. He also has three top 10s and nine top 25s. Bezuidenhout was solo fourth at The Memorial in one of his most recent starts.
“Christiaan and Erik are going to do South Africa proud, and they’ve also played some great golf in their own right,” Burmester said.
“I think Louis and I look like Olympians, first of all,” Burmester said. “It would be an honor to go to the Olympics and represent your country. I think it’s the field we have, and those two guys are going to have that opportunity, so it’s super special, and we can only wish them well.”
Taking the high road and wishing two of their fellow South Africans luck in Paris is the proper way to handle it. While they did not get chosen to play in the Olympics, it seems they understand why.
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.
The 2024 Formula 1 season is serving up a solid amount of drama. While the year began with concerns that Max Verstappen and Red Bull would again run away with the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships respectively, as they did a season ago, things are much tighter at the top of the table this season. While both Red Bull and Verstappen remain the favorites in those respective Championships, neither title is done and dusted at the moment.
However, the specter of the 2025 driver transfer market has hung over this entire season, kicked into gear early with the stunning announcement that Lewis Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari next year.
The grid is in Barcelona, for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, and still almost half of the seats on the grid are open for next season. That includes two teams — Haas and Alpine — who have yet to announce any drivers for next year.
And sure, you could read what one singular F1 writer thinks could happen, or you could learn what F1 fans believe will happen. That is the approach we are taking today, looking at four drivers in particular: Carlos Sainz Jr., Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, and Mercedes driver program phenom Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Earlier this week I posted a series of polls on Threads — shoutout to the wonderful people on F1 Threads — featuring a question on each driver:
Where will they be next year?
Where should they be next year?
Here are the supremely scientific results.
Carlos Sainz Jr.
By an large, there is every expectation that Carlos Sainz Jr. is headed to Williams next season. Williams team boss James Vowles has made it clear that Sainz is his top driver target, and while Logan Sargeant is in that seat at the moment and Vowles has outlined that Sargeant can still keep that spot, it seems an uphill battle.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, an overwhelming majority of respondents believe that Sainz is headed to Williams. 84% of those who voted indicated that Sainz would be with Williams next year, followed by 12% of votes for Sauber/Audi, and 5% of votes for Mercedes.
However, should Sainz be headed to Williams?
That vote was much closer.
Williams was still the winner when it came to that question, with 44% of the vote. However, the big gainer was Mercedes, as 31% of respondents believe Sainz should be headed to the Silver Arrows. Sauber received 25% of votes.
Valtteri Bottas
Next up? Valtteri Bottas, who is in the last year of his current deal with Sauber. Sauber already announced that Nico Hülkenberg would be joining the team for next season, ahead of the organization becoming the Audi works team in 2026. Pairing a German driver in Hülkenberg with a German team certainly seems like a good fit.
But will Bottas be his teammate?
According to 42% of respondents, Bottas will remain at Sauber next season. Interestingly enough, “Other” led the way with the second-most votes, clocking in at 16%. A return to Williams could be in the cards — if Sainz ends up elsewhere — while teams mentioned in the “Other” category included Haas and Alpine.
As for where Bottas should land, Sauber was again the winner, with 50% of respondents picking his current team as his 2025 home. On this question “Other” was the clear second-place vote getter, with Haas and Alpine again mentioned as possibilities.
Esteban Ocon
So this was fun …
The four options listed for Esteban Ocon for next season were: Haas, Mercedes, Sauber/Audi, and “Other.”
Haas was the winner for the first question, with 49% of respondents indicating that Ocon would move to Haas next season. However, a close second was “Other” with 30% of the vote.
And many of those respondents indicated that Ocon would not even been in Formula 1 next season.
Then came the true stunner of this exercise. When asked where Ocon should be next season 56% selected “Other,” with the majority of those respondents replying on Threads to indicate that Ocon should be out of F1 entirely.
Will the people get it right?
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
We conclude with the young phenom, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. By every indication he is being fast-tracked to F1, with the FIA even adjusting their rules in recent weeks to allow drivers under the age of 18 to be granted a dispensation to drive on the grid before their 18th birthday.
Antonelli turns 18 in August.
The FIA even tweaked the rule that requires drivers on the grid to have a driving license in their home nation. Antonelli is from Italy, where the driving age is 18.
Now, Antonelli might not see the grid this season — although the door is now open to that happening sooner rather than later — but will he be on the F1 grid next year?
And should he be?
A large majority of respondents, 79% to be exact, believe Antonelli will be driving for Mercedes next season. That does seem to be where he is headed, with reports consistently surfacing that Toto Wollf wants to move in a new direction at Mercedes. The Silver Arrows boss discussed that in Montreal, addressing the decision to make it clear they were moving on from Sainz as an option.
“I think first of all, Carlos deserves a top seat,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. “He’s done a fantastic job. But for us, we’ve embarked on a route now to say, ‘You know what, we want to reinvent ourselves a little bit, going forward.’ Kimi Antonelli definitely plays a part in that.”
But should that part begin in 2025?
Most respondents to the poll do not believe so.
According to 59% of respondents, Antonelli should remain in F2 next season, rather than make the leap to F1 after just one season in F2 and skipping F3 altogether.
Of course, it is fair to offer some caveats. This is just a very small sample size of around 80 respondents per question. Not exactly an overwhelming selection of voters. Furthermore the formatting of the questions could be tweaked, as the question about where each driver “will” land received many more votes than where they would land. We can blame he poll designer — the undersigned author — for that failure in sampling.
Still, the votes come from a very knowledgeable fan base, who follow the ins and outs of F1 on a daily — if not hourly — basis.
Will their votes hold true over the next few months?
The United States track and field team is often described as the world’s toughest to make, and for good reason. No country has amassed more Olympic track and field medals (827), and the US outpaces the next six countries on the all-time list combined (819).
There are so many talented athletes, but only a select few are allowed to compete at major global championships. For the fifth consecutive time, Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon will host the unforgiving USA Olympic Track and Field Trials. Let’s take a closer look at the qualification and selection process for Paris 2024.
How many athletes can qualify in each discipline?
A maximum of only three athletes are allowed per country. Unlike the World Athletics Championships, which offers “wild card” berths to incumbent world champions (creating a fourth slot for countries), there are no byes into the Olympics.
World and Olympic champions and prohibitive gold medal favorites are not spared if they have an off-day at the worst possible time. In 2021, 800-meter world champion Donavan Brazier finished last in the USA finals and did not make the trip to Tokyo. Women’s 100 meters hurdles star Keni Harrison, widely expected to win the 2016 Rio Olympic trials, only finished sixth and missed the team. Two weeks later, she would set a new world record, but it was a mere consolation.
This is also as good a time as any to remind casual track followers that for sprints (100-400 meters), it only takes one false start for a runner to be disqualified from the race.
How many qualifying rounds are there?
All sprint and middle distance (800-1,500 meters) races have three rounds of qualification (Round 1, semifinals, final), whereas long distance (3,000-10,000 meters and race walks) have either two rounds or a direct final.
Olympic qualifying rounds by discipline
Round 1, Semifinals, Final
Round 1, Final
Final Only
Round 1, Semifinals, Final
Round 1, Final
Final Only
100 meters*
3,000 meters steeplechase
10,000 meters
100 meter hurdles (women)*
5,000 meters
20 km race walk
110 meter hurdles (men)*
50 km race walk
200 meters
400 meters
400 meter hurdles
800 meters
1,500 meters
* – Semifinals and final are contested on the same day.
All field events have one qualifying round and a final, the decathlon and heptathlon don’t have qualifying rounds, and marathon runners already had separate qualifiers in February.
Is it possible to still finish in the top-3 and not qualify?
Yes. This is where it gets a little complicated for a small percentage of American athletes. Similar to swimming, there are minimum times (or distances for field athletes) that must be met within an Olympic qualifying window. The window for athletes competing in any individual event (except the 10,000 meters, marathon, and race walks) is July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
For example, the women’s 5,000 meters Olympic standard is 14:52.00. NCAA champion Parker Valby narrowly missed the standard by 0.2 seconds at this month’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. Not only must Valby finish in the top-3 at trials, she also must run at least 14:52.00 to guarantee her spot on the team. And unlike regular track meets, championship competitions do not have pacemakers and wave-light technology to help guide runners to a specific time.
Without the qualifying standard, the last-ditch effort is placing high enough in the World Athletics rankings system, which is too complicated to explain even in an explainer post. The final rankings list will be published on July 7.
Here’s the simplified way to clinch a Team USA Olympic berth:
AND
Have the Olympic qualifying standard
OR
Achieve a high enough world rankings placement
This will most likely only affect competitors in disciplines where the Americans have traditionally weaker depth, such as the long-distance races and a handful of field events. Otherwise this won’t be a storyline for, say, any of the sprints.
What happens if someone finishes in a qualifying position but isn’t selected for the Olympics?
The next highest-placed athlete goes in their place, provided they also have the qualifying standard or a high enough world ranking.
When Sha’Carri Richardson was controversially suspended following a positive marijuana test ahead of the 2020 Olympics, fourth-placed Jenna Prandini replaced her. In the women’s high jump, neither Inika McPherson nor Nicole Green achieved the qualifying standard and didn’t have a high enough world ranking. They were replaced by fourth-placed Rachel McCoy and Tynita Butts-Townsend, who had the requisite ranking despite not making the final.
The 2016 men’s 20 km race walk team, however, sent no entrants to Rio after none of the top three finishers met the standard or ranking.
How do the relay teams qualify?
New to the Olympics is the use of the World Athletics Relays as a qualifying competition for major championships. At this year’s championship in The Bahamas, the American men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 teams all qualified, as did the mixed (two men, two women) 4×400 meters squad. A total of 14 countries in each discipline needed to finish in the top-2 in either the qualifying heats or the repechage rounds to qualify for Paris.
How are the relay participants decided?
Per USA Track and Field guidelines, three of the five competitors for each relay team must be athletes who are entered in their corresponding individual event (e.g. Noah Lyles is entered in the individual 100 meters and therefore will be part of the 4×100 relay team). One reserve/alternate athlete can also be named. The other two selections are made at the discretion of the USATF committee, which includes “medical or exceptional circumstances” for a waiver request to be granted.
This is why it’s common (at least for Team USA) to have relay runners who did not compete in the individual event. Athing Mu, who won the 800 meters in Tokyo, joined the women’s 4x400m relay team and picked up another gold.
It’s worth keeping an eye on the relay selection pool this year for the men’s 4×400 meters, as there’s a possibility that Noah Lyles could be picked despite not being entered in the 400 at Olympic trials and scarcely running the 400 throughout his career. His indoor relay inclusion was already meant with some divided opinion.
Team USA trials run from Friday, June 21 through Sunday, June 30 on NBC, USA, and Peacock. The track and field portion of the Olympics commences on August 1 and ends on August 11.
Fresh off a solid performance at the U.S. Open, Sam Burns arrives at the Travelers Championship feeling strong about his game, as it is trending in the right direction.
Burns opened the RBC Canadian Open with a 7-under 63 and ultimately tied for 10th. He then tied for 15th at the Memorial, as a 3-over 75 during the second round kept him from threatening Scheffler and others towards the top of the leaderboard. Then, last week at Pinehurst No. 2, Burns closed with a final round 3-under 67, which gave him a back-door top-10 finish.
Yet, the former LSU Tiger did not have that consistency in the weeks prior. Burns missed the cut at both the Masters and the PGA Championship and did not have his best stuff at Harbour Town. But during that stretch, he and his wife Caroline welcomed a baby boy named Bear on April 22—the same day Scottie Scheffler won the RBC Heritage, which ended with a Monday finish.
His now 8-week-old has kept him busy, and being a new father is never easy. Yet, his son has given him a boost of momentum over the past three weeks.
Now he is back in New England for his fourth tournament in a row, hoping to secure his first PGA Tour title since the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Sam Burns at the 2023 U.S. Open.Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
SB Nation caught up with Burns to talk about his life and his game ahead of this week’s Travelers Championship—the final Signature Event of the season.
One-on-one with Ryder Cup star Sam Burns:
(Editor’s Note: This conversation has been lightly edited and modified for readability and clarity.)
Playing Through: First question for you: how is your son Bear doing?
Sam Burns: He is great; it’s gone by quickly. He is eight weeks old already, but it’s been nice having him out on the road during the last couple of weeks. They’re here again this week, so it’s been really fun.
PT: Nice! That’s great to hear. You and Scottie Scheffler are obviously really good friends, and you have a similar timeline with your children, too.
Burns: Yeah, we’re actually staying in a house together this week. Did so last week at Pinehurst, and then we got home one day after a round last week, and we’re sitting there holding the babies, and we looked at each other and said, “Wow, life has really changed quickly.”
PT: Being on the road as much as you are, how tough is it to be a new father and still try to compete at the highest level?
Burns: I think when you get out here and get to the golf course, it’s truly like any other job. You are focused on what you are trying to do. You obviously miss being at home with them, but at the end of the day, I have a job to do this week. Been coming out here last few days and just prepare the best I can, then when I get home, its time to change diapers and hold the little one. It’s a little bit different than what I used to do, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
PT: What’s the state of your game right now? You played well at the U.S. Open, how are you feeling?
Burns: Yeah, it was nice to play well there on Sunday. I had been playing well there all week, but anytime you can go bogey-free at a U.S. Open is always a nice thing. My game is feeling better. I’ve played well the last three weeks, and I am excited to tee it up this week.
PT: What clicked for you during that final round 3-under 67?
Burns: I putted well. As the golf course continued to get tougher, I think it was important to figure out where you could leave it around the greens. That was the key thing for us, especially on Sunday. It was difficult to get the ball on the greens, so where you ended up and dealing with what you had in front of you was really important. And we were able to do a really good job of that and manage that.
PT: Did you get a chance to watch the crazy finish?
Burns: By the time I got home, I probably saw the last four holes. Yeah, it was pretty wild to see. Excited for Bryson. He obviously played really well all week. But also tough for Rory. For Rory to finish that way, as a competitor and as a player, you don’t wish that upon anybody. But I know he obviously took it pretty tough—as he should of. But he will bounce back.
Sam Burns putts on the 1st green during the third round of the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
PT: Speaking of Rory McIlroy, he announced that he will next play at the Genesis Scottish Open. Are you going to play before that somewhere?
Burns: No, I’m actually going to take three weeks off after the Travelers, which will be great. (Burns will next play at The Open at Royal Troon, which begins Jul. 18.)
PT: This golf course, at least from my understanding, is a ball-strikers course. You have to be precise. It’s not a bomber’s course, and you must have your short game. So what do you make of TPC River Highlands?
Burns: I think with a couple of the changes that they made—the first time I saw them was on Tuesday—so I think the changes were good. They made the holes better. On 12, they took away being able to hit to the bottom of the fairway, which puts the bunkers more in play. Yeah I think the changes they made were good changes. They made the green on 11 a little bit smaller. So yeah you have to be precise with your irons. You also have to drive it well to set yourself up, but it’s all about getting good looks on the greens.
PT: Commissioner Jay Monahan announced that the Travelers Championship will be another Signature Event in 2025.
Burns: Awesome!
PT: From what we have heard from players, this is one of the favorite stops on tour, correct?
Burns: For sure. I love coming up here every year. Last year, I unfortunately had to miss it for a buddy’s wedding. But I always love coming up here. The fans are incredible, the community supports this event like no other. I also love going to eat some pizza at Sally’s in New Haven. We went there last night, it was awesome. But yes, this is always one of my favorites to come to.
PT: And then the Ryder Cup last year, how cool of an experience was that?
Burns: It was incredible. I wish the result would have been different, but an incredible experience. Going to play in Italy was extremely fun.
Sam Burns squared off against Rory McIlroy in Sunday Singles at the 2023 Ryder Cup.Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images
PT: Is there a lesson or takeaway from Marco Simone that you had and have applied to this year?
Burns: A little bit. I think playing over there is a lot different. I played a President’s Cup in the U.S., but that was a lot different—especially with how it feels. Over there, you expect everyone to root against you and that’s exactly what we felt. But it was really fun.
PT: You are such a great putter. Do you have any advice for amateur players on the putting greens?
Burns: A lot of times, from what I see with amateurs and putting, you know, in the Pro-Ams, they are always asking me to read putts for them and give them a line. But I am thinking, ‘You know I have seen you hit the last three putts, if I read this putt for you, it’s not going to help because you are either going to hit six feet short or six feet long.’ So the biggest thing is the speed. You see a lot of amateurs three and four-putt, mostly due to speed control. I think if you can take even five or 10 minutes before your round or after your round, and spend time hitting 20 footers, that will help. You want to try and get to within that three-foot circle. The make percentage from 20 feet is already pretty low. You see, guys try to make these 20-footers, and they ram it 10 feet past the hole, and they have a slippery putt coming back. You may get lucky one time, but you are losing strokes more often than not. When you hit it that hard, the hole becomes that much smaller, too. So speed control is big and amateurs should focus on that more than anything.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
The Kentucky Wildcats booked a spot in Omaha for the first time in program history thanks to “chaos.” Kentucky found a way to manufacture runs all season long, relying on little things like bunts, stolen bases, aggressive base running, and more to beat teams. As for the Florida Gators, who Kentucky faced in an elimination game Wednesday, they were built to mash.
On Wednesday in Omaha, mashing won out.
The Gators overwhelmed Kentucky 15-4 to eliminate the Wildcats and keep their title hopes alive for at least one more game.
Kentucky scratched out a run in the top of the first inning, thanks to a walk and then a stolen base from leadoff hitter Ryan Waldschmidt, and then an RBI single from DH Nick Lopez.
Their 1-0 lead did not last long.
Florida, with a revised lineup at the top that saw Jac Caglianone leading off for the first time in Omaha, put up a crooked number in the bottom of the inning, and a big one at that. The Gators put seven runs on the board, with the big blow a grand slam off the bat of designated hitter Brody Donay:
The Florida DH was just getting started.
A Donay single in the third gave the Gators two runners on base with just one out. Kentucky recorded the second out of the inning and then walked Caglianone to get to their No. 2 hitter, 2B Cade Kurland.
The 2B responded with a single to shallow center, advancing to second using a nifty slide to avoid the tag. Two runs scored on the single, giving Florida a 9-1 lead.
Kentucky started to chip away at the Gators’ lead, scoring a run in the fourth and then two more in the fifth on a two-run blast from Emilien Pitre. But the Gators’ potent lineup had another crooked number up their sleeve, as Florida hung five more runs on the board in the fifth inning.
Some of those runs came via the long ball, as Donay went yard again down the left-field line for a solo shot to start the fifth. The blast came off the bat at over 117 miles per hour, the highest exit velocity recorded at Omaha this postseason:
But the runs kept coming, starting with Florida executing some small ball of their own. After Donay blasted his second home run of the game, Caglianone walked, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. He then swiped third, getting a huge jump off pitcher Jackson Nove Nove as the lefty failed to even look in his direction.
While Kurland struck out looking on the pitch, Caglianone was then 90 feet away from an insurance run for the Gators.
So they went with a little safety squeeze, with shortstop — and cleanup hitter — Colby Shelton getting the bunt down perfectly to bring Caglianone home:
The Gators plated three more runs in the inning, one coming on a double from Luke Heyman and two more from a single off the bat of Ashton Wilson. By the time the inning came to a merciful end for the Wildcats, the Gators had a ten-run lead and could start thinking about taking on Texas A&M in the nightcap.
But they were not done, because Caglianone had some history to make:
The likely top-five selection in the upcoming MLB Draft launched a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, for his 75th career home run at Florida. That put him atop the school’s all-time leader list, topping the mark set by Matt LaPorta during his time in Gainesville, who was in attendance to tip his hat to the new school leader.
By the time the final out was recorded, the Gators had hung 15 runs on the board, for the final score of 15-4.
They’ll look to keep their title dreams alive later tonight, as they take on Texas A&M. The Aggies have yet to lose in Omaha, and defeated Florida 3-2 in the opening game for both teams on Saturday.
We’ll see if the Gators needed to save some runs for tonight’s game in just a few hours.
Hall of Famer Willie Mays, one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history, passed away on Tuesday.
Mays made his MLB debut with the then New York Giants in 1951, and was named the MLB Rookie of the Year after hitting 20 home runs that season, helping the Giants to their first pennant in 14 years. Mays won his first MVP Award in 1954 — after missing the 1953 season due to military service after he was drafted by the U.S. Army during the Korean War — and was a part of the Giants team that won the 1954 World Series.
In Game 1 of that World Series against the Cleveland Indians, Mays delivered a play known as “The Catch,” an over-the-shoulder grab of a long drive off the bat of Vic Wertz in the eighth inning.
The play, considered one of the greatest in baseball history, kept the game tied at 2-2:
The Giants would win in extra innings on their way to a sweep of Cleveland.
The “Say Hey Kid” won his second MVP Award over a decade later, when he slashed .317/.398/.645 for the Giants in the 1965 season, hitting a career-best 52 home runs.
Mays played over 20 seasons in the major leagues, retiring from the game following the 1973 season. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first try in 1979, at the time becoming just the ninth player in baseball history to earn a spot on Cooperstown in their first year of eligibility.
Mays began his baseball career playing for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues before he made the move to the Giants, and his passing comes just days before he was to be honored, along with the rest of the Negro League, in the MLB Game at Rickwood Field Thursday between the Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals. The game will be played at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, which was the home field for the Black Barons.
Earlier this week, Mays released a statement saying that while he would not be traveling to Birmingham for the game, his “heart” would be with everyone in attendance.
“I’m not able to get to Birmingham this year but will follow the game back here in the Bay Area,” Mays said told the San Francisco Chronicle. “My heart will be with all of you who are honoring the Negro League ballplayers, who should always be remembered, including all my teammates on the Black Barons. I wanted to thank Major League Baseball, the Giants, the Cardinals and all the fans who’ll be at Rickwood or watching the game. It’ll be a special day, and I hope the kids will enjoy it and be inspired by it.”
The final Signature Event of the 2024 season has arrived, as 71 golfers will tee it up at this week’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Rory McIlroy will not be there, as he opted to take some time off following his heartbreaking finish at the U.S. Open. But Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Åberg will be. So, too, will defending champion Keegan Bradley, who blistered a soft course last year en route to shooting 23-under-par, setting a new tournament record in the process.
But this year’s course will play much firmer and faster with temperatures hovering in the 90s throughout the week. Luckily, this limited-size field will not have to endure the speed and difficulty of Pinehurst No. 2, but the weather will feel more or less the same as it did in North Carolina. The Northeast is experiencing a heatwave this week, with heat advisories extending from the Great Lakes through the Mid-Atlantic and all the way through New England. That means everyone at TPC River Highlands will need to hydrate, including the putting surfaces, which will turn crisp quite easily in these conditions.
This golf course is also the shortest one played on the PGA Tour all season, requiring precision into the greens and an exquisite short game. Get ready for a birdie barrage, too; although, with this week’s weather, scores likely will not go as low as they did a year ago.
The 15th green at TPC River Highlands during the final round of the 2023 Travelers Championship.Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
So let’s get to our Staff Picks, with Jeanna Kelly from SB Nation’s NFL site stepping in as our guest picker this week:
Jack Milko — Staff Writer, Golf
For the third time this season, a Canadian will emerge victorious on the PGA Tour.
I am going with Corey Conners, fresh off a strong tie for 9th at the U.S. Open, to break through at the Travelers Championship and win for the third time on tour. Funny enough, Conners won a pair of Valero Texas Opens, in 2019 and 2023, but this time, he finally wins an event outside of the Lone Star State.
Last year, Conners finished in a tie for 9th at TPC River Highlands, shooting four impressive rounds in the mid-60s to finish at 17-under. His best score came on Saturday, when he posted a 5-under 65. But what I love about Conners is that he is one of the best iron players on the PGA Tour. He ranks second in strokes gained approach, sixth in greens in regulation percentage, and seventh in total birdies made, as Conners has poured in 253 par-breakers to date.
The one knock on him is his putting and short game, but both facets showed up at Pinehurst No. 2, relatively speaking. Conners ranked 28th in strokes gained around the greens and 30th with his putter at last week’s U.S. Open, which featured some of the most diabolical greens seen anywhere in the world. But best of all, his tie for ninth helped him clinch a spot in the 2024 Olympics, giving him plenty of confidence and momentum going into the summer.
With all of this in mind, I believe the stars have aligned for Conners to win, especially on a week when plenty of other top players mail it in after a grueling major.
DraftKings Odds: +3500
Corey Conners at the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Jeanna Kelley — Associate Director, SB Nation NFL
When I make NFL picks, I consider many factors: recent performance, injuries, weather forecasts, and so on. Since this is my first time making golf picks, I tried to follow a similar strategy.
Obviously, the easy pick here would be Scottie Scheffler, who’s once again the odds-on favorite to win. Prior to the U.S. Open, and depending on that outcome, I thought I’d pick Rory McIlroy, but he’s withdrawn from the Travelers after last week’s fiasco. So I’m actually going with Collin Morikawa this week. He’s been playing really solid golf the past several weeks. His putting hasn’t been a liability, and eventually, these factors are going to lead him to a win. It might as well be this weekend.
DraftKings Odds: +1200
Collin Morikawa during the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Savannah Richardson — Staff Writer, Golf
I am going with Ludvig Åberg this week. He tied for 24th last year, but now he returns to TPC River Highlands with some familiarity with the course.
His game is in good form, but he just had a weird weekend at the U.S. Open, where two triple bogies stymied him.
But this golf course suits him, given his exquisite iron play. He ranks 11th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach and ranked 15th in that metric last week at Pinehurst No. 2. Luckily for him, TPC River Highlands does not have any greens like the 13th at Pinehurst or as difficult as the par-4 2nd, so he should not make any more triples this time around.
I think he runs away with it.
DraftKings Odds: +1400
Ludvig Åberg on the 6th hole at Pinehurst No. 2.Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
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Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics are just over a month away, the the Olympic flame has begun its journey to the Opening Ceremonies.
And on Tuesday, the Olympic torch relay had a Formula 1 feel.
As the relay made its way through Monaco, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was one of the individuals tapped to carry the torch through the Principality. Other Monaco figures involved in the relay with Leclerc — who finally broke through with a victory in his home race, the Monaco Grand Prix — included Princess Charlene, Prince Albert II, and bobsledder Rudy Rinaldi.
Leclerc shared some footage of his time with the Olympic torch on social media:
While the Olympic flame will continue its journey to Paris, Leclerc will soon head to Barcelona for the F1 Spanish Grand Prix. The driver is hoping to be part of a big bounce-back for Ferrari, as both Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished outside of the points the last time out, at the Canadian Grand Prix.
That result saw Red Bull pull 25 points further ahead of Ferrari in the F1 Constructors’ Championship. And with McLaren scoring 28 points — thanks to a P2 from Lando Norris and a P5 from Oscar Piastri — Ferrari absolutely needs a bounce-back performance in Barcelona.
Perhaps carrying the Olympic flame will provide Leclerc with some inspiration this weekend.
The teams wearing purple have been cooking this offseason when it comes to new colorways and helmets. First the Minnesota Vikings revealed their icy white jerseys, now the Baltimore Ravens unveiled a new alternate helmet they’ll wear with their purple jerseys, and they look AWESOME.
These helmets are super cool. I think the logo is actually pretty fun despite the ClipArt-ish look to it, but the true star of the show is the gold on the helmet mixed with the purple. Like, that’s unbelievably cool and it works so well together. The gold stripes going down the helmet help to highlight the gold face mask is super dope, and it ties in the gold on the numbers as well.
The Ravens haven’t unveiled when these helmets will be worn, but best believe that when they do wear them for the first time I’ll be there no matter what.
One of the many signs that Formula 1 is experiencing something of a moment?
The sport is getting the true Hollywood treatment.
Brad Pitt is starring in an upcoming feature set in the F1 world, with the actor playing a veteran driver for APXGP, a fictional team on the grid. Starring alongside Pitt is Damson Idris, who plays Pitt’s rookie teammate at APXGP.
On Tuesday F1 and Apple Original Films announced that the movie, directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, will be released in theaters around the world, as well as in IMAX, next June. The film will be released internationally on June 25, 2025, and in North America on June 27, 2025.
The film will be distributed in theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures.
What makes this film unique is that it is being filmed in collaboration with F1, shot in real-time during races around the world and involving the entire F1 community. According to the press release announcing the release date, the film includes “ … all 10 teams, the drivers, the FIA and race promoters.”
For example, at last season’s British Grand Prix film crews — along with Pitt and Idris — were at Silverstone shooting scenes and even participating in events such as Drivers’ Meetings. Lewis Hamilton, an executive producer on the movie, addressed the filming process during the FIA Press Conference ahead of last year’s British Grand Prix.
“Yeah, I’ve been really incredibly grateful to [F1]. I don’t know if this would have been possible 10 plus years ago, when the old management was in place. They wouldn’t have perhaps seen this as an important step in terms of the sport’s growth. But we’ve already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show and I think this will take it to new heights beyond that,” described Hamilton last year. “So yeah, I think there’s so many people around the world, as you’ve seen already, that are so excited about this sport, wanting to learn more. And the fact that we will have all the original characters that are actually on the grid, and then Brad, is pretty cool.
“I’m pretty certain, I mean, our cameras are a lot better than what you’re seeing when you’re watching TV. I’ve seen all the footage of the camera positions. I’ve spent time with Joe, trying to make sure we’ve got the best camera positions and the frame rate is different, it’s going to look fast,” continued Hamilton. “I think it’s going to look faster than it does on TV. Because I think it’s something to do with the frame rate that we have to have. But Joe is an incredible director, and I think you’re going to see him really… You’ve already seen what he’s done with fighter jets, what is what he did with Maverick. So just think about what he’s done with that in terms of the dogfights you saw from those jets, which was pretty epic.
“And bringing that technology and that viewpoint into our world, I think it’s going to be amazing.”
And now we know when we can see this for ourselves.
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