One of the first things North Augusta softball coach Lindsey Jones told her team after a tough loss Friday night is that they're in a three-game series for a reason.
Jackson Beggs knew he was in a pretty good spot.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is every bit the horse to beat in the Preakness. He's going for the second jewel of the Triple Crown on what could be a sloppy surface with rain in the forecast Saturday. That’s no problem for Mystik Dan, who has won in the mud before. But he’ll have to contend with Bob Baffert’s Imagination, Brad Cox’s Catching Freedom and others in the field of eight. A victory would set up a historic opportunity with the Belmont set to be run at Saratoga Race Course next month.
Scheffler, charged with assault after officer dragged near fatal crash, tees off at PGA Championship
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was arrested Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship. Stunning images showed him handcuffed as he was led to a police car. He was arrested for second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and not following police directions. He was booked into jail at 7:28 a.m. He was released and arrived at Valhalla at 9:12 a.m. Police say a pedestrian was hit by a bus on the road leading to Valhalla Golf Club. ESPN says Scheffler drove past a police car and was chased down and cuffed.
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Softball
Xander Schauffele has set the PGA Championship record with a 62. He also ties a major championship record that he shared last year in the U.S. Open. Schauffele took advantage of rain-softened conditions at Valhalla. And he's been playing some good golf. Schauffele was runner-up last week in the Wells Fargo Championship. Schauffele played the back nine in 31. He ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine to get in range of the record. The previous mark at the PGA was a 63. One of those was Jose Maria Olazabal at Valhalla 10 years ago.
Transitioning from high school to college is a milestone for any student, and on Thursday Isaiah Weathersbee fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing football in college.
Nine local high school softball players have been named All-State in their respective classifications by the South Carolina Coaches Association of Women's Sports.
Baseball
Ring season has returned for South Carolina High School League track and field teams, with state championship meets scheduled for this weekend in Columbia.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Scottie Scheffler has never spent much time reflecting on anything he has done, especially with something grand — another major championship — on the immediate horizon.
Preakness favorite Muth has been ruled out of the second leg of the Triple Crown after spiking a fever. The Maryland Jockey Club announced Muth's status change Wednesday morning, roughly 12 hours after the horse arrived at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Muth was set to be one of two horses running in the Preakness for two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert. He opened as the 8-5 favorite with Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan second at 5-2. Ray Bryner, the assistant trainer for Mystik Dan, says Muth not being in the Preakness changes the equation.
It was an emotional day for Midland Valley’s Jordyn Mobley as she signed to continue running track at Columbia College on Tuesday afternoon.
There's a lot of uncertainty about Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship. Only some of it involves his golf. Woods says he is still talking with the PGA of America about whether he has the time to serve as Ryder Cup captain for the 2025 matches at Bethpage Black. Woods didn't have a lot to offer about his role on the PGA Tour as it tries to negotiate with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf on a potential investment deal. As for his game? He says he needs to figure out how to play four good rounds instead of two.
DARLINGTON — The first half of NASCAR's regular season wrapped with a satisfying, drought-busting win by past champion Brad Keselowski at Darlington Raceway.
Midland Valley head baseball coach Brad Richardson knows it hasn't been easy for Landon Stringer to lead his team.
Hook A Kid on Golf clinics, sponsored by the Aiken Junior Sports Association, will be offered at five area golf clubs throughout the summer.
JOHNSTON -- The Strom Thurmond softball team didn't play Strom Thurmond softball on Saturday.
NORTH AUGUSTA -- It was win or go home on Monday night, and Strom Thurmond baseball decided it wasn’t ready to head home yet.
GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The No. 7 USC Aiken golf team wrapped up the season with a 19th-place finish at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional over the weekend.
Six area high school baseball players were selected to their respective All-State teams, as announced by the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association.
Jordan Spieth is next in line to chase the career Grand Slam. The PGA Championship is the only major he hasn't won. But it sure doesn't get the same attention as Rory McIlroy gets at the Masters. Part of that is because Spieth's game hasn't been up to standard in recent years. And another part is because the Masters creates so many reminders as the only major held on the same course. But Spieth has history working against him. None of the five players with Grand Slam ever had to wait more than three years to get the final piece.
The New York Rangers don't plan to dwell on their first loss of the postseason. They still have plenty of confidence in themselves. The Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers now head home with a 3-1 series lead as they face the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series …
Brad Keselowski moved to the front when Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick hit each other with nine laps left and held on to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. It was Keselowski's first victory since 2021 and his first triumph since rejoining magnate Jack Roush as a co-owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. It was Keselowski's 36th career win and his second at Darlington. He snapped a 110-race winless drought since taking the checkered flag at Talladega in April 2021. Ty Gibbs finished second and Josh Berry third.
Rose Zhang won the Cognizant Founders Cup on Sunday to end Nelly Korda’s record-tying LPGA Tour winning streak, rallying to beat Madelene Sagstrom by two strokes. Zhang birdied four of the final five holes to overcome a three-shot deficit in a thrilling final-round duel with Sagstrom after the two broke away from the field Saturday. Zhang shot a 6-under 66, birdieing Nos. 14, 15, 17 and 18 at Upper Montclair Country Club. Sagstrom bogeyed the 16th in a 69. Korda had a second straight 73 and tied for seventh at 7 under. Zhang, a two-time NCAA champion at Stanford, who won last year at nearby Liberty National in her pro debut. She finished at 24 under 264 total.
Rose Zhang won the Cognizant Founders Cup on Sunday to end Nelly Korda’s record-tying LPGA Tour winning streak, rallying to beat Madelene Sagstrom by two strokes. Zhang birdied four of the final five holes to overcome a three-shot deficit in a thrilling final-round duel with Sagstrom after the two broke away from the field Saturday. Zhang shot a 6-under 66, birdieing Nos. 14, 15, 17 and 18 at Upper Montclair Country Club. Sagstrom bogeyed the 16th in a 69. Korda had a second straight 73 and tied for seventh at 7 under. Zhang, a two-time NCAA champion at Stanford, who won last year at nearby Liberty National in her pro debut. She finished at 24 under 264 total.
Brad Keselowski moved to the front when Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick hit each other with nine laps left and held on to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. It was Keselowski's first victory since 2021 and his first triumph since rejoining magnate Jack Roush as a co-owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. It was Keselowski's 36th career win and his second at Darlington. He snapped a 110-race winless drought since taking the checkered flag at Talladega in April 2021. Ty Gibbs finished second and Josh Berry third.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points, T.J. McConnell added 15 points and 10 assists and the Indiana Pacers rolled to their second-biggest playoff victory ever, beating the New York Knicks 121-89 on Sunday to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2. Haliburton also had six rebounds, five assists and four 3-pointers as the Pacers led by 43 points during a start-to-finish romp. They fell just short of their most lopsided playoff victory, when they beat Cleveland by 34 points in April 2018. Game 5 of the series will be played Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points, T.J. McConnell added 15 points and 10 assists and the Indiana Pacers rolled to their second-biggest playoff victory ever, beating the New York Knicks 121-89 on Sunday to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2. Haliburton also had six rebounds, five assists and four 3-pointers as the Pacers led by 43 points during a start-to-finish romp. They fell just short of their most lopsided playoff victory, when they beat Cleveland by 34 points in April 2018. Game 5 of the series will be played Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
Novak Djokovic put on one of his worst performances at one of his favorite tournaments as he was upset by 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open. Djokovic started off with a double-fault and it didn’t get much better for the six-time Rome champion. The top-ranked Djokovic lost his first two service games and went on to lose the match 6-2, 6-3 in just 68 minutes amid boos at the Foro Italico. It was Djokovic’s first match since accidentally getting knocked on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs after his opening win on Friday.
Chris Gotterup won the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, closing with a 4-under 67 for a six-stroke victory at Dunes Golf & Beach Club. The tournament was played opposite the Wells Fargo Championship. a signature event in Charlotte, North Carolina. Gotterup got a spot in the PGA Championship next week, but not in the Masters or a guaranteed spot in the remaining two $20 million signature events. Four strokes ahead entering the round, Gotterup bogeyed the first two holes, then rebounded with a birdie-eagle-birdie burst on the next three. The 24-year-old former University of Oklahoma player won in his 27th tour start, finishing at 22-under 262. Alistair Docherty and Davis Thompson tied for second.
The Atlanta Hawks won the NBA draft lottery, landing the No. 1 pick and a potential cornerstone player in a year where there’s no clear-cut choice. The Hawks hit the jackpot despite just 3% odds after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference at 36-46. They dropped their final six regular-season games and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the play-in tournament. The Hawks haven’t won a postseason series since a surprising run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021. They got knocked out in the first round in 2022 and 2023. Washington, Houston, San Antonio and Detroit rounded out the top five. The draft is June 26-27 in Brooklyn.
The Premier League title race will go to the last day of the season after Arsenal returned to the top of the standings with a 1-0 win at Manchester United. Leandro Trossard struck in the 20th minute at Old Trafford to ensure Arsenal will take defending champion Manchester City to the final round of games next Sunday. Anything other than a win against United for Mikel Arteta’s team could have seen City clinch the title with victory at Tottenham on Tuesday. Arsenal duly delivered and moved one point ahead of its title rival in second place. Defeat for United was a latest blow for under pressure manager Erik ten Hag.
Brenden Rice already had plenty to prove as the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Not being selected until the 225th pick in the NFL draft added more fuel to the fire. Many thought Rice would be a middle-round pick. He didn’t go until the seventh round, when the Los Angeles Chargers selected the Southern California wide receiver. Instead of wallowing in what he described as a frustrating draft process, Rice is trying to look ahead. With the Chargers rebuilding at wide receiver, he will have plenty of opportunities to show he deserves a spot on the roster.
WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark, like NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird was 45 years ago, is involuntarily the focus of discussions about race and her transition to professional basketball. She is – and from all indications is content with -- just being another basketball player trying to win a title. And though Clark hasn't said anything to fuel the Black-white narrative surrounding her, talks are about a double standard are being had. Still, the race-based debate over perceived slights to Black players or favoritism toward Clark is not going away as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft prepares for her first regular-season game.
Atlanta’s Max Fried and two relievers combined for a no-hitter through 8 2/3 innings before New York’s J.D. Martinez homered to spoil the bid as the Braves beat the Mets 4-1 on Saturday. Fried opened with seven no-hit innings and Joe Jiménez worked around a pair of walks in the eighth before Raisel Iglesias retired the first two batters of the ninth. Martinez homered just over the wall in right field on the next pitch off Iglesias. The Braves have not thrown a no-hitter since Kent Mercker’s gem against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1994. The no-hitter drought is the fourth-longest in the majors.
Chris Gotterup shot a 6-under 65 on Saturday to push his lead to four strokes with a round left in the PGA Tour’s inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic. After opening 66-64 to take a one-stroke lead into the day, Gotterup had seven birdies and a bogey on a sunny afternoon with the breeze gusting to 12 mph at Dunes Golf & Beach Club. He capped the round with a 17-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th. The 24-year-old former Oklahoma player is trying to break through with his first PGA Tour victory in his 27th start. He had an 18-under 195 total, with the four-stroke lead matching the largest on the tour this season. Erik van Rooyen, Jorge Campillo and Robert MacIntyre were tied for second
Rory McIlroy shot a bogey-free 4-under 67 on Saturday to pull within a stroke of leader Xander Schauffele with a round left in the Wells Fargo Championship. Schauffele, who entered the day four shots ahead of McIlroy and Jason Day, had a 70 to get to 12-under 201 as he looks to hold on and snap a 38-tournament victory drought. Sungjae Im was four shots strokes back after holing out from bunker on No. 18 to save par and shoot 69. Sepp Straka matched McIlroy’s low round of 67 and was alone in fourth at 7 under, while Day was fifth at 5 under — making five bogeys in a 73.
Kyle Larson says he is not a Swiftie, despite he and his wife taking their daughter to Paris this week to see Taylor Swift in concert. Larson said Saturday at Darlington Raceway that it was a surprise birthday trip for 6-year-old Aubrey. Larson enjoyed the show, although he made it clear that he was not part of the ride-or-die fan base that has made Swift one of the world's most popular entertainers. Larson won the Southern 500 at Darlington last September and is the favorite to win again there Sunday in the Goodyear 400.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is heading to the Preakness after all. Trainer Kenny McPeek announced the decision to send the horse to Baltimore for the second leg of the Triple Crown next Saturday. McPeek previously refused to commit to Mystik Dan taking part in the race because of concern over the two-week turnaround, which did not work out so well in November. But he liked enough of what he saw in training over the past several days to take the chance. No one has won the Derby and Preakness since the last Triple Crown champion, Justify in 2018 for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.
NORTH AUGUSTA -- North Augusta softball coach Lindsey Jones knows she sounds like a broken record, and she's not shy about it.
Midland Valley stayed alive after walking off Airport in the fifth round of the Class AAAA playoffs on Friday.
Tiger Woods has company in player negotiations with the Saudi-backers of LIV Golf. Rory McIlroy says he and Adam Scott also are on the transactional subcommittee of the PGA Tour Enterprises board. It was yet another twist in the bizarre governance being played among as the PGA Tour tries to work out a deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The tour disclosed only five people on the subcommittee. Its latest release shows McIlroy and Scott part of the group. McIlroy says he's already been involved in discussions. He says he has no vote, only a voice.
Marcell Ozuna shrugged off the chants of “MVP! MVP! MVP!” The Atlanta Braves slugger knows, better than most, how fleeting the good times can be. The bad times, too. Only a year ago, Ozuna’s career was hanging by a thread. The same fans who cheer him now booed lustily every time he stepped to the plate. It seemed just a matter of time before he was sent packing by the Braves. But the team stuck with him, and Ozuna is again one of baseball’s most feared hitters. He leads the big leagues with 12 homers and 38 RBIs, to go along with a .315 average.
Midland Valley's softball team took the field in an angry mood Wednesday night for a Class AAAA elimination game against Easley.
Boys' Golf
Three student-athletes from Silver Bluff High School signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college.
The No. 7 USC Aiken golf team is set for the upcoming NCAA South/Southeast Regional, which will take place May 9-11 in Gainesville, Ga.
NORTH AUGUSTA -- Short-handed and facing elimination, the Fox Creek softball team wasn't yet pushed to the point of pressing Tuesday afternoon.
It was business as usual for Fox Creek baseball on Tuesday after an 11-2 win over Blacksburg.
The PGA Championship field next week at Valhalla includes everyone from the top 100 in the world. The list officially has Tiger Woods. And seven invitations have gone out to LIV Golf players. The PGA Championship tries to get the top 100 in the world to maintain its reputation as having the strongest field. Patrick Reed is No. 92 and he extends his streak of playing in every major since the 2014 Masters. Two spots are being held for winners of two PGA Tour events if they're not already eligible. The PGA Championship returns to Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, for the fourth time on May 16-19.
Brooks Koepka leaves the bluster to everyone else at LIV Golf. He cares about only his golf, especially when it's not going well. Such was the case a year ago when he gave up a Sunday lead at the Masters. He responded by winning the PGA Championship. Koepka was furious with his Masters performance last month. He got it together to win in Singapore for a fourth title at LIV Golf. That gets everyone's attention with the PGA Championship next week. Koepka isn't the favorite. That's Scottie Scheffler. But Koepka is considered a major threat again.
Penske suspends Cindric and 3 others in the wake of a cheating scandal ahead of the Indianapolis 500
Roger Penske has suspended the president of Team Penske along with three others for two races for their roles in the cheating scandal that has rocked IndyCar ahead of the Indianapolis 500. Tim Cindric oversees all of Team Penske’s operations and is the strategist for Indy 500 defending champion Josef Newgarden. Cindric is the top name suspended. Also suspended are team managing director Ron Ruzewski, Newgarden engineer Luke Mason and senior data engineer Robbie Atkinson. Ruzewski and Atkinson both work on Will Power’s car and Power is the only of the three Penske drivers not accused of any wrongdoing in the push-to-pass scandal.
JOHNSTON -- There's no denying the talent the Strom Thurmond baseball program possesses.
Today's Top Headlines
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Over 3,600 acres of land north of Aiken permanently protected from development
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Two new businesses planned for shopping center on Aiken's Southside
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Aiken Man sentenced to life in prison after April 2021 shooting kills teen
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New restaurant could open at former Harry's site on Aiken's Whiskey Road
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Red Lobster in Aiken still open amid closures at other locations
