President Rodrigo Duterte told Congress on Monday he had no power to enforce the Philippines' ownership of territories claimed by China in the South China Sea.
Duterte made the statement duri
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said there will be no more war as the country's nuclear weapons guarantee its safety and future despite unabated outside pressure and milita
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Michael Thompson birdied two of the last three holes Sunday for a two-stroke victory in the 3M Open, finishing off his second PGA Tour win seven years after his first.
BLAINE, Minn. — Michael Thompson birdied two of the last three holes Sunday for a 4-under 67 and a two-stroke victory in the 3M Open, finishing off his second PGA Tour win seven years after his first.
Adam Long took second after a 64. Richy Werenski, who shared the lead with Thompson after both Friday and Saturday, had a 70 for his worst round of the tournament and settled for a nine-way tie for third—three strokes back.
Thompson finished at 19-under 265 at TPC Twin Cities. Tony Finau finished in the third-place group, too, after a 68. He was the only one among the five world top-30 players in the field to reach the weekend, far outperforming fellow high-profile peers Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey.
Nobody throughout the windy and muggy week in Minnesota was steadier than Thompson, who entered the week 151st in the FedEx Cup standings and rocketed up to 39th on the way to Tennessee for the World Golf Championships event. He deftly steered around the water danger on the 18th, landing his approach on the back of the green within 15 feet.
With Long in the clubhouse, having played five groups ahead, Thompson had two putts to win. He needed only one, bending backward and thrusting both of his arms straight up in the air after the ball dropped in the cup in a celebration subdued a bit by the absence of spectators due to the pandemic.
Thompson's best previous finish in this stopped-and-restarted 2020 season was a tie for eighth at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut, and he missed the cut in his last start at the Workday Charity Open in Ohio two weeks ago. For this win, he not only secured a spot in the U.S. Open but a prize of $1,188,000, nearly 12% of his career earnings on the tour.
Finau was the only one in contention this weekend who'd already secured his U.S. Open spot, thanks to his seventh-place finish in the FedEx Cup standings last year and No. 16 world ranking on March 15 when the coronavirus spread prompted the three-month pause. The USGA rolled out special rules for participation in the rescheduled Sept. 17-20 major at Winged Foot in New York, after the pandemic wiped out the regular qualifiers.
In stroke play over the last four seasons, Finau has finished 35 rounds inside the top three, by far the most without a win on tour over that stretch. Tommy Fleetwood (20) has the second most.
Long, who needed to birdie his second-to-last hole in the second round on Friday just to reach the weekend, missed the cut on three of his last five starts out of the pause. He shot a 63 on Saturday, the low score for the tournament that was matched five other times over the four rounds, and posted eight birdies on Sunday. His bogey on the par-3 17th stood out, leaving his first putt short, but he picked up the second available spot in the U.S. Open with his second-place finish.
Defending champion Matthew Wolff was in striking distance after his birdie on the 14th, but he followed three straight pars with a six-stroke bogey on the 18th. His tee shot was well wide of the fairway, and his fourth try from the rough did not reach the green. Wolff finished at 14 under.
Arizona State announced Sunday they are redshirting their entire men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams for the 2020-21 seasons amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Did Arizona State's swimming and diving program just start a trend in college sports? We might soon find out.
The Sun Devils made the startling announcement Sunday that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are redshirting their entire men's and women's teams for the 2020-21 seasons, basically taking the year off to train and then trying again in 2021-22 in what should be a healthier climate.
Arizona State coach Bob Bowman, who coached mega-star Michael Phelps throughout his career and currently trains Olympians Allison Schmitt and Hali Flickinger, told his team Sunday afternoon in a Zoom call. He said the response was "very positive."
"It's been real tough for four months," Bowman told Sports Illustrated. "The hardest part is no clarity, about anything. All our swimmers lost their NCAA (championships) last year. I'm not willing to let them lose two."
Bowman said his campus aquatic facility is closed, which means his swimmers have not been able to train with him. Most are scattered around the country and the world, getting in workouts where and how they can. As with other college sports, the season schedule is in limbo.
Swimming is a winter sport that basically mirrors college basketball, starting in the fall and ending with NCAA championships in March. Many programs are starting to look at no competitions until January, and then dealing with travel restrictions that could curtail the number of meaningful events.
Bowman said his decision came out of March meeting with his athletic director, Ray Anderson, who challenged all of his coaches to find ways to make their programs stronger coming out of the pandemic than they were before.
"This was vetted on every level, through the Pac-12," Bowman said. "Everyone who hears it at is like, 'What?' Then you look into it and it makes more sense.
"We have the money to cover it, to make it work. It provides an academic benefit, allowing everyone to concentrate on their studies and maybe leave here with a master's degree. They have flexibility to train at home while taking online classes if they want, then come back at the semester break. And it helps us competitively—we're going to be better as a team in 2021-22."
Bowman, who has been the U.S. men's Olympic team coach, has been rebuilding the Arizona State program since taking over there in 2015. The Sun Devils finished 22nd in the 2018 men's swimming championship and 23rd in women's.
Asked if he thought he might start a trend both within his sport and around all of college sports, Bowman said, "I don't know, my job is to coach the Sun Devils and everyone else can do what they want. Ray says he thinks we will."
WASHINGTON - Washington has dispatched a special envoy for Afghanistan to press for peace talks between the government and Taliban fighters, with the diplomat scheduled to visit Kabul on a trip wit
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KHABAROVSK, RUSSIA - Tens of thousands of people marched Saturday across Russia's Far East city of Khabarovsk on the border with China to protest the arrest of the regional governor on murder charg
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