Zoji Edoc: Ace —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Defending champion Team North broke out of the proverbial gates as hard as it could on Tuesday by winning the first three matches and going on to take a 7-1/2-4-1/2 lead after the Fourball format that got the ICTSI Elite Junior PGT Championship going at Pueblo de Oro in Cagayan de Oro.

Zoji Edoc highlighted the hot start by draining an ace from 80 yards with a 54-degree wedge on the 13th, as his team-up with Kenzo Tan rallied from a hole down to take a 3&2 win over South’s Stephen Clementer and Darren Ong in the boys’ 7-10.

That victory was sandwiched by Zach Guico and Kingston Ching carving out a 5&4 win over Ethan Lago and Lucas Revilleza in the first boys’ 7-10, before Chan Ahn and Vito Sarines made it three straight with a 6&4 thumping of the Ken Guillermo-Mico Woo tandem.

“The [lopsided result] was really unexpected,” said North coach Joey Anciano. “When we saw South’s lineup, I wasn’t expecting anything. I just told the kids to play, trust their teammates, and they did.”

A three-point lead is big, especially this one that came on the road for the North as the Southerners couldn’t take advantage of their familiarity with the rolling layout and will play catch-up for the second straight year as the Foursomes format will be used on Wednesday.

“[That’s] really big for an away team. We traveled to an unfamiliar territory, so we were just aiming for at least a tie today, which would have been good,” Anciano added. “We’re very fortunate.”

Last year, the North zoomed out to an 8-4 lead and were never really threatened the rest of the week at The Country Club in Laguna.

The first South win came courtesy of 14-year-old wonder Ralph Batican and Jared Saban, who pulled out a 4&2 victory over Javie Bautista and Jacob Casuga in the other boys’ 11-14 match.

The victory of Shin Suzuki and Santi Asuncion in one of the boys’ premier 15-18 matches over Alexis Nailga and Clement Ordeneza, 4&2, put an exclamation point on the Day 1 rout.

One South win that was worth mentioning was the 2&1 win of Princess Zaragosa and Tashanah Balangauan over National Strokeplay champion Lisa Sarines and Rafa Anciano in the girls’ 15-18. INQ

A narrow, scrambling victory at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday saw Steel Will overcome a challenging race, much to the relief of his supporters who had backed him heavily.

The three-year-old colt showed significant fight when put under pressure, ultimately doing his best work at the finish line to claim the Kia Ora Bloodlines to Headlines Handicap over 1300 metres.

Following the win, prominent trainer Chris Waller detailed his ambitious spring carnival plans for the progressive galloper.

“Steel Will is a nice, progressive horse,” Waller commented. “He is well bred and it is always good to have horses with (owner) Sir Owen Glenn and he has a good one here.”

Steel Will, the $1.65 favourite, was expertly ridden by James McDonald to a neck victory over the closing Savvy Diamond ($13), with Plagiarism ($5.50) finishing a further three-quarters of a length behind in third.

Waller acknowledged that it wasn’t the “perfect placement” to debut Steel Will in Sydney Saturday class so soon after his maiden win at Wyong less than two weeks prior.

“He was on a quick back-up and the rain has just come so this was a stepping stone for the colt,” Waller stated. “It’s good to get some prizemoney in the back as it will make it easier to get him into the better races.”

The colt, a son of I Am Invincible and out of Pittsburgh Flyer, is a brother to the multiple Group 1-winning mare September Run, whom Waller also trained.

“I trained his sister September Run and she might have been the Champion Three-year-old of her year,” Waller said. “Bearing in mind Steel Will is September Run’s brother, we will probably keep him to shorter races.

“We will look at either the Run To The Rose here or go to Melbourne for the Poseidon Stakes at Flemington. If we are thinking of the Coolmore it would be good to give him some experience up the Flemington straight.

“Steel Will has got the breeding and he’s got the looks so he has a lot going for him.”

Those looking for the online bookmakers would have experienced a tense finish before the favourite Steel Will ultimately prevailed.

The Dodgers are placing All-Star closer Edwin Diaz on the injured list, according to The Athletic. Early word is that it’s some sort of “upper body” injury that’s sending Díaz back to the IL, not his surgically-repaired elbow, via The Athletic. Díaz was on the injured list earlier this season after having surgery to remove loose bodies from his pitching elbow. He was placed on the IL on April 20 and came off on July 29. 

The big story here is how Díaz has pitched when not on the IL. After signing a three-year, $69 million deal with the Dodgers this past offseason, the first year of the contract has been a disaster. In all, he’s posted an 11.85 ERA, 2.56 WHIP and -1.4 WAR in 16 outings. He has seven saves but four blown saves. He’s had seven outings with zero runs allowed and five where he’s allowed multiple runs. 

If the loose bodies in his elbow could explain the early-season failures, all of that should have been cleared up once he returned from the injured list. Instead, he posted a 12.91 ERA with three saves in six chances in his nine appearances after his return. He’s been worse and that’s starting from a very low bar.

He worked in relief Tuesday night in Colorado and gave up three runs on four hits in his inning. He didn’t strike anyone out and hit a batter. The Dodgers and Díaz must’ve gotten together and decided enough was enough after that one. 

In a corresponding move, Emmet Sheehan is expected to be recalled from Triple-A to provide some help for the Dodgers’ shaky bullpen. 

Edwin Díaz blows another save in crushing loss for Dodgers: Why prized closer has struggled so much in L.A.

Dayn Perry

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What’s next for Dodgers’ struggling bullpen?

This wasn’t supposed to be how the season worked out, as the Dodgers looked to shore up one of their few weaknesses after two consecutive World Series championships. Díaz was one of the best closers in baseball in 2025, just as he was in 2022, 2020 and 2018. 

Tanner Scott (2.20 ERA, 0.92 WHIP) and Alex Vesia (2.91 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) could serve as the Dodgers’ main two late-inning guys, but Evan Phillips — who has previously closing experience with the Dodgers — and Jack Dreyer are also options. 

The bullpen isn’t very deep or good right now. A few days ago, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, when asked about Díaz pitching in a key situation, admitted he had few other options. 

“Give me another option. I can’t just say, ‘Change (Díaz) to low leverage.’ I have to have other options, and to be quite honest, none of those guys really have thrown the baseball great. That’s just kind of the way it is,” Roberts said. 

One might recall that the bullpen was a major concern down the stretch for the Dodgers late last season, but the move of Roki Sasaki to the bullpen for the playoffs, in addition to the four ace-like starting pitchers working so deep into games, helped push the Dodgers across the finish line for another title. 

It seems they’ll need to find a fix again this time around.

Former Ipswich Town striker Darren Bent has predicted Liverpool to finish in the top five in the upcoming 2026-27 Premier League season, which kicks off on Friday (August 21) with holders Arsenal taking on Coventry City.

The Gunners won their first top-flight title in 22 years last season, winning five straight games to finish seven points clear of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. It marked their first success in the league since their ‘Invincibles’ triumph under Arsene Wenger all the way back in 2004.

Mikel Arteta’s side have made reinforcements during the summer, as have their primary challengers. However, Bent reckons the Gunners could go back-to-back in the English top flight for the first time, saying on talkSPORT:

“Arsenal 1, Liverpool 2. “I think Andoni [Iraola] will land straight away. Chelsea 3rd, City 4th, Man United 5th.”

Among the top five Bent mentioned, three clubs have brought in new managers: The Reds have appointed Andoni Iraola; Manchester City have given their reins to former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, while Chelsea will be managed by former Reds midfielder and Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso.

Manchester United, who appointed Michael Carrick permanently in the summer after impressing in an interim capacity since joining in January, have been tipped to finish in the UEFA Champions League places but might not contend for the title.

What’s next for Liverpool?

Liverpool have had a mixed pre-season as they started life under new boss Andoni Iraola, who has arrived from AFC Bournemouth to replace Arne Slot, who left at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

The Reds commenced their preparations with a 4-2 victory over Sunderland in Nashville last month before beating Wrexham 1-0 at New York City. However, their US tour ended with a 4-2 defeat to Leeds United in Chicago, squandering a two-goal lead by shipping in four goals in the final 30 minutes.

Back home, they failed to return to winning ways, losing 3-2 to AS Monaco before going into the new season with a win, beating Cesc Fabregas’ Como 2-0 in their final friendly before their Premier League campaign opener against at Newcastle United on Saturday (August 23).