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Inverness Club gets another U.S. Open

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Cinderella stories are part of golf. Usually, though, they involve players, not places.

For years, Inverness Club — a six-time major championship venue and Donald Ross design in Toledo, Ohio — seemed an unlikely candidate to rejoin the modern U.S. Open rota. As the national championship increasingly gravitated toward a small circle of anchor sites and the modern game rendered many older courses obsolete for the best male players, Inverness came to be seen as a relic of an earlier era: a great design but not a national championship stage.

On Saturday, that changed.

The United States Golf Association, gathered in New York for its annual meetings, confirmed that Inverness will host the 2045 U.S. Open, the headliner in a trio of additional championships rounded out by the 2033 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2036 U.S. Women’s Amateur. The announcement had been anticipated after reporting by the Toledo Blade, which called the news a “monumental” coup, and a statement by Toledo mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, who said the decision dispelled the “myth” that the Toledo market wasn’t strong enough to merit such an honor.

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The 2045 championship will mark the fifth U.S. Open contested at Inverness and the 13th USGA championship held at the club overall. The course is already scheduled to host the 2027 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2029 U.S. Amateur, underscoring what has become a renewed partnership between the governing body and one of the Midwest’s most storied venues.

USGA CEO Mike Whan said in a statement that Inverness provides a championship setting consistent with the organization’s competitive standards, noting its history of staging events ranging from national opens to elite amateur competitions.

For Inverness, the award represents a striking championship revival.

The club first hosted the U.S. Open in 1920, when Ted Ray captured the title in an event notable for featuring the U.S. Open debut of Bobby Jones. Subsequent U.S. Opens, in 1931 and 1957, ended in playoffs, before Hale Irwin won at even par in 1979, two strokes ahead of Gary Player and Jerry Pate.

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Despite that résumé — which also includes PGA Championships in 1986 and 1993 — Inverness gradually faded from the championship spotlight. As professional golf entered an era defined by distance and infrastructure demands, the course was regarded by some as too short to challenge modern players, while Toledo found itself competing for attention with nearby major-championship markets such as Detroit’s Oakland Hills Country Club and western Pennsylvania’s Oakmont Country Club.

Inverness’s prospects seemed to dim further when the USGA began emphasizing anchor venues for the U.S. Open — returning repeatedly to sites such as Pinehurst No. 2 and Pebble Beach Golf Links — with championships scheduled through 2044 already spoken for. Against mounting odds, though, Inverness pushed to reestablish itself as a championship stage.


inverness club

One hundred years later, this aspect of Donald Ross’ Inverness design is impressive as ever


By:


Sean Zak



Key to that effort was a 2017–2018 renovation by architect Andrew Green, who reworked the course to better reflect the strategic principles of Ross’s Golden Age design. The project reopened playing corridors, expanded greens, and reinstated design characteristics that had been altered during a 1970s overhaul undertaken ahead of the 1979 U.S. Open.

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The changes helped reshape perceptions. Inverness hosted the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2021 Solheim Cup. Then came the USGA’s decision to award the club the 2029 U.S. Amateur. There was growing indication that the course was back in the governing body’s sights.

The latest announcement extends that trajectory while also delivering a significant moment for Toledo, a Rust Belt city hit hard by a waning industrial economy and decades-long population decline.

Saturday’s news is also another notch in the golf belt for Ohio. Through 2025, the state has hosted 41 USGA championships overall, among the highest totals in the country.

The Inverness announcement came as part of a broader slate of future championship site selections unveiled by the USGA. National Golf Links of America on Long Island will host the 2040 Walker Cup, while Cypress Point Club in California is slated to stage the 2042 Curtis Cup and the 2048 Walker Cup. Seminole Golf Club in Florida was awarded the 2046 Curtis Cup and the 2052 Walker Cup.

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Florida clinches share of SEC title with beatdown of Arkansas

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No. 7 Florida clinched a share of the SEC title with an authoritative 111-77 win over No. 20 Arkansas on Saturday night, marking an accomplishment that even last year’s national title team never claimed. The Gators can clinch the outright league crown on Tuesday with a victory over Mississippi State or an Alabama loss to Georgia.

It is Florida’s first regular season SEC title since 2014, when the program was coached by Billy Donovan. The outcome marked Florida’s biggest win ever against a ranked opponent.

The Razorbacks (21-8, 11-5 SEC) entered with the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense led by star freshman Darius Acuff. But the Gators (23-6, 14-2) made everything hard on the visitors, who never found a shooting rhythm inside a rocking Exactech Arena. 

Arkansas did not hit its second 3-pointer until the 10:12 mark of the second half. It took Acuff 19 shots to reach 17 points as his streak of nine straight 20+ point performances came to an end. Florida has made a habit of eviscerating the competition during its run through the SEC, and its dominance of the Razorbacks was especially impressive in a chippy game.

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Both coaches received technical fouls at the 17:27 mark of the second half as the officials adjudicated a call at the review monitor. Florida big Rueben Chinyelu earned a flagrant foul coming out of the review, and Arkansas’ Meleek Thomas picked up a flagrant of his own less than a minute later.

It wasn’t the game’s last review, as the lopsided SEC showdown devolved into a stop-and-go affair. But the outcome was never in doubt. Florida led 53-34 at halftime, scored first in the second half and then never led by less than 20 the rest of the way. 

Seven players reached double figures for Florida, led by Thomas Haugh with 22. In his only scheduled meeting this season against his former team, Florida guard Boogie Fland finished with 14 points.

Florida’s dominant gear on display

Of Florida’s 14 SEC victories, 12 have come by double digits. The Gators have now scored 90-plus points in six straight games against ranked opponents, which is the third-longest streak in a single season in AP poll history and the longest of anyone since the 1989-90 season.

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The Gators have found a dominant gear as their guards have started to find a rhythm. Florida hit 42.1% of its 3-point attempts (8 of 19) against Arkansas as its outside shooting continued to improve. UF has hit eight or more 3-pointers in five of its last six games. 

Urban Klavzar continues to be the team’s top perimeter marksman. The Slovenian junior hit 4 of 7 from beyond the arc against Arkansas, marking the third time in the past five games that he’s hit four or more 3-pointers.

Chasing a No. 1 seed

Florida only recently busted through to the No. 2 seed line in CBS Sports Bracketology. Now, the Gators are already knocking on the door of the No. 1 seed line.

What makes the race for the final No. 1 seed particularly interesting is the improvement of Florida’s resume. The Gators are already ahead of the current fourth No. 1 seed, UConn, in predictive metrics and have been for a while. Resume metrics are going to carry more weight in the race for a No. 1 seed, though, and that’s where the Huskies still have the edge for now. 

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But Florida is gaining ground. If the Gators win their final two regular season games and then sweep through the SEC Tournament, their case for a No. 1 seed will be strong. An early-season head-to-head loss against UConn could be the most significant hurdle come Selection Sunday if both teams win out.

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MS Dhoni arrives at Chennai airport to a massive fanfare ahead of IPL 2026 [Watch]

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MS Dhoni arrived in Chennai to a rousing reception from fans on Saturday, February 28. The veteran wicketkeeper landed in the city ahead of the upcoming 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL).

The 44-year-old is all set to play yet another season for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). A big crowd gathered at the Chennai airport to catch a glimpse of the star cricketer.

The Chennai-based franchise posted a video on Instagram, announcing Dhoni’s arrival. The former CSK skipper signed an autograph for a fan before stepping into a car amid heavy security.

CSK captioned the post:

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“The helicopter has landed in Chennai!”

It is worth mentioning that MS Dhoni’s association with CSK started in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008. The forthcoming edition will be his 17th season with the team. The new retention rules allowed the five-time champions to retain him as an uncapped player for ₹4 crore prior to the mega auction in 2025.

Dhoni recently visited the Deori Maa Temple near Ranchi to seek blessings. He continued his tradition of praying at the ancient temple before major tournaments.

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MS Dhoni will be part of CSK’s pre-season camp for IPL 2026

CSK will kickstart their preparation for IPL 2026 with a pre-season camp in Chennai from Sunday, March 1. According to Cricbuzz, a total of 15 Indian players, including MS Dhoni, will take part in the camp at the team’s high-performance centre.

The team’s T20 World Cup 2026-bound Team India stars Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson will join the squad following the ICC event. Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue leading the side, while Stephen Fleming will remain their head coach.

Meanwhile, Chennai roped in nine players at the IPL 2026 mini-auction. They invested heavily in uncapped Indian players, signing Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer at ₹14.20 crore each. Some of their other notable buys included West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein (₹2 crore), New Zealand pacer Matt Henry (₹2 crore), and Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan (₹75 lakh).