India women’s hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne is banking on a mix of overseas tours, competitive exposure and national camps to ready the side for the World Cup and Asian games this year.
The World Cup is scheduled to be held in Belgium and Netherlands in August, while the Asian Games will take place in Japan in September.
The Indian women’s team will compete in the FIH Hockey Nations Cup in Auckland from June 15 to 21. They are also scheduled to tour the United States and Argentina, and play matches against Germany and the Netherlands.
“We have a tour to USA and Argentina, the Nations Cup in New Zealand, and practice matches in Germany. We will also play some matches in the Netherlands,” Marijne said in media release.
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“These scheduled games combined with our camps set us up for a very good mix of matches and training to be ready for the World Cup and Asian Games.”
India have been placed in Pool D alongside England, China and South Africa.
China are the top-ranked side in the group at world No. 4, followed by England at No. 6, while India and South Africa are ranked ninth and 19th respectively.
“This is a very competitive and balanced pool. There are teams like England and China that bring different styles and a lot of experience, while South Africa is always unpredictable and dangerous on their day,” Marijne said.
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“However, for us, it’s not about the draw – It’s about how we show up. At a World Cup, every match demands your best. We respect all opponents, but our focus is on playing our style of hockey with consistency and courage,” he added.
India finished runners-up in the recently concluded FIH World Cup qualifiers, going down to England in the final.
Despite falling short, there were positives, with India emerging as the second-highest scorers in the tournament with 11 goals, including six from penalty corners.
Having guided India to a historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Marijne returned as head coach in January this year.
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“We are building something long-term. We want to build a team that is resilient, adaptable, and fearless. Qualifying was the step, but we are aiming for much more. The first steps have been made in the right direction, but there is much more to go if we want to be successful.
Jan 4, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) warms up on the field before facing the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium, going through pregame drills as he prepared for a key NFC North matchup in front of a home crowd. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Do you think the Minnesota Vikings are currently the NFL’s eighth-worst team? NFL.com does.
Minnesota’s offseason carries risk, though No. 25 feels wildly aggressive.
That’s the word from Eric Edholm this week, who published leaguewide power rankings after the first wave of free agency, and per him, the Vikings are downright bad and on pace for a season in the range of 6-11 or 7-10.
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The National Outlook on Minnesota Has Swung Too Far … the Wrong Way
The odds are evidently stacked against Minnesota already this season.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell watches from the sideline during first-quarter action on Nov 2, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, observing early-game developments against the Lions while managing tempo and communication as his team navigates a divisional matchup with playoff implications beginning to take shape. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images.
NFL.com: Vikings Rank 25th in Power Rankings
Minnesota lost four main players in free agency: Jalen Nailor (WR, Las Vegas Raiders), Jonathan Allen (DT, Cincinnati Bengals), Javon Hargrave (DT, Green Bay Packers), and Ryan Wright (P, New Orleans Saints).
For Edholm, that’s just too much. He ranked Minnesota at No. 25 and explained, “The Vikings have had an odd and uncomfortable March so far, getting noticeably weaker up the middle on both sides of the ball. Losing linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave hurts the defensive front, and Ryan Kelly’s retirement leaves a hole at center.”
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“Receiver Jalen Nailor’s exit was quietly a big one for a team that needs all the non-Justin Jefferson targets it can hold on to. Fullback C.J. Ham retired, and longtime stalwart Harrison Smith could do the same, potentially creating a major void at safety.”
Most fans thought the team improved with the addition of Kyler Murray, but NFL.com defiantly disagreed.
Edholm concluded, “Even signing Kyler Murray to a league-minimum deal, cheap as it was, delivered a certain awkwardness, thanks to the presence of former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy. Murray’s no-tag clause tells me he’s more likely to start than not, which would make McCarthy’s future even more muddled.”
Worse than the Saints and Falcons?
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To add insult to injury, Edholm claimed a club like the New Orleans Saints is better than Minnesota. Even the Falcons outpaced the purple team.
Edholm on the Saints at No. 23, two spots ahead of Minnesota: “The Saints haven’t gone hog wild in free agency, which isn’t shocking for a rebuilding squad light on cap space, but they’ve added a few pieces on offense to bolster their young QB.”
“Running back Travis Etienne was the headline name, but I think it was just as important to beef up the offensive line with guard David Edwards. The defense took a few hits, but nothing terribly concerning.”
New Orleans finished 6-11 last year, while Minnesota fired up a 9-8 record. Most Vikings fans would be wholly insulted to hear about the Falcons and Saints ranked higher than Kevin O’Connell’s team.
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A Top 3 Defense with Kyler Murray at Quarterback
Why should Minnesota be ranked higher? Simple — the club has produced a Top 3 defense in back-to-back seasons per EPA/Play, and since Brian Flores arrived in the Twin Cities three years ago, the Vikings have the NFL’s best defense.
Almost no matter what, Minnesota’s defense will be formidable. If it doesn’t pull down a Top 3 statistical ranking, a fall would still likely keep the club in the Top 10.
Then, it added Murray at quarterback, who will cost Minnesota just $1.3 million in 2026. Spanned to 17 games, Murray averages about 4,000 passing yards, 30 total touchdowns, and around 600 rushing yards in a season. If he stays healthy, the Vikings should very much contend for the NFC North.
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Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores stands along the sideline during the NFC Wild Card game on Jan 13, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, directing defensive adjustments as Minnesota battles the Los Angeles Rams in a postseason environment filled with high-leverage situations and constant pressure on every snap. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
In 2025, the Vikings’ overall quarterback efficiency ranked fifth-worst in the NFL. Even average play from J.J. McCarthy, Max Brosmer, and Carson Wentz would’ve propelled Minnesota to the postseason, and that’s not a hot take.
With Flores’s defense, Murray’s production, and playmakers like Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, the Vikings should be interpreted much higher than the NFL’s eighth-worst team.
Ever-Important Draft Ahead
This upcoming draft is absolutely crucial for the Vikings. In the past four years, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s draft picks have yielded successful players only 15% to 20% of the time. This low success rate has depleted the roster and created significant challenges for the coaching staff. It’s why the Vikings’ owners fired Adofo-Mensah at the end of January.
With Minnesota’s limited spending in free agency beyond the addition of Murray and cornerback James Pierre, the focus now shifts to the April draft. The team possesses nine picks, and a significant portion of them must develop into reliable contributors.
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Vikings executive Rob Brzezinski speaks during an interview segment on Feb 17, 2022, discussing organizational philosophy and roster-building strategy while outlining Minnesota’s leadership structure and long-term planning approach in a digital sit-down feature that highlights front-office decision-making and collaboration with coaching staff leadership. Mandatory Credit: YouTube.
Specifically, the players selected within the first four rounds need to be immediately impactful; depth players will not suffice. Not after four poor drafts.
Recent changes in the front office further amplify the importance of this draft. Another unproductive draft, similar to the previous few under Adofo-Mensah, could force the team into a complete rebuild. The margin for error is slim, making a successful draft class essential.
A No. 25 ranking is about the lowest you will see for the Vikings at any time in 2026. It’s comically low.
Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice addressed the Daniel Dye situation, days after the young driver was indefinitely suspended by both the team and NASCAR. Following Dye’s controversial comments, Rice urged him to learn from the mistake and move forward.
The situation stemmed from a Whatnot livestream in which Dye spoke about Team Penske IndyCar driver David Malukas, while opening card packs. During the stream, the RAM Truck Series driver used an inappropriate tone to mock Malukas, prompting disciplinary action.
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NASCAR penalized him under Section 4.3.C, while Kaulig Racing immediately followed suit. The incident triggered mandatory sensitivity training for Daniel Dye before any potential return. Chris Rice publicly acknowledged both the personal and professional dimensions of the situation.
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“First and foremost, Randy (his father, Randy Dye), Daniel, those guys are family to us. And very unfortunate situation that arose this week that we got aware of. There’re protocols and different things that has to happen in NASCAR. We’re in a sport today that we’ve a lot of people that watch us. We’ve a lot of partners that are involved and when that happens, it’s a lot of people you’ve to talk to and figure out what we need to do to move forward.”
Chris Rice pointed to a broader responsibility tied to the sport’s visibility and commercial structure, where teams must balance internal relationships with external expectations. However, he wanted to look ahead.
“One thing about this is that we always learn from our mistakes, including me. I made many, many mistakes over my life, and I probably have not done making mistakes. And we just (get) stronger when we get to the other side of it. So that is the main thing that we have to look at… You look at the NASCAR community and everybody else that we just not, there’s a lot of eyes and ears on us now. A lot of TV cameras, a lot of cameras all around us and we have to really pay attention to what’s going on.”
Daniel Dye, 22, started the 2026 NASCAR Truck Series season with three mid-pack finishes and was 13th in the standings. He made a few starts in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series before the incident halted his campaign.
Kaulig Racing names AJ Allmendinger as replacement for Daniel Dye at Darlington
Kaulig Racing has already confirmed its short-term solution for the No. 10 RAM Truck. They announced earlier in the week:
“AJ Allmendinger will drive the Kaulig Racing No. 10 Truck Friday at Darlington Raceway.”
AJ Allmendinger competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Kaulig Racing and now steps into the Truck Series role. He has prior experience across all three national divisions, with his most recent Truck outing coming in 2021. He now pulls double duty at the 1.366-mile track.
Real Madrid are likely to be without injured goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for both legs of their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, according to the Spanish press on Thursday. The club said in a statement the Belgian international, who was substituted at half-time in Tuesday’s last 16 tie against Manchester City, had been diagnosed with a muscular injury “to the right quadriceps”.
Real did not specify how long the thigh injury would sideline him but sports daily AS said Courtois, 33, could be out for six weeks, which would cause him to miss the quarter-final matches against Bayern on April 7 and April 15.
His likely replacement is the Ukrainian Andriy Lunin.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Augustin Senghor, a Caf executive committee member and former head of the Senegalese Football Federation, told the BBC World Service that Senegal should “fight against injustice” after the continent’s governing body ruled on Tuesday that they had forfeited the final against Morocco having left the the pitch in protest.
The spot-kick was eventually missed after Brahim Diaz’s “Panenka” effort sailed into the arms of Edouard Mendy, with Senegal then winning 1-0 in extra time.
“In a situation like this, we have to fight against injustice,” Senghor said, as reported by the BBC. “Football is fair play, football is played on the field, not in offices. What happened with Caf was unacceptable.
“When you see a committee taking such a decision in violation of our rules, in violation of the Fifa laws of the game, to take the trophy and give it to Morocco, I think it is something very abject. We have to denounce it.”
According to Afcon regulations, if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee”, they will be deemed the loser and their opponents will automatically be given a 3-0 win, as per Articles 82 and 84.
But the ruling has been met with widespread complaints.
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The Senegalese Football Federation (SFF) said it would be taking the matter to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, while the country’s government has called for an “independent international investigation into suspected corruption”.
Head coach Pape Thiaw was later suspended having led his players off the pitch, although only for matches in the next Afcon qualifiers, which start after the World Cup in June, for which both Morocco and Senegal have qualified.
Morocco, as newly-crowned champions, immediately welcomed the decision.
People have been panning Tottenham boss Igor Tudor but they will look upon him in a different light if his side win this game.
Maybe he just needs to identify the opposition’s threat a little bit better than he does opposing managers – that clip of him mistaking someone else for Arne Slot at Anfield last week did make me chuckle.
Nottingham Forest‘s issue is that they don’t score enough goals, and that lack of attacking threat might just cost them here.
I know I keep mentioning it, but Forest manager Vitor Pereira has still not won a Premier League game all season, after 12 attempts with Wolves and Forest.
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I don’t think he will win this week, either, although this is going to be an extremely tight game.
Spurs’ first aim will be to avoid any calamities like their red card against Crystal Palace in their previous home league game.
They have a few injuries, but they still have a fair bit of quality in their team.
Tottenham also have a bit of positivity and momentum after Wednesday’s home win over Atletico Madrid, even though it wasn’t enough to turn around their Champions League tie. Now they need to build on that.
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Sutton’s prediction: 1-0
Amari’s prediction: If we play like we did against Liverpool and we get some players back from injury too, then we can do this. Forest have got some good players but we just need to get a result, it doesn’t matter how. 3-2
Amari on why he supports Spurs, and his favourite players: It’s down to my dad – every single person on my dad’s side is a Spurs fan. When I was kid, my heroes were Gareth Bale and then Dele Alli – when he first came to us, he was incredible.
Amari on whether Spurs will stay up or not? It’s been such a frustrating time because I don’t know what’s been going wrong. We can say it’s because of injuries but every team has those. We have been missing lots of players, but we still have a good squad.
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I’ve been stressed about it before, but I am not stressed about it right now. If we are still in this situation with three games left then it is different, we might be going down. Now? I do believe we can get out of this.
Genesis’ prediction: I am going to give you a strange one here – I think Forest will surprise people. 1-3
Earlier this week, USA golden goal hero Jack Hughes publicly requested that the Hockey Hall of Fame return the puck from his tournament-winning goal at the 2026 Olympics expressing frustration that the historic memento remains in the institution’s possession rather than with his family.
On Wednesday, Sidney Crosby was asked about Hughes’ request and addressed the situation. He shared his own perspective on what happened when his puck from the 2010 Olympic gold medal-winning goal was sent to the Hall of Fame.
“I didn’t even think about it that way, to be honest with you,” Crosby told The Athletic. “I was just happy that I scored the goal. I was happy that the puck was going to the Hall of Fame. I didn’t even think about it that way.”
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The Penguins captain’s puck from his overtime winner against Canada remains at the Hockey Hall of Fame and Crosby has not sought to retrieve it.
Jack Hughes had made his feelings clear in an interview with ESPN where he mentioned that the puck remain in the Hall of Fame’s possession.
“I’m trying to get it. Like, that’s bulls— that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion. Why would they have that puck?” Hughes said.
Hughes later explained that his desire to reclaim the puck stems from wanting to give it to his father, Jim Hughes. The 24-year-old center also said Megan Keller, who scored the golden goal for Team USA’s women, should have her puck returned.
Hockey Hall of Fame VP comments on Jack Hughes’ request
Afterwards, vice president and curator for the Hockey Hall of Fame Philip Pritchard addressed Hughes’ comments by outlining the institution’s position on artifact ownership.
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Pritchard explained that as a nonprofit registered charity in Canada, the Hall operates under legal protocols for accepted donations. Once items enter the permanent collection, they are insured and preserved according to institutional standards.
“Unfortunately, in the easiest words, it was never Jack’s puck to own,” Pritchard said. “It’s been donated to us now. For every artifact that’s been donated, we have a paper trail and signed paperwork of where it’s come from.”
“We try to take the emotion out of it. We’re here to preserve a game that Jack’s lucky enough to play or we’re lucky enough to work in. That’s why the Hockey Hall of Fame museum exists as an institution: We’re preserving the game of the past, present and the future,” he added.
Hughes has since indicated he will not actively pursue the matter. When recently asked about the puck situation, he said his focus remains on playing hockey and he does not plan to reach out to the Hall of Fame.
What is it like to host 200 women in a three-day, partner golf event, and then do it all again with a new group of 200 a week later?
In short: It’s a lot of work — with plenty of drama in between.
The behind-the-scenes action of the biggest women-only golf tournament in Arizona is the subject of a new, six-episode documentary that launched today on YouTube. “The Making of the Desert Classic” follows tournament founder Tori Totlis and her team as they prepare to stage the 5th annual Desert Classic at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix, Ariz.
Episode 1 introduces viewers to Totlis and her mission: staging a fun yet still competitive multi-day tournament for recreational players. As a former tennis and softball player who didn’t start playing golf until her 20s, Totlis was immediately enamored with the tournament environments she experienced at country club events. Why couldn’t that same experience be offered at the recreational level? In 2022, Totlis decided to do just that, and leaned on her growing social media following to sell out a 200-player tournament in less than a week. The Desert Classic was born.
In addition to golf, Desert Classic participants enjoy a thoughtfully curated experience that includes on-site shopping, daily dress themes, guided pre-round stretching sessions, instructional clinics and nightly parties. The tournament proved so popular that Totlis added a second week with an identical itinerary in 2024, and that field sold out, too.
To celebrate the tournament’s fifth year, Totlis turned to a Phoenix-based all-female production crew from Good Vibe Studios to document the experience.
“When you’re hosting a big tournament like this, you really have to be on the whole time,” Totlis said. “I thought that this series would bring some insight as to what’s going on when we’re not interacting with the players, like how we’re getting through the day. It’s a marathon, it’s four days that are just nonstop 16-hour days, and our team really works 20 hours.
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“So I just thought it would be interesting to see how much it really takes to throw this, but also at the same time, how much fun we have doing it,” she continued. “There’s a lot of YouTube series out there, but I just think that this tournament is unique. The age group is unique, with women flying in from all over the country. So I’m excited about it.”
The documentary’s six episodes will drop over the next two weeks, with two new episodes becoming available every Thursday. You can watch Episode 1 below, or visit Totlis’ YouTube page on Thursdays to view new episodes.
Tyson Fury’s father John Fury has claimed that their relationship is “completely destroyed”, with the 60-year-old also dismissing his son’s abilities in a recent interview.
He said as much on Thursday in a bombshell interview with Playbook Boxing, powered by Betway, as he suggested the pair’s relationship was beyond saving.
Tyson Fury (right), pictured with his father John, at a press conference for his latest return to boxing (Getty)
“I think he’s past his best,” John said of his 37-year-old son, a former two-time world heavyweight champion. “I love my son, but there’s too many people patting him on the back and telling him he’s Tarzan, when he’s not Tarzan. He’s been gone, Tyson, since the Deontay Wilder fights.”
Fury climbed off the canvas twice to draw with Wilder in 2018, dominated the American in 2020, then was knocked down again before stopping him for a second time in 2021.
“Makhmudov, this is a problem,” John continued. “I’m the first one to say it, because all them out there, they don’t pay enough attention to details. It’s not what I’d have done.
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“I’ve told him 20 times about it, but he’s got his people around him what he thinks are his friends again [sic], but [he’s] easily led. But that’s another matter.”
John further played down Tyson’s current skillset, referencing his back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024 – Tyson’s most recent fights and the first defeats of his professional career.
While John said he believed Tyson should have been awarded a win in the first fight, he said of the rematch: “I think he let Usyk do it [win it] in the last round.
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“I watched the Usyk fight last night, power weren’t there. The moves was there, but after six or seven rounds he was fading quick […] There’s no two-phased attacks, there’s nothing, there’s no angles; when there is an angle, it’s laboured. The legs ain’t there.”
Tyson in his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk, a fight he still believes he won (Getty)
John also criticised Tyson’s team for the upcoming Makhmudov fight, saying: “B******s, the lot of it. Same squad, same bulls*** […] He can’t do the blood-and-guts training anymore, so he’s going through the motions with these idiots.
“If you can’t show your father respect when it matters, then just carry on. I don’t need you. He’s taken their word over mine, and that’s eaten me up more than I can explain.
“I felt like strangling Sugar[hill Steward, coach] after [the Usyk rematch]. I wanted him out of my corner. Going in there with a southpaw like that…”
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Opening up on his relationship with Tyson specifically, John said: “My relationship with Tyson is destroyed. Boxing destroyed it completely. No, [it can’t be repaired]. It’s his own fault.”
John with Sugarhill Steward in 2022, after Tyson beat Dillian Whyte (Getty)
Speaking on finances, John continued: “I’ll say it on camera: I’ve never taken £10 off him in my life, and I never will. I don’t want Tyson’s money, and I don’t need Tyson’s money.
“Whatever he’s got, good luck to him, but don’t forget who built his story when he was a kid. He didn’t build it himself, did he? Me, his father.”
John became particularly emotional at one point, saying: “I was 30 seconds away from asking for a break there. I haven’t really expressed these emotions before, but they’re strong and they’re there.”
The Independent has approached a representative of Tyson Fury for comment.
The 2026 Valspar Championship continues on Friday, March 20, with the second round at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Fla. You can find full Valspar Championship tee times for Friday’s second round at the bottom of this post.
Featured tee time for Round 2
At this week’s Valspar Championship, many eyes will be following Justin Thomas as he makes his way around the Copperhead Course.
Thomas came out of nowhere to contend at TPC Sawgrass, eventually settling for a T8-finish. Now Thomas is hoping to ride that momentum to his 17th career PGA Tour win at the Valspar.
You can watch Friday’s second round of the 2026 Valspar Championship from 2-6 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will provide exclusive early streaming coverage starting at 7:30 a.m. ET on Friday, in addition to featured group and featured hole coverage.
Check out the complete Round 2 tee times and groupings for the Valspar Championship.
With an ESPN+ subscription, you gain access to PGA Tour Live, where you can stream the best PGA Tour events live from wherever you want.
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2026 Valspar Championship tee times for Friday: Round 2 (ET)
Tee No. 1
7:35 a.m. – Austin Eckroat, Doug Ghim, David Lipsky 7:46 a.m. – Rafael Campos, Seamus Power, Rasmus Højgaard 7:57 a.m. – Adam Svensson, Michael Kim, Bud Cauley 8:08 a.m. – Michael Brennan, Stephan Jaeger, Lucas Glover 8:19 a.m. – Adam Schenk, Kevin Yu, Webb Simpson 8:30 a.m. – Garrick Higgo, Taylor Pendrith, Ryo Hisatsune 8:41 a.m. – Brice Garnett, Dylan Wu, Mac Meissner 8:52 a.m. – Nick Dunlap, Rico Hoey, Chandler Blanchet 9:03 a.m. – Zecheng Dou, Jackson Suber, Neal Shipley 9:14 a.m. – Paul Peterson, Paul Waring, Blades Brown 9:25 a.m. – Patrick Fishburn, Isaiah Salinda, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 9:36 a.m. – Alejandro Tosti, Luke Clanton, Pontus Nyholm 12:30 p.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Charley Hoffman, Danny Willett 12:41 p.m. – Matt Wallace, Matti Schmid, S.H. Kim 12:52 p.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Denny McCarthy, Austin Smotherman 1:03 p.m. – Viktor Hovland, Brooks Koepka, Corey Conners 1:14 p.m. – Xander Schauffele, Keegan Bradley, Patrick Cantlay 1:25 p.m. – Ricky Castillo, J.J. Spaun, Billy Horschel 1:36 p.m. – Andrew Novak, Karl Vilips, Sungjae Im 1:47 p.m. – Lee Hodges, Mark Hubbard, Henrik Norlander 1:58 p.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Tom Kim, Zac Blair 2:09 p.m. – Jesper Svensson, Zach Bauchou, Jeffrey Kang 2:20 p.m. – Kris Ventura, Kensei Hirata, Adrien Saddier
Tee No. 10
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7:40 a.m. – Patton Kizzire, Gary Woodland, Adam Hadwin 7:51 a.m. – Taylor Moore, Beau Hossler, Joel Dahmen 8:02 a.m. – Peter Malnati, Nicolai Højgaard, Marco Penge 8:13 a.m. – Sam Ryder, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick 8:24 a.m. – Jacob Bridgeman, Wyndham Clark, Jordan Spieth 8:35 a.m. – Ben Griffin, Sahith Theegala, Tony Finau 8:46 a.m. – Max Homa, Kevin Streelman, Danny Walker 8:57 a.m. – Vince Whaley, Kristoffer Reitan, Johnny Keefer 9:08 a.m. – David Skinns, Dan Brown, Davis Chatfield 9:19 a.m. – Jordan Smith, David Ford, Greg Koch 9:30 a.m. – Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Jimmy Stanger, Tyler Wilkes 12:25 p.m. – Alex Smalley, Justin Lower, Max McGreevy 12:36 p.m. – Brandt Snedeker, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Takumi Kanaya 12:47 p.m. – Thorbjørn Olesen, Chandler Phillips, Hank Lebioda 12:58 p.m. – Steven Fisk, Nick Taylor, Aaron Rai 1:09 p.m. – Brian Campbell, Cam Davis, Patrick Rodgers 1:20 p.m. – Matt McCarty, Davis Thompson, Matt Kuchar 1:31 p.m. – Joe Highsmith, Davis Riley, Pierceson Coody 1:42 p.m. – Matthieu Pavon, Eric Cole, Kevin Roy 1:53 p.m. – Chad Ramey, Andrew Putnam, Luke Guthrie 2:04 p.m. – Jeremy Paul, A.J. Ewart, Gordon Sargent 2:15 p.m. – John Parry, John VanDerLaan, Marcelo Rozo
This week in Bamberger Briefly, a wee three-part series over three days that explores different aspects of a phrase no golfer wants to say but most golfers eventually will: Can’t play today — my back went out. This series culls nuggets and insights from a recent GOLF.com interview with Dr. Tom LaFountain, PGA Tour director of chiropractic services, who over the past 27 years and counting has seen some of the most famous backs in golf up close and personal.
Part I: Explosive Swings + Exploding Purses = Exploding Backs
When Tom LaFountain first got on Tour as a chiropractor, in the late 1990s, after years tending to Olympic athletes, he was amazed to see Tom Watson, Jay Haas and Bernhard Langer still playing regularly. As they got into their late 40s, each of them had the expectation of turning 50, getting on the Champions tour while continuing to play in some Tour events and to generally keep on keeping on. And they did.
That trio, among many other pros with familiar surnames, loved golf, loved competing and had bodies that held up. Yes, scores of these Tour players went in for replacement parts at 40,000 miles, and 80 and 100. Many of them had weeks here and there when they were on the sidelines for rest and recovery. But they never experienced career-ending back issues. They all had the ability and willingness to take something off the speed of their swings as needed, get around for a while some other way, preserve their backs, live to golf another week. The mid-tournament WD was not a thing. Most weeks, there wasn’t one. For one thing, quitting showed weakness. For another, the players didn’t come all this way to not cash a check.
Early on, LaFountain observed that 85 percent of the players who entered Tour fitness trailers with pain had lower back issues. Over the past 27 years, that percentage has not changed. What has changed, LaFountain says, is the numbers of players in discomfort, or worse. The issues are deeper. It used to be muscles and joints. Now it’s muscles, joints — and discs. And LaFountain knows why: The swing has changed.
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“The swing is much faster, there is more torque and rotation, there is much more pressure on the lower back,” he said in a recent interview. “There’s an arms race for distance that didn’t used to exist. Look at a guy like Jimmy Fuyrk. He’d say, ‘Yeah, there are guys hitting it 320, but I max out at 280, 290. So I’ll figure it out from there.’ And he played forever.’” That mindset is dead, LaFountain said. Last rites were read by various Trackman boxes up-and-down Tour driving ranges.
Of the threesome of lifers cited at the top here, Tom Watson had a body that would not quit, Jay Haas had a unique straight-up, tension-free backswing and Bernhard Langer lived in the gym, lifting some with light weights — and stretching more. At 52 he looked 32. He hadn’t gained five pounds. He played so much his body didn’t know what it was like not to play.
As it played out, all three of them had pro careers that were still remarkably productive at their 40-year marks. The same is true for an older generation of pros, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, Billy Casper, Chi Chi Rodriguez among them. (You could go on and on from there.) You could create a similar list of younger players, including Fred Funk, Colin Montgomerie and Tom Lehman. And, younger yet, Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Stewart Cink, all in their early 50s, and Phil Mickelson and Furyk, both 55.
They are the end of the line, LaFountain says. Rory McIlroy, 36, who withdrew from the Bay Hill event a couple of weeks ago with a tweaked back, is already saying there is no chance he’ll still be playing professional golf in his 50s. Tiger Woods, who is 50, has barely played since 2020. A career that goes on and on and on, in the Watson-Haas-Langer tradition, is not even an aspiration, per LaFountain. “They want to make it now,” LaFountain said. “They’re playing for so much money, and distance is so paramount, that they will swing as hard as they possibly can to make as much money in a short period of time as they possibly can, and be set up for the rest of their lives. The lure of making more now they compromise career length to make the money now.”
In 1995, the year before Woods turned pro, the total purse for the PGA Tour season was $66 million. Greg Norman was the leading money winner, earning $1.6 million. In 2025, the total purse was $565 million. Scottie Scheffler made $19.5 million, just on the course. Lee Hodges finished 94th on the money list and made $1.6 million. The mentality, LaFountain said, is make it while you can. That is, make as much as you can in the shortest time possible.
“That’s especially true for the players from overseas,” LaFountain said. “Their families are thousands of miles away, their friends, the lives they know best. It can be lonely, playing here. But [outside of a LIV invite] there’s nowhere else in the world they can make this kind of money. If they win, great. But if they don’t they’re still making great money.” The closer you are to the green after one shot, on every par-4 and par-5 hole you play, the more money you will make. That means swinging hard, the lower body winding up against the upper body.
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