Welcome to Fully Equipped’s weekly Tour equipment report. Every Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants), GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh runs you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.
ST. LOUIS — There’s a sneaky trend going on with wedges on the PGA Tour, and it’s something wedge designers have spent the last decade-plus eradicating.
Over the past year, Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland started playing Cleveland prototype RTZ wedges with a ton of offset built into them. We’re talking aggressive goose-neck hosels.
With Fowler having a solid year and Woodland earning his first victory since the 2019 U.S. Open, it appears other players and OEMs have taken notice.
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That includes Cobra, which now has both Woodland and Fowler playing offset versions of Cobra’s King and Snake Bite wedges.
“I think it’s definitely a contact component in there,” Ben Schomin, Cobra’s tour operations manager, told GOLF about Woodland and Fowler’s wedges. “They both feel like they can center it up more. They can keep it lower on the face longer. That increased offset actually provides a little bit more shaft lean at impact, which, you know, allows them to basically flight the ball a little lower. Keep it lower on the face longer. Just feel like they have more control.”
Those benefits were echoed by Michael Jolly, Cleveland/Srixon’s director of tour operations. Cleveland has been working on RTZ prototypes with offset in them since last summer, spurred by the return of company founder Roger Cleveland.
“For us, it really came from Roger Cleveland,” Jolly said. “He is a big believer in offset — see the Cleveland 485 wedge — and its benefits. Primarily, it’s knowing that the built-in shaft lean, really prevents the ball from ‘riding the face’. That shot that rides the face, comes out higher than anticipated with less spin. Players that experiment with offset see a ball that comes out lower with more spin.”
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While Cleveland has been working on these wedges for more than a year, Cobra started exploring the increased offset concept over the past four or five months, Schomin said.
Is offset coming back to wedges?
I showed you pictures of Cameron Young’s lob wedges yesterday which had some offset bent into them.
There may be a wider trend of offset coming back to wedges.
Collin Morikawa used a TaylorMade MG5 last week with offset double bent into the… pic.twitter.com/QcMWwnKGFQ
It started with Schomin double-bending the lower part of the hosel on wedges to add offset. This week, though, the truck started getting 3D-printed prototypes with offset already baked in.
Schomin added that it’s funny to talk about the offset design because it’s something that was common in wedge design 15 years ago. Offset is something legendary short-game instructor Phil Rodgers, who worked with Cobra on the original Trusty Rusty wedge, believed was important to the design. Schomin pointed out that he was mentored by Rodgers as well and felt the same.
“The offset that we’re talking about now, if we looked at a wedge from, say, 30 or 40 years ago, it probably [would be] quite similar,” Schomin said. “So it seems like over the years, you know, especially in wedge design, offset has become less.”
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And while both Cobra and Cleveland are intentionally taking offset to the extreme, other OEMs seem to be playing with it to match specific player preferences.
Last week, Cameron Young switched back to a Vokey K* lob wedge, the same grind he had used for much of the past two seasons, from a 64T lob wedge bent to 62˚ to remove the bounce he used as conditions got firmer this summer.
One of the most popular lob wedge grinds on the PGA TOUR, the K* features a low-bounce sole that originates from the .06K Grind. Instead of the full, smooth sole of the K, the K* features a steeper pre-wear on the leading edge as well as heel, toe and trailing edge relief. The pre-wear helps resist excessive digging on square-faced shots, while the heel, toe and trailing edge relief adds greenside versatility when the face is opened. Like all K Grind variations, K* has a wide sole that excels out of the bunker. Justin Thomas, Lottie Woad, Cameron Young and the 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year are among the many players who travel with a K* lob wedge in their bag week in and week out.
Bending that 64 strong also added a good bit of offset, something Young wanted replicated in a new K*. His gamer K* is also 62˚, but it’s bent weak from 60, which actually removes offset.
To make the weak K* look more like the strong 64T, Vokey tour tep Aaron Dill double-bent the hosel to create the additional offset.
“His has always been good for him, but when he made the switch to the 64 it came with that slight change in appearance,” Dill said. “We wanted to make the least amount of changes here and simply provide the same support and forgiveness he loves in K*-Grind but with the looks he was more recently familiar with.”
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Dill made it clear Young’s change was purely a visual preference rather than seeking the performance benefits of offset.
The address views of the wedges.
Jack Hirsh/GOLF
Last year, Ping did something similar for Sahith Theegala when Kenton Oates and Adam Harding took a 62˚ S159 wedge and bent it to 59˚ and reground the sole to account for the lost bounce.
And last week, Collin Morikawa made a surprise move to play a highly customized TaylorMade MG5 lob wedge with a double-bent hosel. The goal was for Morikawa to get his hands more forward while chipping.
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So is offset coming back to wedges or are these just one-offs for specific players? The answers are a little mixed. For starters, many modern Tour players have never seen wedges with the kind of offset that Fowler and Woodland are playing.
“This visual hasn’t been a common request on its own,” Dill said. Jolly added that “it probably has limited use.”
Schomin sang a more optimistic tune.
“I think it is something that could end up back at retail,” he said. “We’ll see as time goes on, if it’s something that more guys want to adopt or want to test. You know, it seems to be working quite well for a couple of guys that we have using it right now.”
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Crafted from 8620 steel using MIM (Metal Injection Molding), KING Wedges are one of the softest feelings in market. Choose from four new grinds (DROP, WIDELOW, VERSATILE, TOUR) for enhanced greenside creativity and optimized CG with Flight Window Technology (F.W.T) for tour inspired launch. The redesigned Cobra Speed Notch, 67% larger than before, ensures better glide and speed on open-face shots. MIM (METAL INJECTION MOLDING) Experience precision with MIM technology, offering 50% tighter tolerances than traditional casted wedges. Each head is heat-treated to nearly 1400°C, ensuring a tighter grain structure for a softer feel and enhanced longevity, resisting groove degradation for lasting performance. COBRA SPEED NOTCH Discover the newly redesigned Cobra Speed Notch, featuring softer, blended shaping that complements our new grinds. Now 67% larger, it ensures smooth glide through the ground while maintaining speed and delivering high spinning shots.
Turns out the new Qi4D driver Scottie Scheffler put in the bag and won with last week in Memphis wasn’t so new to him.
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Scheffler dominated last week’s gear headlines by finally switching to a new driver model after a nearly three-year-run with the TaylorMade Qi10. At his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, Scheffler revealed that the driver he switched to, a custom Qi4D with a glossy crown and bright blue face, was actually his current backup driver.
Here’s an interesting nugget I just dug up while writing this week’s Tour report.
Scottie Scheffler’s average ball speed on the year was 178.44 mph before last week.
The motivation to switch was that he felt his Qi10 gamer was getting close to potentially being non-conforming if he was selected for a random CT test.
“I felt like my driver was going to get close to where, if it got tested again, it was going to get close to failing,” he said. “It had been in my bag for a long time, so I felt I needed to make sure the backup was in a good spot. The backup I was using was the Qi4D and I just put it put it in the bag a few times last week when I was playing at home … I liked what I saw, and so I figured I’d give it the old college try in Memphis and, yeah, it seemed to work out pretty well.”
Scheffler gained more than 2 strokes off the tee, finishing 13th in the field, on his way to the eight-shot win last week at the FedEx St. Jude.
SHAPED FOR SPEED The re-engineered head profile increases ball speed thanks to improved aerodynamics developed through advanced simulations. FACE FOR DISTANCE 60x Carbon Twist Face™ is a technological cornerstone that provides weight savings, incredible ball speed and more consistency vs. a titanium face. ADJUSTABLE PERFORMANCE 4° loft sleeve can be used to adjust loft, lie and face angle for optimized flight. TOUR PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES New and improved cut-through Speed Pocket™ protects ball speed and reduces spin on low-face strikes. Advanced CAD modeling creates a design with a clean and powerful sound, a foundation of TaylorMade driver performance. Multi-Material Construction allows engineers to strategically place mass in areas of the head where it maximizes performance, speed, and stability.
The World No. 1 said his testing had always shown the Qi4D to be faster and his stats back that up. Scheffler’s average ball speed in Memphis was his highest mark of the year at 181.66 mph, more than 3 mph above his season average of 178.44 mph.
Matt Fitzpatrick and J.J. Spaun try to rekindle major magic
What do Matt Fitzpatrick and J.J. Spaun have in common? Aside from both winning the U.S. Open in the past four years, they’re both returning to clubs that helped win them the Jack Nicklaus medal.
J.J. Spaun is back with his L.A.B. Golf DF3 — the same one he won this U.S. Open — after putting it in what he called a “two-month timeout.”
“Kind of like kids, like, you know, when they’re not behaving, you put them in timeout for a little bit and then they start listening… pic.twitter.com/NuJxTCcmJv
Spaun returned to his L.A.B. Golf DF3 putter — the same one he won this U.S. Open — after putting it in what he called a “two-month timeout.”
“Kind of like kids, like, you know, when they’re not behaving, you put them in timeout for a little bit and then they start listening better and cooperating. So I think it learned its lesson being in timeout,” he said Thursday.
Ever since we launched our first putter, Directed Force, golfers have been asking if we could make it less weird. DF3 is that putter. DF3 still does everything golfers love about the original. It stays square by itself. It’s still irrationally forgiving on mishits. But there’s a lot less to think about. The DF3 is entirely CNC milled from 6061 aluminum, with 8 screws on the bottom made of steel or tungsten in various densities to precisely target swing weight and lie angle balance each putter.
He gained 3.3 strokes on the greens Thursday in his opening-round 64. Spaun said he decided to change after his final round in Memphis. He lost more than three strokes on the greens at TPC Southwind.
“I think the things that I worked on on my stroke really helps with the technology of the L.A.B.,” Spaun said. “So I think my stroke’s in a better place. I think that’s kind of what happened to me last year, so I proved today that I was rolling it nicely.”
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Since his switch in May, he’s used or tested an OZ.1i HS, a DF3i, a VZN.1i and a Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R. The Cameron has been in the bag since June and is the only option he’s used in the last two seasons that wasn’t Lie Angle Balanced.
In fact, the custom flow neck on his 9.5R gave him pretty much as much tow flow (or toe-swing as he called it) as you could get in the Phantom 9 head shape.
“I had a really good honeymoon phase with the toe-swing putter and gained a lot of strokes at Travelers and wherever, Scotland and stuff, so I putted well there,” Spaun said. “But it was nice to feel some comfort and confidence in my old putter today.”
Apparently Matt Fitzpatrick’s driver search is not over yet.
After seemingly finding “the one” with a Ping G430 LST at the Travelers Championship (which was after his gamer Titleist GT3 broke in May), Fitzpatrick has switched to a Titleist TSi3 driver this week in Memphis.… pic.twitter.com/SsyUQ9Rn3I
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick is reuniting with the Titleist TSi3 driver, the same model he used to win at The Country Club four years ago. Although this is almost certainly not the same head Fitzpatrick used in 2022. He put the driver in play last week in Memphis.
Fitzpatrick has thus far struggled to find a replacement for the Titleist GT3 he used at the beginning of the year. He won three times with that driver before it broke in May and since then, he’s tried another GT3, a new GTS2 and a Ping G430 LST, along with a host of other drivers he tested at the Travelers Championship.
“With my swing changing from week to week it’s easy to feel different things,” Fitzpatrick said. “Some weeks one driver might help. Some weeks another might help. Obviously it’s nice to have that consistency if you can. But yeah, I mean, I don’t see why I kind of would move from what I’ve got in at the minute.”
Check this out
This section is dedicated to cool photos we’ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a reason to share yet. This week, check out Ben Griffin’s new TaylorMade Qi4D Max driver.
It’s a weird state of the sport when the following sentence is true: One of the most important commitments of the college basketball offseason has transpired in late August.
On Saturday night, Mark Mitchell, who previously played at Duke and Missouri, committed to play for Kentucky this season. In industry circles, Mitchell had been widely rumored as Lexington-bound in the past week and a half. On Friday morning, he received a temporary restraining order — via a Jefferson Circuit Court ruling in Kentucky — to pursue a fifth season of college basketball. He officially entered his name into the transfer portal (with a do-not-contact tag) hours later.
And a little more than 24 hours after that, Mitchell made his intentions public. The pick confirmed the whispers that had grown to a rumble in the day leading up to the decision. In picking Kentucky, Mitchell provides a proven producer in the frontcourt at the power forward position and gives Mark Pope one more piece (if Mitchell’s legal pursuit keeps him eligible all of this upcoming season) that validates some Final Four dreams for Big Blue Nation in 2026-27.
Dramatic offseason perhaps ending on a high note
It seems so far away now, but there was a point a few weeks removed from Kentucky’s season when Pope was feeling severe heat for missing out on a variety of high-profile prospects, including the No. 1 high school player in 2026, Tyran Stokes.
That’s now all in the past, as it could easily be argued that Pope wound up landing two of the four or five most important transfers of 2026. The first was Milan Momcilovic, who picked Kentucky over Louisville in what was one of the more expensive bidding endeavors of the spring. Momcilovic is a stretchy 3-man who hopes to again be one of the best long distance shooters in the country.
So long as Mitchell’s eligibility case doesn’t hit a road block, Momcilovic will have a good contrast with Mitchell in the frontcourt. The 6-9, 230-pound big averaged 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the SEC last season and was one of the 10 best players in the conference across the past two seasons. Those two will start alongside center/sophomore Malachi Moreno, who bypassed being a potential top-40 pick in order to improve with a healthy payday in Year 2 under Pope.
The in-state rivals, coincidentally enough, are regarded by many coaches across college hoops as the two biggest spenders of this 2026 offseason. Kentucky’s other portal commits include former Furman point guard Alex Wilkins, former Washington point guard Zoom Diallo and his teammate who also played at UW last season, Frank Kepnang, a center.
No fan base has endured more highs and lows in the past five months than Kentucky’s.
Kentucky the latest to benefit from the legal route
Mitchell is the latest proven college player to double back to school after having a cup of coffee in Summer League — a trend that CBS Sports first reported in more than a month ago. Mitchell played with the Denver Nuggets, but with no certainty of making an NBA roster this fall, he and his representation took to the courts to sue for a fifth year. Former Michigan State forward Jaxon Kohler also took this route, committing to BYU after getting some runs in with the Utah Jazz for about a month.
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These two will not be the last, either.
The NCAA is enduring a nationwide legal battle at the moment, as the organization voted in late June to allow all Division I athletes moving forward eligibility for five seasons in a five-year span. But players whose eligibility expired this past spring did not apply to that rule change.
So now there are more than a hundred former Division I men’s basketball players (and others) trying to sue for what they believe is an unjust rule change right at the start of the summer. The NCAA has had two minor but critical wins so far: injunctions in Colorado (which was federal in scope) and Ohio (which was under a different framing) have been stayed, which is to say the courts ruling in favor of the players’ eligibility has been paused.
Mitchell’s case was in Kentucky and seen as favorable. The NCAA will still try to get the case overturned there as well, but predicting which lawsuits in which states will go which way is impossible at this stage. For now, Mitchell is like so many others across the country: hoping that a local judge will give him more leniency than the NCAA in order to keep playing college sports, make significant money in the process — and potentially change the competitive dynamic of college basketball in the process.
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You won’t find many Kentucky fans objecting to the process now that they’ve got what’s clearly one of the 15 best rosters heading into November … so long as Mitchell remains eligible.
MASON, OHIO—Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima won quarterfinal matches Friday night to set up one all-American men’s semifinal at the Cincinnati Open. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula also advanced to make it four US players in the semis.
“It’s insane, I think we’re all doing so well,” Gauff said. “Hopefully, you know, we can have a double title win. Obviously there are more matches to be played for that to happen. We definitely root for each other.”
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Tiafoe beat Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 7-6 (2), 7-5, and Nakashima beat fellow American Taylor Fritz, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, marking the first time two Americans have reached the men’s semifinals in Cincinnati since Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish in 2010.
Nakashima is the first American man to reach the semifinals in Canada and Cincinnati in the same season since Fish in 2011. Nakashima is coached by Tiafoe’s former coach, Wayne Ferreira.
“It’s a guy who knows me pretty well in Wayne,” Tiafoe said. “I expect some good serving and all the best from him. Happy where I’ve been mentally more than anything. This has been a great week.”
Tiafoe reached the Cincinnati finals in 2024, losing to Jannik Sinner.
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The other men’s semifinal Saturday features Italy’s Flavio Cobolli against Frenchman Arthur Fils.
Gauff beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 6-2, 6-2. Gauff will face surprise entrant 20-year-old Czech Sara Bejlek at 7:30 a.m. Sunday in Manila.
Bejlek outlasted 2019 champion Madison Keys, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), on Friday. She upset No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the Round of 16.
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“Sara is a great player,” Gauff said. “I watched her a lot in Abu Dhabi [in February] this year when she won that title. So I think it’s going to be a tough match. I’m looking forward to it.” —AP
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You probably know the drill when it comes to the FedEx Cup Playoffs by now, but let’s offer a refresher anyway. The top 70 made the playoffs and played the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week, 50 advanced to this week’s BMW Championship, and just 30 make it to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta next week.
There was little movement around the top-50 cutoff last Sunday, as Sungjae Im was the only player to move inside the top 50 to get into the BMW. He tied for 5th to leap from 53rd to 40th, and Keith Mitchell, who tied for 34th at the St. Jude, fell from 49th to 51st.
Those who made it into the BMW Championship already got a nice perk for next year with a spot in every big-money Signature Event. But advancing to the Tour Championship has perks of its own: Those who snag a ticket to East Lake receive a two-year exemption on Tour and get a spot in next year’s Masters.
Oh, and another chance at lots of money.
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The PGA Tour pays out nearly $100 million in FedEx Cup bonuses at the conclusion of the BMW Championship, although Scottie Scheffler has already locked up the $23 million first-place check. But there’s still plenty of money to go around. The Tour pays out the top 125 in the standings, which then clears the slate for the Tour Championship and another $40 million purse to dish out, including $10 million for the winner.
So, yes, a lot is on the line come Sunday at the BMW Championship, and for some more than others. According to DataGolf, every player who entered the week 24th or better has a 100 percent chance of making the Tour Championship, which means there’s little wiggle room for players ranked 25-30 as well as the ones just outside the top 30.
At the BMW, Wyndham Clark is 17 under and has a commanding lead over Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay, who are tied for second at 12 under. But there’s still plenty to sort out, including which players sneak inside the top 30. Here are six bubble players to watch on Sunday.
6 Tour Championship bubble players to watch
Gary Woodland — Woodland entered the week 31st, but after three strong days in St. Louis — 11 under, tied for 4th — he’s now projected for 19th. Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, underwent brain surgery in 2023 and has been open about his battle with PTSD since. He’s now in good position to earn a spot in the Tour Championship for the first time since 2019.
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Rickie Fowler — Fowler finished T6 and T7 in the first two playoff events last year yet still, at 32nd in the standings, missed out on the Tour Championship. He now has another chance to get back to East Lake for the first time in three years, which would also get him into next year’s Masters for just the second time in the past seven years. He entered the BMW 30th in the standings, clinging to the final spot, but he’s tied for 35th after 54 holes and is now projected to finish 32nd. He’s got work to do on Sunday.
Justin Thomas — JT has missed just one Tour Championship in the past 10 years (2023) but might be in trouble now. He’s tied for 15th after 54 holes and needs to finish solo seventh or better to qualify for the Tour Championship. He’s got a chance, and we know he can go as low as anyone.
Patrick Cantlay — Cantlay has made the biggest jump this week, as he entered the tournament 43rd in the standings but now, after rounds of 67-65-66, is tied for second with McIlroy and projected for 22nd in the FedEx Cup. He needs to finish solo seventh or better, and he’s put himself in a great spot so far. Cantlay’s missed just one Tour Championship in the past nine years, and it was back in 2020 (and he followed it up by winning it the next year). He’s always played well at East Lake and tied for second last year.
Sungjae Im — He continues to climb. Im advanced to the Tour Championship in each of his first seven years on the PGA Tour, and now thanks to another nice run of golf (he’s seventh at the BMW), he might make it eight. He started the week 40th in the standings, is now projected for 30th and needs one more strong Sunday to stay there.
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Adam Scott — Last month, Adam Scott played in his 101st consecutive major. While he doesn’t have a similar epic streak of playing in the Tour Championship, getting there next week would be his 14th appearance, another feather in his cap. He missed the Tour Championship last year after tying for 4th in 2024. Tied for 28th in St. Louis, he entered the week 27th in the standings and is projected for the 29th spot right now.
Lopez is attempting to become a three-division world champion after previously holding world honours at lightweight and super-lightweight, but his reign at 140lbs came to an end in January when he lost his WBO crown to Shakur Stevenson.
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One man who knows what it is like to be world champion at both 140lbs and 147lbs is Judah, who notably became undisputed at welterweight back in 2005.
Speaking to MillCity Boxing, Judah revealed that he is backing Romero to claim the upset victory tonight and successfully defend his belt against Lopez.
“In the past when we’ve seen Rolly in preparation for a fight, he was always on the internet saying crazy s**t, doing crazy things, this time we don’t see any of that. He’s locked in, he’s training, and I predict that Rolly Romero is going to beat Teofimo Lopez.
“From what I’ve been hearing about him in training, he’s been doing good and knocking people out.”
The winner of tonight’s bout has already been linked to a unification fight against the victor of the upcoming WBC welterweight title fight between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn, while there are also possible match-ups with WBO champion Devin Haney or IBF champion Liam Paro.
Aug 22, 2026; Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; Wyndhamn Clark plays his shot on the eighth tee during the third round of the BMW Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Wyndham Clark shot 5-under-par 65 to expand his lead in the BMW Championship on Saturday in St. Louis.
Clark, the U.S. Open champion earlier this year, moved to 17-under 193 for a five-stroke advantage over Patrick Cantlay and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy at Bellerive Country Club, where the second stop of three tournaments in the FedEx Cup playoffs is being contested.
Clark, who was the second-round leader, began the round with a double bogey before taking off. His eagle on No. 8 made him 2 under on the front side. He began the back nine with birdies on four of the first five holes. His bogey on No. 18 came after his tee shot found a bunker.
McIlroy, with birdies on three of the final four holes, matched Clark’s 65. Cantlay, who was 3 under with a bogey-free back side, posted a 66.
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Gary Woodland (70) and Chris Gotterup (68) are tied for fourth at 11 under.
Collin Morikawa (67) and South Korea’s Sungjae Im (70) are sixth and seventh at 10 under and 9 under, respectively.
J.J. Spaun was in third place when the round began, but his 72 left him at 8 under and tied for eighth place.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who won last week in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, shot 68 to move to 5 under and a share of 15th place. His five birdies were partially offset by three bogeys.
Serena Williams to team up with Carlos Alcaraz in US Open mixed doubles (Agency Images)
Serena Williams is set to make her return to the US Open in a blockbuster mixed doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced on Saturday that Williams and Alcaraz have received a wild card into the US Open mixed doubles main draw, with the event set to begin on Tuesday.The partnership brings together two generations of Grand Slam champions and is expected to be one of the biggest attractions of this year’s tournament.
Serena returns to Flushing Meadows
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will be back at the US Open for the first time since 2022. Williams returned to competitive tennis this summer after a break from the sport. She played singles at Wimbledon and later teamed up with her older sister Venus Williams in doubles at the Cincinnati Open.It remains unclear whether Serena will also compete in the women’s singles draw. The USTA still has one women’s singles wild card available, although Williams has not confirmed whether she intends to use it.
Alcaraz returns after injury
Alcaraz, meanwhile, is set to return to action after being sidelined since April with a right wrist injury. The Spaniard recently confirmed that he will defend his US Open singles title, making his mixed doubles partnership with Williams an additional attraction at Flushing Meadows.The 2026 mixed doubles event will feature a revamped format designed to bring some of tennis’ biggest stars into the competition. Matches will be played in a best-of-three format with sets decided at four games, no-ad scoring and a 10-point match tiebreak if required.The winning team will also share a $1 million prize.
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Star-studded mixed doubles field
Williams and Alcaraz are part of an impressive field featuring several high-profile combinations. Former world No. 1s Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic will form another headline pairing, while Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud are also set to compete.American stars Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz will team up, while reigning champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori will return to defend their title.For Williams, the US Open holds a special place in her career. She has won the tournament multiple times and previously captured the US Open mixed doubles title in 1998 alongside Max Mirnyi.
Gilas Pilipinas women after beating Senegal in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-qualifying Tournament. –FIBA PHOTO
The Gilas Pilipinas Women did not have the most colorful run in the recently concluded Fiba Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.
That, though, doesn’t faze new coach BT Toews on his long-term goal with the Nationals.
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“We want to move forward,” Toews said shortly after Gilas’ run in Mexico came to a halt. “Fighting is not enough at this level; your brain has to follow.”
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“We’re still waiting for the execution to get better and [commit] fewer hiccups in a game.”
The Philippines only won one game in the pre-qualifiers when it downed Senegal on Friday, 79-75, to close out its campaign.
“One game does not give you an identity, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction,” Toews said.
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With losses to Canada and Mexico, however, the Philippines lost its chance for an outright ticket to the Olympic qualifiers.
With the tourney being Toews’ first as head coach after replacing Pat Aquino, pressure was in the equation.
Instead, the veteran tactician chose to focus on the Nationals’ next big assignment, which is the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.
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“That’s another chance for us to learn; that’s another chance for us to compete,” he said. “But we want to win more than anything else.” INQ
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Having previously fought and lost to Manny Pacquiao, Adrien Broner has considered how his former foe would fare in a prime-for-prime battle with Terence Crawford.
But even if he had fought Crawford, the Filipino icon was hardly in his prime following back-to-back points victories over Broner and Keith Thurman.
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Instead, many consider his peak to be around 2009, back when he scored vicious stoppages over Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.
Crawford, meanwhile, was arguably in his prime when he fought Spence in 2023, becoming the undisputed welterweight king with a dominant ninth-round finish.
All eight of his 147lb outings, in fact, resulted in stoppages where ‘Bud’ utilised his freakish 75in reach and proved the superior technician.
Broner, therefore, has told FightHype that he believes Crawford would be too skilled for a remarkably fast and ferocious Pacquiao.
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“Crawford [would win]. I just think he’s too technical. First of all he’s sharp, he don’t fade [in the later rounds], he’s long and he got power … Timing beats speed any day.”
While Pacquiao famously became an eight-division world champion, five of them lineal, Crawford retired in December after having won all four belts in three weight classes.
He was also the consensus top dog at 135lbs and held a major super-welterweight belt, yet most would sooner applaud his undisputed title reigns.
In particular, his victories over Spence and Canelo Alvarez, who he unanimously outpointed in September, will almost certainly see him secure a place in the Hall of Fame.
Many trainers with a promising young horse often have the allure of a significant spring race firmly in their sights.
This sentiment is certainly shared by Cranbourne-based trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
With Golden Slipper winner Guest House already earmarked for ambitious targets, they are eager to see Buggsy follow a similar path towards spring success.
However, the immediate priority is to assess Buggsy’s condition in his first start back at Sandown on Saturday, competing in the Chef’s Hat Handicap (1000m).
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Buggsy made a winning debut over the same course and distance in March and followed this with a third-place finish in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on April 11.
Kent Jnr has observed that Buggsy has ‘come of age’ this campaign.
“He won track and distance on debut, albeit very greenly, and he had probably come to the end of his prep when he ran third in a Listed race,” Kent Jnr explained.
“Whilst he only got beaten a length and ran third, I thought there was a bit more there and that he had come to the end of it by then, so we gave him a nice break, and have set him for the spring.
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“He’s trialled up well and I think there’s improvement to come. His trackrider thinks the run will bring him on and it’s hard to disagree with him.
“He’s a strong colt but I think he’s forward enough for 1000 metres.”
Although Kent Jnr believes Buggsy is fit enough to race and potentially win over 1000m on Saturday, he highlighted the challenges involved in preparing the colt on tracks that have been affected by rain.
“It’s the same every spring,” Kent Jnr remarked.
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“We’re ducking and diving, avoiding Polytrack trials and waiting for the grass, but we’ve had a pretty good run with him.
“He’s had two good grass trials, he went well in the second one when he went head and head with a Group 1 filly from New Zealand (Lara Antipova) and they cleared out from third.
“He’s a sprinting colt. We don’t think we’ll get him out to a mile this preparation.
“That’s our feel at the moment and the obvious races beckon if he goes well on Saturday.”
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Craig Williams, who rode Buggsy to his inaugural victory, will be reunited with the colt for Saturday’s race.
Compare the latest racing odds from leading bookmakers for the Sandown meeting.
The Indian women’s cricket team are all set to take part in the upcoming Asian Games 2026, which will be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4. The Women in Blue won the gold medal in the women’s cricket competition in the 2023 edition held in Hangzhou. They beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs in a low-scoring final, defending a score of 116.
The selectors have named a strong India Women squad for Asian Games 2026. The team will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, while Smriti Mandhana remains the vice-captain. India Women, however, have been dealt a big blow ahead of the competition as experienced batter Jemimah Rodrigues has been ruled out due to a right hamstring injury she picked up while playing in The Hundred in England.
India Women‘s Asian Games 2026 squad is dominated by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) players. In this feature, we look at five players from the squad who were part of RCB’s triumph in Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026.
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#1 Smriti Mandhana
Mandhana led RCB to victory in WPL 2026. In nine matches, the 30-year-old opening batter scored 377 runs at an average of 53.85 and a strike rate of 153.25, with three half-centuries. The southpaw slammed 96 off 61 balls against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the DY Patil Stadium, hitting 13 fours and three sixes.
Mandhana hit 87 off 41 balls in the final of WPL 2026 against DC in Vadodara. Her knock featured 12 fours and three sixes as RCB chased down 204 in 19.4 overs. Overall, she has played 35 WPL games, scoring 1,023 runs at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 136.76, with seven half-centuries.
#2 Richa Ghosh
Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh will be a key member of India Women’s Asian Games 2026 squad. She has that X-factor in her batting to make a big difference. In nine matches for RCB in WPL 2026, she contributed 189 runs at an average of 31.50 and a strike rate of 151.20. Ghosh slammed 90 off 50 balls against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Vadodara, hitting 10 fours and six sixes in a losing cause.
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Ghosh has featured in 35 WPL matches so far. In 33 matches, she has scored runs at an average of 33.91 and a strike rate of 151.02, with five half-centuries.
#3 Shreyanka Patil (subject to fitness)
Off-spinner Shreyanka Patil’s availability for Asian Games 2026 remains subject to fitness. She was stretchered off the field after twisting her right ankle during the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 match in Leeds on June 17.
Shreyanka played nine matches for RCB in WPL 2026, claiming 11 wickets at an average of 25 and an economy rate of 9.01. The 24-year-old registered figures of 5-23 from 3.5 overs against Gujarat Giants (GG) at DY Patil Stadium. Overall, she has played 24 matches and has claimed 30 wickets at an average of 20.80 and an economy rate of 8.72.
#4 Radha Yadav
Experienced leg-spinner Radha Yadav has also been picked in India Women’s Asian Games 2026 squad. She played nine matches for RCB in WPL 2026, but claimed only two wickets at an average of 74 and an economy rate of 7.78.
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Radha, however, played a crucial role with the bat in hand, scoring 114 runs at a strike rate of 140.74. The 26-year-old slammed 66 off 47 balls against GG at DY Patil Stadium. She also hit the winning runs in the final, smashing 12* off five balls. Radha has played 29 WPL games in which she has claimed 16 wickets, with one four-fer. With the bat, she has scored 188 runs at a strike rate of 142.42.
#5 Arundhati Reddy
Pacer Arundhati Reddy has also been picked in India Women’s Asian Games 2026 squad. In seven matches for RCB in WPL 2026, the right-arm pacer claimed two wickets at an average of 96.50 and an economy rate of 8.77. Overall, the 29-year-old has played 27 WPL games, picking up 16 wickets at an average of 39.31 and an economy rate of 8.40.
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