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Golf Glance: Scottie Scheffler defends at Bay Hill; LPGA, LIV in Asia

PGA: The Genesis Invitational - First RoundFeb 13, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the second hole during the first round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Torrey Pines. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Cognizant Classic (Joe Highsmith)

THIS WEEK: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Orlando, Fla., March 6-9

Course: Bay Hill Club & Lodge (Par 72, 7,466 Yards)

Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)

Defending Champion: Scottie Scheffler

FedEx Cup Leader: Ludvig Aberg

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. E.T. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

X: @APInv

NOTES: This is the fourth of eight limited-field signature events, featuring an increased purse and 700 FedEx Cup points. It’s also one of three player-hosted events, with sponsor invites given to Rafael Campos, Mackenzie Hughes, Min Woo Lee and Justin Rose. The 72-player event will be cut to the low 50 players and ties along with any additional players within 10 strokes of the lead after 36 holes. … The field features 38 of the top 40 players in the Official World Golf Rankings and 47 of the top 50. … Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun is in the field on the Arnold Palmer Cup Exemption. … The event has not been decided by a playoff since 1999, although 13 of the 25 champions since have won by a single stroke. … Payne Stewart holds the tournament scoring record of 264 set in 1987.

BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+320 at DraftKings) won by five strokes last year, the largest margin of victory at Bay Hill since Tiger Woods won by five in 2012. It was one of four signature event victories by Scheffler last year on top of The Players Championship and the Masters. … Rory McIlroy (+750) won at Bay Hill in 2018 and has played in the event every year since his debut 2015. … Ludvig Aberg (+1600) is coming off his second victory in 40 career PGA Tour starts. Along with a win at the Genesis, he finished T5 at The Sentry and was leading the Farmers until becoming ill. … Xander Schauffele (+1800) returns from a rib injury to make his first start since a T30 at The Sentry. … Tommy Fleetwood (+3000) is 10th in the world rankings while coming off a T5 at the Genesis.

THIS WEEK: Puerto Rico Open, March 6-9

Course: Grand Reserve Golf Club (Par 72, 7,506 Yards)

Purse: $4M (Winner: $720,000)

Defending Champion: Brice Garnett

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 2:30-5:30 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)

X: @PuertoRicoOpen

NOTES: The winner will receive 300 FedEx Cup points, the standard two-year PGA Tour exemption and a spot in next week’s Players if not otherwise qualified. … This is the first of four events for players to earn points towards the Aon Swing 5 for entry into the next signature event at the RBC Heritage. … The course will reverse the nines this year, with the final two holes behind a 236-yard par-3 and a 450-yard par-4. … Blades Brown, 17, will make his third start on a sponsor exemption. He finished T34 at the Mexico Open after missing the cut at The American Express.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., March 13-16

LPGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: HSBC Women’s World Championship (Lydia Ko)

THIS WEEK: Blue Bay LPGA, Hainan, China, March 6-9

Course: Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course (Par 72, 6,712 Yards)

Purse: $2.5M (Winner: $375,000)

Defending Champion: Bailey Tardy

Race to the CME Globe Leader: A Lim Kim

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV/Streaming: Wednesday-Friday: 11 p.m.-4 a.m. ET; Saturday: 11 p.m.-5 a.m. (All times Golf Channel, streaming on NBC Sports App, golfchannel.com)

X: @LPGA

NOTES: The 108-player field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. The field includes 83 LPGA Tour players, 20 CGA players and five sponsor invites. … Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul is coming off a T2 last week for her second consecutive top-3 finish to begin the season. She also won last month’s PIF Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies European Tour. … Tardy set the tournament scoring record of 19-under 269 in winning by four shots last year.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Ford Championship, Chandler, Ariz., March 27-30

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

LAST TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf Adelaide (Individual: Joaquin Niemann; Team: Fireballs GC)

THIS WEEK: Hong Kong, March 7-9

Course: Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling (Par 70, 6,711 Yards)

Individual Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)

Team Purse: $5M (Winners: $3M)

Defending Champions: Individual: Abraham Ancer; Team: Crushers GC

Season Leaders: Individual: Adrian Meronk; Team: Legion XIII

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV/Streaming: Thursday-Saturday: 11 p.m.-4 a.m. ET (FOX, LIV Golf Plus)

X: @livgolf_league

NOTES: This is the third of 13 events on the 2025 schedule, which will be followed by the Team Championship. … The field consists of 13 four-player teams competing in daily shotgun starts over 54 holes.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Singapore, March 14-16

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

LAST TOURNAMENT: Chubb Classic (Justin Leonard)

THIS WEEK: Cologuard Classic, Tucson, Ariz., March 7-9

Course: La Paloma Country Club (Par 71, 6,856 Yards)

Purse: $2.2M (Winner: $330,000)

Defending Champion: Joe Durant

Charles Schwab Cup Leader: Ernie Els

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Friday: 7-9 p.m. ET (Golf Channel, Tape Delay); Saturday: 5-7 p.m. (GC); Sunday: 5-8 p.m. (GC)

X: @CologuardGolf

NOTES: La Paloma hosts the event for the second time after the first nine years were contested at the Omni Tucson International. … The 54-hole event features a 78-player field, including World Golf Hall of Fame members Els, Bernhard Langer, Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Hoag Classic, Newport Beach, Calif., March 21-23

–Field Level Media

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A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24

WNBA: Playoffs-Las Vegas Aces at New York LibertyOct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.

Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).

Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.

It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.

“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”

While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.

“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.

“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”

Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.

“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”

As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.

“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”

When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.

“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”

–Will Despart, Field Level Media

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Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series

MLB: Seattle Mariners at AthleticsMay 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.

It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.

But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.

Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.

“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.

“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”

Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.

The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.

“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”

Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.

The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.

Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.

Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.

Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.

Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.

“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”

New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.

Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.

Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.

–Field Level Media

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Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement

Boxing: Pacquiao vs UgasAug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.

Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.

The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.

Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.

The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.

Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.

Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.

–Field Level Media

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