Sports
Brooks Koepka grateful for 'warm reception' from PGA Tour fans
Jun 14, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the first tee during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images SAN DIEGO — There was plenty of “Brooksie” shouted from the gallery and even more “Welcome back” on Thursday as the highly anticipated return of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour had mostly chill vibes along the California coast.
From his drive off the first tee at Torrey Pines’ acclaimed South Course, to a final birdie putt at No. 18, Koepka was well received in his first round on the PGA Tour after 3 1/2 seasons with LIV Golf.
If there was disappointment that Koepka took his headliner status to the Saudi Arabia-backed golf tour in June of 2022, it was mostly represented by appreciation that at least one piece of the PGA puzzle was back in place again.
Koepka obliged those with open arms by offering plenty of thank yous. He would have rather shown his appreciation with a better round, shooting 1-over-par 73 to open his weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Forgive and forget wasn’t a sure thing this week. Koepka admitted that one of his concerns shortly after fashioning a path back to the PGA Tour was the reception from fans.
“I don’t like thinking ahead at all or trying to anticipate what was going to happen, but I wasn’t sure, which is kind of weird to be uneasy,” Koepka said after his round. “You don’t really know, but from the first tee on, it was great. It actually made me settle down a little bit and made me feel good.”
Patrick Reed also announced his return from LIV to the PGA Tour for later this season. His reception remains to be seen.
Day 1 for Koepka was reassuring, but it does not mean there won’t be other days, other cities, some potential late-afternoon objectors with a beer in hand, determined to get something off their chest.
“I’ve definitely been heckled,” Koepka said. “I enjoy it. It’s sports, right? Sometimes it makes you lock in and play a little better which is always fun. I’m not saying I want it all the time, so nobody think that.
“But yeah, I cared about my perception, what people thought, what the fans thought. It’s easy when you’re around the players and they come and talk to you or you talk to them, or caddies, the people around here. But everybody else, I wasn’t sure.”
After all, Koepka once scoffed when LIV emerged, suggesting fellow competitors would sell out and join. He ended up being one of those to depart on a reported deal for at least $100 million, with another $45 million in prize money and bonuses.
With another year remaining on that contract, Koepka began to investigate a path back to the PGA Tour. He said this week that playing near family again was the major motivator without being specific. His wife, Jena Sims, revealed on social media in October she had a miscarriage.
His family is with him in the San Diego area this week, including 2-year-old son Crew.
As a member of the third group off the South Course’s first tee Thursday, Koepka sent his drive to the right side of the fairway, put his approach shot to 10 feet and completed a two-putt par. It was better than his playing partners — Max Homa and Swede Ludvig Aberg — each of whom had a bogey.
Birdies were hard to come by in the group. Koepka opened with three pars then had a three-putt bogey at the challenging fourth hole. He strung together eight consecutive pars before a disappointing bogey at the par-5 13th to reach 2 over.
Koepka’s only birdie of the day came at No. 18 to pull back to 1 over. Homa was 3 over and Aberg limped home at 6 over. All of them were left to strain their necks looking up at England’s Justin Rose in the lead at 10 under.
Koepka will need to make a push on Friday just to make the cut. It will help that he is playing the less daunting North Course where Rose bloomed.
A full four rounds this week would help Koepka gather momentum for next week’s visit to a course that has played a major role in his career.
The WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale is where Koepka has won twice, including the first trophy of his career in 2015. He also won in the desert in 2021.
By the time he gets to Arizona, this week’s drama will be that much further behind him. Friday’s chase to make the cut will be normal compared to a week that Koepka said is “very difficult to explain.”
“It was good to get that (round) out of the way just because, like I said, I just care,” Koepka said. “I care about what everybody’s thinking out here, what everybody’s doing, and just trying to be as good of a person and good of a player as I can be.
“Just wanted a warm reception, just like everybody else. You walk into a room, nobody wants to feel exiled, they just want to be loved. I mean, that’s human nature, I think.”
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media
Sports
CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls
Apr 18, 2026; Montreal, Province of Quebec, CAN; CF Montreal forward Prince Owusu (9) celebrates with teammate midfielder Victor Loturi (22) after scoring a goal against the Red Bull New York during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Prince Owusu recorded a goal and three assists as CF Montreal bested the visiting New York Red Bulls 4-1 in the home side’s first match under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy.
Owusu scored his fifth goal of the season, as Montreal (2-6-0, 6 points) claimed their 100th win all-time at Stade Saputo.
Montreal strode past the visitors’ backline with relative ease in the early going. Red Bulls (3-3-2, 11 points) captain Emil Forsberg failed to control a hurried pass from his goalkeeper, allowing Owusu to play in Victor Loturi, who blasted it past Ethan Horvath in the fifth minute to make it 1-0.
Owusu nearly extended their lead soon after when Ivan Jaime played him through on a one-on-one. The towering center forward opted to hold the ball up before sending it wide of goal.
Owusu made no mistake on his 39th-minute penalty, catching out Horvath with a sly stutter step and slotting it into the left corner to make it 2-0. The penalty came as a result of Dylan Nealis’s handball.
Montreal’s Matty Longstaff knocked balls into both nets at the start of the second half. Longstaff met Owusu’s perfectly threaded through ball to make it 3-0 in the 49th minute. The English midfielder then overhit an attempted backpass to goalkeeper Thomas Gillier four minutes later and inadvertently brought the Red Bulls back within two.
More than the flurry of goals, the single biggest change in Montreal’s approach was in their defensive setup. Eullaffroy’s zonal marking stood in stark contrast to Marco Donadel’s aggressive man-marking, the Red Bulls managing just one shot on goal all game long. Eullaffroy also started Samuel Piette in the midfield after the Montreal captain remained on the bench in their last two outings.
Owusu chipped the ball over Matthew Dos Santos and into the path of Kwadwo Opoku, who guided it into the open net to restore Montreal’s three-goal lead.
The victory marked Montreal’s first at home since August of last year. Both of Montreal’s wins this season have come against the Red Bulls. New York, meanwhile, has won just one of its last six league matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets
Apr 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pinch-hitter Carson Kelly (15) hits a three-run homer against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Carson Kelly hit a tie-breaking three-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon for the host Chicago Cubs, who beat the skidding New York Mets 4-2.
The pinch-hit homer was the second of Kelly’s career and his first since Aug. 25, 2021, when he went deep for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Anthony Banda.
Ian Happ homered in the second for the Cubs, who have won four straight and have scored 51 runs while winning five of their last six games. Chicago scored 59 runs in its first 14 games this season.
Kelly’s homer off Brooks Raley made a winner of Jameson Taillon (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.
Mark Vientos provided the visitors a short-lived lead by homering in the top of the second for the Mets, who have lost 10 straight — their longest skid since an 11-game losing streak from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004. New York hasn’t led at the end of an inning since first inning of an 11-6 loss to the Athletics on Apr. 11 — a span of 62 frames.
New York’s Bo Bichette scored when second baseman Nico Hoerner threw wide of the bag on Francisco Alvarez’s two-out grounder in the eighth. But reliever Ben Brown induced Vientos to ground out to third and strand two before Caleb Thielbar struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his first save of 2026.
Freddy Peralta (1-2) took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings. Peralta issued both walks with two outs in the sixth, after which Kelly took Raley deep on the first pitch he saw. The homer was the first surrendered by Raley since 2023.
The Cubs only managed five hits as Happ reached in 3-of-4 plate appearances with a pair of walks.
Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. had two hits apiece for the Mets, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Elena Rybakina continues sizzling start to 2026
Elena Rybakina waves to the crowd after advancing to the quarterfinals after Sonay Kartal retired from their match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Top-seeded Elena Rybakina continued her outstanding 2026 campaign by overwhelming sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, will face No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final. Muchova pulled off a mild upset with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 4 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Rybakina, who won the 2026 Australian Open and reached the finals at Indian Wells, exchanged breaks with Andreeva before winning four of five points on the Russian’s serve to capture the first set. She cruised in the second set, winning a combined 21 of 25 points on her first serves and Andreeva’s second service offerings.
The deciding set between Muchova and Svitolina looked to be going the distance, but the Czech won the final eight points of the match — four on her opponent’s serve in the ninth game — to set up the fourth all-time meeting with Rybakina. Muchova has won two of three prior matches, including a quarterfinal victory in January at Brisbane.
Rouen Metropolitan Open
Top-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine cruised past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-0 to reach the finals in Rouen, France.
Kostyuk will take on teenage qualifier and countrywoman Veronika Podrez. She advanced in a walkover prior to her scheduled match against Romania’s Sonia Cirstea, who withdrew due to a leg injury.
Kostyuk, who will be trying to win her second WTA title and first since a 2023 championship in Austin, Texas, fended off all four break points in the match against the 38-year old German. Maria could not contain Kostyuk’s power, dropping 32 of 43 (74.4%) service points.
Podrez, 19, advanced to the semifinals with wins over Sloane Stephens, No. 7 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter.
–Field Level Media
CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls
Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets
