Fresh from a sixth-place finish at the Open Championship, Australia’s Lucas Herbert fired an 11-under-par 61 on Thursday to take a three-shot lead after one round of LIV Golf United Kingdom in Rocester, England.

Herbert broke the JCB Golf and Country Club course record by one shot when he birdied No. 16, but he settled for pars on 17 and 18 to short-circuit his bid to break 60.

“I actually hit a poor putt on 16 and underread it and it went in,” Herbert said. “Then hit a good putt on 17 and it missed and forgot to hit the ball on 18. ‘Pughy’ left the head cover on.”

Leaving aside Herbert jokingly blaming caddie Nick Pugh for coming up short at 18, Thursday’s round marked the second time in seven days that Herbert finished a brilliant round with a missed putt on the final hole with history at stake.

On Friday at Royal Birkdale, Herbert tied the record for lowest round in a major with his 62. Though he missed a five-footer for par at No. 18 that would have claimed the record for himself, the 30-year-old still claimed the Open lead after 36 holes to set up his best finish in a major.

On Thursday, Herbert opened his round birdie-birdie-birdie and finished with nine birdies, one eagle and no bogeys.

“Yeah, just continuing on that fun momentum from last week at The Open,” Herbert said. “It’s nice when those putts roll in and golf feels the way it does right now.”

Bryson DeChambeau, who also enjoyed most of his Open experience, stands second after a roller-coaster of a 64. He started with three birdies before suffering a bogey at No. 4 and earning an eagle at No. 6. He added four straight birdies on the back nine before a bogey landed him at 8 under for the day.

Herbert and DeChambeau will go head-to-head in the final group on Friday. That was the plan for the third round of The Open, too, until DeChambeau was assessed a two-stroke penalty after the second round for alleged shenanigans in the rough on the fifth hole.

“Like [the pairing] is a week late?” DeChambeau said. “Look, golf is golf, right? I wish we could have gone to battle last week. It wasn’t that way. But life goes on. There’s moments of adversity in everybody’s life, and I was passionate about what I believed and thought was right.

“For me, it’s now in a place that it is what it is, and you keep moving through it. You keep moving past it.”

Harold Varner III and England’s Tyrell Hatton share third place at 6 under while Canada’s Richard T. Lee and South Korea’s Byeong Hun An are another stroke back.

–Field Level Media

It sounds like Tyreek Hill’s recovery isn’t going great.

In a recent YouTube video, Hill revealed that he had no power in his left leg that was severely injured in late September. Hill dislocated his knee and tore multiple ligaments, including his ACL.

“So it’s about 10 months after doing two surgeries,” Hill said. “My left leg is the one that I injured. I have no power in my left leg, so I’m trying to regain all the power back in my left leg. But it’s one day at a time.”

Hill said that after the injury, he was told he was never able to walk again. But he’s feeling good, and told his audience that “The Cheetah will be back.”

But Kalshi, a popular prediction market that allows users to buy and sell contracts of real-world outcomes, currently has a return to the Miami Dolphins or retirement as the most likely next move for Hill. After this video gained traction, Miami or retirement in Hill’s “next team” market spiked on Kalshi and currently has a 39% chance of happening.

Kalshi gives Hill a 12% chance of signing with the Kansas City Chiefs, his former team.

Hill is 32. He just led the NFL in receiving yards with the Dolphins in 2023. But Father Time is undefeated, and it sounds like this knee injury is a lot for Hill to fully recover from.

Contracts for Hill’s next team market on Kalshi will settle on December 31, 2026. It currently has just over $308,000 in volume.

Other listed suitors for Hill include the Chicago Bears, who could use some veteran receiving help for superstar quarterback Caleb Williams on his rookie deal. The Bears have an 8% chance of landing Hill.

The Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots share a 6% chance of signing Hill, two more teams with young quarterbacks that could use a veteran. The Washington Commanders have a 3% chance and the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers share a 2% chance of landing Hill.

But right now, the preferred outcome is a return to the Dolphins or retirement.

The Dolphins could use receiving help after losing Hill to injury and Waddle in a trade with the Denver Broncos. But as they build a new culture around head coach Jeff Haffley, would Miami even be interested in the veteran receiver once he’s fully healthy?

As the Chiefs gear up for another Super Bowl run in a make or break year in Kansas City, they’d probably welcome back Hill a few weeks into the season, giving him a few weeks to gear up. It could be a good value option worth entertaining, especially since the hype is surrounding Hill’s retirement right now.

These receivers don’t retire easy. Remember the end of Dez Bryant’s career? Even Odell Beckham Jr. is still cashing checks from the New York Giants. If Hill can get healthy enough to be cleared, he’ll be back. He’s one of the best remaining free agents, and was a very serviceable WR No. 1 before this injury. But will he play in 2026? That’s the real question. If he does, the Chiefs are the smart play.

He claims he wants to play, and Kansas City might be the right option when he fully recovers from that devastating knee injury.

Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Nic Scourton left the field on a cart after suffering a right knee injury on Thursday.

According to reports, Scourton was informed he suffered a torn ACL after imaging and tests performed not long after he was hurt. NFL Network reported Scourton is seeking a second opinion.

Scourton, a second-round pick in 2025, appeared to know the severity of the injury immediately in an emotional scene on the field.

Scourton, 21, was in tears and shielded his face from cameras as the cart pulled away from the field. Before the cart departed, the entire team and head coach Dave Canales had a moment with him as practice was halted for the day.

“They care about each other,” Canales said. “Whenever you’re in a group of people doing something hard together, it has a way of creating a special bond. Between all the workouts and going through a full season and an offseason and all that, it means something to the guys. I’m proud of that.”

In just his second season, Scourton was penciled in to start on the opposite side of Jaelan Phillips, acquired as a free agent in the offseason. As a rookie, Scourton appeared in 17 games (eight starts) and tallied 47 tackles (seven for loss), five sacks and a forced fumble.

Veteran Patrick Jones II and Princely Umanmielen, in his second season, could see game time in his absence.

“He has a super-high motor, has great energy,” Panthers quarterback Bryce Young said after practice of Scourton. “He’s fun to be around. He turns into that different competitor when he’s on the field. We feel that during practice. He has raised the level of [intensity at] practice many times. We don’t know anything yet (on the injury), but we’re just praying for him.”

–Field Level Media