Sports
Defending champ Aldrich Potgieter sad to see Rocket Classic's farewell
Jul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Aldrich Potgieter reacts to his eagle on the 17th green during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images This week on the PGA Tour feels like a juxtaposition of debuts and farewells, the new and the fading.
Days after 21-year-old Jackson Koivun won for the first time as a pro, the tour arrives at a tournament won last year by a 20-year-old in South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter. But this young talent won’t be coming to Detroit much longer.
While Detroit Golf Club will introduce its new $16 million renovation this week, Thursday will mark the start of the final edition of the Rocket Classic.
The tournament won’t be part of the 2027 season as the PGA Tour continues to reshape its schedule.
“I mean, it’s sad to see the tournament not being here next year,” Potgieter said. “I think having some of the golf course changes, it looking so good and playing so nicely … it’s kind of sad to not have it again.
“I’m happy they got a new nice golf course for the members out here to enjoy as well and I’m looking forward to see what it’s going to play like this year.”
Potgieter said he’ll cherish the memories of getting across the finish line for his first PGA Tour win last year, when he beat Chris Kirk and Max Greyserman in a playoff.
For the time being, the focus for players like Potgieter (No. 64) is to stay inside the top 70 of the FedEx Cup points standings. Only the Rocket Classic and the Wyndham Championship remain in the regular season before the top 70 players qualify for the first leg of the playoffs.
Koivun vaulted to exactly 70th place this past week when he beat Scottie Scheffler by three shots to win the 3M Open in Minnesota. The former No. 1 amateur in the world and Auburn star was making his third start since turning pro.
The job’s not finished, but Koivun is in prime position to qualify for the playoffs mere weeks into his pro career.
“Being 70 is great,” Koivun said. “It’s a good and bad spot, but it gives me an opportunity to go earn making the playoffs. Just to have that opportunity to even have a chance at that is just so awesome. Not really changing my game plan. If I can just go play eight solid rounds of golf, I hopefully can sneak into that top 70.”
Detroit Golf Club will play as a par-70 course after years as a par-72. Nos. 7 and 17 were transformed from par-5 holes to par-4s measuring 505 and 537 yards, respectively.
“Visually it’s far more dramatic than it was,” said Cameron Young, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3. “This is a very old-school golf course and felt very familiar to me to kind of Northeast golf. Everything’s kind of right in front of you. It’s flatter than at home in New York, but yeah, it’s always a place I really liked.
“… I think it’s going to be a bit more challenging. There’s some more fairway bunkers in play and with the greens being expanded, there’s going to be some more hole locations.”
Scheffler is taking the week off, but other notable names in the field include Russell Henley, Chris Gotterup, U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, Si Woo Kim of South Korea, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Jordan Spieth. Brooks Koepka was in line to make his tournament debut but withdrew on Tuesday and is in danger of missing that top 70 in his first season back on tour from LIV Golf. He’s 84th.
“I feel very confident in my game,” Clark said. “You know, we’re coming into playoffs, last few events, so hopefully keep the momentum going and really put a nice cherry on top of an amazing season.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Giants suspend pay of Harrison Bader after scooter crash
May 22, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants center fielder Harrison Bader (9) gestures after he hit a single against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images The San Francisco Giants announced Friday they have suspended payments to outfielder Harrison Bader, hours after news broke that Bader crashed his scooter into the back of a fire truck and aggravated a foot injury.
The Giants confirmed earlier this week that Bader was in an accident last weekend that impacted a left foot injury that has kept him sidelined since May 29. After details of the scooter accident became public, the Giants made the decision to suspend pay.
“Over the weekend, Harrison Bader was involved in an accident that has delayed Harrison’s prior treatment timeline for plantar fasciitis and, unfortunately, his return to the field,” Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said in a statement Friday. “We are still investigating the circumstances of the accident, but will be suspending payment to Harrison until he is able to resume performing services for the club.”
Bader, 32, met with a foot and ankle specialist Monday in Indianapolis to check the progress of his initial injury, left plantar fasciitis. However, the impact of the scooter-related injury “changed the nature of his evaluation,” the team said in a statement.
Bader signed a two-year, $20.5 million contract prior to this season. According to reports, he is owed $1.42 million for the remainder of the season.
Bader was scheduled to undergo an MRI to “better understand the severity of the injuries sustained from the scooter accident,” per the Giants.
TMZ Sports reported Friday that the scooter crash occurred in San Francisco at about 1:50 a.m. local time Sunday morning. A witness said Bader collided with the rear of a San Francisco Fire Department truck, causing the scooter wheel to roll over his foot.
The fire department confirmed that a patient was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Bader batted .170 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 30 games this season, his first with the Giants. He signed a two-year deal worth $20.5 million in January. He also missed time earlier this season with a hamstring injury.
Bader is a career .244 hitter with 93 home runs and 336 RBIs in 954 games over 10 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals (2017-22), New York Yankees (2022-23), Cincinnati Reds (2023), New York Mets (2024), Minnesota Twins (2025), Philadelphia Phillies (2025) and Giants.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Galaxy could be most comfortable on counter vs. FC Dallas
Jul 25, 2026; Stanford, CA, USA; LA Galaxy midfield Marco Reus (18) warms up before the start of the first half against the San Jose Earthquakes at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Galaxy may be the home side Saturday night when they face FC Dallas in Carson, Calif., but don’t be surprised if Greg Vanney’s group is content with playing on the counterattack.
That hasn’t been Vanney’s preferred style as a manager across 13 MLS seasons with Toronto FC and then Los Angeles, but it’s the one that has led to the most success recently.
Since April 26, the Galaxy (5-7-6, 21 points) are 3-1-2 in matches where they hold less than 50% of possession, and 0-2-1 in games where they have more than 50%.
Perhaps that makes sense with an attack that has been balanced but not particularly explosive. Four LA players have at least four MLS goals, but Joao Klauss and Gabriel Pec lead the squad with five, and Klauss is injured while Pec is no longer with the squad.
“You can manage 90 minutes by being off the ball a little bit more or you can manage 90 minutes by being on the ball a little bit more,” Vanney said. “Right now, sometimes we look a little more comfortable off the ball managing the larger stretches of the game. But we’ll see how the game plays out.”
There is little doubt that Dallas’ attack runs through center forward Petar Musa, who will be returning from his second MLS All-Star appearance for the Saturday encounter.
Musa shares the MLS lead with 13 goals in 15 appearances for Dallas (7-5-5, 26 points), including a late go-ahead tally in his return from the World Cup in a 2-2 draw against the host Portland Timbers on July 22.
He is on pace to far exceed his career best of 18 goals during the 2025 season and is averaging an elite 1.01 tallies per 90 minutes, the third-highest rate among players still active in the league. (Hugo Cuypers recently transferred from Chicago to CF Monterrey in Mexico.)
Musa, a Croatian international who scored his first World Cup goal in June against England, let himself savor the reward of the All-Star exhibition, including the Tuesday skills contest and Wednesday friendly between a team of MLS stars and a team of Liga MX talent.
“Everything, especially (Tuesday), the skill challenge was fun,” Musa said. “But to meet new players, it’s been great. And we are enjoying each moment.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Griffin Conine plays hero as Marlins finish off sweep of Phillies
Jul 29, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins pinch hitter Griffin Conine (18) hits a two-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the eighth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Griffin Conine hit a two-run pinch homer in the eighth inning as the Miami Marlins completed a three-game sweep of the visiting Philadelphia Phillies with an 8-6 victory Wednesday afternoon after rallying from a six-run deficit.
Miami entered the series riding a 12-game losing streak — the longest in franchise history –but got well against Philadelphia, which is now 3-9 since the All-Star break. The Marlins rallied from a 6-0 hole in the fifth inning with Conine playing hero for the second time in the series.
With the game tied at 6-6 in the eighth, Kyle Stowers drew a leadoff walk against Jonathan Bowlan (2-1). The right-hander bounced back to retire Esteury Ruiz, but Conine followed with a shot over the wall in center field as a pinch hitter for Brian Navarreto.
Conine also punctuated Miami’s comeback win on Monday with a walk-off single against star closer Jhoan Duran. Tyler Zuber (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to earn the win before Pete Fairbanks finished off his 15th save.
Trea Turner homered for the Phillies, while Bryson Stott knocked in a pair of runs. Jesus Luzardo surrendered six runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings while squandering the big early lead.
Stott’s two-run double in the third gave the Phillies an early lead. In the fourth, Bryan De La Cruz’s sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 3-0.
Philadelphia tacked on three more runs in the fifth. Turner led off with a first-pitch home run against Ryan Gusto before Stott drew a walk and scored on Bryce Harper’s triple. Alec Bohm’s RBI single made it 6-0.
The large lead didn’t last long, as Miami scored three times in the fifth, capped by Heriberto Hernandez’s two-run homer.
Luzardo ran into more trouble in the seventh, which began with a leadoff single by Ruiz. Jakob Marsee walked with one out and Otto Lopez followed with an RBI single to bring Miami within 6-4.
Luzardo gave way to Seth Johnson, who issued a two-out walk to load the bases. The right-hander then jumped ahead of Xavier Edwards 0-2 before allowing a two-run single to tie the game 6-all.
–Field Level Media
