Sports
Final major could be extra special for Nelly Korda or Haeran Ryu
Jun 26, 2026; Chaska, Minnesota, USA; Nelly Korda hits her tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Nelly Korda and Haeran Ryu combined to win the first four majors of the season.
It’s only fitting they are paired together, along with LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko of New Zealand, for the first two rounds of the AIG Women’s Open. The final major of the season begins Thursday at Royal Lytham & St Annes in Lytham St Annes, England.
Either Korda or Ryu could become the first woman since South Korea’s Inbee Park in 2013 to win three majors in one year. Korda collected the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open for a brilliant start to 2026, and Park’s countrywoman Ryu prevailed at the Women’s PGA Championship and the Evian Championship.
“I have a lot of confidence,” Ryu said. “I got a lot of confidence after two major champion, and then but this is another golf course and another golf, so I just keep working hard with my team.”
Ryu won the Evian earlier this month in France by shooting a record 60 in the third round and going on to defeat Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson in a playoff the next day. The 60 was the lowest round ever shot at a major, men’s or women’s.
Ryu, who took time off afterward and did not play the Women’s Scottish Open, called herself “still (a) rookie” on links courses, which is exactly the test Royal Lytham & St Annes presents. It is a par-71 layout measuring 6,601 yards this week.
World No. 1 Korda finished 2 over par at the Scottish two weeks after her first missed cut of the year at the Evian.
“Evian is just a funky golf course. I didn’t play that bad actually, if I’m being honest,” Korda said. “You know, it’s golf. You’re going to — just because you’re playing well doesn’t mean you’re invincible and you’re going to make every cut and be in the top 10 every single week.
“I feel like I’ve done this long enough where I’ve missed enough cuts that it’s just about the bounce-back.”
On the topic of links play, Korda said her approach is about controlling the controllables.
“Sometimes with links golf you can kind of get pretty agitated with the bounces that you get,” she said. “You hit a good shot, get a bad bounce, end up in a pot bunker, have to pitch out unfortunately and save par.”
The defending champion is Japan’s Miyu Yamashita, who prevailed by two shots at Royal Porthcawl last year as a rookie.
At just 24, Yamashita has collected 16 wins worldwide, mainly on the LPGA of Japan Tour. She’ll try to be the first back-to-back winner at the Women’s Open since Taiwan’s Yani Tseng in 2010-11.
“Yani Tseng winning in 2011 was of course an amazing achievement,” Yamashita said. “To be here again, to have the chance to be the defending champion, is something I really look forward to, and just got to focus on the golf and my performance this week.”
Royal Lytham & St Annes last hosted this major in 2018, marking the most recent time an English player won the title. Georgia Hall earned her first and only major trophy that week and is now in a very different stage of life: She’s returning to Lytham for her first competitive round since giving birth to her first child, Conor, five months ago.
“I first picked up a club … six weeks after giving birth,” Hall said. “I was in Ireland and went to a local driving range. I was really excited because I didn’t know how I was going to hit it and thought I might top it or something, but I actually hit it pretty good, but my rotation, like there is no rotation at all.
“Yeah, I went there for an hour and I was pleasantly surprised. I was leaving that thinking, ‘OK, let’s see if I can get back to Lytham.’ Yeah, it was good. I enjoyed the progress coming back.”
–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
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