Sports
Laetitia Beck fires career-best 63 for early lead at ShopRite LPGA
Aug 23, 2018; Regina, Saskatchewan, CAN; Laetitia Beck plays her shot from the 18th tee during the first round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open golf tournament at Wascana Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images Laetitia Beck birdied five of her first nine holes and added three on the home stretch to set the pace at the first round of the ShopRite LPGA on Friday in Galloway, N.J.
Beck’s bogey-free, 8-under-par 63 earned her a one-shot lead over Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup. Briana Chacon, Germany’s Polly Mack and Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol were tied for third at 6-under 65 at the Bay Course at Seaview Hotel & Golf Club.
Beck, 34, has been a professional since 2014 and just last year landed her first win in the United States at an Epson Tour event. Her 63 Friday marked her career-low round.
She birdied the par-3 15th, the par-4 16th and the par-5 18th holes to finish a stellar round, where she hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation and needed just 25 putts.
“It was going well today for sure,” Beck said of her putting. “I think the confidence that I had from the other day during the pro-am, making putts, reading the lines properly, helped me trusting that I could see the line even though the greens might be a little bumpy. And I’ve been working on the strokes, and I feel more comfortable than I used to before.
“… Yeah, again, I made a few 15-footers that I usually don’t make, so that’s why — it was nice to keep going and keep making birdies.”
Broch Estrup had an interesting afternoon round, making all seven of her birdies in an eight-hole stretch from Nos. 4-11. She hit just 6 of 14 fairways in regulation and she settled for par on the final seven holes, unable to tie Beck.
“It hit me on nine when I was — I had like, I don’t know, a 20-footer for eagle. Left myself like a three-footer for birdie and then I started shaking to be honest,” said Broch Estrup, who normally plays Europe. “… My biggest goal is to not get in my own way. I feel like I was definitely not striking it well today, but I just kept a smile on my face and took the good bounces.”
Chacon is a 24-year-old rookie making her eighth start of the season. She missed the cut in five of her first seven starts and has yet to finish better than T60; her 65, which featured an eagle 2 at No. 16, was easily the best round of her LPGA career.
“Second shot I had about 136 to the pin,” Chacon said of her eagle. “You know, it was blowing a little into the wind and my caddie, Heath, and I decided that we’re going to do like a little cut 9-iron, but kind of like a little chip shot. So like a three-quarter cutty 9-iron, if that makes since.
“Luckily hit the shot really good and had a nice baby fade and came down next to the pin and just scooted back into the pin, spun back in.”
Soo Bin Joo of South Korea and Celine Boutier of France are tied at 5-under 66. Boutier, the only past major winner in the top seven, previously won this tournament in 2021.
“I feel like it’s a good course. I feel very comfortable on it,” Boutier said. “I think it’s very pretty with the views. And then it gets pretty windy, so I kind of like that challenge as well. I think it can be scorable if you’re hitting good shots, so I think it’s fair that way.”
Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho struggled Friday, shooting 3-over 74. There will be a 36-hole cut after Saturday’s round.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Phillies place RHP Aaron Nola on paternity list, option OF Otto Kemp
May 26, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Phillies placed right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola on the paternity list in a series of Friday moves ahead of their road series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In a corresponding move, the Phillies recalled right-hander Nolan Hoffman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also optioned utility player Otto Kemp to Triple A and replaced him with outfielder Steward Berroa.
Nola, 32, is second in franchise history in strikeouts (3,031) and fourth in starts (296). This season, though, he’s 3-4 with a 5.72 ERA in 11 starts. He wasn’t scheduled to start this weekend after last pitching in Tuesday’s 4-3 win at San Diego, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings.
Hoffman, 28, has made two appearances for the Phillies this season, allowing one run on five hits over 3 1/3 innings. He made his major league debut last season for Philadelphia, making a single appearance on Aug. 18.
Kemp, 26, is hitting .080 in 25 at-bats across 13 games this season. He’s a career .216 hitter with eight homers and 28 RBIs, all of which came in 2025 when he debuted.
Berroa, 26, was acquired April 8 in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s hitting .250 in 38 games with Lehigh Valley this season and is a career .167 hitter at the major league level in 30 games with the Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Brewers (2025).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hailey Baptiste on injury: 'Still waiting to wake up from this nightmare'
May 24, 2026; Paris, France; Hailey Baptiste of the United States returns a shot in her first round match against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic on day one at Stade Roland Garros. Rising American Hailey Baptiste confirmed her season is over on Friday, two days after sustaining major leg injuries during the second round of the French Open.
“Still waiting to wake up from this nightmare,” Baptiste said on Instagram. “In my head, all I can think is why, why, and why. Why me? Why now? And why like this?”
According to her agent, Baptiste sustained ACL and meniscus injuries and will require surgery.
Baptiste, ranked No. 26 in the world, was injured during a match against China’s Wang Xiyu when she landed awkwardly after hitting a forehand shot. She grabbed for her left knee, writhed in pain on the court and was eventually taken off the court on a wheelchair.
“It’s hard to see any purpose in something like this right now, but in my heart, I truly believe everything happens for a reason,” Baptiste wrote. “It’s been a long and heavy couple of days filled with bad news, uncontrollable tears, and a million thoughts running through my head.
“This new, but somewhat familiar, challenge faces me with what will probably be one of the hardest chapters of my life, and I’m beyond ready to show how strong I really am.”
Baptiste, 24, finishes 2026 with an 18-13 record. Just last month, she notched the biggest win of her career by upsetting World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach the semifinals of the Madrid Open. She lost to Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the semis.
Baptiste also reached the semifinals at Abu Dhabi in February before losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia. She advanced to the Miami Open quarterfinals in March before losing to Sabalenka.
Baptiste was slated to play doubles with Venus Williams at Roland Garros but the pair withdrew Thursday, one day after Baptiste’s devastating injury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brendan Sorsby placed at least 40 bets on Indiana football while with team
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby talks to coaches during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. Brendan Sorsby placed at least 40 bets on Indiana football during his two seasons with the program, ESPN reported Friday, citing court documents filed by the quarterback’s legal team as part of his request for a temporary injunction against the NCAA to maintain his college eligibility.
The court documents also revealed that Sorsby wagered about $90,000 over a four-year period using sportsbook accounts registered to a family member and friends, and that his gambling continued after transferring from Cincinnati to Texas Tech this winter, per ESPN.
Sorsby had been declared ineligible after investigations found he’d made thousands of dollars of bets on a variety of sports via gambling apps, violating NCAA policy. The current policy prevents student-athletes from placing bets on any NCAA-sanctioned or professional sports. Players can receive permanent bans for betting on their own teams.
The NCAA denied Sorsby’s request for reinstatement on Tuesday, making his lawsuit seeking an injunction for his 2026 season eligibility all the more critical. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Monday in district court in Lubbock, Texas.
The most recent documents filed revealed that Sorsby acknowledged he made at least 2,900 bets totaling more than $30,000 while enrolled at Indiana from June 2022 to December 2023. This included at least 40 bets ranging from $1 to $114 on Indiana football and/or individual players, per ESPN. The bets totaled at least $850 in September and October of 2022, while he was redshirting.
Sorsby made his debut for Indiana against Penn State on Nov. 5, 2022, with the betting reportedly coming to an end two weeks prior.
Sorsby said in a letter to the NCAA that he never bet in a game he played in, nor ever bet against his team.
On Tuesday, Sorsby said in a social media post that he’d recently completed a 35-day, in-patient rehab stay in Arizona to treat “a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder.”
“While I accept responsibility for my behavior and know that I have a lot of work ahead of me, for the first time in many years I feel more free and no longer fully at the mercy of my addiction,” Sorsby wrote in part.
“With the support of my coaches, teammates and the university, I’m looking forward to returning to campus in Lubbock. If I’m blessed and fortunate enough to have the opportunity to continue my college career at Texas Tech, I know I will get the support I need, including through the school’s Center for Students in Addiction Recovery. I am deeply sorry to everyone I’ve disappointed and am committed to the hard and necessary work ahead.”
Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech from Cincinnati this offseason and was the Red Raiders’ projected starter for 2026. ESPN ranked Sorsby the No. 1 overall transfer in this year’s class.
Texas Tech on Friday appealed the NCAA’s denial for reinstatement, and members of the university including coach Joey McGuire and president Lawrence Schovanec continued to voice support for the quarterback amid the news of his addiction.
Sorsby’s suit took aim at what he called the NCAA’s “deeply hypocritical” stances on sports betting, and Schovanec wrote an open letter to the campus community Tuesday saying the NCAA’s ruling “should be reversed or modified” given the facts and “context” of Sorsby’s case.
“As a generation of college athletes face the legalization and rapid proliferation of sports betting in our country, gambling addiction is rising to the point of epidemic among college aged men in particular,” Schovanec wrote. “The NCAA’s stated mission includes ‘fostering (student-athletes’) lifelong well-being,’ and they have claimed their goal is to promote a ‘culture of care’ for student athletes’ mental health. Gambling addiction is a clinically recognized behavioral disorder.”
–Field Level Media
Phillies place RHP Aaron Nola on paternity list, option OF Otto Kemp
Hailey Baptiste on injury: 'Still waiting to wake up from this nightmare'
