Sports
Maverick McNealy sets pace with 67 for early lead at The Players
Maverick McNealy hits out of the rough on 18 during the first round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass, March 12, 2026 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. March 12, 2026. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Former world No. 1 amateur Maverick McNealy reeled off five birdies in his first 12 holes before seizing an early one-shot lead in a weather-hit opening round of The Players Championship on Thursday.
The 30-year-old McNealy, who won his lone PGA Tour title at the 2024 RSM Classic, briefly moved two strokes clear of the elite field after hitting a superb approach to 5 feet at the par-4 12th and knocking in the birdie putt.
McNealy then offset a bogey at No. 15 with another birdie at the 16th hole en route to a 5-under-par 67 on a blustery and occasionally rain-swept day at TPC Sawgrass.
“I just mastered the variability of what the golf course threw at us really well,” McNealy said.
“It was a mixed bag of everything, felt like four different seasons out there. When that wind flipped, I knew 16 was going to be kind of my last birdie opportunity, so I had 8-iron into that hole and I was glad to take advantage of that, and then hung on really well the last two.”
As thunderstorms moved in from the west, play was suspended at 12.09 p.m. ET before being resumed at 12.30 p.m. Consequently, afternoon tee times were pushed back by 30 minutes.
World No. 6 Russell Henley and fellow American Justin Thomas, who won this event in 2021 and is making his second PGA Tour start of the year after undergoing back surgery in November, opened with 68s on a tightly bunched leaderboard.
World No. 3 Tommy Fleetwood of England, American Tony Finau, Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and Norway’s Viktor Hovland carded 69s. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, bidding for a rare third victory at The Players Championship, produced a mixed bag as he opened with an even-par 72.
“I did some good things, changing weather out there, but, overall, I felt like I gave away some shots,” said Scheffler, who clinched his 20th career victory on the PGA Tour at The American Express in January. “Hoping to clean it up a little bit the next few days.
“It can get very challenging when you get some high winds like we had this morning. It can get even more challenging when you’re playing from the rough, which I felt like I was doing a bit too much of today. … I struck it better on the back nine. Just made a few mental errors and just need to be a little bit sharper the next few days.”
The elite field is one of the strongest in the game with the top 10 golfers in the world rankings — and 47 of the top 50 — assembled at TPC Sawgrass for the tournament’s 52nd edition.
However, World No. 4 Collin Morikawa withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury after playing just one hole. After teeing off on the 10th hole and making a par, he experienced some discomfort while taking a practice swing on the 11th tee box.
“I felt fine in warm-up,” Morikawa said. “Like nothing’s been any signs of back problems. And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone. Like I just had the feeling before when it’s happened. And I just, I can’t swing through it. Trust me, I would play if I could. It’s just the worst thing in the world.”
Also on Thursday, Ryan Fox withdrew due to illness prior to the start of the opening round. He was replaced in the field by David Ford.
–Mark Lamport-Stokes, Field Level Media
Sports
Sirens, Victoire to play in PWHL's first game televised nationally in US
Dec 3, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of a hockey net with pucks during warm ups prior to a game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images The Professional Women’s Hockey League will make its debut on national television in the United States on March 28 when the New York Sirens play the Montreal Victoire.
The game will be at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit at 1 p.m., part of the PWHL Takeover Tour that introduces the league to fans in communities that potentially could be targeted for an expansion team.
“We are continuing to fuel this rocket ship that is the PWHL as we expand the reach and exposure of our league to new fans,” said Amy Scheer, the league’s executive vice president of business operations. “This first ever national broadcast is a truly historic moment for our league.”
The game will be televised by ION, which is available in more than 126 million U.S. households.
“Fan interest in women’s hockey is at an all-time high, buoyed by the amazing success of Team USA in this year’s Winter Olympics Games,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports, which owns ION. “We are thrilled to be teaming with the PWHL and Ally Financial on this milestone event and to bring the excitement of this league to a national audience for the first time.”
The PWHL, in its third season, is approaching two million fans through the turnstiles, with a 20% increase in year-over-year attendance this season. In all, 61 PWHL players were on rosters at the recent Milan Cortina Olympics.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Max Verstappen not liking new F1 cars, enjoys 'positive distractions'
Nov 21, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) celebrates his victory of the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Max Verstappen admitted that he is having more fun with his endurance racing projects as opposed to competing in Formula 1.
That’s a tricky spot given Verstappen is under contract until 2028.
“I don’t want to leave,” the four-time world champion said Thursday of competing with Red Bull. “I wish I had a bit more time and a bit more fun, for sure, but I’m also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun.
“I get to race the Nordschleife. I hope, in the coming years, I can do Spa, Le Mans, so I’m combining stuff to find other stuff that I find really fun as well. Of course, my team, so I have a lot of distractions at the same time.
“Positive distractions, I would call it. But at the same time, it’s a bit conflicting because I don’t really enjoy the car, but I do enjoy working with all the people in the team and from the engine department as well.”
Verstappen, 28, was voted the Formula 1 Driver of the Year for the fifth straight year in 2025. That said, he admitted to having other career ambitions.
“I don’t need to be only a Formula 1 driver, I can also do other things,” he said. “I’ve done this for a while and I’ve achieved everything that I wanted to achieve, so that’s why I want to explore other things, and I don’t want to do them when I’m 40 years old. So now I think this is the perfect age to do it.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jim Boeheim blasts Syracuse's 'best players' for Adrian Autry's firing
Oct 14, 2022; Syracuse, New York, US; Syracuse Orange associate head coach Adrian Autry (left) and assistant coach Gerry McNamara (center) and head coach Jim Boeheim (right) watch the action at the Orange Tip Off at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images Adrian Autry was unsuccessful as the successor to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse with 49 wins in three seasons before he was fired this week.
Boeheim believes Autry is a winning coach and suggested the Orange didn’t get enough from their best players this season.
“His two best players had horrible years,” Boeheim told ACC Network. “If you take any team in this league, and you take their two best players and they have really, really bad years — like Cam Boozer and Isaiah Evans have a bad year at Duke — they don’t win. That’s what happened this year at Syracuse. His two best players just didn’t play well.”
Syracuse brought back its top two scorers from 2024-25. But J.J. Starling and Donnie Freeman didn’t consistently perform at the same level in 2025-26. Starling dipped from 17.8 points per game last season to 10.9 in 2025-26. Freeman averaged 16.5 points per game but shot poorly in ACC play.
Syracuse elevated Autry, a former player and assistant coach for Boeheim, to head coach in 2023. But the Orange went 15-17 in Autry’s final season.
Boeheim said the Orange are nearing a crossroads and the program either must lower expectations or increase NIL commitments. He drew parallels between two other programs who fired coaches after the season.
“If you don’t have enough resources, that puts you behind,” he told ACC Network. “You look at the league — BC, Georgia Tech, now Syracuse — three of the (lowest for) NIL money in the league. You have to look at that.”
–Field Level Media
Sirens, Victoire to play in PWHL's first game televised nationally in US
Max Verstappen not liking new F1 cars, enjoys 'positive distractions'
