Sports
Ryan Kalkbrenner scores 49 to propel No. 15 Creighton past UT Rio Grande Valley
Nov 6, 2024; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Creighton Bluejays guard Steven Ashworth (1) drives against UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros guard Trey Miller (25) during the first half at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images Ryan Kalkbrenner erupted for a career-high 49 points to go along with 11 rebounds, lifting No. 15 Creighton to a 99-86 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday in Omaha, Neb.
Kalkbrenner, the Big East Conference preseason player of the year, made 20 of 22 shots from the floor and also sank both of his attempts from 3-point range. He fell just shy of the single-game school record set by Bob Portman, who scored 51 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Dec. 16, 1967.
Kalkbrenner easily eclipsed his previous career high of 31 points, set during the Bluejays’ 72-63 win over North Carolina State in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
With 1,820 career points, Kalkbrenner moved past Kyle Korver (1,801) into sixth place all-time in school history.
Steven Ashworth drained all 17 of his free-throw attempts to highlight his 25-point performance.
Isaac Traudt made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points for Creighton (1-0), which recorded its 30th consecutive home-opening win on the strength of shooting 60.0 percent from the floor.
The Bluejays played without Texas Tech transfer Pop Isaacs due to an undisclosed injury. He scored 24 points in Creighton’s 93-87 win over Purdue in a charity exhibition on Oct. 26.
UT Rio Grande Valley’s Hasan Abdul Hakim recorded a career-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Cliff Davis sank four 3-pointers and matched Dekedran Thorn with 17 points for the Vaqueros (0-2), who kept competitive by shooting 42.9 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from 3-point range.
Thorn’s 3-pointer allowed UT Rio Grande Valley to creep within five points at 75-70 with 7:39 remaining in the second half before Kalkbrenner responded with a layup and a 3-pointer. Jasen Green converted a three-point play to push the Bluejays’ lead to 83-72.
Davis drained a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 10-4 run for the Vaqueros, however Kalkbrenner halted the momentum with a layup and a jumper.
Abdul Hakim sank a pair of 3-pointers and a mid-range shot to stake UT Rio Grande Valley to an early 14-10 lead. Creighton responded with a flourish, with Kalkbrenner scoring 10 straight points for his team at one point to give the Bluejays a 33-27 advantage.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Golf Glance: Canada hosts final U.S. Open prep; Nelly Korda returns to LPGA's team event
Tommy Fleetwood during the final round of the Memorial Tournament on June 7, 2026. The Canadian Open provides a final U.S. Open tune-up for the PGA Tour, while Nelly Korda teams with a good friend as she seeks to follow up her win at last week’s U.S. Women’s Open.
PGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: RBC Canadian Open, Toronto, June 11-14
Course: TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, North Course (Par 70, 7,389 Yards)
Purse: $9.8M (Winner: $1.764M)
Defending Champion: Ryan Fox
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 7:45-6 p.m.
X: @RBCCanadianOpen
NOTES: Dating back to 1904, the RBC Canadian Open is the second-oldest non-major on the PGA Tour behind only the BMW Championship (1899). … The top three players who make the cut and are not otherwise exempt will earn spots into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale as part of The Open Qualifying Series. … The top 60 players this week who are not otherwise exempt will earn spots into next week’s U.S. Open. … The field includes 21 Canadian players, with Nick Taylor the most recent player to win his country’s national event in 2023. He became the first Canadian to win the event since Pat Fletcher in 1954. … This is the final event for players to earn spots into the Travelers Championship signature event via the Aon Swing 5. The top five are currently Eric Cole, Brandt Snedeker, Mac Meissner, Mark Hubbard and Jackson Suber. All but Snedeker are in this week’s field. … Brooks Koepka, who has six top-20 finishes so far in his return to the PGA Tour, is in the event for the first time since 2019. … Viktor Hovland is making his event debut as he attempts to kick-start a season that has seen him record just one top-10 finish so far. … Sponsor exemptions include former Masters champion Mike Weir, fellow Canadians Adam Hadwin, Ben Silverman and Roger Sloan, past champion Sean O’Hair and Padraig Harrington along with Joey Savoie and Ashton McCulloch.
BEST BETS: Tommy Fleetwood (+1150 at DraftKings) has four top-10s in his past eight starts and briefly held the lead last Sunday before settling for a T4. … Matt Fitzpatrick (+1200) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 4. With two wins already this year, Fitzpatrick is seeking to rebound from a T36 at the Memorial. … Sam Burns (+1275) lost to Fox on the fourth playoff hole last year and is coming off a T4 at the Memorial. … Wyndham Clark (+2350) has regained his form, following up his win at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson with a solo third last week. … Collin Morikawa (+2400) had five consecutive finishes of T7 or better before going T62 and T55 in his past two starts. … Kristoffer Reitan (+2500) is a career-high 24th in the world rankings with his T6 last week coming two weeks off his maiden tour win at the Truist Championship.
Last Tournament: the Memorial Tournament (J.T. Poston)
Next Tournament: U.S. Open, Southampton, N.Y., June 18-21
LPGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: Dow Championship, Midland, Mich., June 11-14
Course: Midland Country Club (Par 70, 6,287 Yards)
Purse: $3.3M (Winner’s share: $402,691)
Defending Champions: Jin Hee Im, Somi Lee
Race to CME Globe Leader: Nelly Korda
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 2-3 p.m. (Golf Channel Digital), 3-5 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday: 12-1 p.m. (GC Live), 1-3 p.m. (CBS)
X: @dowchampionship
NOTES: This is the only official team event on the LPGA Tour calendar. While it does not award Rolex Rankings points to the competitors, the winners are credited with an official victory on tour and the standard two-year winner’s exemption on the LPGA Priority List. … Teams will compete in foursomes in the first and third rounds and a best ball format for the second and fourth rounds. … The field will be cut to the low 33 teams and ties after 36 holes. … Im and Lee defeated Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang on the first playoff hole last year. … Korda is in the field for the first time since 2022 as she teams with friend Olivia Cowan. Korda has four wins and three runner-ups through her first eight starts in 2026.
Last Tournament: 81st U.S. Women’s Open (Nelly Korda)
Next Tournament: Meijer LPGA Classic, Belmont, Mich., June 18-21
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
THIS WEEK: Principal Charity Classic, Des Moines, Iowa, June 12-14
Course: Wakonda Club (Par 72, 6,865 Yards)
Purse: $2M (Winner: $300,000)
Defending Champion: Miguel Angel Jimenez
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday: 10 p.m.-Midnight ET (Golf Channel – Tape Delay); Saturday: 5-7 p.m. (GC); Sunday: 3-6 p.m. (GC)
X: @ChampionsTour
NOTES: Iowa native Zach Johnson is No. 2 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings as the Champions Tour rookie makes his event debut. … Ernie Els holds the tournament scoring record of 21-under 195 set in 2024.
Last Tournament: American Family Insurance Championship (Darren Clarke, Ben Crane)
Next Tournament: Dick’s Open, Endicott, N.Y., June 26-28
LIV GOLF
THIS WEEK: OFF.
2026 Season Leaders: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: 4Aces GC
Last Event: LIV Golf Andalucia (Individual: Tyrrell Hatton; Team: Legion XIII)
Next Event: LIV Golf United Kingdom, July 23-26
DP WORLD TOUR
THIS WEEK: OFF.
Race to Dubai Leader: Patrick Reed
Last Tournament: KLM Open (Eugenio Chacarra)
Next Tournament: Open d’Italia, Torino, Italy, June 25-28
–Field Level Media
Sports
Serena Williams, 44, wins doubles comeback in London
Aug 29, 2022; Flushing, NY, USA; Serena Williams of the United States serves to Danka Kovinic of Montenegro on day one of the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-Imagn Images Serena Williams successfully launched her comeback Tuesday with a doubles upset during the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club in West Kensington, London.
Ending a nearly four-year retirement, the 44-year-old Williams partnered with 19-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada for a 7-6 (2), 6-2 win against No. 3 seed Nicole Melihar-Martinez and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe.
Routliffe is a two-time U.S. Open doubles champion (2023, 2025) and Melihar-Martinez was a doubles finalist at Wimbledon in 2018 and the U.S. Open in 2020.
“I was having so much fun playing with Vicky,” Williams said in a post-match on-court interview. “She was really able to hold up the team and play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. We never played together but it just felt so natural playing with her.”
Williams’ first-round victory at the WTA 500 grass-court tournament was the 23-time Grand Slam winner’s first professional match since a tearful farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open.
Williams, who received a wild-card entry into the tournament, and Mboko advanced to the quarterfinals. They will face the winner between Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and Germany’s Laura Siegemund vs. Russia’s Alexandra Panova and the Netherlands’ Demi Schuurs.
Williams was asked what her tennis schedule might look like down the road and why she picked the HSBC Championship for a doubles return.
“I don’t know … I had nothing better to do,” Williams said, drawing laughs from fans. “I got tired sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer so why not.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andrew Putnam wins 9-hole playoff for final U.S. Open spot from Oregon
May 3, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Andrew Putnam watches his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Romance-Imagn Images PGA Tour veteran Andrew Putnam took the concept of “Golf’s Longest Day” to a new extreme.
After playing 36 holes at Emerald Valley Golf Club for U.S. Open final qualifying Monday in Creswell, Ore., Putnam and Spencer Tibbits were tied for second on the leaderboard. The problem was that only two spots were available from Oregon, requiring a 2-for-1 playoff.
Putnam and Tibbits played six more holes late Monday and couldn’t break their deadlock. They returned to the course Tuesday morning, and Putnam finally claimed victory on the ninth hole.
Putnam, a 37-year-old from Tacoma, Wash., will play his second major championship this year after appearing in none of the majors in 2025. He tied for 55th last month at the PGA Championship. Putnam last appeared in the U.S. Open in 2023, when he tied for 43rd.
His only victory on tour came in 2018 at the Barracuda Championship.
Greyson Leach shot 4-under-par 140 over 36 holes for medalist honors at Emerald Valley. Putnam and Tibbits tied at 3-under 141, with Tibbits squandering an advantage by following an opening 66 with a second-round 75.
Emerald Valley was one of 10 final qualifying sites across the U.S. and Canada on Monday. They were also contested in Toronto (near this week’s RBC Canadian Open), at two locations in Ohio, one in California and several courses around the East Coast.
The U.S. Open will be contested June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.
Here is the final list of players to qualify Monday (three other qualifiers were previously held):
–Ball Ground, Ga.: Chris Kirk, Jake Peacock, Keith Mitchell, Robbie Higgins, Chase Kyes (a)
–Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.: Giuseppe Puebla (a), Ben Silverman, Ryder Cowan (a), Miles Russell (a)
–Purchase, N.Y.: Kevin Roy, Max Greyserman, Benjamin James (a), James Nicholas
–Gastonia, N.C.: Jackson Ormond (a), Carl Yuan, Jackson Van Paris, Brandon Wu, Cole Hammer
–Rockville, Md.: Jackson Suber, Ben Kohles, Logan Reilly (a), Jake Sollon
–Springfield, Ohio: Neal Shipley, Zac Blair, Dylan Wu, Billy Horschel, Nick Hardy
–Westerville, Ohio: Davis Thompson, J.B. Holmes, Vaughn Harber (a), Arni Sveinsson (a)
–Toronto: Emiliano Grillo, Alejandro Tosti, Marcelo Rozo, William Mouw, John Parry, Max McGreevy
–Sacramento, Calif.: Taylor Montgomery, Eric Lee (a), Matthew Robles (a), Marek Fleming (a)
–Creswell, Ore.: Greyson Leach, Andrew Putnam
–Field Level Media
