Here’s an overlook of some of the big sports stories that transpired today! As always, there was a little bit of everything!
Golf
Jason Dufner hung on to win the 95th PGA Championship at Oak Hill CC. His winning score of -10, was enough as he beat 54-hole leader Jim Furyk by 2 shots. Even with bogeys on the final two holes, Dufner still was able to hang on and win his first major, avenging the gut-wrenching loss in a playoff to Keegan Bradley two years ago at the PGA Championship. Everyone will remember Jason Dufner’s historic 63 on Friday where he came to 18th green with a putt for the first ever 62 in a Major, but he left the putt short, unbelievably. Regardless, Jason Dufner deserved this major, all week he kept his emotions in check and was able to drive the ball in the fairway consistently better than other players. The social media sensation of ‘Dufnering’ will be in full force tonight and deservedly so. Another year of golf’s majors is in the books and again ¾ winners were first time winners: Adam Scott, Justin Rose, and now Jason Dufner, Phil Mickelson being the only multiple winner. All the talk of a Phil-Tiger duel on Sunday for the championship never really materialized as Phil finished +12, 22 shots behind the leader. Tiger Woods finished at +4, 14 shots behind Dufner. This was another disappointing major season for Tiger, as he went T4, T32, T6, and T40 respectively. This is not going to get it done for golf’s main man. Now onto the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Presidents Cup as the golf season drives on.
Tennis
Rafael Nadal started off the US Open summer series with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 victory over hometown hopeful Milos Ranoic of Canada, to win the Montreal Masters. The big match however, happened the night before when Rafael Nadal was able to beat current #1 Serbian Novak Djokovic in three sets, concluding with an entertaining tiebreak in the 3rd. Djokovic did not help himself out, serving 7 double faults the whole game which was crushing. This was Nadal’s second consecutive victory over Djokovic, with their last meeting taking place at the French Open Final. There are still three hard-court tournaments to go, until we reach the US Open, which concludes the tennis majors for the year. With Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray all claiming one major this year, the US Open will surely bring out the best in these stars of the game.
MLB
Alex Rodriguez hit his first A-Bomb this year in New York’s 5-4 win on Sunday. Rodriguez hit his HR of Detroit ace Justin Verlander and he also added an RBI single. This was by far ARods best game back in the pinstripes since he returned last week. It looks as if Rodriguez is here to stay, and no matter the criticism or the constant media attention he is going to continue to play, because simply he can. With the Yankees seemingly out of the AL East contention, they will strive for one of the wild card places. You can be sure that this is a storyline that will continue throughout the MLB season. With a decision not expected on Alex Rodriguez’s appeal until November-December, this will most likely be the last month or so ARod gets to play baseball for some time.
Track
Usain Bolt won gold at latest 100m race at the World Championships in Moscow with a time of 9.77, remarkably 0.19 seconds slower than his world record. This had to be one of the most satisfying wins for Usain Bolt as he was able to reclaim the 100-meter world championship gold that he had lost through a false start in South Korea two years ago. The American Justin Gatlin came in 2nd with a time of 9.85. Still only 26, Usian Bolt is at the peak of his track prowess and it doesn’t look like he intends on slowing down anytime soon. Bolt is a showman and loves being in the spotlight, he has that swagger and he is able to back it up with ease. Don’t be surprised if in the coming years, Usian Bolt is still winning the big track races and unleashing his famous “Lightning Bolt” celebration.
More Golf
The Solheim Cup teams are set and the final preparations are being put into place. The Solheim Cup is the women’s equivalent to The Ryder Cup for men’s game. It is the most prestigious golf competition in the women’s game and Colorado Golf Club in Parker, CO will play host to the tournament next week from August 16th-18th. The Solheim Cup has always brought the fans out to support Team USA or Team Europe. With Team USA wanting to reclaim the Solheim Cup they lost two years ago to Team Europe. Now Team USA is set out to take back the cup they have won three out of the last four times. There is expected to be massive crowds next week as these team golfing competitions always bring intensity and passion. This is also a big achievement for golf as a whole in the state of Colorado, which in my opinions has some excellent golf courses that don’t receive much media attention.
Sammy Mugharbil
Sammy is Studying Sports Industry, Marketing, and Broadcast Journalism at Metro State University of Denver. He's an Intern with the Colorado Rapids Youth Academy, and a Volunteer for the Metro State Broadcast Network.
