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Entering the 107th PGA Championship from Quail Hollow, storylines were aplenty. Rory McIlroy is looking to win his second straight major and keep hopes of a calendar slam alive. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is looking to keep his momentum going after winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Even Jordan Spieth has his sights set on history. He looks to become the seventh man ever to complete the career grand slam.
That is just the tip of the iceberg.
Yet, it is longtime PGA Tour pro Jhonattan Vegas who stole the show on Thursday.
Vegas, who is quickly picking up the moniker ‘Jhonny Vegas,’ carded a 7-under 64 to take a two-shot lead into Friday’s second round.
He became the first-ever Venezuelan-born golfer to hold at least a share of the lead after any major round, according to golf statistician Justin Ray. It also happens to be the lowest round he has ever carded in his major career.
“Any chance you get to shoot 64 at a major championship is always great, right?” Vegas said after his PGA Championship round.
“Obviously, with the conditions yesterday, I didn’t really see that score coming. But I think I got lucky that I was able to tee off very late, and the course obviously is drying very quickly.
“So I was able to take advantage a little bit of those conditions at the end of the day today. But obviously a solid round from beginning to end. Good way to start.”
The 40-year-old Venezuelan is a Texas University graduate from nearly two decades ago. He has played in 318 career PGA Tour events, but this is by far his best start at the PGA Championship.
He has four PGA Tour victories on his resume, with the most recent being the 2024 3M Open. Before that, he won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic, and then went back-to-back at the 2016 and 2017 RBC Canadian Open.
After the late tee time on Thursday at the PGA Championship, Vegas will join Brian Campbell and Elvis Smylie on the first tee at 9:01 am ET Friday.
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Six NBA players most likely to be traded
NBA teams won't assemble for training camp until September, but some players may not be on those teams for long. Here are six NBA players likely to get traded in the upcoming season. 1. Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz Some NBA teams go all-in. The Utah Jazz have gone all-out, ditching veterans Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins this summer. Their lone remaining high-priced player is Lauri Markkanen, a 2023 All-Star who has four years and $196M left on his contract. He had a down year in 2024-25, playing just 47 games and dropping to 19 points per game, but the Jazz were also holding Markkanen out so much that they got fined. Markkanen's shooting would fit on nearly any NBA team, and he's still only 28 years old. The Jazz have amassed a lot of future draft picks, but many of them aren't great — pick swaps with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves, and a 2027 Los Angeles Lakers first-rounder. Trading their Finnish superstar could get them a huge return, especially if NBA teams are seeing him dominate in EuroBasket exhibition games. 2. Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors It seems like a foregone conclusion that Jonathan Kuminga will resign with the Golden State Warriors and equally inevitable that the Warriors will then try to trade their 22-year-old forward. The only holdup is that the restricted free agent and his team can't agree on a new contract. The Warriors need to get something back for their former lottery pick, but they also need to preserve his salary slot. Kuminga and his agent couldn't work out a sign-and-trade this summer, but once free agents who signed this summer can be traded Dec. 15, far more trade options will open up. Kuminga doesn't want to be on the Warriors. The Warriors don't want to guarantee him playing time. The breakup looks like it's coming. 3. Anfernee Simons, Boston Celtics In a year where the Boston Celtics have dramatically slashed their payroll in Jayson Tatum's absence, they have a huge incentive to deal Anfernee Simons, the guard acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in the Jrue Holiday trade. Getting rid of Simons gets them under the luxury tax, which is worth tens of millions of dollars, while also keeping the Celtics out of penalties for repeatedly being a tax team. It all depends on whether the Celtics will settle for the financial savings or hold out to get assets back for the impending free agent. But Simons is almost certainly headed somewhere. 4. P.J. Washington, Dallas Mavericks P.J. Washington was a huge part of the Dallas Mavericks' run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Unfortunately, he plays the same position as the guy the Mavericks just took with the No. 1 pick in the draft, Cooper Flagg. The Mavericks also have Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and the newly-extended Daniel Gafford. Washington and his expiring contract are now expendable. 5. CJ McCollum/Khris Middleton, Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards took on McCollum and Middleton in trades in the past year, moves that were primarily made to shed the long-term salaries of Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma. But even though those players were both born in 1991, they should still be able to contribute to winning teams in 2025-26. The Wizards may value their veteran leadership, but they also have a roster full of recent draft picks who need playing time — and you can never have too many future draft picks.
Tua Tagovailoa Doesn't Hold Back After Dolphins 'Embarrassed' By Lions
The Miami Dolphins have struggled through training camp and the first preseason game, but may have hit a new low in Wednesday's joint practice with the Detroit Lions. Reporters watching practice noted that Detroit outclassed the Dolphins on both offense and defense, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa struggling with timing and mistakes against the aggressive Lions' secondary. Speaking to reporters after practice, Tagovailoa refused to give himself a grade but admitted that his team was frustrated against the NFC Super Bowl contenders. "For a grade, I wouldn't give myself a grade," Tagovailoa said, via NFL.com. "I don't think that's fair to grade yourself. "My assessment -- I still wouldn't give myself a grade. I think that's for you guys to do with however you guys report that and whatnot. I think today offensively was a very frustrating day in regards to what we wanted to do, what we said we wanted to do. Came out and we just weren't able to get things jumpstarted, so that was very frustrating today." Tagovailoa is coming off a season where he appeared in just 11 games, completing 72.9% of his passes for 2,867 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Dolphins Struggled in 'Lopsided' Practice Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports noted that the Dolphins were "embarrassed" by the Lions in Wednesday's practice, which came after Miami already stumbled through mistakes in their preseason opener against the Chicago Bears. The Athletic's Colton Pouncy had an even more brutal assessment, calling it one of the worst performances he had seen from a team. "That was the most lopsided joint practice I’ve ever seen. Lions dominated both sides," Pouncy shared in a post on X. The practice may not bode well for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins, who dropped to 8-9 last season and return to a division with Super Bowl contending Buffalo Bills and a rising New England Patriots team.
Oregon suspends former five-star WR recruit indefinitely
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, in 2023. He suffered an injury in his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Canadiens Should Run From This Nazem Kadri Trade Proposal
Trade proposals are a fun way to pass the summer lull in NHL news. But, not all trade pitches are great ideas. A recent hypothetical linking the Calgary Flames and Nazem Kadri to the Montreal Canadiens does not quite pass the smell test. The pitch was presented by Kuljit Parmar of the FanSided blog “A Winning Habit,”. In it, he suggests the Canadiens send Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook, and a draft pick to Calgary for Kadri, removing a high-ceiling winger for a second-line center fix. The trade pitch is not just bold — it’s a massive overpayment. Why This Trade Makes Little Sense for the Canadiens As productive as Kadri was last season, he’s also 13 years older than the key piece going back to the Flames in Slafkovsky. At just 21, Slafkovsky has untapped NHL potential, whereas it won’t be long before Kadri shows the natural decline that comes with age. Yes, Kadri posted 75 points in 2023-24 and 67 in 2024-25, but it won’t be long before he shows signs of an inevitable downswing. History tells us that forwards in their mid-30s rarely maintain elite production for long, and with four years left at a $7 million cap hit, Kadri is a risky investment. Slafkovsky, on the other hand, is entering the stage of his career where true breakout seasons happen. He’s coming off back-to-back 50-plus point campaigns and has barely scratched the surface of his potential. His combination of size, skill, and growing confidence under Martin St. Louis gives the Canadiens something hard to come by — a cost-controlled, high-upside top-six winger for years to come. Trading him now for a player on the back nine of his career would be selling low on a future star while buying high on a veteran whose best days may already be behind him. Even if Kadri brought short-term grit and playoff experience, Montreal is not yet in a “win-now” window. Sacrificing a foundational piece for a two- or three-year push is short-sighted team building. The Money Is Also a Massive Consideration in This Trade Even more head-scratching is the financial side of this proposal. The Canadiens would be sending out $10.5 million in the deal, and including a draft pick. If the idea is to dump Newhook onto the Flames, that seems odd considering he offers decent production. If the idea is to sweeten the deal with Newhook and the pick, it’s wild to imagine the Flames wouldn’t see Slafkovsky as payment enough. Kadri’s leadership and tenacity are valuable, but they’re not worth mortgaging the future for. The Canadiens should be focused on developing their young core, not dismantling it. Trading Slafkovsky now would be the kind of move that haunts a franchise for a decade. Simply put, this isn’t just a bad trade idea. It’s one that could derail Montreal’s long-term vision entirely.
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