Ben Griffin got off to a fantastic start with an eagle on the first hole and secured his first individual PGA Tour victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge, shooting 1-over-par 71 on Sunday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
His one-stroke victory came with a 12-under 268 total. Griffin clinched the result with a four-foot par putt on the last hole.
For the first time in the tournament's four rounds, Griffin had a different score than Germany's Matti Schmid (72 on Sunday). Schmid settled for second place.
Griffin, 29, was playing his 94th PGA Tour tournament. It's the second victory in about a month's span for Griffin, who combined with Andrew Novak to win April's Zurich Classic of New Orleans team competition.
Bud Cauley shot 67 to move to third place at 9 under.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was bidding for a third championship in as many outings, finished with 69, managing his only birdies on Nos. 1 and 11. That left him tied for fourth place at 8 under, joining England's Tommy Fleetwood (68).
Griffin needed a putt from less than 15 feet for an eagle on the par-5 first hole. He rolled in a birdie on the par-4 second after nearly reaching the green off the tee.
Schmid, who has never won the PGA Tour, birdied the first hole but he was 3 over through six holes during an erratic round. Still, his birdie on No. 16 as Griffin was taking a bogey closed the gap to one stroke.
But Schmid ended up in the bunker on his approach at No. 17, leading to a bogey and a two-stroke gap.
Schmid holed out for birdie from the greenside rough at No. 18 to get back to 11 under and put pressure on Griffin to make his par.
Rickie Fowler, who began the day four strokes back and played as part of the final trio, struggled with a 74 and tied for 16th place at 5 under.
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With only one tournament remaining in the PGA Tour regular season, players have one last shot to punch their ticket to the FedExCup Playoffs. The top 70 players in the FedExCup standings after the Wyndham Championship will secure a spot in the postseason and lock up full-time status for 2026. This is a critical week for everyone on the bubble of the FedExCup Playoffs. Breaking down the FedExCup Playoffs bubble Finishing inside the top 70 in the FedExCup standings is something every PGA Tour pro marks as a primary goal before the season. If you make the FedExCup Playoffs, you become fully exempt on the PGA Tour for the following season and secure a spot in the Players Championship field. Those who finish outside the top 70 must keep playing through the FedExCup Fall and finish in the top 100 to retain their PGA Tour cards. That's why the Wyndham Championship is such an important week for so many players. Heading into the final event of the regular season, here are the players who are currently safe but need a solid week to make the playoffs: 60. Tony Finau (681 FedEx Cup points) 61. Rickie Fowler (656) 62. Davis Riley (652) 63. Kevin Yu (645) 64. Erik van Rooyen (634) 65. Nico Echavarria (628) 66. Emiliano Grillo (628) 67. Cam Davis (616) 68. Patrick Rodgers (616) 69. Byeong Hun An (595) 70. Matti Schmid (595) Here are the players on the outside looking in: 71. Nicolai Hojgaard (590) 72. Keith Mitchell (589) 73. Chris Kirk (582) 74. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (575) 75. Gary Woodland (562) 76. Kevin Roy (556) 77. Alex Smalley (554) 78. Davis Thompson (552) 79. Eric Cole (546) 80. William Mouw (527) Outside of the bubble, there are a few big names who likely need to win the Wyndham Championship to make the playoffs: 85. Adam Scott (446) 89. Tom Kim (426) 101. Joel Dahmen (381) 106. Max Homa (351) 144. Sahith Theegala (209)
The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class had its day in Cooperstown on Sunday. This year's class included Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, who were elected by the eligible voters from the Baseball Writer's Association of America, and Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were elected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee. Here are some of the top highlights from Sunday's induction speeches. Dave Parker's son reads poem written by Hall of Fame father Parker's induction into the Hall of Fame was long overdue, and he sadly did not have the opportunity to enjoy the moment of seeing his name in the Hall of Fame as he died June 28. That left his speech in the hands of his son, Dave Parker II, who read a poem written by his dad. Parker spent the majority of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates where he was an MVP winner, two-time batting champion and World Series champion with the 1979 "We Are Family" team. Dick Allen's wife remembers his kindness Allen was the other veterans committee inductee, and his widow, Willa Allen, spent the majority of her speech remember the kindness of Allen off the field as much as his ability on the field. Allen is going into the Hall of Fame as a Phillie but won the 1972 American League MVP with the Chicago White Sox. He led the league in OPS four times and was the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year. A reminder that Billy Wagner wasn't naturally left-handed Being left-handed is a huge advantage (and money-maker) for pitchers, and Wagner was one of the most dominant left-handed relief pitchers to ever step onto a mound in the big leagues. But he wasn't always left-handed. Wagner was a natural-born right-handed person but taught himself how to throw left-handed after fracturing his right arm twice as a kid. It led to quite a career. Wagner made a name for himself with the Houston Astros but also spent years with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox. CC Sabathia takes playful dig at Ichiro Sabathia accomplished a ton in his 19-year big league career. He won 251 games, won the 2007 American League Cy Young Award, was the 2009 ALCS MVP and a World Series champion. He still has apparently not gotten over the one individual award he did not win — the 2001 American League Rookie of the Year Award, which went to fellow 2025 inductee Ichiro. Sabathia made sure to make a playful dig at that. Sabathia was the only American League rookie outside of Ichiro — who also won the American League MVP that year — to get a first-place vote. He received one. The others all went to Ichiro. Ichiro stole the show Ichiro stole 509 bases in his Hall of Fame career, and on Sunday, he added one more steal to his list of accomplishments by absolutely stealing the show at Cooperstown. He delivered two of the best lines of the day, first by calling out the one lone writer who did not vote for him, keeping him from being just the second unanimous Hall of Fame inductee ever (after Mariano Rivera). His best line of the day, however, might have been when he referenced his brief time as a member of the Miami Marlins toward the end of his career. Ichiro played 14 of his 19 seasons with the Seattle Mariners while also spending time with the Marlins and Yankees.
The Dallas Cowboys extended one of their stars Sunday, just not the one fans wanted them to pay. At Cowboys training camp Saturday, Dallas fans serenaded owner Jerry Jones with "Pay Micah [Parsons]" chants. The EDGE, of course, is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract this season. Jones must not have been listening. He gave tight end Jake Ferguson a new contract instead. Dallas and the 26-year-old pass-catcher agreed to a four-year, $52M contract extension, via NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. This move seems head-scratching. Parsons has won the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned two first-team All-Pro nods since the Cowboys took him with pick No. 12 in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 26-year-old EDGE also finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Ferguson, meanwhile, is solid but not elite. In three seasons with the Cowboys, the 2022 fourth-round pick has made one Pro Bowl and has never finished with more than 761 receiving yards in a season. An extension for Parsons will devour future cap space. The Cowboys may be worried about that after giving quarterback Dak Prescott (four years, $240M) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136M) long-term deals in 2024. Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt signed a lucrative three-year, $123M extension on July 17, making him the league's highest-paid non-QB. Parsons could command a similar contract. If cap space is Dallas' primary concern, however, why would it extend Ferguson? He's now set to be the NFL's seventh-highest-paid TE. The Cowboys waited to extend Lamb and Prescott just before the start of the 2024 season. They may be doing the same with Parsons. The star defender has said, "Ownership is always gonna make [contract negotiations] drag out." Regardless, the Cowboys should've paid Parsons before Ferguson. That's a much bigger priority for the team.
With the trade for Ryan McMahon now complete, it would seem New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman has fulfilled one of his three priorities. He can now cross third base off the list, which leaves the rotation and bullpen as his remaining priorities. However, according to one Yankees writer, Cashman might not be done with the infield. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reported this after the McMahon trade: “The Yankees may not be done adding to their infield. A team source said the Yankees are interested in adding a right-handed hitter who could play the infield.” Kirschner adds that the Yankees have had interest in Willi Castro and Amed Rosario. But the question now is, how would another player fit into the Yankees’ infield? Needless to say, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. aren’t going anywhere, and McMahon is just getting there. That leaves the low-hanging fruit. Anthony Volpe has been at the center of controversy all this season. His 13 errors, many of which had come at make-or-break moments, amount to the second-highest total in the game. In addition, his bat has not been able to compensate, hitting .217/.288/.408 with 14 home runs. There was always a lot to like about Volpe. He won a Gold Glove in his rookie year, his power has always been promising and his speed is nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately, his glove has become a liability, and his speed has also produced very few results. Volpe has swiped just 10 bags in 17 attempts. His power is the one thing that still has some upside, but it hasn’t been enough to justify a spot in the lineup. Both Castro and Rosario have been far more productive at the plate this season than Volpe. Kirschner doesn’t clarify how serious the Yankees are in their pursuit of another infielder, but that most likely isn’t available information. Having just turned 24, Volpe could still become the type of player that was expected from him as a top prospect. However, his recent performance has weighed heavily on his team’s efforts, and it may be buying him a ticket out of the Bronx — or at least a spot on the bench.
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