HILTON HEAD, S.C. (AP) Adam Hadwin of Canada, who finished tied for 24th at the Masters last week, has withdrawn from the RBC Heritage.

Hadwin is ranked 41st in the world and has finished in the top 10 in three of his previous eight tournaments. His finish at the Masters was his best showing in two appearances at Augusta National.

The PGA Tour said Wednesday that Hadwin gave no reason for pulling out of the event.

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American Sam Ryder, who had his best result of the season finishing fifth at Houston two weeks ago, takes Hadwin’s place.

Hadwin won the Valspar Championship in 2017 for his lone PGA Tour victory.

The RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links begins Thursday.

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For more AP golf coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Golf

As I watched my new, and inebriated, friend Chris top shot after shot on the range, it dawned on me I was watching the living embodiment of a proverb, one etched on pub walls across the world:
“Alcohol is necessary for a man so that he can have a good opinion of himself, undisturbed by the facts.”
How does alcohol affect your golf game? For centuries, hackers have sought the answer. The prevailing notion is that one or two beverages serve as proper “swing oil,” loosening the muscles and easing those first-tee apprehensions. Others posit three-to-four drinks do the trick, with a vocal minority claiming a six-pack is their Valhalla. (These folks might be called “alcoholics,” but who are we to judge?)
Just as important? Knowing how much is too much. In essence, where's the line between feeling like Happy Gilmore—busting drives, going for broke, not a care in the world —to, ahem, acting like Happy Gilmore?
It's a line we set out to discover. I joined fellow Golf Digest editor Ste..

Bruce BennettOn Wednesday night the most exciting, most underrated and most heart attack-inducing (PLEASE LIKE MY SPORT) professional sports postseason begins: the NHL Playoffs. All eight series will be underway by Thursday, setting up an epic stretch of games that will have you channel-flipping in every possible direction in the hopes you don't miss Doc Emrick screaming “OFF THE PIPEEEEE…… with the shot.” The NHL postseason's first round is a party unlike any other, but there's just one problem…my team's not invited.
For almost all of my actual-sports-fan-understanding life (since I was 12), my New York Rangers have been in the playoffs, something that's had its share of ups and downs (pretty much all downs). While I was a “fan” as a child, I don't remember much from the seven consecutive seasons the NYR missed the playoffs between 1997-2004, probably because they sucked and children don't like teams that suck. The point being, all I know as a ..

Siblings. Can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em. Just ask former NL MVP and certified hair enthusiast Bryce Harper, who was caught giving his luscious locks the dual hair dryer treatment by his brother Bryan on Wednesday morning:
https://twitter.com/BryanHarper45/status/984079461749583873
By NBA standards, this is pretty tame. Dudes will be wearing eye-liner courtside by 2022, so a little double blow dryer action ain't no thang. Per the MLB's axe-swinging, skull-beaming code, however, Hansel's Harper's beauty routine will definitely earn him a couple of towel snaps in the ol' clubhouse. Harper should just own this, of course—it's not like his infatuation with his own hair is any big secret:
FacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestBut if you're wondering how he feels about this little invasion of privacy at the moment, well, let's just say this is not the look you give someone who's going to be invited to Thanksgi..

Few champions in golf have invited as much personal scrutiny as Patrick Reed

David Becker/Golf ChannelAdmittedly, I have a weakness for certain kinds of reality shows. I was something of a “Big Break” superfan in high school, when the show first came out in the 2003, and when I began seeing promo spots for Golf Channel’s new series “Shotmakers,” I wasn’t just curious. I was genuinely excited.
The show takes place in Topgolf’s stunning new Las Vegas location at the MGM Grand, with the first episodes airing on Monday and Tuesday. In each episode, two-person co-ed teams attempt to accumulate as many points as possible with a series of cash prizes on the line. One team is eliminated each night, with the series whittling down from nine original teams to a three that will advance to the finale, which airs at the end of the month.
Monday night’s format was effectively alternate shot: Each team had a combined five attempts to rack-up as many points as possible by hitting their ball into five different targets (plus a longer ditch at the very back of the range). Teams c..

Jared C. TiltonFor many people, the RBC Heritage is the official name for That Tournament After the Masters, the one with fewer big names, 100% less Tiger and … more expensive drink prices. (To be fair, after you’ve spent 95 minutes traveling there, $12 Bud Lights don’t look so bad). For those of us who lived on Hilton Head Island, this is dumb and wrong and also dumb! Now in its 50thyear, the RBC (it’s a Canadian bank, we guess) Heritage beautifully fills the post-Masters space with a laid-back weekend in lush Hilton Head, a near-perfect destination for people trying to flee a DEATHLESS WINTER THAT WON’T STOP. If this sounds like you, read on.
What’s the vibe that weekend?
The Heritage is easily Hilton Head’s biggest deal of the year, unless an imposing 12-foot alligator emerges from the ocean and heads toward a crowded beach, which happens sometimes. But the Heritage scene is less Furious Golf Combat and more Grown Person Spring Break, everyone hanging around Harbour Town in the swee..

It's a good time to be Mets fan. Yeah, I just jinxed it. Obviously, it's all going to come crashing down in calamitous, gut-wrenching fashion. I know this in my bones. But for now the Metropolitans are 9-1, enjoying the best start to a season in franchise history, and rocking the best celebration in the Majors. Ladies and gentlemen, behold the MIGHTY PEPPER GRINDER!
FacebookPinterestNow, if you're the kind of person who prefers the Yankees' egomaniacal dugout “interviews” or the sociopathic silent treatment the Angels gave Shohei Ohtani following his first major league homer, this one isn't for you in much the same way Rembrandt isn't for people who see Transformers movies. It's subtle. It's tasteful. A little twist goes a long way, and, if you'll excuse the obvious analogy, it really brings out the flavor of the 2018 Mets—a team ridiculed for it's AARP-approved offseason acquisitions and inability to watch Netflix without needing Tommy..

Robert LabergeThe end of this NBA regular season can't come soon enough, especially this year, where the tanking has been so blatant teams are out here losing by 61 points and no one's batting an eye. Yet in a meaningless game 81, the Association somehow provided the story of the year on Tuesday night at the Staples Center.
Due to a slew of injuries, including to top players Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, the Los Angeles Lakers have been severely undermanned as the team tries to finish out another underwhelming year. With two games left and a roster spot in need of filling, Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka called up Andre Ingram, a 32-year-old guard on the L.A.'s G-League team that had never played in an NBA game. On Tuesday Ingram, who has played in the G-League for the last decade, made his NBA debut at the Staples Center, and he damn near carried the Lakers to victory against the Houston Rockets. Check out his full highlights:
https://twitter.com/Bleache..

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) Don Byers didn’t know he was auditioning for a spot on the Bellevue University golf team when coach Rob Brown joined his group as a guest at his club last August.

Byers was booming drives close to 300 yards, making his putts and under par after nine holes.

Brown asked Byers if he had any eligibility left. Byers thought it was a joke.

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He’s a 61-year-old grandfather, after all.

”We laughed about it and moved on,” Byers said, ”but afterward he said he was serious. I gave him my number and said if you are, give me a call. That’s the last I thought I’d hear about it.”

Brown called Byers a couple weeks later and said the offer stood. Now Byers is a freshman on the Bruins’ seven-man roster.

A true graybeard, he’s the oldest NAIA athlete since 61-year-old Alan Moore kicked an extra point for the football team at Faulkner University of Alabama in 2011. NAIA spokesman Chad Waller said he knows of no older competitors in any sport, past or pr..