COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) USA Basketball will begin hosting youth national championship tournaments for boys and girls this summer.

The organization announced Wednesday that the 2018 U.S. Open Basketball Championships will consist of six groups of play: eighth grade boys and girls, 13-and-under boys and girls, and 12-and-under boys and girls.

Teams will qualify for the championships by finishing first or second in existing tournaments that USA Basketball certifies. There will be two divisions in each age category: the Stars division for competitive club teams that regularly compete regionally and/or nationally, and the Stripes division for locally based recreational teams looking for a similar level of competition.

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The championships for the boys teams will be June 30-July 3, and the girls’ will be July 19-22, both at the Pacers Athletic Center at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.

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For registration information: www.usab.com/usopenbasketball .

Tommy Fleetwood seems like a pretty safe bet to make the European Ryder Cup team for the first time this year after a sensational 2017 that saw him capture the season-long Race to Dubai, seriously contend at the U.S. Open, and climb into the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking. But the funny photo that currently graces his phone won't hurt his chances, either.
RELATED: American golfers are already thinking about the 2018 Ryder Cup
Fellow European Tour star Alex Noren recently snapped a photo of Fleetwood showing off his hilarious phone cover. And in case you don't recognize the person pictured, it's 2018 Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, who also led Europe to a win in last week's EurAsia Cup:
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Brilliant move, Tommy. And it was even smarter to go with a photo of Bjorn from when he had hair. See you in France this fall.
RELATED: Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth are champagne-spraying amateurs

Jim DysonJohn Carpenter has spent the better part of his career obsessed with death. From Halloween to The Thing, Carpenter built his legacy on the backs of psycho slashers, killer alien parasites, and expendable Kurt Russell cannon fodder. Despite what Rotten Tomatoes' social media crack squad would have you believe, however, being preoccupied with death doesn't put in you the ground…even if you are about to complete your 70th trip around the sun.
FacebookPinterestNow in Rotten Tomatoes' defense, the poor associate social media editor whose innocuous Tuesday morning oversight just launched into the viral stratosphere like the Challenger Shuttle probably wasn't even born the last time Carpenter made a watchable film. Maybe they even Googled him and saw a graying old man jamming to moody synth rock on stages across America and thought weird, David Lynch is really losing his hair. But whatever the confusion, the fact is John Carpenter is very much alive. Just ask Jo..

A giant gator and a large python recently, um, met on a Florida golf course. There's not much else to say other than it provided an incredible photo op — one that, depending on your disposition, is either nature porn or the stuff of nightmares. Check it out:
You gotta love the dude taking a drop about 10 feet away from this live episode of Wild Kingdom. He's got no fear. Although, the gator and the python seem pretty preoccupied with each other. I actually almost felt bad for that slithery snake locked in the gator's jaws, but nah. Snakes are the worst.
RELATED: This mongoose vs. snake fight on a golf course is fascinating — and terrifying
(h/t Golf Channel)

Fantasy Golf Podcast: Can Patton Kizzire keep rolling at the CareerBuilder Challenge?

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Dustin Johnson’s recent victory in Hawaii doesn’t mean much when it comes to this week’s tournament.

The top-ranked American will play at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for the second straight year. But this time he is coming off a victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which he won by eight shots.

”That was two weeks ago. So it really doesn’t matter what I did there,” said Johnson, who finished runner-up to Tommy Fleetwood in Abu Dhabi last year. ”This is a completely new week and everybody starts at even par and so I’ve got to start over again.”

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In 2017, the long-hitting Johnson put himself in contention despite only making one eagle and no birdies on the four par-5s over the first three rounds.

”The par 5s here, they are not real easy because they are fairly long, but dependent on the wind, I can reach them if I hit good tee balls,” the 2016 U.S. Open champion said. ”Obviously, I’d like to play them a..

Officials at Emirates Golf Club have installed nights around the ninth and 18th green to allow extra play at the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Dustin Johnson’s recent victory in Hawaii doesn’t mean much when it comes to this week’s tournament.

The top-ranked American will play at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for the second straight year. But this time he is coming off a victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which he won by eight shots.

”That was two weeks ago. So it really doesn’t matter what I did there,” said Johnson, who finished runner-up to Tommy Fleetwood in Abu Dhabi last year. ”This is a completely new week and everybody starts at even par and so I’ve got to start over again.”

Article continues below …

In 2017, the long-hitting Johnson put himself in contention despite only making one eagle and no birdies on the four par-5s over the first three rounds.

”The par 5s here, they are not real easy because they are fairly long, but dependent on the wind, I can reach them if I hit good tee balls,” the 2016 U.S. Open champion said. ”Obviously, I’d like to play them a..

GREAT EXUMA, Bahamas (AP) Sungjae Im closed with a 7-under 65 to win the season-opening Great Exuma Classic on the Web.com Tour.

Im became the 16th player in the history of PGA Tour’s developmental tour to win in his first start.

The 19-year-old from South Korea played bogey-free in windy conditions Tuesday at Sandals Emerald Bay. He finished at 13-under 275 for a four-shot victory over Carlos Ortiz of Mexico. Ortiz birdied the final hole for a 69 and broke out a five-way tie for second. That was worth an additional $25,200 for Ortiz.

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Rafael Campos, Brett Drewitt, Rhein Gibson and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez tied for third.

The Web.com Tour stays in the Bahamas one more week with the tournament starting Sunday.

HONOLULU (AP) Ryan Palmer couldn’t wait for 2018 to arrive.

It began with an up-and-down week at the Sony Open – a 64 sandwiched between a pair of 71s, and a tie for 58th – though his mood was decidedly steadier. Palmer was in good spirits when he arrived and nothing on the scorecard was going to change that.

It’s nice to have last year behind him.

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He had surgery on his shoulder in October, and that’s now healed. A new home being built on seven acres in the Dallas area is almost finished. Above all that, his wife, Jennifer, is getting nothing but favorable scans in her recovery from breast cancer.

”I couldn’t have been any more calm when I got here Monday – on the range, practice rounds, the pro-am, everything,” Palmer said.

A year ago when he arrived on Oahu, his wife was still undergoing chemotherapy for the cancer. Palmer missed four straight cuts to start the year and didn’t crack the top 35 until April. He had only three top-10 finishes, one ..