The Latest: Rose says back feels fine leading into PGA

The Latest: Bellerive rounds into shape after rain for PGA

Asked by anybody who the most likely winner of this week’s PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club might be, and you'll find yourself first rattling off the familiar names—Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy—and onto the rest of the list of tournament favorites. However, if you go there, are you really looking in the right spot? Fact is, seven of the past nine PGA Championships have been won by first-time major winners. Sure a few were big names (Jason Day, Thomas). But perhaps we should expect a bit of the unexpected when it comes to a winner this week.
Needless to say there are several marquee players looking for their major breakthrough. You know guys like Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood are likely contenders in search of a career-defining title. But you can dive even deeper into the pool of potential surprise first-time winners and come up with some quality candidates. Here are the nine players less obvious but most poised to make the PGA Championship th..

Patrick McDermottRemember that angry old Atlanta Braves broadcaster? You know, the one who randomly ripped the L.A. Dodgers for their batting practice attire? Of course you remember Joe Simpson, the 66-year-old player-turned-analyst with a career batting average of .242 and a whopping nine home runs. Just to set the mood, let's run that rant back:
https://twitter.com/ChadMoriyama/status/1023386979503751168
Gets better every time. Simpson of course apologized, mainly to Chase Utley, who was wearing a “strike out cancer” t-shirt, which is probably not something he should have been criticized for. Like everything in the 24-hour news cycle, it was quickly forgotten and we all moved on. All Simpson had to do was just go about his business, say nothing controversial and he could slide back into being just another color guy that no one really knows besides the Braves fanbase.
Unfortunately, it took Simpson all of 10 days to thrust himself back into the conversation, this time for questio..

Crash course at PGA: Players busier than usual with practice at rain-soaked Bellerive

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Lachlan CunninghamHAYWARD, CA – AUGUST 04: Stephen Curry plays a shot from near the path on the fifteenth hole during round two of the Ellie Mae Classic at TCP Stonebrae on August 4, 2017 in Hayward, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry was playing coy about the state of his golf game two days before he plays in the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic for a second straight year.
A reporter on Tuesday brought up the fact that his Warriors’ teammate Andre Iguodala recently mentioned that Curry shot 67 in a round during the NBA finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“He shouldn’t be divulging that information,” Curry said in a pre-tournament news conference at the TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, Calif.
Asked to confirm that indeed he had shot a 67?
“I plead the Fifth,” he said.
Air ball. He had posted the score on the USGA Handicap Index site GHIN.com. A member of the California Golf Club in San Francisco, Curry entered the score on an away cou..

Column: Paul Azinger's lone major at PGA a reminder of how life can change without notice

Heavy storms rolling through Missouri help with oppressive heat, rain sends humidity soaring ahead of PGA Championship