ONEIDA, Wis. (AP) Katherine Kirk hadn’t won a tournament in seven years until capturing last year’s inaugural Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. Now, she’s back to defend her title and end another slump.

In her last six tournaments, she missed the cut five times and tied for 61st in the other. At last week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she shot a second-round score of 11-over 83 to miss the cut. It was the worst round of her professional career.

On Thursday, she shot the best round of her career, a 10-under-par 62 to take the first-round lead.

What is it about Thornberry Creek that brings out the best in Kirk?

”It is kind of generous off the tee (and) I’ve never been a very straight driver of the golf ball,” she said with a laugh. ”There’s kind of a human element in there, right? Golf is funny. When you’ve played it as long as I have professionally, you realize that some days are going to be good and some days are going to be bad.”

Kirk wasted no time in picking up from where she l..

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) Webb Simpson shot a 9-under 61 for a one-stroke lead over Whee Kim after the first round of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier on Thursday.

Simpson posted his career-best score after shaking off a two-hour weather delay with six holes left in his round.

Kim had back-to-back bogeys on the front nine on the Old White TPC, and then ran off five birdies over a seven-hole stretch. The South Korean had a career-high 10 birdies overall.

Teenager Joaquin Niemann of Chile was another stroke back at 7-under 63 and Kelly Kraft was at 64.

Phil Mickelson shot 66 in his first tournament since the U.S. Open, when he intentionally violated golf rules by hitting a moving ball on the 13th green in the third round. He later apologized.

Golf Digest confirmed an earlier report that the USGA has told Bryson DeChambeau the geometric compass he has used on the course violates Rule 14-3

DONEGAL, Ireland (AP) Defending champion Jon Rahm made back-to-back double bogeys around the turn in shooting a 2-over 74 in the opening round of the Irish Open on Thursday, leaving the world No. 5 seven shots behind leader Ryan Fox.

One under par after his first eight holes, Rahm duffed his third shot from the rough at the par-4 No. 18 into a greenside bunker and slammed his club into the turf in frustration. Then the Spaniard drove into a fairway bunker on No. 1 and compounded the error by three-putting from long range.

Rahm pulled one shot back with a birdie at the par-5 4th hole but he could be battling to just make the cut at Ballyliffin Golf Club on Friday.

Rory McIlroy, the tournament host and ranked No. 8, shot 70 after two birdies in each of the front and back nines, and was in a good position to make a run at an event he won in 2016.

Fox rolled in six birdies in a 67, continuing his impressive form in the prestige Rolex Series events on the European Tour since they were i..

Yes, we're aware it's not technically the mid-season. But we're recognizing the PGA Tour's standout players and a few others as we head down the stretch

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Golf Australia said Thursday that Kingston Heath and Victoria Golf Club on Melbourne’s sandbelt will host future editions of the Australian Open.

Kingston Heath Golf Club will host the 2020 Australian Open and Victoria was chosen for 2022.

This year’s Australian Open will be played at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney from Nov. 15-18.

The Australian Golf Club, also in Sydney, will host the 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions.

Decisions by most of the world’s elite golfers to skip the PGA Tour’s stop in West Virginia have been a boost for younger players like Xander Schauffele.

Schauffele had a one-stroke victory over Robert Streb at The Greenbrier resort last season, which ended with the 24-year-old from San Diego winning the Tour Championship and earning Rookie of the Year honors.

This year, nearly all of the two dozen rookies on the tour are in the field at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, which starts Thursday on the Old White TPC in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Chances are good that one or more of them could be near the top of the leaderboard. Four of the tournament’s seven champions have been first-time winners, including three rookies.

Schauffele likes his chances, too.

He is part of the successful high school class of 2011 that includes Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger. Schauffele pointed out that Spieth won the John Deere Classic in 2013 and 2015, Thomas won in Malay..

PGA Tour pros wore orange ribbons to support Katie Enloe as she faced leukemia, but the loving wife, sister and mother lost her battle on Tuesday

One advantage you can hold over your opponents in daily fantasy baseball is understanding how each game environment compares relative to one another on a given slate.

Early in the season, the discrepancies between controlled stadium conditions such as domes and games played outdoors are often minimal. In fact, at the very beginning of the season, some frigid outdoor environments will bring worse hitting conditions than their counterparts in controlled conditions.

As the calendar turns to July, the temperatures rise around Major League Baseball.

Throughout last weekend, games on the East Coast and in Texas saw temperatures reach into the 90s while games in the Midwest were routinely in the upper 80s.

As the weather warms up, the baseball travels farther. That provides better scoring conditions for offenses and more difficult conditions for pitchers. This also provides an edge for the savvy daily fantasy baseball player.

There are two ways to take advantage of the discrepancy in wea..

POTOMAC, Md. (AP) Francesco Molinari went from a share of the 54-hole lead to an eight-shot runaway in the Quicken Loans National, a performance that would not have surprised anyone who saw his victory in Shanghai in 2010.