The Open returns to the nasty links of Carnoustie

Carnoustie is known as much for the calamity it causes as the British Open champions it crowns.

Any mention of Carnoustie immediately brings back that image of Jean Van de Velde, equal parts tragedy and comedy, standing in Barry Burn on the 18th hole with water up his shins and rising. He made triple bogey to lose a three-shot lead, and then completed as great a collapse as can be found in a major championship by losing in a three-man playoff in 1999.

Just don’t get the idea Van de Velde owns all the rights to bad endings at Carnoustie.

Jose Jurado was the first victim.

He had a three-shot lead going into the final round in 1931 and was still two shots clear late in the round until coming undone in the brutal closing stretch, topping one shot on the 17th hole into the burn. He lost out to Tommy Armour.

More recently was Padraig Harrington , only it worked out well for him in 2007. Playing the 18th with a one-shot lead, the Irishman hit his tee shot into the Barry Burn. He took a p..

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Charles Oakley arrested in Vegas for trying to take back $100 chip, which isn’t the best of ideas

Jason MillerThe last time Charles Oakley got arrested, the New York Knicks legend had the entire world on his side, and for good reason. It was one of the rare instances that all of America could agree on one thing, that thing being the fact that James Dolan sucks ass. Defending Oak was the only option in that case. This latest arrest is less than ideal for Team Oak.
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As multiple news outlets have reported, Oakley was arrested at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas this past weekend for committing the worst of all sins in Sin City: cheating. According to TMZ, Oakley tried to pull back a $100 chip after he realized he was going to lose it, but it's not clear what game he was playing. I've never even been to Vegas and I know that's a no-no.
While this is all alleged, there's apparently video of the incident, which significantly hurts the whole alleged thing once everyone sees the form..

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Watch the wild hand that determined the World Series of Poker Main Event final table

You would think that getting dealt pocket kings when you're about to make the World Series of Poker Main Event final table is a good thing. You'd be mistaken. And not one, but two people found that out the hard way on Wednesday.
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With just 10 people remaining from the 7,894 who began the tournament, both Rich Zhu and Antoine Labat were put in that exact situation at the Rio in Las Vegas. But when they flipped over their cards against a third player who was all-in before the flop, Nicolas Manion, their hearts sank. Even Zhu, who held the king of hearts and king of spades. That's because Manion had the ace of hearts and. . . the ace of spades, virtually guaranteeing him a huge pot before the final five cards were dealt.
Usually, when you have an under pair, you still have about a 20 percent chance of winning the hand by getting a set. Obviously, that was not a possibility in this situation with all the kings a..

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Mickelson says he will try to act better on golf course

GULLANE, Scotland (AP) Phil Mickelson wishes he could take back the moment when he swatted a moving golf ball at the U.S. Open.

”But there’s not much I can do about it now other than just try to … act a little better,” Mickelson said on Thursday at the Scottish Open.

In his most extensive comments since he purposely violated the Rules of Golf at Shinnecock Hills, Mickelson said whatever backlash he receives from players and the public was his own doing.

Mickelson was sliding far out of contention in the third round of the U.S. Open when he chased after a bogey putt on the 13th hole and hit it back toward the hole to keep it rolling off the front of the green. He was assessed a two-shot penalty amid criticism that he should have been disqualified for such a willful violation.

In his next tournament, Mickelson tamped down tall grass just beyond the tee box at The Greenbrier to play a low iron shot, and then immediately realized it might have been a violation. He summoned a rules offi..

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Fowler shoots 64 at Scottish Open on return to Gullane

GULLANE, Scotland (AP) Rickie Fowler shot a 6-under 64 Thursday to take the clubhouse lead midway through the first round of the Scottish Open at Gullane, where he won the British Open warmup event in 2015.

Three years ago, Fowler made three birdies in his final four holes to outlast fellow American Matt Kuchar in a dramatic finish at the course just down the road from Muirfield in eastern Scotland.

The tournament was played at different courses in 2016 and ’17 but has returned to Gullane – and Fowler has picked up where he left off.

He made three straight birdies from No. 2, before driving the green at No. 6 and holing the eagle putt to reach the turn in 30.

After picking up more birdies on Nos. 11 and 12, the course record of 63 looked in danger but Fowler dropped a shot at the next hole after hitting into a bunker and parred his way in.

Fowler shared the lead with Robert Rock, Jens Dantorp and Scott Fernandez.

”The front was playing easier than the back,” Fowler said, ”and get..

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Eternal nice guy Tony Romo can’t resist taking a dig at Charles Barkley at the American Century Championship

Jed JacobsohnTony Romo is taking this whole golf thing pretty serious. Just last week he won the Racine Tri-Course Amateur Championship in his homeland of Wisconsin by a whopping nine strokes. Earlier this year he made his PGA Tour debut and came up short in another bid to qualify for the U.S. Open. He's a 3-1 favorite at the American Century Championship this week, and every word out of his mouth this week has been that of a man on a mission…well, almost.
Discussing the state of his game at Punta Cana earlier this year—”I learned it wasn't very good” he says—his newly minted team of swing coaches, and the wholesale changes they've made to his swing—a maximum power release of the clubhead designed to impart a neutral ball flight, which he calls the “condensed version” with a knowing and maybe somewhat tired smirk—Romo broke Serious Golf Guy character only a moment, but what a moment it was:
One thing I see that's really impressive [about the conditions at Edgewood..

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