SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) A capsule look at the four previous U.S. Open golf championships held at Shinnecock Hills:

Year: 1986

Winner: James Foulis.

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Score: 152.

Margin: 3 shots.

Runner-up: Horace Rawlins.

Prize: $150.

Summary: James Foulis of Scotland won the second U.S. Open as golf was just starting in America. He shot a 74 in the final round to break out of a six-way tie for the lead on a Shinnecock Hills course that was only 4,423 yards. There were 35 players in the field, and only 28 finished the 36-hole championship. Most memorable about this U.S. Open was a petition several players signed in support of John Shippen, an African-American, and Oscar Bunn, a Native American. Shippen, a caddie at Shinnecock, was tied for the lead after the first round and still in the mix until taking 11 on the 13th hole. He tied for sixth. Rawlins won the inaugural U.S. Open a year earlier at Newport.

Notable: Shinnecock Hills, one of the five founding golf clubs o..

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) The U.S. Open prefers to be looked upon as the ultimate test in golf, which can be an invitation for trouble.

Mike Davis knows that as well as anyone.

He was at Shinnecock Hills early Sunday morning in 2004 – two years before he took over setting up U.S. Open golf courses – when word began spreading that the green on the par-3 seventh hole was unplayable. Davis couldn’t immediately contact the USGA president, Walker Driver, or the man in charge of setup, Tom Meeks. So he walked onto the green, removed the flag and suspended play.

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Before long, officials had no option but to put a light spray of water on the green, at first between groups, gradually with less frequency.

The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills, and it brings back as many memories of No. 7 as Retief Goosen one-putting his way to victory over Phil Mickelson.

Davis, now the chief executive of the USGA, brought it up before anyone could ask him about it.

”You saw som..

Rickie Fowler's pursuit of a first major championship will continue next week at the U.S. Open. For now, he's content celebrating one of life's major milestones.
The World's seventh-ranked golfer proposed to girlfriend Allison Stokke on Friday, and sorry, ladies, but she said yes. After all, it's Rickie Fowler. And has a beach proposal ever not worked?
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Well done, Rickie. Both for the location and springing for a rock the size of a golf ball:
FacebookPinterestFowler will be one of the favorites to win the U.S. Open when he tees it up on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills. He will play the first two rounds with Hideki Matsuyama and Marc Leishman.
The four-time PGA Tour winner and Stokke, a professional pole vaulter and model, were first seen in public together last April at a motocross race. Stokke shared the news on Instagram as well.
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Congrats to the happy couple.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Dustin Johnson wants to sharpen his game for the U.S. Open. Moving back to No. 1 in the world would just be a nice bonus because the only way he can do that before Shinnecock Hills is by winning the St. Jude Classic.

Johnson knows what he wants.

”I just want to win,” Johnson said.

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Johnson shot 7-under 63 for his lowest round this year and grabbed a one-stroke lead Friday after 36 holes at the St. Jude Classic. He had four of his seven birdies and an eagle on his back nine for a 29 and finished with a 10-under 130 total.

Ryan Blaum and Andrew Putnam each shot 64 and were tied second, and C.T. Pan (65) and Wesley Bryan (66) followed at 8 under.

Brandt Snedeker shot his best round this year with a 62 that was one stroke off the course record. He was at 7 under.

Irishman Seamus Power, who came in with a one-stroke lead, shot a 69 to reach 6 under. Defending U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka (69) was at 5 under, and Phil Mickelson (70) was ..

SCARSDALE, N.Y. (AP) Lilia Vu and Kristen Gillman led the United States to a 4-2 lead over Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup on Friday at Quaker Ridge.

Vu and Gillman beat Alice Hewson and Lily May Humphreys 4 and 3 in the morning four-ball matches, then joined other partners in the afternoon foursomes for two more victories. Vu and Jennifer Kupcho edged Hewson and India Clyburn 2 up; and Gillman and Alabama teammate Lauren Stephenson beat Paula Grant and Humphreys 4 and 2.

”We know each other’s games really well and have similar games,” Stephenson said about Gillman. ”We hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens and give ourselves a lot of chances. That makes us a very successful team in alternate shot. We only had one bogey and it was a three-putt.”

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Olivia Mehaffey and Sophie Lamb earned 1 1/2 points for Britain and Ireland. They halved with Kupcho and 15-year-old Lucy Li in the morning, and beat Mariel Galdiano and Andrea Lee 3 and 2.

Also in the mo..

Jennifer Kupcho and Lilia Vu talk after Friday's action in the 2018 Curtis Cup from Quaker Ridge Golf Club, in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Olivia Mahaffey and Sophie Lamb talk after Friday's action in the 2018 Curtis Cup from Quaker Ridge Golf Club, in Scarsdale, N.Y.

GALLOWAY, N.J. (AP) Two-time champion Anna Nordqvist shot a 5-under 66 on Friday for a share of the first-round lead with Laura Diaz and Celine Herbin in the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Nordqvist won the 54-hole event in 2015 and 2016 on Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course and finished second last year. Teeing off Friday in the afternoon when the wind was stronger, the 30-year-old Swede closed her bogey-free round with a birdie on the par-5 ninth.

The 43-year-old Diaz made the field as an alternate. She played in the morning when the greens were smoother and the wind more benign.

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Herbin birdied the final two holes.

Lydia Ko, In-Gee Chun and ANA Inspiration winner Pernilla Lindberg were at 67 with Sandra Gal, Su Oh, Beatriz Recari, Amy Yang and Wayne, New Jersey native Marina Alex. Defending champion I.K. Kim had a 68.

Shanshan Feng, at No. 4 the top-ranked player in the field, shot 69.

Leona Maguire, the former Duke star from Ireland, had a 69 in pro debut.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Bernhard Langer returned for a three-week break to shoot an 8-under 64 and take the first-round lead Friday in the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic.

Langer closed the bogey-free round with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th at Wakonda Club. The 60-year-old German star took the brief break in part to attend his son’s high school graduation.

”I think I have a pretty good idea now how to play the golf course,” Langer said. ”When I had to get up and down I got most of them up and down, and just bogey-free is always fun.”

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Glen Day and Woody Austin were a stroke back, and defending champion Brandt Jobe was at 66 with Jerry Kelly, Tom Lehman and Doug Garwood.

Day opened 66-67 last year at Wakonda, then faded with a 76.

”That was real easy. I had about three Coors Lights, we got in the car, drove home. It was no big deal,” said Day about moving past his finish in 2017. ”That’s long gone.”

On Friday, he had four birdies ..

Ethan MillerWell, it actually happened. Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals finally won the Stanley Cup. And while that's incredibly painful to write out as a New York Rangers fan, you couldn't help but smile for the Great 8 on Thursday night when he lifted the greatest trophy in sports and screamed his lungs out as he often does.
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If you know anything about Ovi, you know the real good stuff was going to come off the ice in the postgame celebration, as is tradition for any team that wins the Cup. But when Ovi finally got his hands on it, in VEGAS of all places, you knew the after-party was going to be special, and it started off with a BANG when the team was still on the ice.
The flash seen 'round the world kicked off a party of epic proportions that is really just getting started considering Ovi & co. have a whole year with Lord Stanley. We felt it was only right to round up all the ..