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Sports
But defending champ has struggled since his British Open win Golf
JON SUPER (AP)
Phil Mickelson rolled long putts across the practice green in front of the Royal Liverpool clubhouse, some of them going in, most of them the right distance. He chirped to the caddie of Brandt Snedeker about their money game, a Mickelson tradition at the majors. Lefty was in good spirits Monday at the British Open, except for having to return the Claret Jug. Even that allowed him to reflect on a year of keeping golf’s oldest trophy, and the confidence he finally has when he plays links golf. “It’s a different feeling for me coming over here now having won this tournament,” Mickelson said. “The way I felt was, ‘Am I ever going to break through and play
Phil Mickelson plays a practice round Monday at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
well on links golf and win an Open Championship?’ Now I know that I can. I know that I’ve done it, and it takes a lot of pressure off me.” Confidence in links golf? Yes. In his game? That takes a little more work.
Since he left Muirfield last summer with the Claret Jug, Mickelson hasn’t won a tournament — his longest drought in five years. And except for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January, where he was runner-up,
Mickelson hasn’t been particularly close. He has missed three cuts. He withdrew twice after narrowly making the cut because of injuries in San Diego and San Antonio. At the Masters, where he is a three-time champion, Mickelson missed the cut for the first time in 17 years. His lone top 10 on the PGA Tour was last August at The Barclays, a tie for sixth when he closed with a 65. So why the smile? “Normally, I would be discourage or frustrated, but I’m just not,” Mickelson said. “I feel like I’ve had some good breakthroughs in some areas. I haven’t had the results. I know I haven’t played well. But the parts feel a lot better than the whole right now. And I don’t know when it will all click together. I don’t know if it will be this week. I don’t know if it will be in three weeks or a month or what, but it should be soon.” DOUG FERGUSON (AP)
SEC’s Slive Pushes for Change
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
A New Golden Era A rising gold football-shaped trophy will be the prize for the national champion in the new College Football Playoff. The more than 2-foothigh trophy, which is made from 24-karat gold, bronze and stainless steel, was unveiled Monday. (AP)
SEC commissioner Mike Slive is confident the NCAA reform he’s been pushing for years will take a big step toward becoming a reality in August. The longtime leader of the SEC gave his annual state-of-the-conference speech at the beginning of the league’s media days on Monday and wasn’t shy about putting more pressure on the NCAA. He said college athletics “must be willing to make appropriate changes,” including giving the Big Five conferences autonomy to make their own bylaws. “We are not deaf to the din of
BUTCH DILL (AP)
TONY GUTIERREZ (AP)
NCAA
SEC commissioner Mike Slive speaks during SEC media days on Monday.
discontent across collegiate athletics that has dominated the news,” Slive said.
The SEC has discussed several changes to the current system, including full cost-of-attendance scholarships and providing longterm medical coverage to college athletes. The NCAA’s board of directors will vote on the Big Five’s autonomy request in August. Slive said during the SEC’s summer meetings in June that the Big Five — which also include the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 — would consider forming a “Division IV” if they weren’t granted autonomy on some NCAA governance issues. He was optimistic then, and also on Monday, that such a drastic measure won’t be needed. DAVID BR ANDT (AP)
Top SMU Recruit Going Overseas: Prized SMU recruit Emmanuel Mudiay will pursue professional basketball opportunities overseas instead of playing for the Mustangs. In a statement Monday, coach Larry Brown said Mudiay “really wants to alleviate some of the challenges his family faces and recognizes he has an opportunity to help them now.” He was considered by most as the nation’s top high school point guard in the class of 2014. (AP)
JESSE D. GARRABRANT (NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES)
Mickelson Confident on Links
Bradley Beal averaged 17.1 points a game for the Wizards last season.
Beal Makes 19-Man U.S. Roster Cut Basketball When All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook withdrew from Team USA mini-camp last week, an opportunity appeared to open up for John Wall to earn an invitation to try out for the squad as it begins training July 28 in Las Vegas in preparation for the FIBA World Cup. Despite an All-Star appearance and leading the Wizards into the second round of the playoffs, Wall was again left off the 19-man roster USA Basketball announced on Monday. Bradley Beal is the Wizards’ lone representative on a team that includes Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, Paul George, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, DeMarcus Cousins, Kyle Korver, Kenneth Faried, Andre Drummond and Klay Thompson. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo made two additions that weren’t on the original 28-man talent pool through 2016 in DeMar DeRozan and Chandler Parsons. The 12 players to make the national team will participate in the World Cup from Aug. 30 to Sept. 14 in Spain. M I C H A E L L E E (THE WASHINGTON POST )