Browsing: Champion

Bryson DeChambeau: Magaâ€s golf champion looks to be unlikely unifier for US at Ryder Cup | Bryson DeChambeau

Bryson DeChambeau is not shying away from the spectacle as golf’s matchplay carnival touches down on America’s toughest public course. On the eve of the Ryder Cup, the 32-year-old admitted he sees it as his responsibility, and his privilege, to feed off Bethpage Black’s notoriously rowdy galleries and leverage their energy into a weapon.

“This week is an amazing opportunity,†he said on a soggy Thursday in Farmingdale. “New York fans are incredible. As rowdy and raucous as they get, they still love the game of golf. I couldn’t be more excited to hopefully get them riled up and excited for what’s to come.â€

It is a role he believes he is far better prepared for than four years ago at Whistling Straits, when the United States ran roughshod over Europe 19–9 for their most lopsided Ryder Cup victory in history. Then, he was still navigating the fallout of a highly public feud with Brooks Koepka. His résumé at that point included a single major win, the 2020 US Open, and a reputation for tinkering and petulance. Now, after three years of reinvention – a high-profile jump to LIV Golf, a string of strong major finishes, his outsized success as a YouTuber and almost nuclear charm offensive – DeChambeau insists he is equipped to channel the noise, not be consumed by it. “Four years ago, I wouldn’t have been as open or ready,†he reflected. “The experience helps. Hopefully I can use that to the best of my ability and hit some great shots when it matters most.â€

Missing the last Ryder Cup in Rome remains a sore point. “It sucked,†he admitted on Thursday. “I wanted to be there. Didn’t play well enough in the majors. Knew what I was up against when I went to LIV … but seeing the guys lose really put a fire in my stomach. I wanted to make the team this time around.†He likened it to another painful absence: being forced out of the Tokyo Olympics after contracting Covid, which he called “a pretty big shot to the heartâ€. Those moments, he said, left him determined to treat a Ryder Cup return as “a passion projectâ€.

That determination paid off. Though LIV golfers have fewer routes to qualify, his results in the majors – including the kind of prodigious driving that makes him a tailor-made fit for Bethpage’s 7,352-yard brute – punched his ticket. “Making this team was A1,†he said. “It was the thing I wanted to do most, represent my country.â€

For a player once caricatured as golf’s mad scientist, more loner than teammate, DeChambeau has relished the camaraderie this time. “The amount of calls I got when I was on the team from players was amazing,†he said. “It made me more passionate and excited to be a part of what we can accomplish this week.†Ryder Cup rookie Ben Griffin, who played practice rounds with him on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, praised his energy and even teased that he managed to outdrive DeChambeau once. “He’s been awesome to have on this team,†Griffin said. “He’s unique, but a huge asset.â€

That duality – the eccentric technician who breaks out a protractor on the greens and the unlikely crowd-pleaser who engages in mid-round banter with the galleries – has come to define him. As recently as 2021, his online presence barely existed. He was a polarizing figure in the golf world even before going full heel by defecting to the Saudi-backed LIV tour. He publicly ripped his equipment manufacturer, made brazen proclamations of neutering Augusta and engaged in a petty feud with Koepka, all of which incrementally cost him fan support. Now, with more than 2.4 million YouTube subscribers, he has become a crossover figure who draws kids to the autograph line as readily as he impresses the diehards with ball speed. Teammate Harris English admitted being baffled by the digital world until DeChambeau gave him a crash course at the opening ceremony. “That’s his plan,†English said. “Growing the game as much as possible, relating to kids, bringing them into golf. I think that’s really cool.â€

Not everyone is convinced. Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has dismissed DeChambeau as “a captain’s nightmareâ€, questioning whether his online following – slingshotted into the stratosphere by a viral video of a round with Donald Trump – is authentic and suggesting he is more focused on content than competition. DeChambeau shrugged it off. “Any time people can throw stuff at me like that, I enjoy it. It spurs conversation. And if it creates more buzz for golf, that’s great.â€

Trump himself will attend Friday’s opening session, just days after he lashed out at European leaders in a UN broadside, becoming the first sitting president to appear at a Ryder Cup. DeChambeau, who remains a darling of the American right, sees that presence as another lever to stir the crowd. “I hope he will inspire us to victory,†he said. “He’ll be a great force for us to get a lot of people on our side. It’s going to be an electric environment.â€

That line will divide opinion, as the Ryder Cup often has. For decades, the event has mirrored politics and national moods: the chest-thumping War on the Shore in 1991, the Brookline celebrations of 1999, the confrontation between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay’s caddie in Rome two years ago. Bethpage Black, the Long Island track with its history of heckling and hostility, offers another combustible stage. This week, as America continues to reel from political violence at home, it offers a fleeting chance for unity with Republicans and Democrats each yearning for the same red numbers to fill the scoreboard.

DeChambeau knows he will be one of its central actors, not only because of his drives but because of his persona. His rivalry with McIlroy has turned into a subplot: McIlroy accusing him of seeking attention, DeChambeau threatening to “chirp†back. Yet he was careful on Thursday to stress respect. “Rivalries are good for the game,†he said. “I have the ultimate respect for Rory. Would I love to go up against him? Yeah. He’s a fierce competitor, a great competitor.â€

Still, he frames himself less as lightning rod than support system. “Whether it’s emotionally or leadership, it’s more about pumping people up, giving good energy out there,†he said. “Helping people realize why we are playing this week is a top priority for me.â€

That blend – the entertainer signing autographs till the queues thinned in Thursday’s drizzle, the math prodigy explaining single-length irons, the partisan cheerleader and champion of the Maga movement – makes DeChambeau the rare figure who seems as likely to rile as to inspire. In a competition defined by noise and jingoism, he is ready to meet the moment head-on. “I just want to be part of this team,†he said. “This has been a mission project for me. Hopefully I can provide some fun stuff this week and hopefully we can get that Cup back.â€

WWE

John Cena Throws Out Suggestion For One Last Match With Former WWE Champion

John Cena speaks on a microphone during FanExpo.

Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images

John Cena is not known for his social media presence, with his Instagram famously featuring caption-less photos for his over 20 million followers to interpret. “The Never Seen Seventeen” could not have made himself more clear, however, in a recent post on X (formerly known as Twitter), where he laid down a challenge to former WWE Champion AJ Styles in the tail end of his retirement tour.

Cena took to X mere minutes before Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw” to post his tease. He led with the hashtag “#CenavsStyles,” before asking his social media following for their thoughts. X’s special hashtag for “Raw” followed. As of writing, Cena’s post has been viewed over 300,000 times.

Fans clamored to the replies section, and unilaterally expressed their excitement for the match. One netizen claimed that Cena was “going into business for himself,” which comes after reports that Cena did not choose to face Wrestlepalooza opponent Brock Lesnar on his retirement tour. As of writing, Styles has yet to respond. Nothing has been made official as of the top of Monday’s show, and according to sources, Cena is not even slated for Monday’s September 22 episode of “Raw.”

Cena’s post comes after a less-than-stellar weekend for the record-setting world titleholder after he lost against long-time rival Lesnar in Wrestlepalooza’s opening match. Fresh off a loss during his limited amount of remaining retirement tour dates, Cena is looking to regain his end-of-year momentum heading into Crown Jewel, where he is scheduled to appear live from Perth’s RAC Arena on October 11. If Cena does not face Styles before or at Crown Jewel, “The Phenomenal One” will not have many more opportunities to lock up with the iconic Superstar, as Cena is scheduled for just two more events after Australia: Survivor Series on November 29, and in a final retirement match on December 13.

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Zilem & Radican discuss AEW All Out including “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Kyle Fletcher, Kris Statlander becomes new Womenâ€s Champion, more (165 min.)

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SHOW SUMMARY:PWTorch’s Brian Zilem and Sean Radican discuss the AEW All Out PPV. “Hangman” Adam Page retains against Kyle Fletcher for the AEW World Title, Kris Statlander becomes new Womenâ€s Champion in the four-way clash with Toni Storm, Hayter, and Thekla, Okada retains Unified Title over Takeshita & Máscara Dorada, Brodido holds on to Tag Team gold in a wild ladder match vs. Young Bucks, JetSpeed, and others, Jon Moxley beats Darby Allin in a Coffin match, Mark Briscoe defeats MJF in a brutal Tables ‘n’ Thumbtacks match, Adam Copeland & Christian Cage take down FTR, plus surprise returns from Pac, Jack Perry, and Eddie Kingston, and the debut of Beth Copeland.

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USAâ€s Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker disqualified from world championships for ‘jostling†| World Athletics Championships

USAâ€s Olympic 1500m champion, Cole Hocker, was disqualified from his semi-final at the world championships in Tokyo on Monday after he barged his way through a crowd on the home straight.

Hocker was boxed in on the inside with nowhere to go – just as he had been in the Olympic final a year ago. He saw a sliver of a gap open and charged through, making contact with Germanyâ€s Robert Farken, and then broke clear to finish second. Farken, who appeared to have his rhythm disrupted, went on to finish 10th.

The 24-year-old was disqualified for “jostlingâ€, which World Athletics regulations define as “physical contact on one or more occasions with another athlete or athletes that results in an unfair advantage or causes injury or harm to them or, consequently, to another athlete or athletes.â€

After the race, Hocker explained his thinking. “It was tight, I was looking for any kind of gap I could find,†Hocker said. “I tried my best to get through there as cleanly as possible, but I knew everybody was going to be coming from behind really fast.

“I got a little bit trapped in there. I have been in that position a few times before and I just tried to stay calm. I trust my instincts and just try to move through as well as I can.â€

On this occasion his instincts did not work out and the US teamâ€s appeal was rejected.

The Dutchman Niels Laros was the fastest qualifier for Wednesdayâ€s final, with the British duo Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman – the last two world champions – going through strongly. Hockerâ€s compatriot Jonah Koech also advanced to the final.

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