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German world number three Alexander Zverev is also through to the last four in Vienna after Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor withdrew from their quarter-final match.

With that result, Zverev, seeded second in Vienna, joined Alcaraz, Sinner and Novak Djokovic as the first four players to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in November.

Zverev will play Italian fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti or Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the other semi-final on Saturday.

Meanwhile, at the Swiss Indoors, three of the four quarter-finals scheduled for Friday ended as walkovers.

Norway’s Casper Ruud decided he could not continue after losing a first-set tie-break against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime retired after Spaniard Jaume Munar won the first set 6-3.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov shook hands with Joao Fonseca after falling 3-6 6-3 4-1 behind against the Brazilian.

In the only match to be completed in Basel, Frenchman Ugo Humbert beat American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (7-0) 6-4.

Several high-profile players have seen their seasons ended prematurely over recent weeks.

Following a serious injury to Holger Rune, British number one Jack Draper called for the tennis calendar to be adapted if players are “to achieve some sort of longevity” earlier in October.

Former women’s world number one Iga Swiatek complained in September that the season is “too long and too intense” amid a string of injuries to players at the China Open.

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Walter Hagen was a bomber on the course and a bon vivant off of it. Born to a humble home in upstate New York, he came to golf through caddying and went on to earn great riches as a pro in an era when amateurs ruled the game.

“I never wanted to be a millionaire,” Hagen once said. “I just wanted to live like one.”

He did.

Dashing and assertive, with a taste for flamboyant fashions, Hagen sometimes arrived on the first tee in a tuxedo, just to lend the impression he’d been up all night. He struck endorsement deals with equipment-makers and toured the country in a chauffeured Cadillac, playing hundreds of exhibition matches that helped popularize the game across the United States. When he died in 1969 at the age of 76, one of his pallbearers was Arnold Palmer — fitting company for golf’s first great showman.

Hagen knew how to have a good time. He also knew how to bear down. His tally of 11 major championships ranks third all-time, behind only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. He had a knack for mixing business and pleasure, and a pithy way of summing up his outlook on life: “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”

One of his most memorable flower-smelling moments came in 1920, when Hagen was in England for the Open Championship. On a lark, he and fellow pro Jim Barnes decided to turn three Open venues into a single adventure. Starting at Royal Cinque Ports, they played 11 holes, hopped a fence to Royal St. George’s for another 10, then crossed to Prince’s for the balance before looping back to their starting point.

That carefree escapade has since been formalized into an annual event known as The Hagen 54, a tribute to golf’s original entertainer. The 2026 edition begins Wednesday, July 22, with optional golf at either Prince’s or Royal Cinque Ports, followed by a welcome reception at Cinque Ports that evening. The main event tees off early Thursday morning with a shotgun start — 54 holes played consecutively across all three courses, with caddies, catering, and refreshments along the way. Entry is about $1,300 per person, or $5,300 for a fourball.

Simon Holt, co-host of the Destination Golf podcast, took part in the 2025 installment of the event — you can watch the video in the player above or hear more about Holt’s day in this podcast (also linked below).

Three seaside links, 54 holes, and one timeless reminder from the Haig himself: enjoy the ride.

British number two Cameron Norrie was knocked out of the Austria Open by Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in a dramatic last-16 match.

The world number 59 overcame Norrie in three hours and 16 minutes with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 victory in Vienna.

Norrie let a 4-1 lead slip in the first set, and was punished in the tie-break as Berretini edged ahead.

The second set was even tighter, with both players keeping serve throughout.

The Italian squandered a match point in the tie-break, with Norrie taking his fourth set-point opportunity to level the match.

But the 30-year-old could not build on his momentum in the deciding set and Berrettini sealed a crucial break in the ninth game to swing the match in his favour.

Berrettini, 29, will face third seed and world number seven Alex de Minaur in the next round following the Australian’s 6-4 6-4 victory over Filip Misolic.

Italian world number two Jannik Sinner defeated compatriot Flavio Cobolli 6-2 7-6 (7-4).

Germany’s world number three Alexander Zverev also progressed, winning 6-4 6-4 against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi.

But, four days after ending his 882-day wait to win a title, Russian Daniil Medvedev was beaten 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 by Frenchman Corentin Moutet – his opponent in Sunday’s Almaty Open final.

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Oct 22, 2025, 02:54 PM ET

The PGA Tour is canceling its season opener at The Sentry instead of finding a replacement course for water-deprived Kapalua on Maui, the first time a tournament has been canceled since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Sony Open in Honolulu will be the first tournament of 2026 on Jan. 15-18, the latest start to a year since the PGA Tour was formed in 1969.

The tour and Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance had contemplated other courses to stage the $20 million signature event for PGA Tour winners and those from the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. Instead, they chose not to play it at all.

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“I am really proud of what The Sentry has become. I didn’t want ’26 to be any less,” said Stephanie Smith, the chief marketing and brand officer at Sentry who oversees the golf partnership that began in 2018. The sponsorship runs through 2035.

“We didn’t want it be just, ‘Find a place for it in the schedule’, or, ‘Find a course for it that could host it.’ I wanted Sentry to remain the jewel that it is,” Smith said. “I wanted it to be special. When that couldn’t come together, I felt we didn’t have a choice.

“This is not the outcome we wanted, but unfortunately it’s where we are.”

Kapalua had to close its two courses on drought-stricken Maui – the Plantation course has hosted the PGA Tour since 1999 – because of severe water restrictions brought on by a dispute with the company in charge of a century-old water delivery system.

The Sony Open is in its last year of title sponsorship, leaving Hawaii’s place on the PGA Tour schedule in doubt after this year.

The tour announced The Sentry being canceled on the same day Kapalua announced the Plantation course will re-open for play on Nov. 10 and tee times could be reserved starting Thursday at a promotional rate of $399. It said two of the 18 greens were still being restored.

The Sentry has been the first PGA Tour event every year since 1999 except in 2001, when the season began in Australia with a World Golf Championship. Several players in the Kapalua field often headed over to Oahu for the Sony Open.

Seven PGA Tour winners, including Aldrich Potgieter and Min Woo Lee, did not finish among the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. The tour said to make up for missing a spot at Kapalua, they will be added to the field in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head the week after the Masters.

Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese billionaire who owns Kapalua and who founded the apparel brand Uniqlo, Kapalua homeowners and Hua Momona Farms filed a lawsuit in August against Maui Land & Pineapple, alleging it has not maintained the water delivery system.

MLP has since filed a countersuit and the two sides have exchanged accusations since then.

The Commissioner on Water Resource Management in Hawaii two weeks ago notified MLP of alleged violations with the water delivery system with fines that could total $11 million. MLP has until Nov. 8 to respond.

In the meantime, Kapalua’s two courses went from emerald green to yellow with the water restrictions, leading to the course closing in September for at least two months to try to save them. The tour announced Sept. 16 it would not be able to play The Sentry at Kapalua.

Smith did not say which other courses were under consideration. A year ago, the Genesis Invitational had to move away from Riviera in Los Angeles because of the deadly wildfires in Pacific Palisades. It relocated for the year to Torrey Pines, which still had all its infrastructure in place from hosting a PGA Tour event three weeks earlier.

“After assessing alternate venues in Hawaii and beyond, the tour determined it would not be able to contest The Sentry in 2026 because of logistical challenges – including shipping deadlines, tournament infrastructure and vendor support,” the tour said in a statement.

The Sentry has one of the longest title sponsorship deal with the tour. Still to be determined is whether it will return to Kapalua in 2027, a year in which significant changes are expected from a revamped schedule.

Tiger Woods is leading a “Futures Competition Committee” to shape the tour. That committee is about to meet for the first time.

Asked about The Sentry’s future on Maui in 2027, Smith said, “It’s hard to say at this point.”

“We are committed to playing The Sentry,” she said. “We know from our conversations with the tour that The Sentry will be on the schedule. There’s so many factors in play right now. What’s going on the island? Will the water issue be resolved? Will the course be playable? What about the lawsuits being resolved?

“We’ve had good conversations,” she said. “We’re committed to playing The Sentry again at the level we have in the past.”

The Sony Open becomes the seventh tournament to start the year since the tour began.

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  David PurdumOct 21, 2025, 09:40 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPN in 2014
  • Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008

The Oklahoma City Thunder were underdogs in only three games last season en route to winning the franchise’s first NBA championship.

Oddsmakers are expecting a similar campaign this season.

The Thunder, who tip off their title defense Tuesday against the Houston Rockets, are commanding favorites to win another championship, listed at 2-1 at ESPN BET. Those are the shortest title odds entering a season since the powerhouse Golden State Warriors in 2017-18.

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“They’re head and shoulders above [everyone], and they’ll be favored in just about every game, unless there’s something unforeseen,” Jeff Sherman, a veteran NBA oddsmaker for the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, said of the Thunder.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, at +650, have the second-shortest odds behind the Thunder. The Denver Nuggets (+650) are the only other team with title odds shorter than +1000.

The New York Knicks are +1000, followed by the Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers, who are each +1500.

While Oklahoma City is the overwhelming favorite, the Thunder’s short odds have bettors looking elsewhere.

At ESPN BET, nearly 50% of the money that had been bet on the odds to win the NBA title was on the Nuggets. Denver also had attracted the most bets and most money to win the title at BetMGM. The Nuggets’ title odds moved from around 15-1 down to +650 this offseason, as the team retooled around Nikola Jokic.

Jokic is the betting favorite to win MVP and is listed +215 at ESPN BET, followed by Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at +250. The Lakers’ Luka Doncic is next at +440.

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For the past several months, rumors have circulated online claiming that various corporate entities are interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery ahead of the media conglomerate’s planned split into two divisions. That possibility has taken another step towards becoming a reality, with WBD announcing in a press release this morning that they’re officially exploring a sale.

“While [WBD] continues to advance its previously announced separation of Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, its Board of Directors today announced it has initiated a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, in light of unsolicited interest the Company has received from multiple parties for both the entire company and Warner Bros,” the statement reads.

The release confirmed that the company is open to selling off parts of the business, or a full acquisition, depending on what would earn the most money for shareholders. In the meantime, it will continue to move towards the corporate split in the event that a successful sale doesn’t materialize.

WBD has served as the primary broadcast partner for AEW since the company was founded in 2019. The two parties signed a media rights extension last year, which should keep the business relationship going for the next few years even if a sale does occur. However, it’s very possible that AEW representatives will be negotiating with an entirely different company when it comes time to start working out the next agreement. It’s also worth noting that WBD is said to own a stake in AEW, and any company that acquires WBD would presumably take on that piece of ownership as well.

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India’s Lakshya Sen (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)( India’s Lakshya Sen exited the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament after losing to Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in the men’s singles first round. The straight-game defeat ended with scores of 7-21, 16-21 against world number 29 Nhat.Despite defeating Nhat in three games at the Denmark Open last week, the 24-year-old Indian player from Almora struggled to find his rhythm in Paris. His performance was marked by repeated errors, hitting wide and into the net.Sen’s deep tosses frequently missed their mark, while his attacking play lacked accuracy. He fell behind early, trailing 2-7 in the opening game.Despite controlling many rallies, Sen struggled with his finishing shots. A wide return left him six points behind at the interval, and he couldn’t recover as Nhat extended his lead to 19-7 before claiming the first game with a cross-court winner.The second game showed little improvement for the world No. 16 Indian player. He quickly fell behind 1-6, and although he reduced the gap to 4-6, unforced errors allowed Nhat to build an 11-5 lead at the break.Sen attempted a comeback, reaching 11-15, but crucial mistakes hindered his progress. At 14-17, a long rally ended with a backhand into the net, and additional errors gave Nhat six match points.The Indian saved two match points, but the Irish player secured victory with a deceptive cross-court shot, ending Sen’s French Open campaign.

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Britain’s Cameron Norrie battled his way to victory over seventh seed Andrey Rublev to progress to the second round of the Erste Bank Open.

World number 35 Norrie won the two-hour match 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 in Austria.

Norrie, 30, started the match in fine fashion and took the opening set in just 34 minutes before breaking serve to move 2-0 up in the second.

The Briton served for the match at 5-4, but Rublev landed his first break of serve to force a tie-break, which he won to set up a deciding set.

Former world number eight Norrie regrouped to break Rublev’s serve in the second game to take command of the third set.

Norrie broke once more to book his spot in the next round, where he will face either Australia’s Alexei Popyrin or Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.

“It was all round a really good performance, I was moving well and able to dictate the points,” said Norrie.

“I got a bit tight and tentative when I was serving for the match but credit to him staying in and competing.”

Meanwhile, there was heartbreak for British number three Jacob Fearnley who was beaten by second seed Alexander Zverev in the first round.

After losing the first set, Fearnley, ranked 81st in the world, stunned the German to level the match and managed to force a third-set tie-break.

However, Zverev won the hard-fought breaker to progress 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-5) and will face Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi in the second round.

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Itâ€s old school meets new school whenever CW Anderson and Brock Anderson team up in an MLW ring. The cross-generational duo have formed an unbreakable bond working through the ranks toward the top of the tag division. Brock, the son of Hall of Famer Arn Anderson, looks to soak up all of the more than 30 years of knowledge CW brings to every match.

For CW, an ECW alum and MLW original, itâ€s a chance to show that after all this time he could still battle with the best of them. The veteran looks back at feuding with the likes of Terry Funk, “Dr. Death†Steve Williams, Dusty Rhodes, and Jerry Lawler. Now he marvels at the talents of MLW Champion Mads Krügger, Alex Kane, Matthew Justice, and others. “These guys are way more athletic and possess more power and punishment as you can tell by what theyâ€ve been putting on Brock and ,†he said.

Brock has been grateful to sit under the learning tree of those more experienced than him. MLW afforded him the opportunity to truly hone his skills.

“When I left AEW, the first thing I wanted to do was actually learn this business. I didnâ€t think I could do it over there because they didn†t have the setup for it. It has been documented. It is what it is,†Brock said, candidly. “I thought if I stayed there I wouldnâ€t really learn in the short-term or long-term. Me and CW had a six-man, I think a couple months before I was done, with his partner PQ [Preston Quinn]. I just learned so much with that 10 minutes we were in the ring.â€

CW could feel the chemistry as well. So much so he sent a text to the youngster asking, “what do you think about tagging together?†Brock loved the idea.

“It would make too much sense, just even from the Anderson standpoint,†he recalled. “People could gravitate toward that and understand that. For me personally, itâ€s an opportunity to learn from a guy who has been in this business for 30 years. I would be a fool to turn that down. It has been the best thing in my development so far, hands on done. Iâ€ve learned something every time Iâ€m around him, inside or outside the ring. Just even our conversations in the hotel room, at the hotel, driving to a show. He is a wealth of knowledge. Iâ€m very blessed to have him as a tag partner.â€

CWâ€s love and motivation for professional wrestling was renewed thanks to working with Brock. It gave him a new purpose.

“If youâ€ve been in this business long enough, you will learn to dislike it because there are so many pitfalls and downfalls. One instance was right before ECW folded, I was getting a contract and promised a television belt and told my career was getting ready to skyrocket,†CW said. “Iâ€ve always been about leaving this business better than I found it. Tagging with Brock, from the first time I saw him and his mannerisms, the moves, he has got a lot from his dad. He looks like his dad with his mannerisms and moves.

“I always told him from the beginning, don’t walk in your dadâ€s shoes, walk in your own because youâ€re going to get compared to that. I just love being able to teach him, and he is a quick learner. From promos to skills, everything has been 180 degrees from when we started tagging almost two years ago. The sky is the limit with Brock. I don’t know how much longer I‘m going to be doing this, but when I do walk away, I want him one hundred percent ready to take the torch as an Anderson and carry it into the next generation after that. So far, he is able to do that and is getting better every day.â€

For the former member of the Extreme Horsemen and now Rogue Horsemen, the tandem is a throwback to the days of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. CW would be the Ole Anderson in this scenario. Although CW is quick to say he doesnâ€t have nearly the “pissed off attitude.†CW is also happy to take in feedback from Brockâ€s pops Arn.

“There was one time Brock and I were tagging and his dad twisted something in our match and made it a hundred times better,†he said. “In 30 years, I looked at Brock and said, ‘I donâ€t know anything about wrestling.†All these years and experience and his dad fixed something in our matches. Thatâ€s where Iâ€m trying to get to at 31 years.â€

Brock is excited for the future as MLW secures more business deals. He looks forward to whatâ€s to come with the company building more momentum.

“When we go to work, weâ€re focused on the match at hand. However, you hear whispers of a TV deal. We just signed a bunch of autograph labels for Panini. We got a card deal coming though, which is huge,†Brock explained. “Anyone who grew up a baseball fan who had baseball cards knows about Panini. So, thatâ€s a huge deal. You have all the relationships, New-Japan, and CMLL. The business is on the rise. Youâ€re seeing all these familiar faces coming into the locker room and youâ€re saying, ‘Wait a minute, competition is getting a little bit stiffer around here. We have to up our game.†Competition is good for everyone from every walk of life. Not just pro wrestling.â€

The two are coming off the brutal House of Horrors match at Slaughterhouse on October 14. Although things didnâ€t work out the way theyâ€d like, itâ€s on to the next show Symphony of Horrorson October 25 at 10 p.m. ET on beIN Sports and YouTube. The special will feature Brock issuing a challenge.Â

“If you watch the match when we were in the cage [at Slaughterhouse], someone in this discussion got rattled a bit,†Brock teased. “They almost had their life taken from them. That didnâ€t sit right with me. A wrestling match is a wrestling match, but someone in particular took it to a whole other level. Iâ€m going to make it worth my while to let him know you don†t mess around with family.â€

From there, MLW returns to Horsemen country and Charleston, South Carolina for MLW X Don Gato Equila: Lucha de Los Muertos. The Andersons look forward to a good homecoming.Â

“Itâ€s good weâ€re running South Carolina because weâ€re running in the South again,†CW said. “ This is where we thrive. This is where NWA, where I think the best professional wrestling was, was the NWA era. Youâ€ll get to see the Andersons thrive in Charleston, South Carolina because thatâ€s our home, that’s our backyard..â€

As for the future, more than three decades in his career, CW shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Although he does have a vision for what heâ€d like that retirement match to be when that moment comes.

“If I could pull it off with Brock as my partner against Tommy Dreamer and Steve Corino,†CW revealed. “Tommy has been my most hated and loved villain of my wrestling career. I call him a villain. Steve Corino has been my best friend for 30 years. That would be the one I would be able to take my boots off and call it a career if I could have that match.â€

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With the likes of Rory McIlroy, eventual winner Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry teeing it up at the 2025 DP World India Championship, another PGA Tour star in the field flew under the radar: Brian Harman.

But the 2023 Open champion is receiving plenty of attention after the tournament. That’s because Harman uncharacteristically lost his cool and violently smashed a club in disgust during the final round… only to watch his ball end up right near the hole.

Harman contends at India Championship before Sunday swoon

Despite receiving second billing this week, Harman looked like he might win for much of it. At the halfway point, Harman had strung together a 68 and 65 to get to 11 under. That put him in a tie for second with Lowry, one shot behind Fleetwood with 36 holes to go.

But Harman, who won the 2025 Valero Texas Open in April for his first victory since the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, took a step back in Saturday’s third round.

Two bogeys and only four birdies left him with a 70, putting him four shots behind 54-hole leader Keita Nakajima.

The biggest change on Harman’s scorecard from the first two rounds came at the par-5 1st hole. Harman birdied the narrow, tree-lined hole on Thursday and Friday. But on Saturday, Harman was forced to hit three tee shots at the 1st. He hit his first tee shot into the trees. When his provisional tee shot also found the trees, a mad search ensued.

Eventually, Harman found both balls. So he took an unplayable on the first ball, then zipped back to the tee on a golf cart to hit a third tee shot. Somehow, he came away with a bogey-6.

On Sunday, it would get worse.

Brian Harman sticks tee shot, smashes club in disgust

Four shots back to start the final round, Harman still had a chance to pull off a come-from-behind victory. But only if he went low early and often.

Unfortunately, those chances blew up at the 1st hole, where Harman hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker, then his second shot into the bushes to incur another penalty. A double-bogey 7 was the result.

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Harman is known for his calm demeanor, rarely letting positive of negative emotions overtake him on the course. But the frustration from the 1st hole eventually boiled over on the par-3 5th.

The 161-yard 5th requires another careful tee shot through a gauntlet of trees beyond the tee. Making matters nervier on Sunday was a difficult pin cut close to the front of a tilting green. A bad tee ball could easily lead to a big number.

One over on the day and well off the lead, Harman chose his iron, stepped up and took a swipe at his ball.

In a video of the shot, Harman momentarily holds his finish, but then turns and violently tomahawks his iron into the ground, sending the club bouncing across the tee box.

A TV analyst can be heard saying, “I’ve never seen him do that before.”

Harman was apparently convinced that he’d hit another squirrelly tee shot. But he was wrong. Very wrong. Just after Harman smashed his iron, the camera cut to his ball, catching the end of its flight as it crashed down on the green, coming to rest 6’10” from the pin.

Check it out below.

In fact, it was Harman’s best shot on the hole all week. He hit it to 36 feet at in the 5th in Round 1, 18 feet in Round 2 and 23 feet in Round 3.

But Harman couldn’t sink his short birdie chance, settling for a par. He would trade three birdies for four bogeys the rest of the way, eventually signing for a two-over 74. His Sunday struggles dropped him into a T26-finish, 11 shots behind Fleetwood.