Continuing coverage by Fearless Rick, Sunday, June 16, 9:24 pm ET

With his fourth birdie of the day on the par four 12th hole, Rory Mcilroy tied Bryson DeChambeau for the lead in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Country Club in North Carolina. McIlroy, who bodied the par 5 5th hole, had birdies on 1, 9, 10, and 12, charging from three strokes behind on the final day of the tournament.

DeChambeau, who entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over McIlroy, Mattheiu Pavon and first round co-leader (with McIlroy) Patrick Cantlay with a total score of -7. The trio at -4 were split up with Pavon playing with DeChambeau and Cantlay and McIlroy as the second-last pairing.

DeChambeau dropped a stroke with a bogey at #4, but made it back to even par on the round with a birdie on the par-5 10th hole. However, once McIlroy had tied for the lead, DeChambeau felt the pressure building and scored a bogey at #12 to give McIlroy the outright lead at -7 and moments later McIlroy knocked in an 8-foot putt on the 13th for a two stroke lead at -8.

Refusing to fold, DeChambeau returned with a birdie on the short, drive-reachable par 4 13th to draw back to within a stroke of the lead, even par for the day and -7 for the tournament.

On the final four holes, both former champions (McIlroy, 2011; DeChambeau, 2020) could feel the pressure of the final day of a major championship. On the par-3 13, McIlroy overshot the green, chipped back to within 31 feet, and two-putted for a bogey four, falling back into a tie with DeChambeau.

Both golfers missed short putts down the stretch, but McIlroy missed two, essentially costing him the title. In addition to his bogey on 15, McIlroy bogeyed 16 and 18, missing what were routine putts from within four feet.

DeChambeau missed a "gimme" putt on 15, but steadied after that, scoring pars on the final three holes to win by one stroke at six-under-par.

It was not the best golf by far, but DeChambeau displayed grit and determination after giving up the lead and not giving in to the pressure from McIlroy. Rather, it was McIlroy's mistakes in the late stages of the tournament that handed DeChambeau his second U.S. Open victory.

The final tally:
DeChambeau, -6, 274
McIlroy, -5, 275
Cantlay, -4, 276
Finau, -4, 276
Pavon, -3, 277
Matsuyama, -2, 278
Henley, -1, 279
Schauffele, -1, 279

The real winner of the week was the USGA and the magnificence of the Pinehurst #2 course, with its undulating, lightning-fast greens, tight fairways and challenging conditions throughout.

The 2025 U.S. Open will be contested at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Next up on the professional tour is the Open Championship, aka, the British Open, will be held at Royal Troon July 18-21. It is the 10th time the Open Championship has been held at the ancient Royal Troon.

Bryson DeChambeau Leads U.S. Open Field at -7; Only Eight Players Under Par

Continuing coverage by Fearless Rick, Saturday, June 15, 9:18 pm ET

There hasn't been even a hint of rain or humidity at Pinecrest Country Club during the playing of the U.S. Open this weekend, and the scores are testament to the difficulty of the course under dry conditions.

Nearly impossible to get balls to hold on the rock-hard greens has made making par difficult and scoring birdies next to impossible.

Bryson DeChambeau, U.S. Open champion from 2020, leads the field with a score of -7 for the tournament after turning in a stellar round of 67 on Saturday.

Ludvig Aberg, who led after two rounds, dropped out of serious contention after a triple-bogey on hole #13. First round co-leader, Patrick Cantlay, continued steady, if unspectacular play, carding a 70 to end day three tied for second at -4.

DeChambeau took charge midway through the third round. After a bogey 5 on the fourth hole, DeChambeau scored birdies on 5, 7, 10, 11, and 14, storming to a three stroke lead by the end of the day.

Rory McIlroy, who shared the lead with Cantlay on day one, appeared to be the main threat, but bogies on 15 and 17 and a round three score of 69 left him at -4, three strokes off the pace at the end of the day.

France's Matthieu Pavon, who briefly took the lead with birdies on one, five and seven, lost ground on the back nine, bogeying 11 and 16. He finished his third round with a score of 69, and will pair with DeChambeau in the final twosome on Sunday.

Only eight players are under par. Hideki Matsuyama and Ludvig Aberg are at -2. Tyrell Hatton and Tony Finau are at -1.

DeChambeau and Pavon are scheduled to tee off at 2:21 pm Sunday. 18-hole TV coverage will be provided by NBC.

Ludvig Aberg Leads U.S. Open by one after Round Two

Continuing coverage by Fearless Rick, Saturday, June 15, 7:20 am ET

Sweden's Ludwig Aberg took over the lead in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, North Carolina, Friday, carding a 69 in the second round after posting 66 on Thursday for a combined score of -5.

He leads Bryson DeChambeau, Thomas Detry, and first round co-leader Patrick Cantlay by one stroke. Rory McIlroy, who was tied at -5 with Cantlay after the first round, shot a two-over 72 to fall into a tie with Tony Finau and Matthieu Pavon at -3.

Hideki Matsuyama shot the low round of the day with a four-under 66, placing him alone in 8th place at two under par for the tournament. Seven players are at -1, including Xander Schauffele, Akshay Bhatia, Tom Kim, and Tyrell Hatton.

Five more players are at even par, five strokes back, among them Billy Horschel, Sam Burns and Sergio Garcia.

Notables further down the leader board include former U.S. Open champions Jordan Spieth and Martin Kaymer, who are both +3 for the tournament. Last year's winner, Wyndham Clark, is another stroke back, at +4.

The cut came at +5, which was welcome news to Scottie Scheffler, who shot 71 on Thursday and encountered further trouble Friday, shooting a 74, the worst of it a double bogey 7 on the 596-yard, par 5 5th hole. Scheffler didn't manage a birdie all day, bogeying both par 3's on the back nine, holes 15 and 17.

Others who scraped by at -5 include Sahith Theegala, former U.S. Open champions Matthew Fitzpatrick and Brooks Koepka, Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood, and Shane Lowry.

Missing the cut were Viktor Hovland, Max Homa, Justin Rose, and Nick Dunlap, all at +6. Tiger Woods shot 74 and 73 over the first two days, finishing below the cut line at +7.

At +8 were Will Zalatoris, Rickie Fowler, Nick Taylor, Tom Hoge, and Jason Day. Watching the final two rounds from their hotel rooms will be Justin Thomas (+11), Lucas Glover (+13), and Phil Mickelson, who had a 79 on Thursday and was never in the hunt, with a 76 Friday for a +15 total.

Players will begin teeing off for Saturday's third round at 8:44 EDT.

The leaders - DeChambeau and Aberg - will tee off much later in the day, at 3:35 pm. They will be preceded by Patrick Cantlay and Thomas Detry at 3:24 pm and Tony Finau and Rory McIlroy at 3:13. NBC will televise full round coverage beginning at 1:00 pm.

Cantlay, McIlroy Lead U.S. Open After Round 1 at Pinehurst

Continuing coverage by Fearless Rick, Thursday, June 13, 8:18 pm ET

Patrick Cantlay put up a 5-under 65 early in the day and Irishman Rory McIlroy, winner of the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, matched him with birdies on 16 and 18 as the field finished up round one at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

Out of 156 golfers who started the day, only 15 finished under par, including Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, who carded six birdies on the day, but had bogies on the sixth and 14th holes to trail the leaders by one at 4-under.

France's Matthieu Pavon and American Bryson DeChambeau are tied for fourth at three under par. Tony Finau, Akshay Bhatia and Tyrell Hatton are all tied at -2.

Seven players are tied for ninth at one under, including Sergio Garcia and Sam Bennett, the 2022 Amateur champion out of Madisonville, Texas.

19 more players were at even par as round one concluded, with the Pinehurst No. 2 course living up to its billing as one of the most testing golf challenges in the United States. Greens were firm and players had trouble keeping good shots from rolling off of often large, undulating putting surfaces.

With roughly half the field - 87 of 156 - at -3 or better and the course playing fair though difficult, there's a good possibility that -4 or even -5 could end up being the score to make the cut for the weekend's final 36 holes.

Some of the notables in the hunt but already five strokes off the leaders at even par include Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka, Harris English, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, and Martin Kaymer, 2014 U.S. Open Championship winner.

McIlroy was the only golfer to play the entire round without a bogey. He parred every hole except 4, 5, 10, 16, and 18, which he birdied. The Irishman's shots were crisp and his gait confident. The birdie at # came on a long chip-in from the front right of the green. McIlroy needed only 28 putts on the day, making 15 of 18 greens in regulation.

Further down the leaderboard are Jason Day, Tom Kim, Max Homa, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Smith and world #1, Scottie Scheffler all at +1.

Notably, Jordan Spieth is at +2, Justin Rose, +3, along with last year's U.S. Open champion, Wyndham Clark.

In danger of missing the cut are former U.S. Open champions, Tiger Woods, Lucas Glover, and Dustin Johnson, all at +4. Further down are Will Zalatoris and Webb Simpson at +5. Shockers of the opening round include Justin Thomas at +7, Viktor Hovland at +8, and Phil Mickelson, who has never won the U.S. Open, at +9.

Round two begins Friday at 6:45 am EDT. Players who started early on day one receive later tee times for round two and vice versa. Groups of three remain the same as in round one. The trio of McIlroy, Scheffler, and Schauffele tee off at 7:29 am. DeChambeau, Hovland, and Max Homa tee it up at 7:40 am.

Patrick Cantlay starts off at 1:25 pm with playing partners Matt Kuchar and Russell Henley. Televised live coverage starts on Peacock from 6:30 am until 1:00 pm, then on NBC, from 1:00 pm through 7:00 pm.

U.S. Open Quick Take Preview

Update: 6/12/24, by Fearless Rick, 5:00 pm ET

What: 124th U.S. Open

Where: Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (Course No. 2), Village of Pinehurst, NC

When: June 13-16, 2024

Field: 156 players, 12 of them took the grueling qualifying route.

Yardage/Par: 7,548 yards / Par 70

Longest Hole: #10, 617 yards, par 5

Shortest Hole: #9, 184 yards, par 3

Cut: Lowest 60 scorers and ties play the final 36 holes.

U.S. Open champion receives: The Jack Nicklaus Medal; Custody of the U.S. Open Trophy for one year; Exemption into the next 10 U.S. Open Championships; Exemptions into the next five playings of the Masters Tournament, The Open Championship and PGA Championship; Name inscribed on 2024 USGA Champions' plaque that will reside in the USGA Museum's Hall of Champions, ton of money and endorsements.

First tee times: Thursday, June 13, 6:45 am EDT. Hole #1: Michael McGowan, Carter Jenkins, Logan McAllister; Hole #10: Rico Hoey, Tom McKibbin, Matteo Manassero

TV Coverage: Round 1, Thursday, June 13: USA Network, 6:30 am - 5:00 pm; Peacock, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm (all times EDT)
Round 2, Friday, June 14: Peacock, 6:30 am - 1:00 pm; NBC, 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Round 3, Saturday, June 15: USA, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm; NBC, 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Round 4, Sunday, June 16: USA, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm; NBC, 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm

2023 U.S. Open Result: Wyndham Clark won by one stroke over Rory McIlroy at Los Angeles C.C.

Next Year's Open: Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, PA, June 12-15, 2025

Quick Facts:

This is the fourth time Pinehurst has hosted the U.S. Open. The last was in 2014, when Martin Kaymer won by eight strokes (271, -9).

Pinehurst will host the U.S. Open in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047.

Players to watch:

Will Zalatoris: Finished 2nd in the U.S. Open in 2022 at Winged Foot; Lost a 3-hole aggregate playoff to Justin Thomas in 2022 PGA Championship.

Collin Morikawa: Won 2020 PGA Championship; Won 2021 British Open

Lucas Glover: Won the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black

Cameron Smith (Australia): Won 2022 Open Championship; Won 2022 Players Championship

Xander Schauffele has placed among the top 20 in nine straight majors. Won 2024 PGA Championship

Justin Thomas: Won 2022 PGA Championship

Brooks Koepka: Won 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open Championships; Won 2018, 2019 and 2022 PGA Championships

Patrick Cantlay: PGA Tour's Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season, winning the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup. Won Memorial Tournament prior to the 2021 U.S. Open.

Dustin Johnson: Winner of 2016 U.S. Open Championship; Won 2020 Masters Tournament

David Puig (Spain): Second consecutive U.S. Open, qualified by shooting 12-under 132 at the Lake Merced Golf Club final qualifier in Northern California.

Rory McIlroy: Won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., McIlroy set or tied 12 U.S. Open records, including the mark for the lowest 72-hole score in championship history at 16-under-par 268. He has three other major championship victories: the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla and the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island Resort. 39 worldwide professional victories.

Scottie Scheffler: Ranked #1 in the World, Winner of 2022 and 2024 Masters Tournament; Winner of 2023 and 2024 Players Championship

Wyndham Clark: Winner of 2023 U.S. Open

Bryson DeChambeau: Winner of 2020 U.S. Open Championship

Viktor Hovland (Norway): Winner of 2023 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village; won the FedEx Cup title by claiming the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Jordan Spieth: Winner of the 2015 U.S. Open Championship

Website: US Open.com

Take the IdleGuy.com U.S. Open Quiz

Triple Crown Coverage

Update: 6/7/24, by Fearless Rick, 8:00 pm ET

Here's the field for the 2024 Belmont Stakes, to be run at Saratoga Race Track, Saturday, June 8, Post Time: 6:51 ET.

This year's Belmont Stakes was moved to Saratoga, in Upstate New York, because of ongoing renovations to Belmont Race Track. Because of the change and configuration of Saratoga, the race will not be run at its usual 12 furlongs (1 1/2 miles), but rather at 10 furlongs (1 1/4 miles), which is the same distance as the Kentucky Derby, won by a nose By Mystik Dan over a charging Sierra Leone.

The race has a number of newcomers, and also features the wire-to-wire winner of the Preakness, Seize the Grey, who romped in the mud by 2 1/2 lengths over Mystik Dan.

Give Mystik Dan and jockey Brian Hernandez all the credit in the world because they fought to the finish in the Derby, and were probably up against it chasing down a runaway leader in the Preakness. He'll give his best shot, as he usually does, but will it be enough to get to the finish line ahead of the rest? That's a tough call.

The most interesting aspect of the race comes down to the three entries saddled by trainer Todd Pletcher, who has #5 Antiquarian, #7 Protective, and #10 Mindframe.

Of the three, Mindframe appears the biggest threat, having won his seven furlong maiden race by a whopping 13 lengths at Gulfstream Park and followed that up with a 7 1/2-length romp at a mile and 1/16th in a $100,000 Optional Claimer on May 4 at Churchill Downs. That race was earlier in the day before the Kentucky Derby, so a comparison of the fractions shows Mindframe - who incidentally went off at 2/5 odds - set a much more liesurely pace than the wicked Derby fractions. Mindframe went 49, 1:13, and 1:43 for the 8 1/2 furlongs, whereas the Derby pace was 46.3, 1:11.1, 1:37.2 and 2:03.1. Mindframe's 1:43 for 1 1/16 matches up well with the mile in 1:37.2 in the Derby, so, the 10 horse looks to be for real.

Of course, the front end fell apart in the Derby, allowing for Mystik Dan to slip through on the rail and Sierra Leone and Forever Young (who finished third by a nose) to rally down the center of the track in the stretch.

A similar set-up doesn't seem likely, unless Irad Ortiz Jr. decides to send Mindframe after suspected rabbit, Dornoch, or Wine Steward or maybe even Seize the Gray.

Because Pletcher has two other horses entered, it's unlikely Dornoch will get an easy lead. Antiquarian has enough speed to pressure the pace, which is probably the instruction that will be given to jockey John Velazquez.

The #4 horse, The Wine Steward, should also be prominent early in the race and may prove to be the most durable of the speed types. Though he's never gone further than 1 1/8, he's never finished worse than second, all three times were in Graded Stakes and he's never been beaten by more than 3/4 of a length. Interestingly enough, it was Antiquarian that beat him in the Peter Pan. Protective, #7, ran third in that contest.

Speaking of Protective, he'll be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, and Flavian Prat gets on Sierra Leone. It's an interesting switch. Apparently, trainer Chad Brown wasn't exactly overjoyed at the ride Gaffalione gave Sierra Leone in the Kentucky Derby, prompting the change. Prat has never ridden Sierra Leone, but is one of the world's top jockeys.

Gaffalione may have gotten the butt of the deal, as his mount, Protective is still a maiden, but who knows?

In the final analysis, Sierra Leone is the horse to beat. He's likely to go off short odds. 5-2 would be generous, but he's got the right stuff. His top three Beyer figures (101, 98, 97) are right there with Mystik Dan (102, 101, 97) and he's had an extra two weeks rest, skipping the Preakness.

The two inside horses, #1 Seize the Grey and #2 Resilience, don't figure well in here. Seize the Grey's Preakness victory is tainted by the race being run on what was labeled as muddy, when in fact it was slick-fast. His Beyer figure in the Preakness was 13 points higher than any other of his prior nine races. Did he earn it? Yes. Is he a solid horse? Yes. Can he compete on a fast track with this bunch? Probably not.

#2, Resilience has only one quality win to his credit, the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, a race where he earned a Beyer of 104, third to Seize the Grey's 105 in the Preakness and the top figure of 106 put up by Mindframe in his maiden win. Those numbers are a little suspect, being higher than both Sierra Leone's and Mystik Dan's Derby efforts.

Resilience ran in the Kentucky Derby, rallied up to be second on the second turn but didn't have any kick, finishing sixth, 7 3/4 lengths behind. With the extra rest since May 4, he could turn in a better performance, but he also may just be in over his head.

Here's how I plan to bet the race:

I'm putting $3 to win on #9 Sierra Leone, $6 to place and $10 to show = $19

I'm also putting Sierra Leone in all three spots in a 50 cent trifecta part wheel with #3 Mystic Dan, #4 The Wine Steward, #10 Mindframe.

So, that looks like this:
9 over 3-4-10 over 3-4-10
3-4-10 over 9 over 3-4-10
3-4-10 over 3-4-10 over 9

That's a $9 bet.

I'm also using 4-9-10 in a $2 exacta box, $12.

Total wager is $40.

There's an excellent card at Saratoga, including 8 graded stakes races prior to the Belmont.

Good luck everybody.

Baseball 2024

AL and NL standings as of May 31.

Al East: It's the Yankees' world, and you're just watching it. The addition of Juan Soto to an already strong lineup that includes MVP Aaron Judge and a healthy Giancarlo Stanton has the Yanks in first place through the first two months. Along with a lineup that regularly bashes opponents into submission, the Yanks' pitching staff has been superb,

New York took the three game winning streak at the end of May and won the next five before dropping a pair at home to the Dodgers. They have a three-game series in Boston starting Friday, June 14.

Baltimore continues to dog the division leaders and is expected to hang right with the Yankees through the remainder of the season. Newcomers to the playoffs last year, the O's got bounced in the first round, but are expected to take that experience and build upon it.

The Rays, Red Sox and Blue Jays need to make moves soon or be forgotten, though the wild card race is still wide open.

AL Central: In a division that appeared to be up for grabs, the Cleveland Guardians have done most of the reaching, taking a 4-game lead over the Royals by the end of May. Kansas City is surprisingly good, though the Twins and Tigers may prove better in the second half. What happened to the White Sox?

AL West: After missing out on the playoffs in a close call last season, Seattle hasn't wasted any time getting back at their chief rivals, Texas and Houston. This looks like a repeat of 2023, when those three teams battled all the way to the end of the season. The tough fight did the Rangers good, as they eventually won the World Series.

American League (thru games of 5/31)