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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Friday, July 15, 2016 MILTON-FREEWATER British Open On cusp of history, Mickelson opens with 63 Blazers By DOUG FERGUSON Associated Press TROON, Scotland — Phil Mickelson was 16 feet away from a place in history he wouldn’t have to share with anyone. Fans watched from a rooftop balcony. Royal Troon members strained to see out the window from the clubhouse behind the 18th green. Jack Nicklaus usually doesn’t watch golf on TV, but he made an exception for this moment. In 436 majors held over the last 156 years, no one had ever shot 62. That’s still the case. By a fraction of an inch. “I want to cry,” Mick- elson said. Mickelson pointed his putter toward the hole and was ready to step into history Thursday in the British Open when his birdie putt turned sharply to the right at the mouth of the hole, just enough to ride the edge around the back of the cup and sit there, teasing him. “You made a beautiful BRIEFLY UMATILLA — The annual Farm-City Open Golf Tournament hosted by Sherrell Chevrolet still has spots available for this event. The tournament takes place on Aug. 6 at Big River Golf Course in Umatilla, and will feature an 8 a.m. shotgun start. The format is a four-person scramble, however teams will be put together by tournament organizers based on things such as handicaps and other factors. There will be plenty of food available throughout the tournament with a barbeque dinner to end the day. A total of 31 hole prizes will be up for grabs along with many others, headlined by a 2016 Chevy Cruze for anyone that aces on hole No. 9. All proceeds from the event will go to the Sherrell rodeo scholarship fund. The deadline to register for the tournament July 29. For more information, contact Kevin Fisher at 541-567-6487. — East Oregonian LITTLE LEAGUE: Davison, Starr hit doubles to lead offense Continued from 1B Brian Davison and JR Starr provided Hermiston’s offensive highlights with doubles, and the team’s other two hits came from Jones and Brian Davison. After Jones was tagged out at third on Davison’s double in the irst inning, Lake Oswego came out hitting right away against Hermiston starter Austin Garberg. The irst hit ball resulted in a ground-out to irst base, but ive singles and a walk came next and Garberg left in a 3-0 hole with the bases loaded. Reliever Brad Hottman didn’t ind the going any easier and left in the second inning after allowing six earned runs on eight hits. Hermiston’s pitchers walked just two batters, and combined for a 58.1 strike percentage. Lake Oswego’s pitchers bested that with a 76.7, and struck out six while walking none. Hermiston stranded runners on second and third in the second inning and was retired in order in the third and fourth. ——— 000 0 5(10)1 X — — R H 0 4 16 18 read and putt on that last hole but got absolutely stone-cold robbed,” Nicklaus said in a message on Facebook. Mickelson plopped his hand on his forehead in disbelief. His caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, was so stunned that he fell over backward. “It was one of the best rounds I’ve ever played ... and yet I want to shed a tear right now,” Mickelson said. “That putt on 18 was an opportunity to do something historical. I knew it, and with a foot to go I thought I had done it. I saw that ball rolling right in the center. I went to go get it. I had that surge of adrenaline that I had just shot 62, and then I had the heartbreak that I didn’t.” No tears were necessary at Royal Troon, not after a round of 63 that was brilliant even by Lefty’s standards, and certainly not after building a three-shot salvage split dipped in and out of the cup. Asked why there had never been a 62 in the major, Mickelson pointed to his putt. “There’s a curse,” he said. “Because that ball should have been in.” It wasn’t for a lack of effort. He went with a 6-iron to play a baby cut back toward the hole, and it worked out perfectly. He brought in his caddie and told him that “I need your best read.” Ernie Els did his part, putting out of turn to turn the stage over to Mickelson. The pace was perfect. The putt looked perfect — until it wasn’t. By a fraction. “I saw that ball going in and I just had a good, clear vision of what was going to happen,” he said. “What I didn’t see was what happened.” And now, he faces a return to reality. Of the seven previous players to open with a 63 in a major, only Nicklaus at the 1980 U.S. Open and Raymond Floyd at the 1982 PGA Championship went on to win. East Oregonian MILTON-FREEWATER — The Milton-Freewater Blazers rallied to salvage a split in their 16U baseball doubleheader against La Grande on Wednesday. The Blazers scored eight runs in the inal two innings for a 12-11 win and Taylor Turner drove in the winning runs with a home run in the bottom of the seventh. La Grande scored 17 runs in the third inning to put an early seal on it’s 18-8 victory in Game 1. In Game 2, La Grande led 11-4 going into the bottom of the sixth but four straight walks gave the Blazers (5-9) their irst run since the irst inning and one-out singles by Jesse Jones and Rudy Esparza pulled them within 11-7. The Blazers used oppor- tunistic base running to score three more times without another hit in the frame, and held La Grande scoreless in its inal at-bat by stranding two with solid defense. Eric Rencken led the Blazers off in the bottom of the seventh with a walk, and Turner followed with a irst- pitch home run over the right ield wall. Jesse Berry pitched the inal two innings and got the win. He allowed one run on two hits, struck out one and walked two. Devon Cothey started and pitched the irst four complete, surrendering seven runs on ive hits, one strikeout and nine walks. Matthew Cunnington tossed one inning of relief as well, and allowed three runs on four hits, struck out none and walked one. Devon Humbert was 2 for 2 with two runs to lead the Blazers at the plate. Jones was 1 for 1 with two runs one RBI, and Berry was 1 for 1 as well. In Game 1, La Grande sent 22 batters to the plate during the third inning who produced seven singles, three doubles, six walks, four hit-by-pitch, a strikeout and a ground-out. The Blazers had a force at second for the other out. No player had more than one hit for the Blazers’ seven total, and Rencken and Turner led them with two RBI each. Daeregan Stephens and Zach Crisman combined on the mound and gave up 13 hits and 17 earned runs. Stephens threw the irst 2 1/3 and got the loss. Tour de France Spots available for Farm-City Open HER LO AP Photo/Matt Dunham Phil Mickelson of the United States acknowledges the crowd after putting on the 13th green during the irst round of the British Open Golf Championship at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, Thursday. lead over Patrick Reed and Martin Kaymer on an ideal day by the Irish Sea. Mickelson seized the moment with a birdie on the par-5 16th from a bunker short of the green, and a 4-iron to 15 feet for birdie on the par-3 17th to reach 8-under par. He knew no one had ever shot 62 in a major. He also knew he most likely would never get a chance like this. “That would have been really something special,” he said. “So to have that putt lip out, that’s going to sting for a while.” Even with such a close call, Mickelson is in good company. Nicklaus missed a putt just inside 3 feet for a 62 in the 1980 U.S. Open at Baltusrol. Greg Norman had to only two-putt from 30 feet for a 62 at Turnberry in the 1986 British Open and took three putts. Tiger Woods watched his 15-foot putt for 62 spin 270 degrees around the cup in the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. Nick Price’s birdie putt for a 62 in the 1986 Masters E 1 0 Storming fans cause chaos during 12th stage By ANDREW DAMPF Associated Press MONT VENTOUX, France — On Bastille Day, fans created havoc at the Tour de France like never before. Storming the road on France’s national day, the crowd prompted a crash involving race leader Chris Froome and it wasn’t until hours after the wacky 12th stage concluded that orga- nizers decided the British rider could keep the yellow jersey. “Mont Ventoux always throws up something different and today was no exception,” Froome said. “You always have to expect the unexpected at the Tour.” In a complete embar- rassment for cycling’s biggest race, Richie Porte crashed headirst into a motorbike carrying a TV camera, and Froome, who was right behind his former teammate, also hit the pave- ment in the inal kilometer on the wind-shortened climb up legendary Mont Ventoux. “The crowd was just all on the road, and a motor- bike stopped right in front of us and we had nowhere to go,” Porte said. “The next minute, I went straight over the top of the motorbike. It was just a mess.” Last week, Froome punched the face of a spec- tator who got too close to the race. The wind prevented organizers from erecting the usual barriers at the end of most stages, Tour director Christian Prud- homme explained. “We took an exceptional decision because of this exceptional situation, an incident that might have never happened before in 100 years,” Prudhomme said. After the crash, Froome threw his mangled bike aside and began running up the road. He eventually was given a small yellow race assistance bike before his team car was inally able to provide him with a suitable substitute. PAC-12: Helfrich says QBs similar but different Continued from 1B more Josh Rosen might be the main reason. Wash- ington also has sophomore Jake Browning back behind center, and the Huskies are expected to be Stanford’s greatest challenge for the North division title. Helton, the Trojans’ former quarterbacks coach, will name a replacement for Kessler, his durable three-year starter, in time to prepare for the Trojans’ brutal opener against Alabama. Browne, a redshirt junior who has already graduated from USC, is widely expected to get the irst shot, but Darnold is making things complicated. “The separation between Max and Sam Darnold was not great,” Helton said. “If we talk about competing at every position, it’s got to be the quarterback position also.” Stanford is the preseason media poll’s pick to win another league title, but the Cardinal didn’t come out of spring ball with a clear successor to Hogan. Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns will continue their competition next month — even if their biggest responsibility might be handing off to star tail- back Christian McCaffrey. Across the Bay, Cali- fornia has the unenviable task of replacing Goff, the three-year starter and subsequent No. 1 pick. Chase Forrest was the front-runner heading into spring ball, but coach Sonny Dykes said he ended up “neck-and-neck” with redshirt freshman Ross Bowers. Dykes is excited to add freshman Victor Viramontes to the competi- tion next month, indicating nobody has an advantage. Oregon must replace Adams after his up-and- down single season. Coach Mark Helfrich landed Montana State graduate Dakota Prukop as a transfer to compete alongside Travis Jonsen and Terry Wilson. “We had three guys in spring ball that were very similar and completely different,” Helfrich said. “(Prukop) has played a lot of football, but you could see those wheels turning (in practice). Sometimes they were all trying to win the job with that next throw, and that’s the worst thing.” Even at schools with returning experience, there will be competition. Rodri- guez pointedly declined to guarantee the starting job to Solomon over Brandon Dawkins, even after Solomon passed for 6,460 yards and 48 touchdowns in his irst two seasons. “We have, in my opinion, two returning starters,” Rodriguez said. “We’ll see who wins the job. I hope both of them prove that we can win with them, and we’ll play both of them throughout the year.” SCOREBOARD Correction Colby Lerten has won the City of Hermiston Junior Tournament four years in a row. Incorrect information appeared in the July 14 article “Lerten repeats at Hermiston Junior.” To further clarify that article, Franco Gonzalez was second in the 6-9 age group with a score of 62. That in- formation was not available at press time. Baseball MLB AMERICAN LEAGUE East Division W L Pct GB Baltimore 51 36 .586 — Boston 49 38 .563 2 Toronto 51 40 .560 2 New York 44 44 .500 7½ Tampa Bay 34 54 .386 17½ Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 52 36 .591 — Detroit 46 43 .517 6½ Kansas City 45 43 .511 7 Chicago 45 43 .511 7 Minnesota 32 56 .364 20 West Division W L Pct GB Texas 54 36 .600 — Houston 48 41 .539 5½ Seattle 45 44 .506 8½ Oakland 38 51 .427 15½ Los Angeles 37 52 .416 16½ ——— Today’s Games Texas (Perez 7-5) at Chicago Cubs (Hen- dricks 7-6), 11:20 a.m. Boston (Rodriguez 1-3) at N.Y. Yankees (Pineda 3-8), 4:05 p.m. Baltimore (Gallardo 3-1) at Tampa Bay (Archer 4-12), 4:10 p.m. Kansas City (Kennedy 6-7) at Detroit (Verlander 8-6), 4:10 p.m. Cleveland (Carrasco 5-3) at Minnesota (Santana 3-7), 5:10 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Gonzalez 2-4) at L.A. Angels (Santiago 6-4), 7:05 p.m. Toronto (Stroman 7-4) at Oakland (Hill 9-3), 7:05 p.m. Houston (Fister 8-6) at Seattle (Paxton 2-3), 7:10 p.m. NATIONAL LEAGUE East Division W Washington 54 New York 47 Miami 47 Philadelphia 42 Atlanta 31 Central Division W Chicago 53 St. Louis 46 Pittsburgh 46 Milwaukee 38 Cincinnati 32 West Division W San Francisco 57 Los Angeles 51 Colorado 40 San Diego 38 L 36 41 41 48 58 Pct GB .600 — .534 6 .534 6 .467 12 .348 22½ L 35 42 43 49 57 Pct .602 .523 .517 .437 .360 L 33 40 48 51 Pct GB .633 — .560 6½ .455 16 .427 18½ GB — 7 7½ 14½ 21½ Arizona 38 52 .422 19 ——— Today’s Games Texas (Perez 7-5) at Chicago Cubs (Hen- dricks 7-6), 11:20 a.m. N.Y. Mets (deGrom 5-4) at Philadelphia (Hellickson 6-6), 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Liriano 5-8) at Washington (Strasburg 12-0), 4:05 p.m. Milwaukee (Garza 1-2) at Cincinnati (DeSclafani 3-0), 4:10 p.m. Colorado (De La Rosa 5-6) at Atlanta (Harrell 1-0), 4:35 p.m. Miami at St. Louis (Garcia 6-6), 5:15 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Norris 4-7) at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. San Francisco (Bumgarner 10-4) at San Diego (Cashner 3-7), 7:40 p.m. MiLB NORTHWEST LEAGUE North Division W L Pct. GB Tri-City (Padres) 15 12 .556 — Vancouver (Blue Jays) 14 13 .519 1 Everett (Mariners) 14 13 .519 1 Spokane (Rangers) 12 16 .429 3 South Division W L Pct. GB Eugene (Cubs) 18 9 .667 — Hillsboro (Dbacks) 13 14 .481 5 Salem-Keizer (Giants) 13 15 .464 5½ Boise (Rockies) 10 17 .370 8 ——— Thursday’s Games Boise 7, Vancouver 1 Hillsboro 5, Everett 1 Salem-Keizer 12, Spokane 4 Eugene 4, Tri-City 2 Today’s Games Vancouver at Boise, 6:15 p.m. Everett at Hillsboro, 7:05 p.m. Eugene at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m. Salem-Keizer at Spokane, 7:15 p.m. Golf British Open Championship Thursday’s Results At Royal Troon Golf Club Troon, Scotland Purse: $7.74 million Yardage: 7,190 yards; Par: 71 (36-35) First Round Phil Mickelson 63 -8 Patrick Reed 66 -5 Martin Kaymer 66 -5 Justin Thomas 67 -4 Steve Stricker 67 -4 Billy Horschel 67 -4 Tony Finau 67 -4 Soren Kjeldsen 67 -4 Andy Sullivan 67 -4 Zach Johnson 67 -4 Keegan Bradley 67 -4 Justin Rose 68 -3 Soomin Lee 68 -3 Shugo Imahira 68 -3 Richard Sterne 68 -3 Bill Haas 68 -3 Henrik Stenson 68 -3 Sergio Garcia 68 -3 Yuta Ikeda 68 -3 Thomas Pieters 68 -3 Rafa Cabrera-Bello 68 -3 Jamie Donaldson 69 -2 Vijay Singh Rickie Fowler Rory McIlroy 69 69 69 -2 -2 -2 Basketball WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB New York 16 6 .727 — Atlanta 11 10 .524 4½ Washington 9 12 .429 6½ Indiana 9 12 .429 6½ Chicago 8 12 .400 7 Connecticut 6 14 .300 9 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB Los Angeles 19 1 .950 — Minnesota 17 4 .810 2½ Dallas 9 12 .429 10½ Phoenix 9 13 .409 11 Seattle 7 13 .350 12 San Antonio 5 16 .238 14½ ——— Today’s Games Los Angeles at Connecticut, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Indiana 4 p.m. New York at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Dallas at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Washington at Seattle, 7 p.m. Soccer MLS EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts NYC FC 8 6 6 30 Philadelphia 8 6 5 29 Montreal 6 4 8 26 New York 7 9 3 24 Toronto FC 6 6 6 24 New England 5 7 7 22 D.C. United 5 7 6 21 Orlando City 4 4 9 21 Columbus 3 7 8 17 Chicago 4 8 5 17 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts FC Dallas 11 6 4 37 Colorado 9 2 7 34 Real Salt Lake 8 6 5 29 Los Angeles 7 3 8 29 Sporting KC 8 9 4 28 Vancouver 8 8 4 28 Portland 6 6 8 26 San Jose 5 6 7 22 Seattle 6 10 2 20 Houston 4 8 6 18 GF 31 32 29 28 20 26 17 28 23 16 GA 34 26 26 25 20 33 20 29 29 21 GF 31 21 29 31 24 31 29 19 19 23 GA 29 13 30 18 24 33 30 21 21 25 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Today’s Game Houston at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. Cycling Tour de France Thursday At Mont Ventoux, France 12th Stage A 110.6-mile ride from Montpellier to Mont Ventoux in Provence, with an “Hors categorie” climb at the inish. The stage was shortened by 3.7 miles due to high winds. 1. Thomas De Gendt, Belgium, Lotto Soudal, 4 hours, 31 minutes, 51 seconds. 2. Serge Pauwels, Belgium, Dimension Data, 2 seconds behind. 3. Daniel Navarro, Spain, Coidis, :14. 4. Stef Clement, Netherlands, IAM Cycling, :40. 5. Sylvain Chavanel, France, Direct Energie, same time. 6. Bert Jan Lindeman, Netherlands, LottoNL-Jumbo, 2:52. 7. Daniel Teklehaimanot, Eritrea, Dimen- sion Data, 3:13. 8. Sep Vanmarcke, Belgium, Lot- toNL-Jumbo, 3:26. 9. Chris Anker Sorensen, Denmark, Fortuneo-Vital Concept, 4:23. 10. Bauke Mollema, Netherlands, Trek-Segafredo, 5:05. Overall Standings (After 12 stages) 1. Chris Froome, Britain, Sky, 57:11:33. 2. Adam Yates, Britain, Orica-BikeEx- change, :47. 3. Bauke Mollema, Netherlands, Trek-Se- gafredo, :56. 4. Nairo Quintana, Colombia, Movistar, 1:01. 5. Romain Bardet, France, AG2R La Mondiale, 1:15. 6. Alejandro Valverde, Spain, Movistar, 1:39. 7. Tejay Van Garderen, United States, BMC Racing, 1:44. 8. Fabio Aru, Italy, Astana, 1:54. 9. Daniel Martin, Ireland, Etixx-Quick- Step, 1:56. 10. Joaquim Rodriguez, Spain, Katusha, 2:11. Motorsports NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule Sunday, July 17 — New Hampshire 301, Loudon, N.H. (TV: NBCSN) Sunday, July 24 — ‘Your Hero’s Name Here’ 400, Speedway, Ind. (TV: NBCSN) Sunday, July 31 — Pennsylvania 400, Long Pond, Pa. (TV: NBCSN) Sprint Cup Points Leaders Through July 10 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Brad Keselowski 3. Kurt Busch 4. Carl Edwards 5. Joey Logano 6. Kyle Busch 7. Martin Truex Jr. 8. Chase Elliott 9. Jimmie Johnson 10. Matt Kenseth 11. Denny Hamlin 12. Ryan Newman 13. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 14. Austin Dillon 15. Jamie McMurray 16. Trevor Bayne 599 595 583 566 533 521 514 492 484 477 472 463 461 460 439 429 Rodeo PRCA Leaders Through July 10 All-around 1. Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla. $69,029 2. Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore. $64,376 3. Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, Mont. $62,325 Bareback Riding 1. Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa $87,681 2. Caleb Bennett, Tremonton, Utah $83,005 3. Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba $76,828 4. Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn. $75,656 5. Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas $68,164 6. R.C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif. $63,355 Steer Wrestling 1. Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark. $57,588 2. Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont. $56,406 3. Clayton Hass, Terrell, Texas $52,321 4. Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La. $50,847 5. Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas $46,850 Team Roping (header) 1. Kolton Schmidt, Barrhead, Alberta $62,672 2. Riley Minor, Ellensburg, Wash. $54,876 3. Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, Mont. $54,546 4. Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla. $53,856 5. Zac Small, Welch, Okla. $52,895 Team Roping (heeler) 1. Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo. $55,145 2. Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore. $54,613 3. Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash. $53,368 4. Junior Nogueira, Burleson, Texas $52,492 5. Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas $52,240 Saddle Bronc Riding 1. Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas $98,565 2. Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah $84,807 3. CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah $77,853 4. Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah $61,253 5. Jake Wright, Milford, Utah $60,825 Tie-down Roping 1. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla. $74,134 2. Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas $60,394 3. Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas $60,064 4. Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla. $53,207 5. Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La. $46,727 Steer Roping 1. J. Tom Fisher, Andrews, Texas $48,795 2. Rocky Patterson, Pratt, Kan. $42,344 3. Jason Evans, Glen Rose, Texas $34,103 4. Scott Snedecor, Fredericksburg, Texas $33,134 5. Cody Lee, Gatesville, Texas $32,967 Bull Riding 1. Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla. $88,882 2. Scottie Knapp, Albuquerque, N.M. $66,880 3. Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas $60,702 4. Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah $59,830 5. Cody Rostockyj, Lorena, Texas $56,515 Barrel Racing 1. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla. $98,979 2. Ivy Conrado, Hudson, Colo. $68,812 3. Michele McLeod, Whitesboro, Texas $65,502 4. Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas $58,482 5. Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga. $57,740
