A6 THE BULLETIN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2021
ON THE AIR
SCOREBOARD
WEDNESDAY
SOCCER
Premier League, Burnley vs. Manchester City
Premier League,
Liverpool vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
CONCACAF League final,
LD Alajuelense vs. Deportivo Saprissa
HOCKEY
NHL, Detroit at Tampa Bay
NHL, Boston at Philadelphia
BASKETBALL
Men’s college, South Carolina at Florida
NBA, Indiana at Milwaukee
Men’s college, Kentucky at Missouri
Men’s college, LSU at Alabama
Men’s college, Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
Men’s college, Seton Hall at Providence
Men’s college, Villanova at St. John’s
Men’s college, Oklahoma St. at TCU
Men’s college, SMU at Tulsa
Men’s college, Georgetown at Creighton
NBA, Phoenix at New Orleans
Men’s college, San Diego St. at New Mexico
GOLF
European Tour, Saudi International
Time
9:55 a.m.
TV
NBCSN
FOOTBALL
12:10 p.m.
NBCSN
NFL playoffs
7 p.m.
FS2
2:30 p.m.
5 p.m.
NBCSN
NBCSN
3:30 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
8 p.m.
SEC
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
Root
FS1
CBSSN
ESPN2
ESPNU
FS1
ESPN
FS1
Men’s college, Minnesota at Rutgers
NBA, Denver at L.A. Lakers
Men’s college, Arizona St. at Colorado
Men’s college, Washington St. at Oregon
HOCKEY
NWHL, Isobel Cup semifinals
NWHL, Isobel Cup semifinals
America’s Line
Favorite
midnight (Thu)
Golf
6 a.m.
9:30 a.m.
FS2
FS2
noon
midnight (Fri)
3:30 a.m. (Fri)
Golf
Golf
Golf
THURSDAY
SOCCER
FIFA Club World Cup, Tigres vs. Ulsan Hyundai
FIFA Club World Cup, Al-Duhail SC vs. Al-Ahly
GOLF
PGA Tour, Phoenix Open
European Tour, Saudi International
European Tour, Saudi International
BASKETBALL
Women’s college, Wisconsin at Maryland
Women’s college, Iowa at Ohio St.
Women’s college, Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
Women’s college, Georgia at Alabama
Men’s college, Ohio St. at Iowa
Men’s college, Cincinnati at Temple
Men’s college, Campbell at UNC-Asheville
Men’s college, Arizona at Utah
NBA, Golden State at Dallas
NBA, Portland at Philadelphia
Women’s college, LSU at Texas A&M
Men’s college, Loyola Marymount at Gonzaga
Men’s college, Stanford at California
Men’s college, Washington at Oregon St.
SUPER BOWL
Sunday at Tampa, Fla.
Tampa Bay vs. Kansas City, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
SUPER BOWL
Open Current O/U
Sunday
3½ 3
56½
1 p.m.
3 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4:30 p.m.
5 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
6 p.m.
7 p.m.
8 p.m.
8 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
5 p.m.
Big Ten
Big Ten
Root
SEC
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPNU
FS1
TNT
NBCSNW
SEC
CBSSN
ESPN2
Pac-12,
Pac-12 (Ore)
FS1
TNT
ESPN2
FS1
NBCSN
NBCSN
Listings are the most accurate available. The Bulletin is not responsible
for late changes made by TV stations.
CHIEFS
Tuesday’s Games
Utah at Arizona St., ppd.
Southern Cal 72, Stanford 66
Thursday’s Games
Arizona at Utah, 4 p.m.
Stanford at California, 6 p.m.
Washington at Oregon St., 6 p.m.
Arizona St. at Colorado, 8 p.m.
Washington St. at Oregon, 8 p.m.
Wednesday’s Games
Indiana at Milwaukee, 4 p.m.
Phila. at Charlotte, 4 p.m.
Dallas at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m.
Houston at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Cleveland, 5 p.m.
New York at Chicago, 5 p.m.
Washington at Miami, 5 p.m.
Minnesota at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m.
Phoenix at New Orleans, 6:30 p.m.
Boston at Sacramento, 7 p.m.
Underdog
Bucs
BASKETBALL
NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
L
Pct
Phila.
15
6
.714
Brooklyn
14
9
.609
Milwaukee
12
8
.600
Indiana
12
9
.571
Boston
10
8
.556
Atlanta
10
10
.500
Cleveland
10
11
.476
Charlotte
10
11
.476
Toronto
9
12
.429
Chicago
8
11
.421
New York
9
13
.409
Orlando
8
14
.364
Miami
7
13
.350
Detroit
5
15
.250
Washington
4
13
.235
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
L
Pct
Utah
15
5
.750
L.A. Clippers
16
6
.727
L.A. Lakers
16
6
.727
Denver
12
8
.600
Phoenix
11
8
.579
Memphis
9
7
.563
Golden State
11
9
.550
Portland
11
9
.550
Houston
10
9
.526
San Antonio
11
10
.524
Sacramento
9
11
.450
Oklahoma City
8
11
.421
Dallas
8
13
.381
New Orleans
7
12
.368
Minnesota
5
15
.250
Tuesday’s Games
Toronto 123, Orlando 108
Brooklyn 124, L.A. Clippers 120
Indiana 134, Memphis 116
Portland 132, Washington 121
Boston at Golden State, late
Detroit at Utah, late
GB
—
2
2½
3
3½
4½
5
5
6
6
6½
7½
7½
9½
9
GB
—
—
—
3
3½
4
4
4
4½
4½
6
6½
7½
7½
10
Tuesday’s Box Score
Trail Blazers 132, Wizards 121
PORTLAND (132)
Covington 6-10 2-2 19, Hood 5-12 2-2 15, Kanter 6-10
2-2 14, Lillard 9-23 10-10 32, Trent Jr. 8-16 3-3 26, An-
thony 8-16 4-4 21, Giles III 1-4 0-0 2, Elleby 0-0 0-0 0,
Blevins 0-0 0-0 0, Simons 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 44-95 23-
23 132.
WASHINGTON (121)
Avdija 5-6 1-1 13, Hachimura 10-12 1-2 24, Lopez 1-1
0-0 2, Beal 14-24 3-5 37, Westbrook 7-15 2-2 17, Bertans
2-10 0-0 6, Wagner 3-5 0-0 6, Len 1-1 0-0 2, Bonga 0-0
0-0 0, Mathews 2-5 5-5 11, Smith 1-4 1-2 3, Winston 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 46-83 13-17 121.
Portland
40 35 31 26 — 132
Washington
23 40 27 31 — 121
3-Point Goals—Portland 21-46 (Trent Jr. 7-9, Coving-
ton 5-8, Lillard 4-14, Hood 3-6, Simons 1-3, Anthony
1-5), Washington 16-40 (Beal 6-12, Hachimura 3-4,
Avdija 2-3, Mathews 2-5, Bertans 2-10, Westbrook
1-3, Wagner 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—
Portland 44 (Kanter 15), Washington 39 (Westbrook
12). Assists—Portland 19 (Lillard 8), Washington 32
(Westbrook 10). Total Fouls—Portland 19, Washing-
ton 21.
Women’s college
COACHES POLL
Record
Pts
Pvs
1. South Carolina (20)
14-1
781
3
2. NC State (7)
12-1
759
2
3. Louisville (5)
16-1
743
1
4. UCLA
10-2
671
5
5. Connecticut
11-1
659
4
6. Stanford
15-2
658
6
7. Texas A&M
16-1
642
7
8. Baylor
12-2
574
8
9. Arizona
11-2
541
9
10. Maryland
12-2
518
10
11. Oregon
11-3
452
12
12. Michigan
10-1
418
13
13. Ohio St.
10-2
412
11
14. Kentucky
13-4
400
14
15. Arkansas
13-6
314
18
16. South Florida
10-1
305
16
17. Indiana
10-4
277
15
18. Gonzaga
15-2
268
17
19. Tennessee
12-3
189
22
20. Northwestern
10-3
178
23
21. DePaul
9-4
121
20
22. Mississippi St.
8-5
109
19
23. Missouri St.
11-2
101
25
24. West Virginia
13-2
79
NR
25. Georgia
13-4
61
21
Dropped out: No. 23 Texas (12-4).
Others receiving votes: Texas (12-4) 50; Syracuse
(9-3) 45; South Dakota St. (13-2) 37; Florida Gulf Coast
(13-2) 19; Iowa (10-4) 8; Southern California (7-7) 3;
Dayton (7-1) 3; Oklahoma St. (12-5) 2; Iowa St. (11-6) 1;
Georgia Tech (9-3) 1; Alabama (12-4) 1.
PAC-12
Conference
W L Pct
Stanford
12 2 .857
Arizona
9 2 .818
UCLA
8 2 .800
Oregon
9 3 .750
Washington St. 6 6 .500
Southern Cal
5 6 .455
Oregon St.
4 5 .444
Arizona St.
4 6 .400
Colorado
4 7 .364
Utah
3 10 .231
Washington
1 8 .111
California
0 8 .000
Friday’s Games
No. 5 UCLA at Washington St., noon
No. 9 Arizona at Oregon St., 4 p.m.
Colorado at No. 6 Stanford, 6 p.m.
Utah at California, 6 p.m.
Southern Cal at Washington, 7 p.m.
Arizona St. at No. 12 Oregon, ppd.
All Games
W L Pct
15 2 .882
11 2 .846
10 2 .833
11 3 .786
8 6 .571
7 7 .500
6 5 .545
8 6 .571
6 8 .429
4 10 .286
4 8 .333
0 11 .000
TOP 25 SCORES
Tuesday’s Games
No. 19 Gonzaga 63, BYU 56
Men’s college
PAC-12 CONFERENCE
Conference
All Games
W L Pct
W L Pct
UCLA
9 1 .900
13 3 .813
Southern Cal
8 2 .800
14 3 .824
Oregon
4 2 .667
9 3 .750
Arizona
7 4 .636
13 4 .765
Colorado
7 4 .636
13 5 .722
Stanford
6 5 .545
10 7 .588
Oregon St.
4 5 .444
8 7 .533
Utah
4 6 .400
7 7 .500
Arizona St.
3 5 .375
6 8 .429
Washington St. 3 7 .300
10 7 .588
Washington
2 8 .200
3 12 .200
California
2 10 .167
7 12 .368
TOP 25 SCORES
Tuesday’s Games
No. 2 Baylor 83, No. 6 Texas 69
No. 8 Iowa 84, Michigan St. 78
Mississippi 52, No. 11 Tennessee 50
No. 12 Illinois 75, Indiana 71, OT
No. 17 West Virginia 76, Iowa St. 72
No. 19 Wisconsin 72, Penn St. 56
No. 20 Florida St. at Boston College, ppd.
No. 23 Kansas 74, Kansas St. 51
Maryland 61, No. 24 Purdue 60
HOCKEY
NHL
East
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Philadelphia 10 7 2
1 15 35 31
Washington 10 6 1
3 15 38 34
Boston
9 6 1
2 14 30 20
Pittsburgh
10 5 4
1 11 30 37
New Jersey
9 4 3
2 10 23 26
Buffalo
10 4 4
2 10 30 32
N.Y. Islanders
9 3 4
2
8 19 24
N.Y. Rangers
9 3 4
2
8 25 26
Central
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Carolina
7 6 1
0 12 22 13
Florida
6 5 0
1 11 22 16
Dallas
7 5 1
1 11 29 17
Tampa Bay
7 5 1
1 11 24 16
Columbus
11 4 4
3 11 27 34
Chicago
11 3 4
4 10 29 35
Nashville
9 4 5
0
8 22 29
Detroit
10 2 6
2
6 20 35
West
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
St. Louis
10 7 2
1 15 36 32
Colorado
11 7 3
1 15 38 24
Minnesota
11 6 5
0 12 30 30
Vegas
7 5 1
1 11 23 17
Los Angeles
8 3 3
2
8 25 26
Anaheim
10 3 5
2
8 16 27
Arizona
9 3 5
1
7 23 26
San Jose
8 3 5
0
6 22 31
North
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Montreal
10 7 1
2 16 44 27
Toronto
10 7 2
1 15 33 29
Winnipeg
10 6 3
1 13 35 31
Vancouver
13 6 7
0 12 45 48
Edmonton
11 5 6
0 10 38 41
Calgary
9 4 4
1
9 26 23
Ottawa
9 1 7
1
3 22 44
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime
loss. The top four teams in each division will qualify for
playoffs under this season’s temporary realignment.
Tuesday’s Games
Dallas 6, Columbus 3
Montreal 5, Vancouver 3
Winnipeg 3, Calgary 2
St. Louis 4, Arizona 3
Carolina 4, Chicago 3, SO
Colorado 2, Minnesota 1
Buffalo at N.Y. Islanders, ppd.
New Jersey at Pittsburgh, ppd.
Anaheim at Los Angeles, late
Ottawa at Edmonton, late
Wednesday’s Games
Detroit at Tampa Bay, 2:30 p.m.
Boston at Philadelphia, 5 p.m.
Vegas at San Jose, ppd.
DEALS
Transactions
BASEBALL
Major League Baseball
American League
BOSTON RED SOX — Signed IF/OF Kike Hernandez to
a two-year contract.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS — Agreed to terms with RHP
Deolis Guerra and C Carlos Perez on minor league contracts.
TEXAS RANGERS — Signed RHP Spencer Patton to a
minor league contract.
National League
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Agreed to terms with RHPs
Bryan Mitchell, David Paulino and Hector Rondon on mi-
nor league contracts.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Agreed to terms with RHPs
Jandel Gustave and Chase DeJong on minor league con-
tracts.
SAN DIEGO PADRES — Named Erik Greupner chief
executive officer and A.J. Preller president of baseball
operations and general manager.
BASKETBALL
Women’s National Basketball Association
NEW YORK LIBERTY — Signed G/F Betnijah Laney.
WASHINGTON MYSTICS — Announced F/C La Toya
Sanders to return for the 2021 season.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
CHICAGO BEARS — Named Mike Adams assistant de-
fensive backs coach.
DENVER BRONCOS — Waived WR Fred Brown, DE Joel
Heath, S Alijah Holder, TE Jordan Leggett and T Darrin
Paulo.
LOS ANGELES RAMS — Signed LS Steven Wirtel to
reserve/futures contract.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Signed OT Aviante Collins
to a reserve/futures contract.
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
ANAHEIM DUCKS — Promoted C Isac Lundestrom to
the active roster from the taxi squad. Designated C Andrew
Agozzino for assignment to the taxi squad.
ARIZONA COYOTES — Promoted LW Dryden Hunt to
the active roster from the taxi squad. Placed RW Christian
Fischer on injured reserve.
BUFFALO SABRES — Designated C Arttu Ruotsalainen
and RW Karson Kuhlman for assignment to the taxi squad.
CALGARY FLAMES — Designated RW Buddy Robinson
and D Connor Mackey for assignment to the taxi squad.
Promoted C Derek Ryan and D Connor Mackay to the ac-
tive roster from the taxi squad.
CAROLINA HURRICANES — Promoted G Alex Ned-
eljkovic and C Morgan Geekie to the active roster from
the taxi squad.
COLORADO AVALANCHE — Promoted RW Keifer Sher-
wood, G Hunter Miska, D Jacob MacDonald and C Sheldon
Dries to the active roster from the taxi squad. Designated
C Shane Bowers and G Adam Werner for assignment to
the taxi squad.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS — Designated G Matiss
Kivlenieks for assignment to the taxi squad. Reassigned
G Cam Johnson to Cleveland (AHL).
DALLAS STARS — Promoted Fs Tanner Kero and Joel
L’Esperance to the active roster from the taxi squad. Desig-
nated RW Ry Dellandrea for assignment to the taxi squad.
EDMONTON OILERS — Designated G Stuart Skinner for
assignment to the taxi squad. Promoted D Evan Bouchard
to the active roster from the taxi squad.
LOS ANGELES KINGS — Promoted RW Arthur Kaliyev,
Ds Austin Strand and Mark Alt and C Lias Andersson to the
active roster from the taxi squad. Designated LW Bokondji
Imama and D Sean Durzi for assignment to the taxi squad.
MONTREAL CANADIENS — Designated D Alexander
Romanov for assignment to the taxi squad.
NASVILLE PREDATORS — Designated RWs Eeli Tol-
vanen and Mathieu Olivier for assignment to the taxi
squad.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS — Designated D Kevin Czuc-
zuman and LW Drew O’Connor for assignment to the
taxi squad. Reassigned D William Reilly to Wilkes-Barre/
Scranton (AHL).
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Designated D Luke Schenn
for assignment to the taxi squad.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
ATLANTA UNITED — Waived F Adam Jahn.
COLORADO RAPIDS — Signed G William Yarbrough
to a three-year contract with a club option for an addi-
tional year.
LA GALAXY — Named Dan Calichman, Nick Theslof
and Jason Bent assistant coaches. Named Kevin Hartman
goalkeeper coach.
MINNESOTA UNITED FC — Signed new contracts for
MF Jacori Hayes, Ds Brent Kallman, Callum Montgomery
and G Adrian Zendejas.
SEATTLE SOUNDERS — Signed G Spencer Richey.
Loaned G Trey Muse to San Diego Loyalty SC (USL cham-
pionship).
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS — Agreed with W David
Milinkovic to a mutual contract termination.
COLLEGE
DOANE UNIVERSITY — Named Tony Odorisio head
mens soccer coach.
SPORTS BRIEFING
FOOTBALL
Beavers
Chiefs’ Mahomes says injured toe close to 100% —
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes played pretty well in the
AFC Championship Game on Jan. 23 despite the effects of
a turf toe injury on his left foot that was black and blue after
he hurt it the previous week. Tuesday, Mahomes said the in-
jury should be of little concern for Sunday’s Super Bowl. “It’s
pretty close to 100%,” he said. Mahomes hurt the toe in the
Jan. 17 division playoff game against Cleveland. Later in the
same game, he took a big hit that sent him to the sidelines and
landed him in concussion protocol.
Continued from A5
GOLF
Golf governing bodies start to reveal plans to curb
distance — Nearly a year after the “Distance Insights Proj-
ect” declared that golfers are hitting the ball farther than ever,
the game’s two governing bodies on Tuesday announced three
proposed changes to equipment and testing standards. One of
the proposed changes includes a local rule that could limit the
length of the shaft to no more than 46 inches, down from 48
inches. The USGA and R&A also proposed slight changes to
how golf balls are tested for the overall distance standard and
how drivers are tested to measure how much of a trampoline
effect they have on impact.
Stanford back home
The Sanford Cardinal have
not played a game at Maples Pa-
vilion since the season opener
on Nov. 25 against Cal Poly.
Instead, because of directives
from the Santa Clara County
health department, the Cardi-
nal have been on the road the
past two months, playing most
of their “home” games in Santa
Cruz, California with a couple
in Las Vegas.
Those directives have
changed and the Cardinal will
now return to Maples on Fri-
day against Colorado.
“I think our team is very
excited,” Stanford coach Tara
VanDerveer said. “Quite hon-
estly, we’re pretty tired; three
games in five days and travel.
Our team, they’ve been war-
riors and I’m really proud of
them.”
The Cardinal played three
games in Washington, fac-
ing Washington State twice
last Wednesday and Friday to
make up a game from earlier
this season, then beat Wash-
ington on Sunday.
“I’m really just looking for-
ward to getting back into Ma-
ples, being able to just go to the
gym and get up shots when-
ever we want,” Hannah Jump
said. “We’re all super pumped
to be back.”
Hot shooting
Over the last three games,
the Beavers have been on fire
from the field. They have made
an impressive 89 of 161 shots
from the field (55.3%), includ-
ing 36 of 64 3-pointers (56.3%).
Ellie Mack has made 7 of
11 3s, Goforth 7 of 12, Aleah
Goodman 9 of 14 and Taya
Corosdale 6 of 10. That’s a
combined 29 of 47 (61.7%).
The Beavers are fifth in Di-
vision I in 3-point field goal
percentage at 40.43% (95 of
235), while Goodman is also
fifth individually at 51.67% (31
for 60).
COVID-19 update
Only three teams — Stan-
ford, Oregon State and Arizona
State — were able to play their
allotment of scheduled games
this past weekend.
Oregon State and Stanford
both played three, with the
third being a makeup from a
previously postponed game,
while Arizona State was swept
on the road in Los Angeles.
Washington played twice but
had its third against Cal post-
poned.
Colorado, Utah, UCLA and
USC all played once last week
as Cal, Oregon and Arizona
had both games postponed.
Poll numbers
Despite two teams ahead of
it losing this week, UCLA re-
mained at No. 5 in the Associ-
ated Press poll released Mon-
day. Stanford remained at No.
6 while Arizona, despite being
idle, moved up a spot to No. 9.
Oregon, also idle, fell one spot
to No. 12.
Players of the week
Oregon State’s Goforth was
named the Pac-12’s freshman
of the week after helping the
Beavers to three wins during
the week.
The guard averaged 15.7
points and 5.7 rebounds per
game and hit 18 of 32 field goal
attempts.
PREP SPORTS
National federation revises pandemic guidance —
The National Federation of State High School Associations
has revised its original guidance on how to conduct prep
sports safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new guid-
ance suggests community infection rates are a better gauge for
transmission of the illness during athletic events rather than
categorizing sports into high, medium and low risk. The or-
ganization also notes more recent data show transmission is
relatively rare during athletic events. The organization said
the science shows infection rates in non-contact sports are
lower than those in contact sports, outdoors sports have lower
infection rates than indoor sports, and the use of face masks
during indoor events produces similar transmission rates to
outdoor sports. The NFHSA also said new evidence reveals a
majority of sports-related COVID-19 cases come from social
contact rather than participation.
OLYMPICS
Tokyo organizers reiterate ‘we will hold the games’ —
The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee had
a simple message Tuesday for fellow members of Japan’s ruling
Liberal Democratic Party. “No matter what situation would be
with the coronavirus, we will hold the games,” Yoshiro Mori,
who is also a former Japanese prime minister, told lawmakers.
“We should pass on the discussion of whether we will hold the
games or not, but instead discuss how we should hold it.”
— Bulletin wire reports
MEGA MILLIONS
The numbers drawn Tuesday night are:
13 37 38 40 67 10 x 2
Oregon
Lottery
results
The estimated jackpot is now $42 million.
As listed at www.oregonlottery.org and individual lottery websites
“If we saw the ball bounce
or if someone said the
ball bounced, then I never
would have marked the
golf ball. You know when
the ball bounces, it’s almost
impossible for it to break
the plane.”
Golf
Continued from A5
The procedure Reed fol-
lowed wasn’t illegal. It wasn’t
even necessary for him to call
for an official. Rory McIlroy
didn’t ask for a ruling when
the same thing happened on
the 18th hole that day. And
according to McIlroy, Rory
Sabbatini also took relief from
an embedded ball on the 15th
hole Saturday.
The rule (16-3) allows play-
ers to proceed as if the ball is
embedded provided it is “rea-
sonable to conclude” based on
the information at hand.
Reed wasn’t careful, either.
The lie was suspect enough to
call for a ruling. Even the rules
official working the broad-
cast, Ken Tackett, suggested
the “best practice” would be to
leave the ball where it was until
the official arrived. That would
eliminate anything question-
able.
And with Reed, there are
bound to be questions.
Adding to the firestorm was
video that clearly showed the
ball bounced forward. That
doesn’t change anything. Play-
ers can act on only what they
know at the time.
But with Reed, it changes ev-
— Patrick Reed
Gregory Bull/AP
Patrick Reed hits toward the fourth green on the South Course during
the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on Sun-
day in San Diego.
erything, and his response after
the round only raised another
question.
“If we saw the ball bounce
or if someone said the ball
bounced, then I never would
have marked the golf ball,” he
said. “You know when the ball
bounces, it’s almost impossible
for it to break the plane.”
So if it bounced no more
than a few feet — roughly the
height from which players take
a drop — how did it become
embedded?
McIlroy unwittingly came to
his rescue by having the same
thing happen, which wasn’t
discovered by CBS until af-
ter the third round. It appears
his ball on the 18th hole went
slightly forward, though video
wasn’t quite as clear as it was
for Reed.
“On my life, that ball of mine
was plugged, it was in its own
pitch mark, so I took relief,”
McIlroy said.
By the book.
Except the names of the
characters are different.
“We know who they are,”
Tom Watson said long ago,
without offering names, when
asked about cheating on the
PGA Tour. The list probably
is longer than the people who
run golf and preach its honor
system would like to admit.
Winning doesn’t take care
of everything. Otherwise, the
talk out of Torrey Pines would
be Reed’s phenomenal short
game and his overall toughness
that carried him to a five-shot
victory.
Instead, he left with suspi-
cion as his shadow.
Blame that on the Bahamas.