Thursday's Report: Scores; Henley at Tour Championship; Braves, Falcons, UGA; MLB/Ohtani, college sports/realignment, golf/Tour, NFL, tennis, NFL, NASCAR
Coming every day: The only place in Central Georgia with daily high school scores in basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, and the only place with college – Mercer, FVSU, Georgia College, CGTC, MGSU, GMC, Wesleyan – coverage (when info is offered).
In Coverage: The Sports Report’s high school football predictions
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High School
🥎 🥎 🥎Softball 🥎 🥎 🥎
Brenwood 5, GMC 1
Jasper County 9, FPD 3
Perry 16, Warner Robins 1
Ella Dowd, Mackenzie Crumley and Anna Dean each had two hits for 6-0 Perry.
Schley County 5, Bleckley County 4
Washington County 11, Swainsboro 3
West Laurens 3, East Laurens 0
Pro
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Henley set for Tour Championship
Russell Henley has come close to finishing the drill a number of times this season, which has him as a longshot or under the radar when the Tour Championship starts Thursday morning at East Lake in Atlanta.
He is 12th in the FedExCup rankings, and 28th in the Official World Golf Rankings.
While East Lake isn’t far from anywhere Henley has lived – Macon, Athens, Charleston, and Columbus – he’s only played it twice on the tour, finishing 12th in 2013-14 and third in 2016-17.
But it may fit his game, as per BettingPros.com: Russell Henley has quietly put together a great season on the PGA Tour. After a win early in November, he was unable to win another tournament. However, Henley went on to record five top-5 finishes and 12 top-25 finishes, with only six missed cuts. This is a result of Henley’s incredible accuracy, as he’s first in Driving Accuracy and third in Proximity to the Hole. He’ll need his best stuff in East Lake, as he starts seven shots behind the leader.
Patrick McDonald has Henley as sleeper this weekend: “Russell Henley (75-1): Any time you get Henley on a golf course, that requires accurate driving and pinpoint iron play, he is a good option. The former Georgia star is comfortable on these grass types and is probably the most underrated player on the PGA Tour. Henley ranks sixth in total strokes gained over the last six months and will start from seven back.”
Henley has entered the Ryder Cup conversation with his run the second half of the season.
From CBS Sports: “Biggest jump up leaderboard -- Russell Henley: He is playing some outrageously good golf and has something to play for outside a ton of money. If Henley wins the Tour Championship this weekend given how well he's been playing of late, there's a real chance he could swipe the last spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team when the captain's picks are made Monday by Zach Johnson.”
He starts the staggered-scores tournament at 3 under, with Tommy Fleetwood, Keegan Bradly, Rickie Fowler, and Xander Schauffele.
Henley tees off at 1:05 p.m. Thursday, a few minutes after TV coverage begins on The Golf Channel, with Tommy Fleetwood.
Around/About Georgia/Southeast
Morton masterful as Braves cruise
Falcons welcome on of NFL’s top organizations
Beck: ’I’ve been grinding the last four years’
Georgia loses RB Robinson to season-ending injury
Robinson’s injury, managing Beck, special teams
Hollins adds size and eccentric outlook to Falcons attack at wide receiver
MLB/Baseball
Ohtani done for season with UCL tear
De La Cruz pokes Ohtani to see if he’s real
Reds spoil Mike Trout’s return to the Angels’ lineup with a 4-3 victory
College Sports
ACC progressing toward westward expansion with Stanford, Cal, SMU potential targets, AP source says
How the transfer portal can get complicated for academic advisers
College Football/South
Chasing Georgia: Alabama, LSU now trying to catch up to 2-time defending champs
Thorne talks about joining Freeze at Auburn
Meyer admits addiction to Ambien: ‘Thought I was going to die’
No. 9 Clemson has been atop the ACC for years. No. 8 Florida State is hoping to get back there
College Football
Big 12’s days of Air Raid offenses give way to balance and, sometimes, ground-based attacks
Former USC star Bush plans defamation lawsuit against NCAA
College fans might not notice new first-down clock rule, but some coaches are wary of its effect
Golf
Scheffler chases an $18 million FedEx Cup bonus. There might even be a case for player of the year
Short game is how to separate from the field at East Lake
PGA Tour ends its season at East Lake for Tour Championship
PGA Tour’s Monahan is confident on deal over Saudi-funded LIV Golf, uncertain about Maui tournament
NFL/XFL/USFL/Football
Gradishar selected senior Hall of Fame finalist, a first for Broncos’ ‘Orange Crush’ defense
Darnold wins backup QB job in SF, Lance status in doubt
NCAA’s all-time leading rusher at just 5-7, McLaughlin makes case
Notebook: Surprise playoff-worth teams
NBA/WNBA/Basketball
Preview capsules on the 32 teams that’ll compete in the Basketball World Cup
Tennis
US Open 2023: Coco Gauff’s improved play makes her a serious contender at Flushing Meadows
US Open 2023: How well do you know Grand Slam tennis? Try the AP’s quiz
Some men’s tennis players will get a guaranteed income under a new ATP Tour plan
Auto Racing
Daytona offers last chance for Elliott to make playoffs; open-wheelers back in action
Wallace clinging to final playoff spot heading to Daytona
Scoreboard