55 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 55 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 55 jersey number

The New England Patriots are officially 55 days away from their 2023 season-opener at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.

So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has worn the No. 55 throughout franchise history.

Burgeoning star linebacker Josh Uche currently wears the number, which was also worn by the late, great Pro Football Hall of Famer Junior Seau. Uche did the number proud last season when he exploded for a career-high 11.5 sacks.

There have been a total of 21 Patriots players that have worn No. 55, including other long-tenured standouts like Willie McGinest and Don Blackmon.

Here’s every Patriots player that has worn the number (via Pro Football Reference):

Golf’s future men’s, women’s stars align at 2023 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley

Everything you need to know for one of, if not the, best junior golf tournaments in the world.

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — Founded in 2011, the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley has become one of, if not the, best competitions in junior golf.

This year’s event at Sage Valley Golf Club, a private, pristine gem of a course nestled among the pines less than 20 miles from famed Augusta National Golf Club, features a loaded field of some of junior golf’s best players from 17 different countries.

Junior Invitational returned to the amateur schedule in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the 54-hole event featured a new wrinkle: a girls competition held concurrently alongside the boys. Last year’s event didn’t just include the first girls field, but also the first playoff. Not only that, both boys and girls champions were decided by a playoff.

With a pair of gold jackets on the line, here’s everything you need to know for this week’s 2023 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.

Meet Gianna Clemente: The 14-year-old who Monday-qualified for three consecutive LPGA events

The fields

Neither defending champion will be back in 2023, but Bailey Shoemaker, who held a seven-shot lead entering the final round in 2022 and lost to girls champion Amalie Leth-Nissen in a playoff, returns as a favorite alongside 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis and nine of the top-10 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin girls ranking.

Of the 24 girls in the field, 13 are from the United States, with two from Spain and one from Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan.

The 36-player boys field includes the top-12 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking, such as No. 1 Preston Stout and 2022 AJGA Player of the Year Eric Lee. A whopping 25 of the boys players hail from the United States, while Mexico and the United Kingdom each have two players in the field. Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Thailand each have one player in the field.

Records

The lowest rounds recorded both occurred during the inaugural event in 2011, where both Nick Reach (first round) and Justin Thomas (final round) shot 10-under 62. The closest since? That’d be 2019 champion Tom McKibbin, who fired an 8-under 64 in his final round.

Reach also holds the record for lowest 54-hole total after winning by eight shots in 2011 at 20 under following impressive rounds of 62-66-68. Last year’s playoff participants Luke Potter and champion Caleb Surratt each finished at 14 under, the second-best 54-hole total in event history.

On the flipside, the girl’s record books are primed for filling after last year’s inaugural event. Shoemaker holds the mark for lowest score with her 7-under 65 in the second round in 2022, which was two shots better than Davis’ 5-under 67 in the opening round.

Leth-Nissen and Shoemaker each finished at 5 under for the tournament before their playoff.

Past champions

2011: Nicholas Reach

2012: Zachary Olsen

2013: Carson Young

2014: Scottie Scheffler

2015: Marcus Kinhult

2016: Austin Eckroat

2017: Joaquin Niemann

2018: Akshay Bhatia

2019: Tom McKibbin

2020: Jackson Van Paris

2022: Caleb Surratt (boys), Amalie Leth-Nissen (girls)

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Eric Lee, Kaitlyn Schroeder named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Players of the Year for 2022

The teams were determined exclusively through the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of October 12.

Eric Lee of Fullerton, California, and Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville, Florida, were named the 2022 American Junior Golf Association’s 2022 Players of the Year, it was announced Thursday.

Lee is the first boys junior from California to earn the honor since 2010, and Schroeder the first girls junior from Florida since 2009. They are both first-team Rolex Junior All-Americans, as well, with their distinctions.

Lee, 17, did not finish outside the top 10 in seven national junior golf events to end the season at No. 1 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. He won the season-opening Rolex Tournament of Champions at PGA National. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes. Lee is committed to Cal.

Schroeder, an Alabama commit, had two wins and three top-five finishes. Her wins came at the 31st Rolex Girls Junior Championship at The Loxahatchee Club and the Girls Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill. She advanced to the round of 32 at the U.S. Girls’ Junior in Kentucky.

Kaitlyn Schroeder
Kaitlyn Schroeder was named the 2022 AJGA Player of the Year. (Photo: AJGA)

The Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize the best junior golfers from around the world. The 2022 class includes 48 boys and 48 girls, ages 14-19, from 24 states and 10 countries. The teams were determined exclusively through the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of October 12.

Lee, Schroeder, and the 2022 Rolex Junior All-America Teams will be honored through the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet on Saturday, Nov. 19.

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Chiefs bring in free agent DE Eric Lee for workout

The Kansas City Chiefs are looking at options to help their thinning defensive end group and this one has familiarity with their DL coach.

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The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to free agency for options at the defensive end position.

There has been a ton of injuries throughout the season at the position group dating all the way back to the preseason. Second-year defensive end Breeland Speaks suffered a season-ending knee injury before the season started, Frank Clark has dealt with a pinched nerve in his neck since training camp, Alex Okafor has dealt with a hip injury and an ankle injury. It has been reported that standout and sack leader Emmanuel Ogbah will have season-ending surgery on a torn pec. The Chiefs technically only have one healthy player at the position right now in Tanoh Kpassagnon.

The team has already begun its quest to find a new defensive end. On Tuesday, the team reported a workout on the NFL’s transaction report of free-agent defensive end Eric Lee. Most recently, Lee spent time with the Detroit Lions, appearing in nine games during the 2018 season. He’s also spent time on their practice squad until early October of 2019.

Lee entered the league out of the University of South Florida, joining the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent. Lee spent time with the New England Patriots in 2017, where he served under now-Chiefs defensive line coach Brendan Daly. He started five games for the Patriots that season and posted 19 tackles, three tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and an interception.

The Daly connection suggests this player could pick up the Chiefs’ system quickly, which might be necessitated by injuries. The Chiefs have not yet signed Lee, but the possibility remains as they mull their options before placing Ogbah on injured reserve.