Tag: tokyo olympics

Japan’s Hinako Shibuno’s Olympic hopes sunk after a watery 10 on No. 17 at KPMG Women’s PGA

Hinako Shibuno missed making Japan’s Olympic team after disaster struck on the 17th hole at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Hinako Shibuno, the player known as the Smiling Cinderella who won the 2019 AIG Women’s British Open, came into the KPMG Women’s PGA ranked No. 31 in the world, the fourth-highest ranked Japanese player behind Nasa Hataoka (11), Mone Inami (25) and Ayaka Furue (28).

A strong finish at the year’s third major could’ve vaulted Shibuno into that second spot. Countries can send up to two players when ranked outside the top 15.

After Shibuno’s caddie tested positive for COVID-19 in a pre-travel test on Friday, she picked up a local looper for the third round. Her manager and trainer were unable to accompany her on the course on Saturday due to COVID protocols.

On the par-3 17th, Shibuno, doing her own yardages due to the language barrier, grossly miscalculated and hit four shots into the water, recording a 10 with a one-putt. She finished with a 76 and broke down in a heap of sobs after the round, knowing that her Olympic chances were somewhere at the bottom of that penalty area.

“I was very devastated,” Shibuno toId Japanese reporters after the round. “I did not realize my miscalculation from the drop area until I got on the green, but I am proud of myself that I could re-focus from 18th until the end.”

Shibuno had to get tested for COVID-19 before every round and on Sunday, only had time for a 30-minute warm-up before heading to the tee.

She came back with a flourish, recording four birdies in the first six holes and was proud to get revenge on the 17th with a par. Shibuno shot 67 on Sunday to finish in 40th place. She remained No. 31 in the Rolex Rankings, four places behind Inami. Furue sits at No. 29.

“When the Olympics had been postponed,” said Shibuno, “my goal changed to playing the LPGA tour rather than the Olympics.

“I am still very disappointed not to play there, but I did my best and I wish Nasa, and Mr. Matsuyama and Hoshino all the best and looking forward to watching them on TV.”

Shibuno turned down the LPGA exemption that came with winning a major in 2019. After the KPMG, she headed back to Japan for three tournaments on the JLPGA and will then travel to Scotland for the AIG Women’s British Open.

In November, she’ll head to Alabama to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail for LPGA Q-Series in an effort to earn her card for a second time.

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Field finalized for Tokyo Olympics women’s golf competition

The field has been finalized for the Tokyo Olympics women’s golf competition.

Team USA will match South Korea for the first time by sending four players to the 2021 Olympics, with Jessica Korda taking the fourth and final spot, joining newly-minted No. 1 Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang.

Inbee Park, the 2016 gold medal winner, will return for South Korea along with Jin Young Ko, Sei Young Kim and Hyo-Joo Kim.

The stars will be out in force in Aug. 4-7 for the Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club.

“I’ve achieved a lot in golf,” said Park, “won a lot of majors, won a lot of tournaments, but winning the gold medal was something really different. I wish a lot of the players think the same and treat Olympics the same. I think it’s definitely something that you should experience.”

Some players, like Shanshan Feng and Hannah Green, won’t play again until the Olympics, heading back to their native countries, China and Australia, respectively, to quarantine and prepare.

“It’s interesting to see how the men and women have changed their schedule for it,” said Green who, like Feng, will miss the LPGA’s next major. “It’s a tournament that I am prioritizing.”

Feng, the 2016 bronze-medal winner in Rio, might even retire after the Games.

While Germany’s Sophia Popov is fulfilling an Olympic dream that her mother and brother, both high-level swimmers, never realized, the Korda sisters follow in the footsteps of their mother, Regina, who competed in the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul in tennis.

“It’s a great experience, great feeling,” said Regina. “It’s just special.”

The Rolex Rankings were used to determine the field of 60. The top 15 players in the world were eligible, with a maximum of four from each country. After that, a maximum of two players were eligible from each nation.

South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu was the highest-ranked player, at No. 16, who was ineligible to compete.

Full Olympic women’s golf field, teams

Florida gymnastics has a signee and commit make Team USA

Florida’s Trinity Thomas announced that she wouldn’t compete for a spot on Team USA. But these two UF signees and commit did this weekend, with a pair earning a trip to Tokyo.

USA Gymnastics star Simone Biles hauls in most of the attention and headlines for good reason. She’s one of the best gymnasts the world has ever seen. But Florida also made noise at the U.S. Gymnastics Olympics Trials this weekend.

The Gators had two signees and one commit vying for a spot to represent the Red, White and Blue at the Tokyo Olympics. When they announced the roster for this year’s games, Florida signee Leanne Wong and commit Kayla DiCello made the Team USA roster as alternates. Riley McCusker, another UF signee, competed Saturday and Sunday only on the uneven bars, but she did not make the team or the roster as an alternate.

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Alternates travel with the team to Tokyo and fill in for any gymnast that can’t compete.

Wong competed in the all-around competition where she finished eighth. DiCello is a rising senior from Maryland and tallied a sixth-place finish in the all-around.

Gators fans can watch these future Florida gymnasts attempt to secure another gold medal for Team USA. Their journey to Tokyo starts July 25 with the women’s qualification.

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Former Florida track star Grant Holloway clinches Olympics berth

Grant Holloway will always be remembered as a Gator great for his three national titles. He earned a spot on Team USA Saturday.

Despite what the NBC graphic stated, Grant Holloway is a former track star for Florida, not Florida State. The broadcast aired the incorrect graphic after he secured his spot on Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics with a win in the 110-meter hurdles final on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon.

This will be Holloway’s first time suiting up for the red, white and blue at the Olympic Games. In the semifinals, he made some more noise. He recorded a time of 12.8, 1/100th of a second from tying the world record. The mark he did post was the fastest in the world this year and set a new U.S. Olympic Trials record.

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He tallied a 12.96 in the finals. In both events, Holloway blasted away the competition, being the only runner to crack the 13-second barrier. It’s not surprising to see him succeed, as he was the favorite after he won the world title in 2019.

Gators fans will want to tune into the Olympics broadcast in August because he has a legitimate chance to earn gold in Tokyo.

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James Harden withdraws from team USA to focus on recovering

James Harden, who was expected to initially commit to Team USA, is now withdrawing in order to focus on recovering his right hamstring.

Nets guard James Harden, who initially was expected to commit to Team USA, was left with no choice but to withdraw from Team USA in order to recover from a right hamstring injury that he reaggravated in the postseason.

Before going down in April because of the initial injury, the Beard had already won the February and March Player of the Month honors because of his stellar play. He was making a stronger case to win MVP and proving that he was more than capable of holding it down on the Nets despite only arriving in January. What made this run even more impressive was the fact that Kevin Durant went down on February 13th with a hamstring injury of his own and didn’t return until April 7th.

 

Although Harden’s decision to withdraw hurts Team USA’s overall talent level, it is necessary in order for him to reach 100 percent. We still do not know what he is capable of when he’s fully healthy and we are at the edge of our seat’s to see what this Nets team can do when they reach their true potential. But it all starts with health.

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Former Florida star Bradley Beal makes USA Basketball Olympic Roster

Beal will make history this summer when he becomes the first former Gators men’s basketball player to make the Olympic team.

Former Florida one-and-done Bradley Beal will help the red, white and blue chase another gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics this summer, as he made the 12-man USA basketball roster. This will be his first time competing with the U.S. senior men’s national team.

Beal finished his latest season with the Washington Wizards just shy of grabbing the award for the league’s top scorer with 31.3 points per game. Because of his stellar play, he earned a spot on the All-NBA third team. He also led his team to the NBA playoffs, where the Philadelphia 76ers knocked the Wizards out in five games.

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In his career so far, he has been named an All-Star on three separate occasions, most recently this season. As a college player at UF, he finished his only season in the Orange and Blue as an All-SEC performer.

Beal will make history this summer when he becomes the first former Gators men’s basketball player to make the Olympic team.

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James Harden is expected to commit to Team USA

James Harden is expected to join teammate Kevin Durant in Tokyo for the upcoming Olympics.

The most valuable player for the Nets in the regular season, James Harden, is expected to commit to Team USA for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, according to a report from Shams Charania. Harden led the NBA in assists with 10.9 APG, and had a solid MVP case until injuries derailed the second half of his season.

The Nets guard also sacrificed playing his natural position of shooting guard to take on the point guard responsibilities in Brooklyn. This became one of the most important changes for the Nets during the season and when Harden played, he led this team to a 29-7 record.

What held the 31-year-old back from taking this team to the next level was the injury bug. Not only was Harden battling a hamstring injury for months which impacted his playoff performance, but players like Kyrie Irving and Jeff Green were also victims of injuries during the team’s playoff run.

If the Nets guard can remain healthy and suit up for Team USA, this will be the perfect opportunity for him to show the world how much he has improved as a facilitator and overall as a player too. He will be alongside Kevin Durant and they can only build on their chemistry in Tokyo as next season slowly but surely approaches.

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Every NBA star who has committed to USA Basketball for the Tokyo Olympics so far

This is a pretty great roster of players.

There are going to be a lot of names that we’re used to sitting out of the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year with Steph Curry and LeBron James being the biggest two.

And it makes sense. You’d think that all of the NBA’s biggest stars coming off of a shortened, but condensed, season would want to take a break from basketball at some point.

But nope. It’s quite the opposite, actually. Lots of star players have opted in for the Games so far, starting with Kevin Durant and James Harden.

This star-studded roster should almost certainly win gold. Here are all of the names that have committed to the team so far.

Field finalized for Tokyo Olympics men’s golf competition; Sergio Garcia out for Spain

Garcia and Dustin Johnson highlight a handful of the world’s best players who declined to compete.

Major champions Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen joined Masters and U.S. Open winner Dustin Johnson in declining playing spots in the men’s golf competition in next month’s Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The field of 60 was finalized Tuesday; the replacement list was also determined.

The men’s competition will be held July 29-August 1 at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan. The women’s competition is August 4-7 at the same locale.

Representing the U.S. will be Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau. Johnson said in March he would not be playing if he earned one of the USA’s four spots. Patrick Cantlay is the team’s first reserve.

“I’m going. I’m so excited. It’s going to be one of the best things of my life,” 2020 PGA champion Morikawa said after tying for fourth in the U.S. Open last Sunday. “To think back that I was an amateur two years ago, literally two years ago, and to be on this team and to be heading to Tokyo puts a smile on my face.”

Garcia, who played in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and tied for eighth, will not join world No. 1 and newly minted U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm in playing for Spain.

“This has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life. I love the Olympic Games, but my first priority (is) to represent Spain on the international stage in the Ryder Cup. My number one goal is to identify in the European team without having to wait for hopeful invitations. Representing Spain in the Olympic Games is an honor and an enormous responsibility that requires 100% of your mental effort,” Garcia said in a message he posted on social media.

He will be replaced on the team by Rafa Cabrera Bello, who tied for fifth in Rio.

South African and 2010 Open championship winner Oosthuizen, who finished runner-up in the U.S. Open, was replaced by Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Germany’s two-time major champion Kaymer was replaced by Hurly Long.

Also deciding not to play were England’s Tyrrell Hatton, ranked No. 11 in the world, Matthew Fitzpatrick, ranked No. 21, and Lee Westwood, ranked No. 27. England will be represented by No. 20 Paul Casey and No. 33 Tommy Fleetwood.

The field was restricted to the top 60 in the OWGR. The world’s top 15 players would be eligible, with a country limited to four players. After that, players will be eligible based on the world ranking, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.

The medal winners from the Rio Olympics did not qualify – England’s Justin Rose (gold medal), Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (silver) and USA’s Matt Kuchar (bronze).

Full Olympic men’s golf field, teams