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PINEHURST, N. Adam Dunn White Sox Jersey .C. -- For only the second time, golfs oldest major championship will be played in Northern Ireland when the British Open returns to Royal Portrush Golf Club in 2019. Media reports from Ireland and the United Kingdom said the Royal & Ancient, golfs governing body outside the United States and Mexico, will make the formal announcement Monday. The R&A denied reports about a return to Portrush last summer, saying the course was championship-calibre but questioning whether the infrastructure could accommodate the events big galleries. There was speculation that R&A officials may have changed their minds after Ted Bishop, president of the PGA of America, said last November that his group was interested in Portrush as a venue for the PGA Championship if the event was to be held outside the United States. The earliest date that might happen would be 2020. Major champions and Northern Irishmen Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell had been lobbying on Portrushs behalf. "Ive been kind of hesitant to comment because I really didnt want to take anything away from the official announcement," said McDowell, who was three shots off the lead Thursday after the opening round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. "So Im very proud of where I grew up. Im very proud of the tradition and history there, and to bring an Open Championship back to Northern Ireland is very special. It speaks volumes about how far the country has come." The only time the Open was only played outside England and Scotland was 1951, when Max Faulkner won at Portrush. The 2012 Irish Open was played at Portrush, with more than 100,000 fans attending the event. Bill Melton White Sox Replic . Canada had opened Day 2 at the tournament with a 24-0 loss to New Zealand in the Cup quarter-final before beating Samoa 27-0 to cruise into the Plate final. The loss in the Plate final means Canada finished sixth in the rugby sevens tournament. Avisail Garcia Authentic Jersey . LOUIS -- Duke forward Jabari Parker has won the Wayman Tisdale Award, presented by the U.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The vast rebuilding job that Ned Yost inherited as the manager of the Kansas City Royals was strikingly similar to the one he took on when he was hired by the Milwaukee Brewers. The difference this time is that Yost will have a chance to stick around. The Royals and Yost agreed to a two-year contract extension Tuesday after wrapping up an 86-76 season, the best finish for the franchise in 24 years. Yosts contract was set to expire after the season, though both sides had expressed a desire for the manager to remain on board. "Our main goal is to win the World Series, but we took a major step this year," Yost said. "We finished 10 games over .500. That was huge for us. That was a big step." The next big step is to make the playoffs, something that Yost had the Brewers on the verge of when he was fired in 2008. He eventually landed in Kansas City and became the interim manager in 2010, and then lost more than 90 games each of his first two full seasons in charge. His biggest task then was to help develop one of the youngest rosters in baseball, and the work began to pay off this year. The Royals rebounded from a disastrous May to go 43-27 after the All-Star break, and werent eliminated from wild-card contention until their penultimate series. "Milwaukee was a great experience for me, like May was a good experience for our team," Yost said. "Im thankful for that opportunity because it made me stronger. It made me a better manager. The May we went through, it made us better, it made us stronger, because we endured it, and we were better for it the rest of the year." Yost, who is 741-831 in 10 seasons as a manager, held off on discussing a new contract until after the season. It came together quickly on Monday. "When you have something good you need to stick with it," outfielder Alex Gordon said after the final game, "and I think thats what we have. We have a good manager that gels well with the guys on this team and we all have a good relationship." Yosts two-year deal creates a strange situation in the organization in that general manager Dayton Moore is only under contract through next season. Moore declined to discuss whetherr he will also seek an extension this off-season, saying only that hes "secure" with his situation. Luis Aparicio Jersey For Sale. "Im at peace about where I am and what weve done," Moore said. "Theres an emotion and an expectation and excitement around this group of players, and in a small way, I feel like weve won the World Series, because we have a fan base thats excited." Now that Yost is under contract, Moore will soon turn his attention to putting together a roster for next season. Most of the lineup will return intact, led by promising young players such as first baseman Eric Hosmer and catcher Salvy Perez. But plenty of questions remain, starting with right field and what was one of the best starting rotations in the big leagues. The Royals cobbled together right field when Jeff Francoeur fizzled out, and David Lough and Justin Maxwell were platooning there late in the season. But Yost and Moore both have indicated they would like to add a bat with power to the lineup, and right field is the natural fit. In the rotation, Ervin Santana and Bruce Chen are both eligible for free agency. Santana may have priced himself out of the Royals with the best season of his career, but Moore said that he anticipates having the resources necessary to make a competitive bid to keep both pitchers. If that doesnt happen, Moore said that youngsters Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy and Kyle Zimmer are prepared to compete for a starting job in spring training. "Every team has holes. We certainly are not immune to that," Moore said. "Well look at the areas where we can improve, but you can only improve with talent and opportunities available to you, and I have no idea what opportunities are going to be available going forward." Moore did say that he expects the Royals payroll, which was a franchise-record $81,241,725 on opening day, to remain the same or perhaps even increase next season. "You have a deep-pitted feeling in your stomach every year youre not in the playoffs," Moore said. "We want that for our fan base. We want that for our players in the worst way. So were going to continue to work to press the right buttons." ' ' ' |
