How Scottie Scheffler Obliterated the British Open
'His putting is night and day,' Fitzpatrick said. 'That's obviously the difference that's taken him to this unbeatable run.'
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Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The coach who develops Gloucester's future stars
When lock Arthur Clark made his international debut by starting for England on Saturday in their comprehensive win over the USA, it was a moment of personal pride. But it was also a huge success for his club Gloucester. The 23-year-old has come through the junior ranks at Hartpury College and the Cherry and Whites' academy to now having 40 games under his belt. Next season, he will be one of 14 former academy graduates in the 40-player Gloucester senior squad. Wayne Thompson is the man tasked with finding the next Clark, or Jonny May, or Lewis Ludlow, Louis Rees-Zammit or Freddie Thomas - players who have all come through the club's academy to establish themselves in the first team. A former prop, who played down the M5 motorway at Bristol for 13 years, Thompson was appointed in May 2024 when the club's academy was revamped and expanded. "The academy is one of the key strategies for the club as a whole," Thompson told BBC Radio Gloucestershire. "My remit has been to help bring players through, identify players and ensure the next generation of Gloucester talent, a streamline of players coming through." Gloucester have spent 'wisely' - Skivington The importance of Gloucester's academy has only grown in recent years as the club aims to cut its cloth and become more financially sustainable. Owner Martin St Quinton has said Gloucester's ambition is to financially break even and, as such, their reliance on developing young talent has only increased. Thompson's role as head of academy has, in many ways, never been more important. Even more so in light of wholesale changes made to its structure last summer. As part of the Professional Game Partnership agreed between the Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby and Rugby Players' Association announced in September, the geographical boundaries for the 10 Premiership clubs' academies were re-drawn. With Worcester and Wasps both no longer in the top flight, the boundaries of Gloucester's patch has spread and now includes Birmingham, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and as far as Shropshire and Oxford, as well as Gloucestershire. The setup for academies across the league has also altered and must encompass three phases - a foundation phase for age 15-16; a development phase for 17-18; and a confirmation phase, otherwise known as the senior academy, for those up to the age of 23. "The key thing for us as a club is having an affinity with the whole catchment now," Thompson said. "You've got a natural affinity with the local area in and around Gloucester but how do we create that cultural connection with those Midland areas, Oxford, Henley? "The more we engage with the community and the academy, through stakeholders - schools, clubs, parents, you'll start to see that grow." 'Starting to see the fruition of work' After hanging up his playing boots in 2013, Thompson spent 10 years working at Hartpury University as the junior academy manager, leading their under-18s programme Rees-Zammit, former scrum-half Stephen Varney and current Gloucester winger Josh Hathaway have all prospered under Thompson's watch during that time. "I'd always had an affiliation with Gloucester, stepping across probably has helped those links with players, and giving them playing opportunity through that Hartpury pathway," Thompson said. "We're starting to see the fruition of that with the players stepping across and up into this Gloucester senior squad and developing in the academy." Of the most recent crop of academy players, in the past year 12 have represented England at under-18, under-19 and under-20 age grades - most notably centre Will Knight, who featured in the recent World Rugby Under-20 Championship, while Caio James and Deian Gwynne represented Wales. This summer, 10 players have moved up from Gloucester's under-18s team to the senior academy - six of whom have come from the new catchment area. Yet Thompson says the real test will be how many players they have named in the England Under-20 Elite Player Pathway squad for 2025-26 when it is announced next month. "It'll be interesting to see how many of the lads that have played in that under-19s, under-18s age group this year get pulled through," Thompson said. "That for me is probably going to be the initial marker for us as an academy as to how far we've come in this last year and how much of an impact this bigger area and the work we've put in has shown through." Director of rugby George Skivington said in May that the talent coming through Gloucester this coming season is as good, if not better, than it ever has been. Thompson agreed he is "extremely excited" by the prospect of the players in the building although the challenge is to ensure they continue to progress forward. "The athletic potential of these lads, it's a different size, shape of your stereotypical Gloucester lads coming through," Thompson said. "How do we make sure that transition in the next two or three years isn't lost? And that we are seeing these lads forming the majority of the Gloucester team in four, five years."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ashlie motors to a gold and silver at British Open
Jiu-Jitsu competitor Ashlie Fowler returned from the 2025 British Open with gold and silver medals in her respective divisions. Fowler, who works as a technician at Porsche Centre Bolton, secured gold in the Female Gi Blue Belt Master 1 (30-plus) Light-Featherweight division after defeating Alice Bowerbank by submission. She also earned silver in the Female Absolute Gi Blue Belt Master division, winning her semi-final 10-0 on points before losing the final by submission. The tournament took place at the University of Warwick in Coventry and drew hundreds of competitors from across the UK and abroad. Fowler represented Stealth BJJ Bolton and competed in both her weight class and the open-weight absolute category. The new British gold medalist said: 'It went really well - I came away with gold in my weight division and silver in the absolutes, so I couldn't really ask for much more. 'I felt strong going in, and everything just came together on the day. 'Getting the submission win in my division was a big moment for me, and then to make it to the final in the absolutes on top of that was a real bonus. 'It's been a tough few months of training, so to see the hard work pay off like that was really rewarding. Not a bad day out at all!' The British Open is regarded as the UK's largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu event and a key fixture in the national competition calendar. Fowler, who began training three years ago, also coaches women's classes at Stealth BJJ and trains six times per week. The result follows news of a new sponsorship from Porsche Centre Bolton, where she works as a vehicle technician. The dealership provided financial and practical support, including branded competition kit, as part of its backing for her Jiu-Jitsu career. Fowler added: 'It's hard to describe how much this means. The support from Porsche Centre Bolton has been amazing - the new kit looked brilliant out there and it just gives me that extra push to keep going.' Her next appearance will be at the IBJJF European Championships in Rome in October where she will again compete in the Master 1 Blue Belt division.
Fox Sports
7 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Adam Svensson sets tournament record with opening-round 60, leads by 1 shot at 3M Open
Associated Press BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — Adam Svensson made a 48-foot eagle putt on the closing hole to complete an 11-under 60 on Thursday that gave him a two-shot lead over Sam Stevens and Thorbjorn Olesen after one round of the 3M Open. Svensson also made nine birdies and did not drop a shot in the lowest round in the tournament's seven-year history. He tied the TPC Twin Cities course record set by Paul Goydos at the 2017 3M Championship on the PGA Tour Champions. Chris Gotterup, who finished third at last week's British Open and won the Scottish Open two weeks ago, was three shots back along with Chad Ramey and Matti Schmid. Zac Blair, Chris Kirk, Jake Knapp and Brendan Valdes were another shot back, and Rickie Fowler and Emiliano Grillo were among those at 6 under. Svensson's lone tour win is the 2022 RSM Classic. The 31-year-old Canadian has one top-25 finish in 21 starts this season and has missed 11 cuts. 'I had a great range session today. Just really putted amazing, I made a bunch of breakers. It was probably my best putting round I ever had,' said Svensson, who needed just 25 putts, including a nearly 40-foot birdie on the 11th hole and a 34-footer on the fourth. His career-best 60 is the second-lowest score on the PGA Tour this season. Jake Knapp shot 59 at the Cognizant Classic in February. Stevens could have shot 59 with an eagle on the par-5 18th, but instead he put his second shot from 246 yards into the water in front of the green, leading to his lone bogey and a 62 that was still his lowest round on tour. 'I have a pretty big gap between my 3-iron and my 3-wood, and I hit a terrible shot. I thought if I hit a 3-wood, it was just going to fly to the back of the green, and I kind of had to hit a 3-iron perfect to even cover the water. But I figured that was my best chance to shoot 59, so I gave it a go,' he said. Fowler and Grillo are among a group of 18 players who rank between 60th and 80th in the FedEx Cup standings, needing a strong performance to help secure spots in the 70-man field for the first playoff event in two weeks. Fowler entered the week at No. 63 and Grillo is No. 71. 'At the end of the day, good golf solves a lot of things,' Fowler said. Patrick Rodgers and Gary Woodland (66th and 78th, respectively) each shot 67. No. 70 Keith Mitchell had a 68, and 65th-ranked Cam Davis shot 71. Defending champion Jhonattan Vegas shot 68. Haotong Li, who was in the final pairing with Scottie Scheffler at last week's British Open and finished tied for fourth, shot a 1-under 70. ___ AP golf: recommended Item 1 of 1
