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LIV Golf star Sergio Garcia snaps driver in frustration in final round of Open Championship

LIV Golf star Sergio Garcia snaps driver in frustration in final round of Open Championship

Fox News5 days ago
Sergio Garcia had a tough final round at the Open Championship on Sunday.
He shot a final round 68 and finished tied for 34th with Aaron Rai, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Lee Westwood. He was 3-under for the tournament. However, Garcia did something those other golfers likely didn't do – finish his round without a driver.
The LIV Golf star snapped his driver on the second hole of his round and finished without it. He still managed to birdie the hole on his way to the 68. He had five birdies on the day to pair along with his two bogeys. Players are barred from replacing their clubs in the middle of the round.
He opened up about breaking the club after the round.
"To be totally honest, I didn't feel like I did that much on the 2nd tee," he said, via Golf.com. "Obviously, I didn't hit a good drive, and I kind of — I didn't smack it straight down. I kind of like swiped it back. I've done that 50 times, and I've never broken a club. The shaft just snapped in half, and I was surprised. I wasn't trying to break it, and I was actually surprised when I saw that — because usually, if it breaks, it breaks by the neck, and it broke in the middle of the shaft.
"I don't know, maybe the shaft had a little thing there because I didn't feel like with what I did it should have broken, but that's what it was, and then I got some good practice when I threw it."
Garcia's 34th-place finish was the best of the year in the major tournaments.
He missed the cut at the Masters and was tied for 68th at the PGA Championship.
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Inside Viktor Gyokeres' transfer to Arsenal: Tough negotiating, Berta's role and why Sesko interest cooled
Inside Viktor Gyokeres' transfer to Arsenal: Tough negotiating, Berta's role and why Sesko interest cooled

New York Times

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Inside Viktor Gyokeres' transfer to Arsenal: Tough negotiating, Berta's role and why Sesko interest cooled

When the white smoke emerged from Arsenal's transfer conclave, it spelt out the name of Viktor Gyokeres. Heading into the window, manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta saw the No 9 position as the north London club's most critical piece of business. After months of speculation over Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko, Ollie Watkins and others, Arsenal's wait for a new striker is over — and their team's key requirement has been addressed. The 27-year-old has joined from Portugal's Sporting CP for a €63.5million fixed fee (£55m, $75m) with a further €10m possible in potential add-ons, signing a five-year contract. Advertisement Arsenal are confident they have landed a player ready — and utterly determined — to make an immediate impact. He is a striker for the here and now: someone who Arsenal believe can be a difference-maker this season. To tell the inside story of this deal, The Athletic has spoken to sources from clubs involved and linked to players, who spoke anonymously to protect relationships. A year ago, few foresaw this outcome. Before Berta's appointment in March, Gyokeres was not someone who figured prominently on Arsenal's recruitment lists. Given his goalscoring feats for Sporting, the now 26-cap Sweden international was on their radar. When assessed by Berta's predecessor Edu and his recruitment staff, however, Gyokeres was profiled as a secondary-tier player — one who could be complementary to Kai Havertz, but was not necessarily an upgrade over the German. His physical attributes and finishing prowess were not in doubt, but he did not look an obvious fit for Arsenal's game model under Arteta. The preferred target at that stage was RB Leipzig's Sesko — a deal Arsenal had explored in the summer of 2024, and planned to return to this year. In March, Edu's interim successor Jason Ayto was planning a visit to Germany to try to make advances in that direction. It appeared Arsenal were set for the summer of Sesko. Then, at the end of that month, Berta was appointed, and the dynamic changed. Ayto's Germany trip was shelved, and Gyokeres' name came firmly into contention. Berta was a longstanding admirer of the player, and felt he could be the forward Arsenal need to help them end their current five-year wait for silverware. Personal preferences were set to one side as Arsenal — with the support of their owners — decided to explore the parameters of both deals. That way, their merits could be discussed and debated from an informed perspective. Advertisement Over the previous 18 months, Sesko's camp had built a strong relationship with Edu and Ayto, as the groundwork was laid for a potential deal to take their man to the Emirates Stadium. When Berta arrived, it was a different relationship — and although the Sesko camp still believed the 22-year-old Slovenian was Arsenal's first choice, his representatives did harbour some concerns that the turnover in personnel might jeopardise the transfer. Sesko's handlers were wary of committing early, too. They did not want to close down their options, and took an aggressive negotiating position in talks with Arsenal — which did not go down well in north London. Nevertheless, constructive contact with Sesko's agent, Elvis Basanovic, continued — Basanovic was a guest of the club at Arsenal's final home game of the season against Newcastle United. Arsenal and Berta did explore the purchase of Sesko — lengthy talks were held with the player's camp, and Leipzig were aware of their interest. The German club's preference was for a deal to be struck sooner rather than later, to provide clarity and help accelerate their rebuild after finishing just seventh in the Bundesliga last season. Sesko's age profile and potential appealed to Arsenal. They had undertaken significant background work on him, having tracked his progress for several years. The idea of recruiting a young player with upside and the prospect of increasing in value while at Arsenal was attractive to the club's owners. Limited progress was made. In terms of the fee Leipzig demanded, Sesko's salary expectations and associated commission, the cost was too high for what Arsenal considered a development project. Sesko's potential is clear, but Arsenal are in a phase that requires immediate impact. Sources at the German end of the mooted deal suggest that if the numbers were too steep for Arsenal's liking, they were simply part of a standard negotiating process and that there was flexibility and room for further conversation. Arsenal struggled to make significant headway in the talks — their chemistry with Basanovic did not mesh easily. Later, as the balance shifted towards Gyokeres, concessions were made by the Sesko camp — but by then, it was arguably too late. Gyokeres, meanwhile, was beginning to hold significant appeal for the Arsenal hierarchy. Having turned 27 in June, he was experienced and a proven goalscorer. He had already played in the English league, having signed for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2018 as a 19-year-old and subsequently been loaned to Swansea City and Coventry City, who he later joined permanently. At a time when Arsenal were searching for the missing piece to turn them from contenders into winners, he looked like a player primed for an immediate impact. Advertisement Another factor was that Gyokeres believed he had an agreement with Sporting which could allow him to leave the Lisbon side this summer for a fee of €60million (£52m/$69.8m) with a further €10m in add-ons — substantially below his €100m release clause. Berta began exploring the conditions of a deal. Arteta, however, still needed to be convinced. Throughout the process of Arsenal's hunt for a striker, the manager's preferences have evolved. His admiration for Alexander Isak has been consistent, but once he'd helped Newcastle qualify for next season's Champions League, Arsenal felt that signing would be beyond them. By the time Isak made it clear he wanted to leave Newcastle in late July, Arsenal had committed to alternative plans. In January, Arteta had been fully behind Arsenal's pursuit of Watkins, but ultimately the club were not prepared to meet Aston Villa's £60million asking price. At the start of the summer, Arteta appeared to have a slight preference for Sesko — even if there were concerns about his readiness to make an immediate impact in the Premier League, after only turning 22 in late May. Ultimately, however, the Spaniard came to agree on targeting Gyokeres. 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Aside from his obvious quality as a goalscorer, it was a simpler, more straightforward structure of deal — and a cheaper one, too. Advertisement In mid-June, Berta flew to the Spanish island of Menorca for in-person talks with Sporting. It was a significant moment: for all Arsenal's interest in Sesko, there had never been a summit such as this. The difficulty was that Sporting seemingly had no intention of honouring their alleged agreement with Gyokeres. They wanted a fixed fee of €70million, with a further €10m in potential add-ons. Although still a €20m discount on the release clause, this was higher than what the player's camp believed had been agreed. As June ticked into July, Arteta emphasised the urgency of the situation. With pre-season around the corner, he wanted Arsenal's centre-forward situation resolved. Their challenging early Premier League fixture list gave the club further impetus to complete a deal as soon as possible. Agreeing personal terms with Gyokeres was relatively straightforward — throughout the process, he showed a clear determination to move to Arsenal. They also found Hasan Cetinkaya, his agent, straightforward and easy to deal with. They were impressed that he and his client committed so thoroughly to Gyokeres joining Arsenal. It's unusual for a player of this calibre to refuse to entertain offers from other clubs, but the Swede was insistent: it would be Arsenal and only Arsenal. Gyokeres' representatives also handled much of the negotiating, with direct contact between the two clubs relatively limited. Throughout the process, Berta was ably supported by Arsenal's highly rated director of football operations, James King. Arteta and Arsenal executive vice-chair Tim Lewis were also closely involved, as has been the case across the summer business. There were direct talks at key moments, though. On the first weekend of July, Berta flew out for more face-to-face talks with Sporting. 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Leeds complete signing of Lucas Perri from Lyon
Leeds complete signing of Lucas Perri from Lyon

New York Times

timea minute ago

  • New York Times

Leeds complete signing of Lucas Perri from Lyon

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