Phil Mickelson has become the oldest major champion by surviving a somewhat chaotic final round at the PGA Championship. The 50-year-old Mickelson squandered most of a five-stroke lead on the back nine before finishing two strokes ahead of Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen at Kiawah Island. Mickelson closed with a 1-over 73 to finish 6 under for his sixth career major championship. Julius Boros was 48 when he won the 1968 PGA Championship in San Antonio. Boros held the distinction of oldest major champ for 53 years before Mickelson added to his legacy. Lefty also became the first player to win tournaments 30 years apart, and the 10th to win in three different decades. Koepka was 4 over on the par 5s when the game was still on and closed with a 74. Oosthuizen hit into the water as he was trying to make a final run and shot 73.
Elsewhere, in the LPGA, Wei-Ling Shu captured the Pure Silk Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia. Shu eagled the par-5 15th hole to created a four-shot swing that gave her a two-shot lead. She closed with a 3-under 68 to finish at 13-under 271, two shots clear of playing partner Moriya Jutanugarn.
NBA
The top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers won their NBA playoffs opener on Sunday. Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid led the 76ers to a victory over the Wizards, 125-118. Harris scored 28 of his game-high 37 points in the first half, filling a scoring void with Embiid on the bench in early foul trouble. Embiid finished with 30 points despite sitting out a huge portion of the first half. Ben Simmons shot poorly but contributed 15 assists and 15 rebounds. Bradley Beal had 33 points for the Wizards, who take on the Sixers in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
The Hawks stole home-court advantage from the Knicks with a 107-105 victory at Madison Square Garden. Trae Young made a runner in the lane with 0.9 seconds left. Young finished with 32 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18 points for the Hawks in their first postseason game since 2017. Alec Burks scored 27 points for the Knicks, who are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Derrick Rose scored 17 points, but Julius Randle shot just 6 for 23 while finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Knicks host Game 2 on Wednesday.
The Suns were winners in their first playoff game in 11 years as Devin Booker delivered 34 points in a 99-90 decision over the Lakers. Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 16 rebounds in his playoff debut, helping Phoenix defeat the defending champs. The Suns managed to win without much help from Chris Paul, who didn't look healthy after a right shoulder injury in the second quarter. LeBron James had team highs of 18 points and 10 assists for Los Angeles. No other Laker had more than 14 points. Game 2 is Tuesday in Phoenix.
The Grizzlies pulled off the day's biggest stunner as Dillon Brooks provided 31 points and seven rebounds in their 112-109 win at Utah. Brooks set a single-game franchise scoring record for a Memphis player making their NBA playoff debut, including layup that put the Grizzlies ahead by three in the closing seconds. Ja Morant added 26 points and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 15 with 12 rebounds. Bojan Bogdanovic furnished 20 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, but he missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining. Game 2 is Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
NHL
The Bruins also advanced to Round 2 by finishing off the Capitals in five games. Patrice Bergeron scored twice at crucial times after David Pastrnak's highlight-reel goal as Boston knocked out Washington, 3-1. Bergeron delivered the dagger with 7:35 left to set up a second-round showdown against either the Penguins or Islanders. Tuukka Rask made 40 saves for the Bruins, who won four straight after losing the opener in overtime. The only shot that beat Rask was Conor Sheary hammering home his own rebound 11 seconds into the third period.
Meanwhile, the Avalanche completed their first four-game sweep in 20 years. Gabriel Landeskog netted the go-ahead goal in the second period of Colorado's 5-2 victory over the Blues. Landeskog tipped in a shot from Samuel Girard at 14:53 of the second period to break a 1-1 tie. Brandon Saad, Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin also scored for the Avs, while Philipp Grubauer turned back 18 shots. Grubauer stopped 103 of 110 shots over the four games. The Avalanche outscored the Blues 20-7 and trailed for only 7:12 over the four games.
The Nashville Predators weren't given much of a chance to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but they are two wins away from doing just that. Luke Kunin scored his second goal of the game at 16:10 of double-overtime to give the Predators a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes. Ryan Johansen and Nick Cousins also scored and Mattias Ekholm and Mikael Granlund had two assists apiece. Goalie Juuse Saros made a franchise-record 58 saves to help Nashville even the series at two games apiece. Carolina's Brock McGinn had his first two-goal playoff game, Vincent Trocheck also tallied and Jordan Martinook added two assists. Game 5 is Tuesday in Raleigh.
The Jets are on the verge of a four-game sweep after Nikolaj Ehlers scored his second goal of the game at 9:13 in overtime to cap the Jets' wild comeback in a 5-4 win over the Oilers. Edmonton led 4-1 until Mathieu Perreault, Blake Wheeler and Josh Morrissey each scored for Winnipeg in a stretch of 3:03 of the third to send it to overtime. Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist for Edmonton. The Jets can sweep the series Monday night with Game 4 in Edmonton.
In NHL news, Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri is appealing his eight-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk. Kadri is looking for a reduced punishment with the Avalanche moving on to the second round. Kadri has six games left to serve on the initial suspension, pending the appeals process.
MLB
Aroldis Chapman blew a 4-3 lead in the ninth before Aaron Judge walked against Liam Hendriks with the bases loaded to give the Yankees their sixth straight win, 5-4 versus the White Sox. James Taillon worked five scoreless innings to run the Yankees' string of shutout ball by their starters to 35 frames, the team's longest since 1947.
Elsewhere in the majors:
Rookie Cody Poteet pitched seven scoreless innings and retired the last 14 batters he faced to help the Marlins beat the Mets 5-1. Poteet also collected his first major league hit and RBI in a five-run second inning.
Zack Wheeler struck out a career high-tying 12 and the Phillies ended a four-game skid by topping the Red Sox, 6-2. Brad Miller hit a three-run homer as the Phillies averted a sweep and stopped Boston's four-game winning string.
Austin Meadows, Manuel Margot and Mike Brosseau drew consecutive bases-loaded walks with two out in the ninth as the Rays jogged away with their 10th consecutive win, 6-4 over the Blue Jays. The Rays trailed 4-2 in the ninth before taking advantage of five walks by relievers Tyler Chatwood and Travis Bergen to send Toronto to its fifth straight loss.
Kyle Schwarber homered in the first inning and the Nationals immediately erased an early three-run deficit to beat the Orioles, 6-5 and complete a three-game sweep. Trea Turner had two hits and provided a sacrifice fly that broke a 4-all tie in the fourth.
Julio Urias looked very good on the mound Sunday afternoon, and he was even better at the plate. The Los Angeles Dodgers' starter is 7-1 after tossing six innings and driving in three runs in an 11-5 pounding of the Giants. Urías didn't allow a baserunner until Mike Tauchman's one-out infield single in the sixth, two batters before Austin Slater homered to end a shutout bid. Urias also supplied a two-run double and an RBI single while fanning 10 Giants. Gavin Lux hit a grand slam as the Dodgers won their eighth in a row and completed a sweep of the Giants in San Francisco.
Fernando Tatis Jr. drove in six runs and homered twice, including a 447-foot grand slam in the Padres' 9-2 pounding of the Mariners. Tatis singled in the go-ahead run during a three-run rally as San Diego completed a sweep of its nine-game homestand.
Trevor Story led off the ninth with a walk-off homer to send the Rockies past the Diamondbacks, 4-3. Josh Fuentes had two doubles and Daniel Bard pitched the ninth to get the win.
Jávier Báez belted a two-run homer in the 10th inning to break a scoreless tie and propel the Cubs to a 2-1 win over the Cardinals. St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright had to settle for a no-decision after allowing just one hit and one walk with seven strikeouts in eight innings.
The Brewers whipped the Reds, 9-4, as Christian Yelich slammed his first homer of the season and Kolten Wong had three hits. Avisaíl García homered for Milwaukee in the third.
Austin Riley drove in five runs while hitting two of the Braves' three home runs in a 7-1 downing of the Pirates. Atlanta banged out 15 round-trippers while taking three of four in the series.
The Twins pulled out an 8-5 win over the Indians on Kyle Garlick's three-run homer in the 10th inning. Garlick was a replacement in right field in the seventh inning for Max Kepler, who hit his 13th career homer at Progressive Field in the fourth.
The Royals pulled out a 3-2 win over the Tigers on Carlos Santana's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Kansas City was held to three hits until the ninth, when Whit Merrifield led off with an infield single before Santana connected against Michael Fulmer.
Adolis García's infield single scored automatic runner Nick Solak in the 10th inning, giving the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Astros and a sweep of their Texas rivals. It was the second game-ending hit in the 10th in the series for García, who belted a three-run homer in the opener.
Jared Walsh homered and Justin Upton hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of the Angels' 6-5 victory against the Athletics. Los Angeles trailed 4-1 in the fifth before winning for just the second time in seven games since three-time AL MVP Mike Trout went on the injured list with a calf strain.
In MLB news:
Mets ace Jacob deGrom is on track to start Tuesday in New York against the Rockies after being sidelined since May 9 with tightness in his right side. DeGrom threw a side session Sunday, and manager Luis Rojas said "everything looked good." The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner struck out eight and walked none Thursday in three hitless innings during an injury rehabilitation outing for the St. Lucie Mets. DeGrom is 3-2 and has an MLB-leading 0.68 ERA in six starts this year, recording 65 strikeouts and seven walks in 40 innings.
The Indians will be without cleanup hitter Franmil Reyes for between five and seven weeks because of an internal oblique strain. The designated hitter left Saturday's game with the injury, which the Indians initially called a strained left abdominal muscle.
The Twins have placed pitcher Kenta Maeda on the 10-day injured list with a right adductor strain. The right-hander was pulled from Saturday's game against Cleveland before the sixth inning. Maeda has been bothered by the injury in previous starts, so manager Rocco Baldelli said the decision was made to give him some time off.
Nationals outfielder Victor Robles has landed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Wednesday with a sprained right ankle. Robles is hitting .246 with five RBIs in 39 games. Washington also placed right-handed pitcher Will Harris on the 10-day injured list with right hand inflammation.
Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier has another freaky injury: left eye irritation stemming from an eyelash. Kiermaier left Saturday night's game against Toronto in the fifth inning after first experiencing discomfort while shagging balls during batting practice. He has a history of offbeat injuries, including hurting his hand during a base-running slide and injuring a wrist while attempting a diving catch. Kiermaier said it "seems like this stuff could only happen to me."
NASCAR
Chase Elliott benefitted from poor weather to win NASCAR's debut at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The race was called while under a red flag on Lap 54 of 68 because of poor visibility and standing water on the track caused by heavy rain. Elliott won for the first time this year and the sixth time on a road course. He has won five of the last six road races. Elliott also earned his 12th career victory, No. 800 for Chevrolet and No. 268 for Hendrick Motorsports, tying Petty Enterprises for most wins. Elliott's teammate, Kyle Larson, and Team Penske's Joey Logano rounded out the top three.
F1
Max Verstappen has won the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time to take the Formula One championship lead from Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen's second win this season and 12th of his career moved him four points ahead of Hamilton overall. The seven-time world champion finished seventh on a bad day for the usually ultra-reliable Mercedes team.
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