20/06/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | JUNE 20, 2026

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Tough start for Scheffler … as Scottie bids for career Slam, play suspended due to darkness at US Open

S COTTIE SCHEFFLER endured a shaky start in his bid for a career Grand Slam in first-round US Open action on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, as Americans Sam Stevens and Max McGreevy shared the clubhouse lead with amateur Ryder Cowan, all carding a two-under par 68 before play was suspended due to darkness. Scheffler, a two-time Masters winner, is mak ing his first attempt at completing the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors after winning last year’s PGA Championship and British Open but trailed the top of the leaderboard with a two over par 72 after the first round. Windy conditions with gusts up to 54.7kph tested the field at the famously tricky Southampton course. The American had one birdie against a pair of bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine, where he struggled with his putter. He put three circles on the back half of the course against two bogeys, including another misjudged putt on the par-five 16th hole. “Any time you get conditions like this, I think the scores are going to be high,” said Scheffler. “It’s an interesting golf course. Part of the chal lenge so far is judging the conditions as well, judging how this course is going to play.

erboard with an inspired performance on the par-five fifth hole, draining an 11-foot putt for eagle after another birdie on the par-four third hole. He finished one-under par. “Look, the greens are pretty slow and quite receptive. I think they need to be at this point. It’s a challenging golf course already, and you put 30 mile-an-hour winds on top of it, it tests the best players in the world pretty well,” said McIlroy. Adam Scott was playing one group ahead of Scheffler’s threesome and competing in his 100th consecutive major this week, a streak that started at the 2001 British Open. The 45-year-old Australian finished at three-over par. Former champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau were among the late starters, which also included PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai, and the high-profile threesome of Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele. – Reuters

top spot on the leaderboard at six-under with two holes left to play when the round was sus pended. The US Open is known as the toughest test in golf and Shinnecock Hills upheld that reputation, even as USGA Chief Championships Officer John Bodenhamer told reporters this week that meas ures were in place to slow down the greens in anticipation of the windy weather. The event got underway as standstill traffic in the fashionable New York beach town held up ticketholders for the 156-player tournament, which included 12 former US Open champions and 49 debutants. Back-to-back Masters winner Rory McIlroy started on the back nine and grinned as a gust of wind knocked his hat off at the 13th tee, appear ing at ease even as a pair of bogeys offset his two early birdies. The Northern Irishman marched up the lead

“I feel like this course can change pretty rap idly from day to day. I think that’s also part of the challenge of the tournament is adjusting to those conditions.” Starting on the back nine, Stevens suffered a confidence-rattling double bogey on the par-four 10th hole before having to wait more than two hours to play the next hole, after a thick layer of early morning fog forced a long delay. He settled in quickly with a birdie on the par three 11th hole, playing the soft greens extraordi narily well as organisers kept them watered to help mitigate the windy conditions. McGreevy was at even par at the turn before getting a birdie on the par-four 13th hole and draining a 21-foot putt for another birdie on the par-three 17th, while Cowan played beyond his experience with four birdies that offset a pair of bogeys. Former champion Wyndham Clark held the

Henry rocks England in second Test

MATT HE N RY captured the prize wickets of England stand-in captain Joe Root and Harry Brook at the Oval yesterday as New Zealand cashed in on Glenn Phillips’s maiden Test century. England slumped to 222-6 at stumps on the second day of the second Test in reply to New Zealand’s first innings 391, a deficit of 169 runs. Henry was troubled by back spasms during England’s 115-run win in the first Test of this three match series at Lord’s a fortnight ago. But the fast bowler had both Root (46) and Brook (24) lbw just when it seemed the pair were about to cut loose, with Henry having taken 2-57 in 16 overs at the close in south London. “Nice to be able to contribute,” Henry, 34, told Sky Sports .“It was pretty tough, England put us under pressure early (in their innings). “But the ability to rein back some momentum was huge for us, and then obviously we reaped the rewards at the end there.” Root was leading England for a record-extending 65th Test after Ben Stokes, his successor as captain, was dropped from the side for breaking curfew following victory at Lord’s. White-ball skipper Brook has long been England’s designated Test vice-captain. But he was not put in charge at the Oval after his late-night drinking exploits in Wellington in November, ahead of a woeful 4-1 Ashes series loss, prompted team chiefs to impose the curfew in the first place. After Phillips was out for exactly 100 to end New Zealand’s innings, England’s Ben Duckett made a flu ent 36 off just 25 balls, only to be run out by Nathan Smith’s direct hit from mid-off after opening partner Emilio Gay set off for a needless single.

Smith then had Jacob Bethell caught for nine by wicket-keeper Tom Blundell. Gay put the run-out mix-up behind him to compile a second fifty in as many Tests following a debut half century at Lord’s. But Gay faced just two more balls, edging to Blundell while trying to evade a rising delivery from Will O’Rourke. Gay, who plays his county cricket alongside Stokes at Durham, insisted England still had plenty of leader ship to call on despite the all-rounder’s absence. “I know there’s a few debuts and myself, I’ve not really played any (Test) cricket, but there’s still leaders in the dressing room,” said Gay. “There’s Jofra (Archer), Ben Duckett, Rooty, Brooky (Brook); all those guys have played loads of cricket across all formats for England.” Brook stepped outside leg stump to carve O’Rourke over point for an outrageous six, with Root stroking boundaries in more orthodox fashion. But Henry, with Blundell standing up to the stumps to keep the batsmen in their crease, had the home captain plumb lbw. And 170-4 soon became 177-5 when Henry got another ball to nip back off the seam to remove Brook. Wicket-keeper James Rew, one of three England debutants, gloved O’Rourke to slip. Earlier, Phillips received fine support from Kyle Jamieson (41) in an eighth-wicket partnership of 87 as the pair capitalised on wayward England bowling and sloppy fielding. The 29-year-old is just the third New Zealand bats man to score centuries in all three international for mats after Brendon McCullum, now the England coach, and Martin Guptill. – AFP

New Zealand’s Matt Henry (right) celebrates after taking the catch to dismiss England’s Joe Root (not pictured) on the second day of the second Test at The Oval in London yesterday. – AFPPIC

Stokes set for England return in NZ finale

Gasly keeps podium MERCEDES have withdrawn a request for a review of Pierre Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix podium reinstate ment desicion, Formula One stewards said yesterday. “The stewards have been informed by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team that they are withdrawing the petition for review in respect of the decisions of the stewards of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix,”a statement said. Alpine’s Gasly finished third on the road in Monaco, after others had been penalised including Mercedes’ George Russell, but two post-race five-sec ond penalties for pitlane speeding dropped him to seventh. The Frenchman was then reinstated after Renault-owned Alpine successfully had the decision overturned. McLaren, who had Oscar Piastri drop to fifth, and Red Bull, who lost third place for Isack Hadjar, are both appealing the decision. McLaren said on Tuesday they believed the case raised important questions about sporting fairness, regulatory consistency and the integrity of competi tion. – Reuters

E N GLA N D CAPTAI N Ben Stokes could return to Test duty as soon as next week’s series finale against New Zealand, several British media outlets reported yesterday. Stokes and England teammate Gus Atkinson were both stood down from the ongoing second Test at the Oval after break ing a team curfew following the hosts’ win in the series opener at Lord’s. That decision led to a flurry of speculation over his international future amid concerns the 35-year-old all-rounder might be stripped of the England captaincy, stand down by him self or even walk away from representing his country permanently. But both the BBC and Britain’s Press Association news agency reported yesterday that Stokes could rejoin the England squad for the third and final Test against New Zealand at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge as inquiries by both the England and Wales Cricket Board and the independent Cricket Regulator head towards a conclusion.

“Some people just don’t learn, do they? It’s as simple as that,” Botham told the Stick to Cricket podcast in comments reported by the BBC . Botham, president of Stokes’ county side Durham, added: “We as a club when he (Stokes) had the problems in Bristol (in 2017), we stood by him. I don’t see how you can jus tify what happened after the game (at Lord’s), especially when you were probably very much in charge of when the curfew is, mid night.” But Durham coach Ryan Campbell, having recently worked alongside Stokes in the nets, had a different view, telling the BBC : “Ben knows he made a mistake and broke the cur few, but some of the reaction has been a little over (the top). “From what I’ve seen, he’s in good spirits, he’s back in training, working hard and the rest will take care of itself. Ben is a competitor and he loves to play and he wants to play.” – AFP

Stokes has been England captain for the past four years. His close friend and predecessor Joe Root has stepped back into the role at the Oval but made it clear he was doing so merely on a “game-by-game basis”. Stokes is set to return to senior cricket action on Friday as a member of the Durham side playing Northamptonshire in a Second Division County Championship at Chester-le Street. His lone public comment since the ECB acknowledged the curfew breach has been to wish England and their three debutants at the Oval well in a brief Instagram message. England coach Brendon McCullum appeared to raise concerns over Stokes’s men tal wellbeing in a pre-Test press conference, where he repeatedly voiced “worry” and “con cern” for his absent captain. Ian Botham has criticised Stokes for break ing a team curfew recently, with the cricket great saying he does not see “how you justify what happened”.