Texas
Bennett holds on, beats Carr to win U.S. Amateur
PARAMUS, N.J. — A troublesome street led to the sweetest end for Sam Bennett within the U.S. Novice.
Even with so many prime stars who both did not qualify or obtained knocked out within the opening spherical, Bennett needed to face the remainder of the very best, match after match, to get to the championship match Sunday at Ridgewood Nation Membership.
The Texas A&M senior completed the job to win the largest match of his life.
Bennett, the No. 3 participant on the planet novice rating, took a 3-up lead at lunch, expanded the result in 5 holes after which needed to maintain off Georgia Southern senior Ben Carr, successful 2 up.
“I obtained off to a sizzling begin, then after lunch, he began dropping in putts and chips from all over the place,” Bennett mentioned. “It made me nervous. I obtained fairly tight.”
However then, Bennett is used to powerful instances.
His golf roots begin on a hardscrabble 9-hole course in tiny Madisonville, Texas, about 100 miles north of Houston, the place his late father confirmed him methods to play. His father noticed sufficient ardour that he purchased a membership at A&M’s house course, the place they went twice a month till Bennett was sufficiently old to drive.
There was loads of perception at Ridgewood. Bennett knew he confronted powerful opponents, and he knew he was simply pretty much as good. And he performed prefer it.
There have been a couple of dodgy moments on the homestretch, and one shot Carr little question would like to have again.
Each missed quick putts on the twelfth gap, and Bennett maintained a 3-up lead going to the lengthy par-5 thirteenth. Even with a giant lead, Bennett selected to smash fairway metallic, and as a substitute pulled it to this point left of the inexperienced that it went out of bounds in some hedges.
Carr additionally went with fairway metallic and adopted him out of bounds, they usually wound up halving the outlet with bogeys.
However then proper when it seemed as if Bennett had it locked up, he three-putted the subsequent gap from 25 ft, lacking a 3-footer.
Carr missed birdie probabilities on the subsequent two holes. On the par-5 seventeenth, Carr had a 15-footer to remain within the match. He made it to win the outlet, and Bennett went to the 18th with a 1-up lead.
Carr missed the golf green to the fitting and went into the collar of tough across the inexperienced. Bennett smoked his drive into the golf green, hit to 12 ft, and when Carr did not gap his chip, Bennett had two putts to win.
He lagged it to inches and it was over.
“Fortunately, I used to be in a position to end it off with an excellent iron shot,” Bennett mentioned.
Bennett is exempt into the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship subsequent yr.
“It means all the pieces,” Bennett mentioned concerning the victory. “It is a dream come true. … It means loads to carry that trophy.”
The comfort for Carr is the standard invitation to the Masters, together with a spot within the U.S. Open subsequent yr.
“It is what you dream of as a child,” Carr mentioned. “It did not work out the way in which I needed, however I could not have misplaced to a greater competitor. I performed very effectively this week.”
Bennett’s father, Mark, died final summer season. The reminiscence is rarely too distant. When his father was within the early phases of Alzheimer’s, one of many final messages he had for his son whereas they nonetheless might talk was, “Do not wait to do one thing.” Bennett had his father write it out, and he had the message transferred to the within of his arm as a tattoo. He sees it each time he swings.
On this case, he waited to complete at Texas A&M, to offer the U.S. Novice one final shot. And it paid off in a giant manner.
Texas
Texas Supreme Court allows State Fair of Texas gun ban to take effect
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Texas
Texas A&M Commit Cancels Visit With Texas Longhorns
After coming up short to the Texas Longhorns in the race for a pair of highly-touted players on the 2025 recruiting trail, the Texas A&M Aggies have secured a win over their heated rivals.
Per Ryan Brauninger of TexAgs, Texas A&M three-star defensive line commit Chace Sims has cancelled his official visit to Texas this weekend. The Randle High School (Richmond, TX) product was set to visit the Forty Acres for the Longhorns’ SEC opener against Mississippi State on Saturday, but has instead decided to cross Texas off his list barring a change of heart at some point down the line.
This development comes after the Aggies fell short to Texas in the recruiting races for a pair of five-star players in receiver Kaliq Lockett and safety/linebacker Jonah Williams.
Sims originally committed to Texas A&M on July 2 after taking his official visit to College Station on June 21. He also took OVs to Texas Tech (June 21), Kansas (June 14), Washington (May 31) and SMU (May 17).
Texas A&M recruiting analyst Jaxson Callaway reported Thursday that Sims’ decision to cancel his Texas official visit “had been trending this way.”
“Pretty big development for the Aggies recruiting class, as Chace Sims has cancelled his previously scheduled official visit to Texas,” Callaway tweeted. “Had been trending this way after his trip to College Station this past weekend, but now decided upon.
The Aggies offered Sims in February. He received offers from other programs like LSU, TCU, Kansas State, Arizona, Baylor, Pittsburgh, California and more.
According to 247Sports’ rankings, Sims is the No. 69 defensive tackle and No. 91 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.
Sims is currently a part of a 2025 that’s highlighted by five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet and four-stars like cornerback Adonyss Currie, defensive linemen Kiotti Armstrong and DJ Sanders, athlete Noah Mikhail, edge Marco Jones and many more.
During the 2023 season, Sims posted 11 sacks. He’s tallied 120 tackles (26 for loss), 12 sacks and two forced fumbles over the past two seasons combined.
Texas
AG Paxton takes State Fair gun ban challenge to Texas Supreme Court
After losing arguments in a Dallas district court and a state appeals court, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took his challenge of the State Fair of Texas’s gun policy to the state supreme court on Wednesday.
Paxton filed a petition with the Texas Supreme Court to prevent the city of Dallas from assisting the State Fair of Texas in enforcing their ban on firearms at Fair Park.
In early August, the State Fair of Texas announced that it would screen for weapons at the gate and that only active or retired law enforcement officers would be allowed to carry weapons into the fairgrounds.
The attorney general argued the fair’s policy unlawfully prohibits licensed gun owners from carrying their weapons in places owned or leased by governmental entities unless otherwise prohibited by law.
The city of Dallas owns Fair Park and leases much of the fairgrounds to the State Fair of Texas each year.
In the city’s response to the appeals court earlier this week, interim Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said the State Fair was a ticketed, private event and that the fair had exclusive control over some of Fair Park during its 24-day run. A board of directors runs the State Fair with no city oversight or approval, and the State Fair, as a private event, has exclusive authority to decide who it will admit. Tolbert said the city did not take a position on the correctness of the fair’s gun policy and said they had received no complaints from citizens about the fair’s policy.
The appeals court ruled Tuesday that there was not enough evidence showing that the State Fair or the city of Dallas would break any laws with the policy on firearms, and Paxton’s motion for a temporary injunction pending the appeal was denied.
“The City of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas cannot nullify state law by banning firearms. And a government entity cannot contract away our rights by offloading this policy to a private entity. Texans who are licensed to carry have a right to defend themselves, and I will fight every step of the way to protect it,” Paxton said in a statement Wednesday.
Amid the legal battle to get the fair to rescind their policy, Paxton pulled a 2016 opinion in which he supported a nonprofit’s right to ban firearms on government-owned land. During the appeal, Paxton said the opinion was pulled because handgun laws had changed and that the opinion was now outdated and inapplicable.
The fair is set to open its gates on Friday, so a decision by the Texas Supreme Court could come sometime Thursday.
The State Fair of Texas runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 20.
-
News1 week ago
Secret Service Told Trump It Needs to Bolster Security if He Keeps Golfing
-
Business1 week ago
U.S. Steel C.E.O. Says Nippon Deal Will Strengthen National Security
-
Politics1 week ago
New House Freedom Caucus chair reveals GOP rebel group's next 'big fight'
-
News1 week ago
Toplines: September 2024 Inquirer/Times/Siena Poll of Pennsylvania Registered Voters
-
News1 week ago
Disney trips meant for homeless NYC students went to school employees' families
-
Politics1 week ago
Biden admin moves to reinstate Trump-era rule, delist gray wolves from endangered species list
-
Politics1 week ago
Dem lawmakers push bill to restore funding to UN agency with alleged ties to Hamas: 'So necessary'
-
Business1 week ago
Video: Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates for the First Time in Four Years