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Rose Zhang’s star continues to rise with top-10 finish in pro major debut

Rose Zhang finished in a tie for eighth place at the Women’s PGA Championship. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Rose Zhang’s star continues to rise in the LPGA, as she followed up her winning professional debut with a top-10 finish at her first pro major at the Women’s PGA Championship.

The 20-year-old American finished tied for eighth place behind a final-round charge at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey. She shot a 67 on Sunday to finish at five under par, three shots back of the lead.

“I would say I’m content with the result. I’m not content with how I played,” Zhang said. “From the beginning of the week, I feel like there’s always room to work on things, and I’m really satisfied with my overall performance, but there’s little mistakes that I made that you just can’t really afford to make.

“I felt really confident with my putter the whole day, and the last couple days I feel like that really saved me this entire week. But the last couple holes, putts fell a little short, they lipped out a little bit.”

Ruoning Yin won the title at eight under par, becoming just the second woman from China to win a major championship. She beat Japan’s Yuka Saso by one stroke, birdying the final hole to join Shanshan Feng in Chinese golf history. Feng won 10 times on the LPGA Tour, though her only major win came at the PGA Championship in 2012.

“I would say she’s definitely the goal that I’m chasing,” Yin said of Feng. “But I think she is the person who inspired me the most.”

For Zhang, who just made the jump from college (where she won back-to-back national titles), the difficulty of the court stood out as the main difference from her past competitions.

“I feel like it’s still golf, so I still felt the same energy as any other event except this is major week, and the golf course is a lot harder,” she said. “It’s playing a lot more difficult. You have to be on your toes at all times. Losing a little bit of focus causes you to have errors, and that’s just something you can’t afford at a major championship.

“But I think that was the different part, was just making sure that you’re still in the moment and you’re still hitting it shot by shot, regardless of what the result is.”

Zhang climbed to within one shot of the lead Sunday before a few mistakes on the back nine sunk her shot at victory. But she still recorded her best-ever finish at a major (she played in several as an amateur), which she called “pretty special.”

“It’s definitely a different dynamic when you’re a professional versus an amateur,” she said. “And when you’re playing your game, you really have to be precise with your numbers, really understand what your swing is doing, and there is no room for error. Therefore, I’m excited to keep working on my game.”

Chelsea Eyes Weekend Finale With WSL Title in Sight

chelsea players celebrate win against tottenham in the wsl
Chelsea beat Tottenham on Wednesday, moving to the top of the table in an effort to win departing coach Emma Hayes some silverware. (John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)

Chelsea did what they needed to do on Wednesday in order to make Saturday's slate of season-ending WSL fixtures interesting: Beat Tottenham.

The Blues are now number one in the league, with an edge over Manchester City on goal differential thanks to an eight-goal outing against Bristol City last week. 

Yesterday's result tees up a league finale for the books as Chelsea looks to send coach Emma Hayes off with another trophy to add to her cabinet. The Blues will play FA Cup winner Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday, while City is away at Aston Villa.

"We will be leaving nothing on the pitch, we will be giving everything and no matter what the result is," Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert said after Wednesday's win. "At least we can look each other in the eye and say we gave everything."

It makes for a thrilling end to Chelsea's Emma Hayes era, as the decorated WSL coach will take over the USWNT in June. And it comes after Hayes all but conceded the title race early this month after Chelsea fell to Liverpool 4-3.

"I think the title is done," Hayes said at the time. "Of course, mathematically, it's not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.

"We will never give up. But the title is far from us; it's not in our hands. I think City are deserving, their consistency has put them in that position. Of course, we will go to the end, but I don't think the title will be going to us this year."

Be it mind games or Hayes truly thinking her team was that far off, her words lit something in Chelsea. Their following two performances showed the team’s determination to have a shot at some silverware.

As for Saturday's schedule, Hayes believes her team is facing the "tougher of the two games."

"It's a fitting finale for me, being my final game," she told BBC Sport. "As I said to the players if someone gives you a second chance in life, make sure you don't need a third one. We're in the position we want to be in, and we'll give it everything on Saturday no matter what."

Selena Harris ‘Dismissed’ from UCLA Gymnastics, Declares for Transfer Portal

ncaa gymnast selena harris at the beam for ucla
All-American gymnast Selena Harris has been officially dismissed by UCLA gymnastics. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Star gymnast Selena Harris has been dismissed from the UCLA gymnastics team and has entered the transfer portal, the school confirmed Wednesday.

Harris, the 2024 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year and a 12-time All-American, has two years of eligibility remaining. During her time at UCLA, she was one of the top all-around gymnasts on the team. 

UCLA did not provide details about her dismissal. 

Harris has also not spoken about it, but did repost a Tweet on Wednesday confirming her entrance into the transfer portal. She has also removed any mention of UCLA gymnastics from all her social media bios.

When reached for comment by the Daily Bruin, she shared a message thanking UCLA fans for their support.

"Just wanna thank bruin nation fans for being the best supporters!" Harris wrote via Instagram.

A former No. 1 recruit, Harris was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2023 and earned four perfect scores during the 2024 season, while also winning the Pac-12 all-around title at the conference championships in March. She finished the regular season tied for first in the country on vault. 

She competed as an individual at the NCAA championships, finishing tied for third place on balance beam after UCLA failed to advance.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Debut Draws 2.1 Million Viewers, Highest Rating in 23 Years

caitlin clark at the indiana fever wnba opener
Clark is no stranger to setting records, both on and off the court. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut drew 2.1 million viewers across all platforms on Tuesday night, making it the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years. 

The Fever-Sun matchup was the most-watched WNBA game ever broadcast on ESPN. The network's previous record was set in 2004, when Diana Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury debut drew 1.43 million viewers.

The game between Indiana and Connecticut was also the most-watched WNBA game since an NBC broadcast of the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets brought in 2.45 million viewers on Memorial Day in 2001. 

Clark had a team-leading 20 points on the night, but also a WNBA-record 10 turnovers. She finished 5-for-15 from the field.

"She's a rookie," Fever coach Christie Sides said after the game. "This is the best league in the world. We've got to teach her. We've got to teach her what these games are going to look like for her every single night. And we've got to eliminate some of that pressure for her, and that's on me."

The former Iowa star is used to the pressure, and has routinely broken viewership records throughout her career. There was hope that her presence would grow the WNBA fanbase after Iowa and South Carolina's 2024 NCAA championship clash brought in a record 18.7 million viewers. 

In April, Clark — alongside a star-studded rookie class — headlined the most-watched WNBA draft in history with 2.45 million viewers.

Arike Ogunbowale, Rhyne Howard Show Out in WNBA Openers

Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings celebrates after a play against the Chicago Sky
Ogunbowale racked up 14 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Arike Ogunbowale powered Dallas to a win on Wednesday, with 14 of her 25 points coming in the fourth quarter. 

Despite trailing 75-73 with 3:16 to go, the Wings rattled off the next 14 points to beat the Chicago Sky 87-79. As a whole, the Wings shot 100% on eight shots in the final five minutes of the game. 

"I don't know. I mean, I was dead, honestly," Ogunbowale said after Dallas's comeback win. "Maddy [Siegrist] came to me and said, 'The Lord renews your strength.' And the last five minutes, we went crazy."

Postgame, head coach Latricia Trammell applauded her team’s ability to handle the Sky’s pressure.

"We know basketball is a game of surges," Trammell said. "You just gotta weather the storm because we were gonna go on our runs as well."

While Chicago was unable to find an answer for Dallas’ fourth-quarter surge, Sky rookie Angel Reese had a solid professional debut. Her first WNBA bucket came in the third quarter, and she finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, joining the remaining four Sky starters in double-digit scoring.  

Of Reese's 12 points, seven came in the fourth quarter.

"She's [Angel Reese] a great player on and off the court," Ogunbowale said of the LSU alum's performance. "This is her first game. Obviously, she has a long career, this is a good start."

While rapper Latto was in the building for the Sky game, Kim Kardashian dropped by the Los Angeles Sparks game with daughter North to see the Sparks took on Atlanta. Rookies Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson both made their WNBA debuts, while Layshia Clarendon had their first career triple-double.

Brink finished with 11 points, four assists, and two blocks, but got into foul trouble with five fouls in 20 minutes. 

Atlanta would have the last word, thanks to Rhyne Howard leaving behind some broken ankles in her 25-point performance.

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