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DUBLIN, Ohio — Patrick Cantlay delivered a clutch birdie late in the round and a 12-foot par putt in a playoff to win the Memorial on a Sunday filled with drama, a little rain and no Jon Rahm.

Cantlay closed with a 1-under 71 and won the Memorial for the second time in three years, and he said he felt the same range of emotions in the final hour at Muirfield Village in his duel with Collin Morikawa.

But it wasn’t the same.

Only a day earlier, Cantlay walked off the 18th green six shots behind Rahm, whose 64 ranked as one of the great rounds at the course Jack Nicklaus built and tied two Memorial records, including largest 54-hole lead.

But he tested positive for the coronavirus – Rahm had been in the contact tracing protocol – and was withdrawn from the tournament.

Just like that, Cantlay and Morikawa went from six shots behind to tied for the lead.

And for so much of the final round, it stayed that way. Morikawa surged ahead with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 15th, while Cantlay missed birdie putts from 8 feet to tie him on the 15th, and then on the par-3 16th.

The round was halted for about five minutes because of a pop-up downpour while they were on the 17th green. When it resumed, Cantlay holed a 25-foot birdie putt to tie, and Morikawa stayed in the game with a 12-foot par.

Cantlay had a 25-foot birdie putt for the win on the 18th in regulation that grazed the right side of the cup, leaving he and Morikawa (71) at 13-under 275.

Rahm finished his 54 holes at 18-under 198, tying the Memorial record. No one had ever lost a lead that large in the final round at Muirfield Village, though it has happened six times on the PGA Tour, most recently by Dustin Johnson in Shanghai in 2017.

Nicklaus figured the awkward situation for Cantlay and Morikawa would be one more element for them to battle.

“It was such a weird situation, so unfortunate,” Cantlay said. “Everyone, me included, knows it would be totally different today if that hadn’t happened. But there’s nothing I could do about it. I tried as hard as I could to reset and refocus.”

It led to the fourth victory of his PGA Tour career, and second this season. Cantlay also won the ZoZo Championship in California last October, rallying from a three-shot deficit to beat Rahm and Justin Thomas.

He becomes the seventh player to win multiple times at the Memorial, a list that starts with Tiger Woods winning five times and even Nicklaus, the tournament founder, winning twice.

Morikawa won at Muirfield Village last year, just not the Memorial. He won in a playoff against Thomas at the Workday Charity Open, a one-time even when the pandemic forced the John Deere Classic to be canceled.

In that tournament, Morikawa twice had to watch as Thomas had a putt on the 18th green to win, and he survived to win on the third extra hole.

This time, he escaped one birdie chance by Cantlay in regulation. On the 18th in the playoff, Morikawa had a small piece of mud on his ball and came up well short from the fairway into deep rough. He chipped out to 6 feet.

Cantlay was well right and hacked it out into a bunker, but his shot from the wet sand rolled out 12 feet. It was on the same line as his 25-foot birdie attempt in regulation, and this time he poured it in for par. Moments later, Morikawa missed his 6-footer and Cantlay let out a big exhale before going over to shake hands with Nicklaus.

Scottie Scheffler, who started three shots behind after Rahm was knocked out of the tournament, was tied for the lead with a birdie on the 15th. His last chance ended when he missed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th. That gave him a 70, and he finished alone in third, two shots behind.

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‘Vibrant’ Sanders says Buffs will ‘win differently’

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'Vibrant' Sanders says Buffs will 'win differently'

BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he feels “healthy and vibrant” after returning to the field for preseason practices after undergoing surgery to remove his bladder after a cancerous tumor was found.

Sanders, 57, said he has been walking at least a mile around campus following Colorado’s practices, which began last week. He was away from the team for the late spring and early summer following the surgery in May. Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urological oncology at University of Colorado Cancer Center, said July 30 that Sanders, who lost about 25 pounds during his recovery, is “cured of cancer.”

“I’m healthy, I’m vibrant, I’m my old self,” Sanders said. “I’m loving life right now. I’m trying my best to live to the fullest, considering what transpired.”

Sanders credited Colorado’s assistant coaches and support staff for overseeing the program during his absence. The Pro Football Hall of Famer enters his third season as Buffaloes coach this fall.

“They’ve given me tremendous comfort,” Sanders said. “I never had to call 100 times and check on the house, because I felt like the house is going to be OK. That’s why you try your best to hire correct, so you don’t have to check on the house night and day. They did a good job, especially strength and conditioning.”

Colorado improved from four to nine wins in Sanders’ second season, but the team loses Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the No. 2 pick in April’s NFL draft, as well as record-setting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes have an influx of new players, including quarterbacks Kaidon Salter and Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis, who are competing for the starting job, as well as new staff members such as Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, who is coaching the Buffaloes’ running backs.

Despite the changes and his own health challenges, Deion Sanders expects Colorado to continue ascending. The Buffaloes open the season Aug. 29 when they host Georgia Tech.

“The next phase is we’re going to win differently, but we’re going to win,” Sanders said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be the Hail Mary’s at the end of the game, but it’s going to be hell during the game, because we want to be physical and we want to run the heck out of the football.”

Sanders said it will feel “a little weird, a little strange” to not be coaching Shedeur when the quarterback starts his first NFL preseason game for the Cleveland Browns on Friday night at Carolina. Deion Sanders said he and Shedeur had spoken several times Friday morning. Despite being projected as a top quarterback in the draft, Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round.

“A lot of people are approaching it like a preseason game, he’s approaching like a game, and that’s how he’s always approached everything, to prepare and approach it like this is it,” Deion Sanders said. “He’s thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. He don’t get covered in, you know, all the rhetoric in the media.

“Some of the stuff is just ignorant. Some of it is really adolescent, he far surpasses that, and I can’t wait to see him play.”

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LSU QB Nussmeier dealing with patellar tendinitis

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LSU QB Nussmeier dealing with patellar tendinitis

LSU starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier aggravated the patellar tendinitis he has been dealing with in his knee but will not miss any significant time, coach Brian Kelly said Friday.

Kelly dropped in ahead of a news conference Friday with offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to tell reporters that Nussmeier did not suffer a severe knee injury or even a new one. According to Kelly, Nussmeier has chronic tendinitis in his knee and “probably just planted the wrong way” during Wednesday’s practice.

Nussmeier ranked fifth nationally in passing yards (4,052) last season, his first as LSU’s starter, and projects as an NFL first-round draft pick in 2026.

“It’s not torn, there’s no fraying, there’s none of that,” Kelly said. “This is preexisting. … There’s nothing to really see on film with it, but it pissed it off. He aggravated it a little bit, but he’s good to go.”

Kelly said Nussmeier’s injury ranks 1.5 out of 10 in terms of severity. Asked whether it’s the right or left knee, Kelly said he didn’t know, adding, “It’s not a serious injury. Guys are dealing with tendinitis virtually every day in life.”

LSU opens the season Aug. 30 at Clemson.

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3 departing members file updated suit vs. MWC

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3 departing members file updated suit vs. MWC

Three departing members of the Mountain West Conference are suing the league, alleging it improperly withheld millions of dollars and misled them about a plan to accelerate Grand Canyon’s membership.

Boise State, Colorado State and Utah State filed an updated lawsuit in the District Court of Denver arguing the conference and Commissioner Gloria Nevarez willfully disregarded the league’s bylaws by “intentionally and fraudulently” depriving the schools of their membership rights.

The three schools, which are all headed to the Pac-12 after the 2025-26 school year, are seeking damages for millions of dollars of alleged harm caused by the Mountain West, including the withholding of money earned by Boise State for playing in last year’s College Football Playoff.

“We are disappointed that the Mountain West continues to improperly retaliate against the departing members and their student athletes,” Steve Olson, partner and litigation department co-chair for the O’Melveny law firm, said in a statement. “We will seek all appropriate relief from the court to protect our clients’ rights and interests.”

The Mountain West declined further comment outside of a statement released last week. The conference has said the departing schools were involved in adopting the exit fees and sought to enforce those against San Diego State when it tried to leave the conference two years ago.

“We remain confident in our legal position, which we will vigorously defend,” the statement said.

The three outgoing schools argue the Mountain West’s exit fees, which could range from $19 million to $38 million, are unlawful and not enforceable. The lawsuit also claims the Mountain West concealed a plan to move up Grand Canyon University’s membership a year to 2025-26 without informing the departing schools.

The Mountain West is also seeking $55 million in “poaching fees” from the Pac-12 for the loss of five schools, including San Diego State and Fresno State starting in 2026. The two sides are headed back to court after mediation that expired last month failed to reach a resolution.

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