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ST. LOUIS — David Toms beat Dicky Pride with a par on the first hole of a playoff Sunday in the PGA Tour Champions’ inaugural Ascension Charity Classic.

Toms hit his approach in the playoff on the par-4 18th to the middle of the green and two-putted from 18 feet. Pride’s approach went to the right into a greenside bunker and his 16-footer for par stopped an inch short of going in.

The 54-year-old Toms scrambled for par on the 18th in regulation after driving left into a fairway bunker. He shot a 5-under 66 to finish at 10-under 203 on Norwood Hills’ West Course, the tree-lined layout where Ben Hogan won the 1948 PGA Championship for his second major title.

“It was tough to play. You had to pay attention to what you were doing out there,” Toms said. “You had to hit your second shots in the right place to even have an attempt at a putt. So, I think first year, man, it went really well. It was supported by the community, fans came out, the weather was tremendous. A little bit breezy, but this time of year you’ll take this every day.”

Pride finished with a 67, forcing the playoff with a 20-foot birdie putt on 18.

“Hung in there, made a bunch of birdies, and that really nice birdie on 18,” Pride said. “The playoff, I can get mad at leaving the putt short, that’s kind of a culmination of I tried to make putts on 15 and 16 and I hit them through the break.”

Toms won the 2001 PGA Championship for one of his 13 PGA Tour titles, and took the 2018 U.S. Senior Open for his only other victory on the 50-and-over tour.

“I still work hard. It’s tough,” Toms said. “I mean, guys prepare every week, they play great. Means a lot obviously, it means a lot. I felt good all week here. It felt like a PGA Tour event with the crowds and everything, the build-out.”

The 52-year-old Pride won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in May in Georgia for his lone senior title. He won the 1994 St. Jude Classic on PGA Tour

Jay Haas birdied the 18th to shoot his age of 67 and tie for third with Woody Austin (65) at 9 under.

“That’s a pretty cool way to finish off the week,” Haas said. “I’m pleased.”

Jerry Kelly (68) was another stroke back, and Jim Furyk (71), Rocco Mediate (70) and Doug Barron (72) followed at 7 under.

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Landeskog scores 1st NHL goal in nearly 3 years

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Landeskog scores 1st NHL goal in nearly 3 years

Perhaps the only detail more emphatic than the goals in the Colorado Avalanche‘s 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars Saturday night, was the impact provided by their captain, Gabriel Landeskog.

Landeskog, who returned in Game 3 of this Western Conference first-round series after missing nearly three seasons while recovering from a knee injury, scored his first goal since June 20, 2022, in a multi-point performance that saw the Avalanche tie the series at 2-2 in Game 4 at Ball Arena. Game 5 is Monday in Dallas.

“It means a lot,” Landeskog told reporters after the win. “Obviously, I’ve envisioned scoring again for a long time. There obviously days when I didn’t know if I was ever going to score again. It obviously feels good. It’s a tight playoff series in a big game here at home. To get to do it here at home in front of our fans obviously means a means a lot. Super exciting. Hopefully more to come.”

A short-handed goal from Logan O’Connor midway through the first period followed by a late power-play goal from Nathan MacKinnon staked the Avalanche to a 2-0 lead entering the second period.

That set the stage for Landeskog, who was in the slot when Brock Nelson fed a pass that the 32-year-old winger launched for a one-timer that beat Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for a 3-0 lead.

Landeskog, who was playing on the second line, was instantly mobbed by his teammates on the nice such as Samuel Girard, Valeri Nichushkin, Devon Toews and Nelson, who joined the Avalanche at the NHL trade deadline.

As Landeskog returned to the bench, he was congratulated by the entire team which also included a hug from a smiling MacKinnon, who along with Landeskog, have been with the franchise for more than a decade.

“I was just proud of him again,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters after the game. “I was proud of him regardless of if he scores or not because I know what he’s gone through, and I know how difficult that was. I think that takes it to another level. You know he wants to come back and contribute like he did in the past and he’s off to a great start.”

Landeskog’s goal was the latest milestone in what’s been a lengthy recovery from a chronically injured right knee. He missed what amounted to 1,032 days since his last NHL game.

In that time, the Avalanche have remained in a championship window but have dramatically altered their roster. The Avs have nine players from that championship team who have remained with the franchise and have since reshuffled a roster that led to them re-acquiring defenseman Erik Johnson, one of Landeskog’s closest friends, in their bid for the fourth title in franchise history.

Even with all the changes, there were still questions about when they could see Landeskog return to the lineup. And if Landeskog did return, what he could look like?

His first professional game in three years came April 11 with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate where he logged 15 minutes. Landeskog would then score a goal and get an assist in his second and final game.

And much like his AHL stint, all it took was two games for Landeskog to score and have another two-point performance.

While Landeskog’s goal became the most celebrated moment of the evening, what he did to help create the Avalanche’s fourth goal was an example of why he’s so crucial to their title aspirations.

Landeskog played a pass to Nelson who then found a Girard for a shot from the point that gave the Avs a 4-0 lead in the fourth. In the time Landeskog passed the puck, he anchored himself at the net front to gain position on 6-foot-7 Stars defensemen Lian Bichsel to screen goaltender Casey DeSmith, who replaced Oettinger for the third period.

Jockeying with Bichsel, who is six inches taller and 16 pounds heavier, allowed Landeskog to test both his strength and that right knee to gain leverage.

The result? Girard’s shot found space in traffic with Landeskog making it hard for DeSmith to see the puck.

“He’s a big boy,” Landeskog said with a smile. “He’s a big strong guy, a physical player and hard to play against. I was trying to get in front of their goal, and he was trying to get me out of there. It was a good battle.”

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Mariners shut down Gilbert (elbow) for 2 weeks

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Mariners shut down Gilbert (elbow) for 2 weeks

The Seattle Mariners placed right-hander Logan Gilbert on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right elbow flexor strain.

The All-Star pitcher left his start Friday night against the Miami Marlins after three perfect innings because of right forearm tightness.

An MRI revealed a Grade 1 flexor strain, the team said. Gilbert won’t throw for two weeks, at which point he’ll be reevaluated.

Gilbert, 24, entered Friday’s game with a 1-1 record, 2.37 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 20⅓ innings. He is 42-31 with a 3.55 ERA in five big league seasons, all with the Mariners.

In other moves announced Saturday, Seattle recalled left-hander Tayler Saucedo and right-hander Troy Taylor from Triple-A Tacoma, and designated righty Casey Lawrence for assignment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Counsell on Brown’s implosion: ‘We need better’

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Counsell on Brown's implosion: 'We need better'

CHICAGO — Cubs manager Craig Counsell gave a blunt assessment of Ben Brown‘s start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday after the righty gave up six runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 10-4 loss.

“We need better, frankly,” Counsell said.

Brown cruised through the first three innings, striking out five, but then fell apart after hitting Kyle Schwarber to lead off the fourth. After Nick Castellanos hit an 0-2 pitch for a single to left field, the Phillies began piling on.

Brown went from getting ahead of hitters, inducing swings and misses and soft contact, to giving up six hits and six runs in the inning. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings, which has been a trend in his starts.

“It’s the length in the game that we need more from, and whether it’s pitches within innings that kind of get you in trouble or an inning like today as a starter, you got to be able to navigate and limit damage,” Counsell said. “Give up runs, yeah, it’s going to happen. But you got to be able to navigate the damage to get your way [through] the game.”

Brown has completed at least five innings in just two of his five starts this season. Counsell noted that the Cubs have had a lot of off days and so they’ve been able to navigate the shorter outings, but that won’t be the case all season.

Brown concurred.

“Even last week with the four innings against Arizona, the team needs better out of me,” he said. “The bullpen needs a break when they can get it, and I think I was cruising towards that today, and what happened just didn’t seem like there was an end in sight, which is unfortunate.”

Saturday’s outing raised Brown’s ERA to 6.04, though he has shown the ability to miss bats, especially with his curveball. He has 31 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings this season but simply isn’t going long enough into games.

“So there’s been some bright spots here and there,” Counsell said. “The inning just snowballed a little bit on him, and that’s where the big inning comes from.”

Brown was excited to face the Phillies, who traded him to the Cubs in the summer of 2023. It looked like he was in for a pitchers’ duel against Philadelphia starter Jesus Luzardo as the game was scoreless after two innings. Instead, a hit batter, five singles, a double and a sacrifice fly ended his afternoon.

The Phillies snapped a five-game losing streak.

“I’m not going to go out there and try to reinvent it myself and try to be someone else,” Brown said. “I’m going to go out there and just keep executing pitches.

“I have to wake up tomorrow and do my best to get out there in six days and give that length that the bullpen needs and that the team needs.”

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