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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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Ex-Arkansas OT Chamblee commits to SMU

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Ex-Arkansas OT Chamblee commits to SMU

One of the top offensive linemen in the transfer portal has found a new home.

Former Arkansas tackle Andrew Chamblee has committed to SMU, he told ESPN. He’s the No. 6 overall player in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. At Arkansas in 2023, he earned freshman All-SEC honors.

Chamblee was an ESPN 300 recruit and ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in Arkansas in 2022. He’s 6-foot-6, 300 pounds and started eight games last season as a redshirt freshman. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining.

Chamblee marks the 20th power conference transfer that SMU has taken since the opening of the December transfer portal and is arguably the most decorated of all of them. He’s the second offensive lineman from Arkansas, as interior lineman Paris Patterson committed to SMU in recent days.

SMU is coming off an 11-3 season that saw them finish the year ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press postseason poll. SMU enters the ACC next season, a move powered by the school’s wealthy boosters and ambitions to stay relevant in the changing college football landscape.

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Rapper’s delight: Snoop sponsors Arizona Bowl

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Rapper's delight: Snoop sponsors Arizona Bowl

Snoop Dogg is getting into the college football bowl business with a historic sponsorship that recognizes his 1993 hit song and recent beverage line with Dr. Dre, “Gin & Juice.”

The rapper on Monday revealed the new Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop, announcing his intent “to bring the juice back to college football.” The game, previously sponsored by Barstool Sports, will take place Dec. 28 in Tucson, Arizona, and pair teams from the Mountain West and Mid-American conferences.

The partnership marks the first with an alcohol product as the presenting sponsor of an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game. In February, the new beverage company introduced “Gin & Juice” as their first ready-to-drink product — a nod to Snoop Dogg’s hit from the album “Doggystyle,” produced by Dr. Dre and Death Row Records.

“The Arizona Bowl is bringing sports, libations and entertainment into a singular bowl game, and we are changing the definition of what a brand partnership is in the NCAA,” Kym Adair, executive director of the Arizona Bowl, said in a statement.

PlayFly Premier Partnerships, a sports media and marketing company that has worked with the Arizona Bowl since 2021, finalized the agreement between Snoop Dogg and the bowl game.

“College football fans are exhausted by the constant talk around NIL, conference realignment, coach movement, transfer portal and super conferences, so it’s time that we get back to the roots of college football,” Snoop Dogg said in announcing the partnership on social media. “When it was focused on the colleges, the players, the competition, the community, the fan experience and the pageantry. … So it’s only fitting that I step up and get this thing right.”

Snoop Dogg has long been involved in football, launching the Snoop Youth Football League in 2005 and often attending USC practices and games. His son Cordell Broadus initially signed to play wide receiver at UCLA but ended up stepping away from the sport.

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Biden honors Army for beating Navy, Air Force

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Biden honors Army for beating Navy, Air Force

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday recognized the U.S. Military Academy with the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for besting other service academies in football.

Army beat the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy during last year’s season. The college, based in West Point, New York, posted an overall win-loss record of 6-6, including a 57-point victory over Delaware State University, one of Biden’s favorite schools.

With Biden in the White House’s East Room on Monday were 48 cadets who are set later this month to receive their diplomas and their military commissions.

“Everyone on this stage stepped up to serve, to lead, to join a long line of American servicemen, each a link of chain of honor,” Biden said to the Army football team players who gathered around him.

The Air Force Falcons have won the trophy 21 times, compared with 16 for the Navy Midshipmen and 10 for the Army Black Knights.

The competition among the service academies began in 1972. The trophy, topped by three silver footballs, weighs 170 pounds.

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