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SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — The image of Scottie Scheffler at Royal Birkdale might be the world’s No. 1 player missing one birdie chance after another to waste a great week from tee-to-green in the British Open.

All he could think about Sunday when he finished were the bounces that didn’t go his way.

Scheffler managed to stay in the game until the very end and capitalized on a huge break — which followed another unfortunate bounce — with a birdie on the par-5 17th hole. Needing birdie to have any chance of a playoff, he missed a putt from off the green, missed the par putt that followed and settled for a 3-under 67 to tie for fourth behind Ryan Fox.

“I guess it just wasn’t my week,” said Scheffler, who had top 4-finishes in three of the four majors.

Scheffler, who began the final round six shots out of the lead, quickly made up ground with three birdies in five holes — as many birdies as he had made in the previous two rounds combined. And when he holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 12th, he was at 8 under and closing.

And then he was chasing after a few frustrating bounces.

His tee shot right of the fairway on the 13th headed for the wispy grass but wound up in a deep hole, leaving him no chance but to advance it about 5 feet. Scheffler did well to make an 8-foot putt to escape with bogey.

Scheffler thought his drive was ideal on the par-5 14th until it bounced just enough to the left to catch a pot bunker, leaving him no shot at the green. A potential birdie turned into par.

“That stuff hurts,” he said. “My ball on 13 goes into that hole. It wasn’t my best tee shot, but it was a time where I needed to be aggressive, and I saw some good stuff happening with guys that hit the ball over there the last few days, and it didn’t happen for me today. Just those little bounces.

“My ball on 14 I think is in the fairway, I come up there, it’s in the pot bunker,” he said. “Little stuff like that over the course of the week tends to add up.”

His frustration boiled over on the par-5 17th when his tee shot moving left-to-right looked as though it would kick into the fairway leaving him a shot at the green. But it bounced left and stayed in the rough in front of a steep mound.

“WHY?” Scheffler screamed at himself. “Why does this happen?”

Welcome to links golf, which he conquered a year ago at Royal Portrush.

Remarkably, the bad bounce led to birdie. He tried to go over the mound and the ball went so far to the left that he figured it was never to be found, He hit a provisional for a lost ball, and that wasn’t much better, And then luck seemed to finally show up.

The entire area near a massive hospitality structure was deemed a temporary immovable obstruction. Spectators said they saw the ball disappear into gorse and rough. A security guard and NBC reporter John Wood began searching.

But once a golf ball has been identified going into the TIO, it does not have to be found.

“We tried to figure it out. I said: ‘If I find it, does that help me? Can I drop it since that would be about 50 yards closer to the hole?’” Scheffler said about his conversation with the rules official. “He said, ‘Yes, you can then use that spot, but you might have to go to the other side of the TIO.’ I didn’t know exactly where that would be, and that’s not a great angle coming across there. So I decided to drop the search.”

Scheffler received a free drop 94 yards away on a baked, dusty lie. He hit wedge to 10 feet and made birdie.

The hope didn’t last long, and he walked off the 18th green knowing he would not get his hands on the claret jug he won last year, and it would be eight-plus months before the next major.

“I felt like this was a week I played a lot better than my score,” Scheffler said. “Thirteen and 14 really hurt, not being able to advance the ball. I feel good that I could compete when things weren’t going my way.”

Padraig Harrington remains the last player to win back-to-back in the British Open, in 2007 and 2008. It’s the longest such stretch in the majors. And now it falls to Fox near year at St. Andrews.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Sam Burns gets his best chance at winning a major he never planned to play.

Two weeks after his daughter was born, one week after Burns changed his mind and decided to fly from Louisiana to play in the British Open, he followed his record-tying 62 with a 5-under 65 on Saturday to build a two-shot lead at Royal Birkdale.

Perhaps even more impressive was he played with purpose amid the chaos that is Bryson DeChambeau, who played alongside Burns and heard big support from the gallery a day after he theatrically protested a two-shot penalty for improving the path of his swing.

DeChambeau seems to thrive among distractions — his week began with six-time major champion Nick Faldo saying he had “zero clue of strategy” in links golf — and the penalty for an infraction on the fifth hole Friday was a big one. The two shots took him out of the final group and moved him three shots behind instead of one back.

But he pressed on, high-fiving the gallery from green-to-tee, giving a thumbs-up to the crowd when he walked onto the first tee and playing a high standard of golf. DeChambeau was even par through 14 holes until two birdies gave him momentum. He bogeyed the last hole for a 69, his sixth consecutive round in the 60s in the British Open.

DeChambeau didn’t speak to the media again. Rory McIlroy did, referring to the way DeChambeau protested the penalty as “performative.”

“I think a lot of it’s for attention,” McIlroy said after a 69 left him eight shots behind. He also accused DeChambeau of holding the tournament “hostage” because the extraordinary late-evening scene also delayed Saturday tee times.

The golf attention now falls to Burns.

He was at 10-under 200 for a two-shot lead over Si Woo Kim (67) and Ryan Fox, who became the third player this week to tie the major championship record with a 62. He finished some 90 minutes before the last group even teed off, and now the 39-year-old from New Zealand will be in the final group with a shot at his first major.

Burns shot down a suggestion that golfers with newborns have a lot more freedom when they play. “If I was aware of that, I’d have like eight kids by now,” he said.

But there was freedom in knowing this is a chance he never thought he would have. His wife, Caroline, had been due to give birth to their second child the Tuesday before the British Open. Their first was born four days late.

“I just didn’t think there was any possible way,” Burns said. “And little Belle had different plans.”

Belle is the name of their daughter born July 3, which at least planted the idea of Burns playing. That turned into a conversation with his wife, including a phone call to close friend Scottie Scheffler, and it led to him deciding a week ago Friday to fly over to England.

“Ultimately she’s the one that really encouraged me to come over and play,” Burns said. “She basically said: ‘I’ve got this at home. Go over there and give it your best.’ And here we are.”

The timing is intriguing in another way. Just one month ago, Burns was a 17-foot putt away from forcing a playoff in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He was the 54-hole leader in the U.S. Open at Oakmont the previous year, slowed on the back nine by having to play on rain-soaked fairways that affected his shots and led to a 78.

The four players closest to him — Fox and Kim two shots behind, British Open newcomer Ryan Gerard (69) and Lucas Herbert (71) three shots back — have never won a major. Herbert and Burns each shot 62 on Friday just 22 minutes apart.

“I think Sam Burns is going to be a man possessed,” Herbert said. “Given his results in majors and him not winning one, I think he’s going to be very tough to beat. I’m not thrilled about giving him a three-shot head start, but we are where we are.”

DeChambeau, four shots behind along with Ludvig Aberg (67) and Jackson Suber (70), is the only player among the top 10 who has won a major, the U.S. Open in 2020 and 2024.

Scheffler plays practice rounds at most majors with Burns, a close friend with whom he often share houses on the road.

“I know how good he is,” Scheffler said. “Sometimes you just need to continue to build that experience and put yourself in the positions. He was close at the U.S. Open last year. He was close again at the U.S. Open this year. … But it’s just a matter of continuing to give yourself opportunities, continuing to knock on the door.”

Scheffler sounded as though he could have been describing his own week at Royal Birkdale. The defending champion has looked every bit like the No. 1 player in the world from tee to green. Scheffler just can’t seem to make a putt.

Such was the case again Saturday in his round of 70 that left him six shots behind. Scheffler had gone 34 holes without a bogey until missing from 3 1/2 feet for par on the 16th hole.

“I haven’t had many bogeys over the course of the week,” he said. “I just haven’t made enough birdies.”

Also still hanging onto hope was Southport’s own Tommy Fleetwood, who had a 69 and was five shots behind.

Also six back was Jon Rahm, who recovered from a double bogey on the first hole for a 70, and Xander Schauffele, who had a 66 that felt worse playing alongside Fox.

Eight players were separated by four shots going into the final round on a course that is baked and brown and running fast but with wispy rough that really makes avoiding bunkers the biggest challenge. The wind has not been very strong since the opening round, even in the afternoon.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NFL coaching great Bill Belichick spent a bumpy debut season at North Carolina trying to blend a roster full of newcomers and adjusting to life in the college ranks.

It was a learning experience even for someone with a résumé featuring six Super Bowl titles as a head coach and ranking as one of the NFL’s all-time leaders in coaching wins.

“Look, I learn every year, I learn things every day,” Belichick said Friday morning during the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason football media days.

“Every week is a learning experience for me. Try to listen to the people that are around me that work for us, that do various things, whether it’s academics, training, nutrition, offense, defense, special teams, so forth. Try to do the best I can to help put it all together.

“Recruiting, fundraising — you name it. There are a lot of different things and I can improve in all of them.”

It was a rough debut for the 74-year-old Belichick, best known for his time hoisting trophies and winning with relentless precision alongside star quarterback Tom Brady with the New England Patriots.

His arrival at the college level was a spectacle, one that put a national spotlight on a school with a football program that had long been an ACC also-ran compared to its tradition-rich men’s basketball program being among the nation’s blueblood elite.

There’s less buzz this time around. There’s no curiosity to imagining what it will look like for Belichick to roam a college sideline sporting his trademark hoodie garb. And the Tar Heels’ poor on-field performance offers little reason to expect a big leap in Year 2.

Yet similar to what he was known for in his Patriots tenure, Belichick is focused on his internal evaluation. And he sees cause for optimism.

“Last year when we started, we were literally starting from scratch,” he said. “We’re above that now for sure.”

Belichick is hoping there’s more continuity from spring drills

Belichick has pointed numerous times to the Tar Heels getting a late run into recruiting after his December hiring, starting with jumping into the transfer portal and then pulling from the high school ranks. That meant pulling together a roster to get started with spring drills, then going through more waves of roster changes leading into preseason camp.

“The biggest thing last year was just how behind we were,” Belichick said of his December 2024 arrival.

By the time the Tar Heels started last season, they had 70 new players.

“This time a year ago, we didn’t have a quarterback who had taken a snap even in spring ball for us,” Belichick said.

“Last year we didn’t have any player-run practices. We couldn’t actually line up a team and run against another team without the coaches being out there because we didn’t have anybody that knew enough on either side of the ball to do that. Whereas this year these guys have done it all spring and all summer.”

To that point, the Tar Heels have plenty of newness on the roster with 40 true freshmen and 17 redshirt freshmen. But UNC also had 35 of the first-year freshmen arrive in time to go through spring practices while there’s enough returnees to offer continuity and better stability.

“Culture’s a lot different, work ethic’s different,” Belichick said. “I’m not taking anything away from the guys that were here. But compared to a year ago, we just know a lot more about what we’re doing and how to do it and our culture’s a lot different.”

UNC knows what to expect for Belichick’s second season

Belichick’s appearance at this ACC Kickoff event last year was the center of attention. So too was his nationally televised Labor Day debut in front of a sellout home crowd against TCU.

Yet the Tar Heels lost that game in a blowout in what turned out to be a harbinger of frustration to come. And Belichick’s mere presence on the sideline only magnified the pressure that arose from on-field troubles and unwanted off-field headlines, from an assistant coach’s suspension to tabloid-like interest in Belichick’s relationship with 25-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson.

“Seeing a guy like Coach Belichick, who’s constantly in the spotlight — I mean, the guy could cure cancer and people would still write negative pieces about him,” offensive lineman Christo Kelly said.

“But seeing how he handles himself through everything, seeing how he’s continued to block out the noise, it really sets the standard for what we should be doing.”

By the end of the year, Belichick had fielded a team that had more losses by double-digit margins (five) than total wins, with two home losses ending in an empty stadium with Tar Heels fans having fled early for the exits. UNC’s three wins against Bowl Subdivision opponents came against teams with a combined 8-28 record (Charlotte, Syracuse and Stanford), while the Tar Heels failed to make a bowl for the first time since 2018.

At least nothing should surprise the Tar Heels this year about playing under the Belichick microscope.

“We really felt like it was all Carolina — Carolina for Carolina, nobody else was really rooting for us, everybody wanted to see Coach Belichick fail,” receiver Jordan Shipp said.

“It was just like we knew that we were in this by ourselves. And everybody that was here last year, we know that feeling. So now we know what to expect.”

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans will induct Chris Johnson, the sixth man in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards in a season, into their Ring of Honor during halftime of their regular-season opener Sept. 13.

The Titans announced the honor Friday following Johnson’s announcement June 29 on ABC’s “ Good Morning America ” that he was diagnosed with ALS, the fatal nervous system disease a year earlier.

“Chris Johnson holds a special place in the hearts of our organization and our fans,” Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said. “His stats speak for themselves, and he will forever remain a leader in our record books, but the man behind the yardage deserves just as much celebration.”

Johnson was the 24th pick overall in 2008 by the Titans and played six of his 10 seasons in the NFL with Tennessee. He rushed for 7,965 yards and had 58 total touchdowns in that span. Those totals both rank fourth for a franchise that also had Earl Campbell, Eddie George and Derrick Henry.

He earned the nickname “CJ2K” in 2009 when he finished with 2,006 yards rushing to join O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis and Jamal Lewis in the exclusive 2,000-yard club. Johnson also had 2,509 yards from scrimmage, a single-season record that still stands in the NFL.

That earned him The Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Johnson will be inducted at halftime of the Titans’ opener against the New York Jets, the team the running back played for in 2014. He becomes the 20th inductee into the Titans’ Ring of Honor with former radio analyst and assistant coach Dave McGinnis being inducted posthumously later this season.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Trey McBride was the bright spot last season for a dismal team in Arizona.

He was the most productive tight end in the NFL, a near-unanimous All-Pro selection and made his second straight Pro Bowl.

McBride’s success has also landed him the top spot at tight end in a preseason survey by The Associated Press. He received five first-place votes from a panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers who ranked the top five players at the position, basing selections on current status entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

George Kittle finished second with three first-place votes. Brock Bowers came in third, followed by Sam LaPorta and Kyle Pitts.

1. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

McBride had a breakout year in 2024 and followed that up with a record-setting season in 2025.

He caught 126 passes last season, breaking Zach Ertz’s record for most in a season by a tight end, had 1,239 receiving yards, and his 11 receiving touchdowns tied for first. McBride also led tight ends with 566 yards after the catch.

He got one second-place vote and two thirds to go with the five firsts in voting for this season’s Top 5.

2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

Kittle had 57 receptions for 628 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in only 11 games last season, averaging 11.0 yards per reception.

He had just two drops and 259 yards after the catch.

The seven-time Pro Bowl pick and two-time All-Pro is one of the best blocking tight ends in NFL history.

Kittle, who tore his Achilles in San Francisco’s playoff victory over the Eagles, got two second-place votes to go with the three firsts and appeared on seven ballots.

3. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

After a sensational All-Pro rookie season, Bowers was plagued by injuries last year. He caught 64 passes for 680 yards and seven TDs in 12 games and made his second Pro Bowl.

Bowers gained 296 yards after the catch, and had three drops. A dynamic receiver, Bowers is still a work in progress as a blocker.

He received three second-place votes and was on each ballot.

4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

LaPorta was limited to nine games because of injuries last season and had 40 catches for 489 yards and three TDs.

He wasn’t charged with any drops and totaled 273 yards after the catch. LaPorta is one of the best all-around tight ends in the league and an asset in Detroit’s run game because of his outstanding blocking skills.

5. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

Pitts earned second-team All-Pro honors after a career-high 88 catches for 928 yards and five TDs last season.

Pitts, who was the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history in 2021 when the Falcons selected him No. 4 overall, lived up to expectations as a rookie when he made the Pro Bowl. But he was disappointing until a breakthrough season last year.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

LONDON (AP) — The storied men’s mile record in track that has stood for 27 years will come under attack Saturday from Britain’s Josh Kerr.

Kerr, the 2023 world champion over the 1,500 meters metric mile, has called it “Project 222” — for each second he aims to take in breaking Hicham El Guerrouj’s mark of 3 minutes, 43.13 seconds.

“It’s in my favor,” Kerr said Friday at a news conference at London Stadium that staged track and field at the 2012 Olympics. “My body is capable of the mark and so my job tomorrow is to have my mind to be available to let my body do its job.”

The 28-year-old Kerr has targeted the mile race at the Diamond League meeting as a main goal in a track season with neither Olympics nor world championships.

“I’m very excited. It’s been on my mind, my team’s mind, for a long time,” said the 1,500 silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The mile is not a championships event yet has iconic status in track history, with the four-minute barrier finally broken in 1954 by another British runner, Roger Bannister.

El Guerrouj’s record set in 1999 is more than 16 seconds faster than Bannister, and Kerr is the sixth-fastest athlete on the all-time list. One of his rivals Saturday is No. 4 in that list.

Yared Nuguse set a United States record three years ago, 0.84 slower than El Guerrouj, in a race won by Jakob Ingebrigtsen at Eugene, Oregon.

While Bannister’s feat running 3:59.4 is remembered in track lore, he held the record just a few weeks before Australian John Landy lowered it by 1.4 seconds.

Jim Ryun of the U.S. later held the record for nine years until Filbert Bayi of Tanzania took it in 1975.

A stellar 10 days in August 1981 saw a British rivalry play out: Sebastian Coe took Steve Ovett’s mile record, Ovett got it back then Coe beat it again clocking 3:47.33.

In the 45 years since, the mile record was held only by Steve Cram, Noureddine Morceli and El Guerrouj.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

BELFORT, France (AP) — Swiss rider Mauro Schmid edged Colombian Harold Tejada in a two-way sprint to win the 13th stage of the Tour de France, while defending champion Tadej Pogacar safely kept his overall lead on Friday.

With several riders closing in behind them, Schmid made the decisive move with 200 meters left and held off Tejada before lifting his front wheel at the line in celebration. Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock finished just behind in third.

Pogacar’s yellow jersey group cruised in a few minutes later as the high temperatures of recent heat waves finally dropped.

Four-time Tour champion Pogacar remains 3 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard in the overall standings, and 4:06 ahead of Remco Evenepoel in third place. Pidcock climbed up to fourth at 4:15 behind Pogacar.

Stage 13 was the longest of this year’s race at 206 kilometers (128 miles) and featured a sharp nine-kilometer Category 1 climb — the second-hardest climbing category — up Ballon d’Alsace. Schmid won in just over four hours.

A large group of riders formed at the front at the foot of the big climb, with Pogacar’s yellow jersey group not contesting the stage win. The group was whittled down on the descent toward the finish in the northeast city of Belfort, and became a two-way duel to the line.

Saturday’s 14th stage is a mountain stage with three big climbs in the Alsace region and ending at Le Markstein ski resort.

The race concludes with its traditional finish in Paris on July 26. ___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

PARIS (AP) — Adieu Didier. Bonjour Zinedine?

Coach Didier Deschamps takes charge of his last game for France on Saturday when Les Bleus face England at the World Cup in Miami. The winner gets third place, an anti-climactic award brought about by agonizing semifinal defeats.

It is a disappointing end to Deschamps’ reign when many observers touted his star-studded attack to win another World Cup. Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to be confirmed as France’s new coach in the coming days by the French soccer federation.

The Deschamps years

France won the World Cup under Deschamps in 2018, lost a gut-wrenching final on penalties in 2022, and fell short tactically against Spain on Tuesday.

In his 14 years in charge, Deschamps won just one major trophy — albeit the biggest of all — having lost the European Championship final on home soil in 2016.

Some observers suggest that was not quite enough given the talent at France’s disposal — including Kylian Mbappé, Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and Ballon d’Or winners Ousmane Dembélé and Karim Benzema — while others argue France was remarkably consistent under Deschamps, who is now 57.

Whatever the view, France’s next coach has big shoes to fill and a big aura will help. As arguably France’s greatest ever player, and a prolifically successful coach with Real Madrid, Zidane seems the perfect fit.

Polar opposites as players, Zidane and Deschamps are forever linked by glory.

The industrious midfielder Deschamps was France’s tireless captain when it won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, while Zinedine was the unstoppable creative force that drove that brilliant team to new heights.

Here’s a look at how France might look with Zidane in charge.

What would Zidane change?

France’s 2-0 defeat to Spain in the World Cup semifinal was more crushing than the score suggests.

France was found wanting tactically when put under sustained pressure by the slick Spanish. Completely dominated in midfield, France got its pressing game all wrong. The attack was blunted and Deschamps had no Plan “B” to turn things around.

Deschamps has had his detractors over the years — chief among them Christophe Dugarry, his former France teammate — who said his approach was too restrictive and lacked sufficient creativity in central midfield.

Zidane would doubtless want a more expansive approach, such as during his heyday when he roamed the field as a playmaker. Michael Olise or Rayan Cherki could fill that role.

Both are technically gifted although neither are a playmaker by definition like Zidane was. Another option could be Dembélé dropping deep into that role, as he has done well with Paris Saint-Germain.

Benzema’s return?

Zidane is a huge fan of Benzema and they became close friends when Zidane coached him at Real Madrid.

They won three straight Champions League titles together from 2016-18 and Benzema became a more complete player, as well as a ruthless finisher, under Zidane’s guidance. Benzema is 38 and his advanced age may prove a stumbling block.

But given how the age-defying Lionel Messi has dazzled at this World Cup aged 39, Zidane may think Benzema — a Ballon d’Or winner in 2022 — has something left to give. Especially if he plays in a more withdrawn role, where he can use his excellent technical skill and passing ability to good effect.

Critics of Deschamps never forgave him for leaving out Benzema for the best part of six years, due to Benzema’s alleged part in a “sex-tape scandal” targeting then-France teammate Mathieu Valbuena.

However, France won the World Cup without Benzema.

He was finally recalled in time for the European Championship in 2021, where he was France’s top scorer with four goals, and combined brilliantly with Mbappé when they won the Nations League later that year.

Benzema fell out with Deschamps after being released from the 2022 World Cup because of a thigh injury, with Benzema contesting events leading to his departure.

It would be a big call for Zidane to recall him, but it’s not impossible.

Five years away from the game

One question is how ready Zidane would be for such a high-pressured job, giving that he has not coached since leaving Madrid after his second spell in 2021.

Yet he will also be fresh after several years away from the stress and scrutiny of management.

Should the 54-year-old Zidane take charge, his first game would be away to Turkey in the Nations League on Sept. 25, followed by a match in Belgium three days later.

Home fans would need to wait until Oct. 2 for a glimpse of Zidane at Stade de France, when France plays Italy.

Zidane’s last game as a player for France was against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final. He scored early with a Panenka-style penalty, before an infamous moment saw him red-carded for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi during extra time.

France lost the final on penalty kicks but the French public quickly forgave Zidane — affectionally known as “Zizou” — for getting sent off, such was his deep bond with the nation.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Rory McIlroy looks to have done enough to make it to the weekend at Royal Birkdale.

He’ll have to do much, much more to lift the claret jug.

The world No. 2 bounced back with a 3-under 67 in the second round at the British Open on Friday and moved to 1-under par overall.

At the midway part of the second round, the projected cut was at level par.

McIlroy was seven shots off the clubhouse lead held by Lucas Herbert, on 8-under par, after the Australian’s 62 that matched the record score at a major.

McIlroy, who won the Open just down the road in Hoylake in 2014, struggled on the greens in shooting 72 on Thursday.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf