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SEBRING, Fla. – Sebring Int’l Raceway officials have confirmed that Super Sebring weekend will return March 18-21, 2020.
The doubleheader will feature the International Motor Sports Ass’n 68th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts on March 21, preceded by the FIA World Endurance Championship 1000 Miles of Sebring on March 20.
The Super Sebring doubleheader endurance-race format made a successful debut in March at the legendary 3.74-mile road course and produced record-setting results on and off the track. Attendance, media coverage, sponsorships, hospitality and merchandise sales all surpassed previous records. I
n addition, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts U.S. television viewership on CNBC and NBCSN saw a 46 percent increase over 2018.
Super Sebring was history making on the track as well as two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso broke Sebring’s all-time lap record and then went on to win the WEC 1000-mile race with co-drivers Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima aboard their Toyota Hybrid prototype.
The next day, the 12-hour classic had seven different leaders and 28 lead changes, ending with the closest finish in Sebring history when the Whelen Engineering Cadillac prototype of Eric Curran, Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr won by a margin of just over one second.
“A tremendous amount of work by the Sebring team and all parties involved went into making the 2019 SuperSebring weekend a success, and our goal is to build on that success and again surpass the milestones established this year,” said Wayne Estes, Sebring Int’l Raceway president and general manager. “Many of the improvements implemented to accommodate the increased attendance and additional teams were well received and we will continue to put both our long-term fans and our new fans first in planning for another spectacular weekend.”
Super Sebring 2020 will be round six of the 2019-2020 FIA WEC season and round two of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Supporting events at Super Sebring tentatively include the Alan Jay 120 for the Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA Prototype Challenge.
“The 2019 Super Sebring weekend exceeded expectations and we are looking forward to working with the FIA World Endurance Championship and Sebring Int’l Raceway staffs to make the 2020 event even more spectacular for everyone involved,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton.
“The Sebring event this year was greatly enjoyed by competitors and fans alike, and it’s a real pleasure to come together again with our partners at IMSA and Sebring to put on an even better show for 2020,” added Gerard Neveu, CEO of the WEC.
Off track, Super Sebring 2020 will offer a varied lineup of fan activities and attractions including music and entertainment at the Spring Brake Party Zone, autograph sessions, manufacturer displays on the Midway and a display of historic racecars in the Panoz Gallery of Legends.
Tickets to Super Sebring 2020 are scheduled to go on sale by Sept. 1.
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COMMERCE, Ga. — Paul Lee returns to NHRA Funny Car competition this weekend at Atlanta Dragway after a two-year absence from the sport.
Lee suffered a widow-maker heart attack at the end of 2016 and now returns as a team owner and a partner with Straightline Strategy Group. The Jim Oberhofer-tuned entry made successful test laps earlier this week and they are anxious to hit the track on Friday. Lee will be primarily backed by McLeod Racing.
Atlanta is the site of Lee’s first NHRA event victory in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class in 2004. Lee is optimistic as a team owner and driver.
“Atlanta has always been special to me because this is where I won my first national event,” says Lee, owner of McLeod Racing. “To be here is a feat in itself. The last 6 months, I have been training to be able to return to both the physical and mental condition it takes to successfully drive a Nitro Funny Car. I feel great and have never been more ready to return to my mission and purpose of racing.”
Over the winter, Lee announced his alliance with the Straightline Strategy Group. As a marketing partner, the McLeod team would like to welcome Lucas Oil, Weld Wheels, TMS Titanium, Champion Spark Plugs, and Mac Tools.
“Working with the SSG has been a great way to expand sponsorship partners,” says Lee. “We are able to appeal to big companies and be able to cater a sponsorship that works with their marketing and business objectives.”
Jim Oberhofer has also joined the team as crew chief. Lee and Oberhofer have a great friendship that started many years ago.
“I’m excited to work on a funny car, but I am more excited to work with Paul,” says Oberhofer. “It doesn’t matter what he drove. If he drove a Super Stock car I would be happy. Racing is about friendship and that is what the team is built from.”
On Monday after the 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, the team tested their new race car with two test hits. First was a 330 ft planned shutoff and the second, Paul went to the finish line with a 3.94 at 323 mph. Lee also reacted with .060’s on both runs.
“After Paul passed the finish line on the second pass, we are all pumped up to see what comes this weekend at Atlanta,” says Oberhofer. “With a driver who looks like he hasn’t stepped away a single day from the seat to the talented crew we have assembled, this race will be fun no matter what happens.”
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CATAWBA, N.C. — As part of NASCAR Speedweeks in Charlotte for the second consecutive year, Mountain Creek Speedway is promoting the Clash at the Creek for mini-outlaw karts.
The Clash at the Creek is a major, big-money event at the facility just outside of Mooresville, running May 18-19.
The event features a $2000-to-win purse for open cars, a guaranteed $150 to feature starters, with $500 on the line to win the intermediate feature and a live TV broadcast for viewers across the globe.
Mountain Creek Speedway recently completed its first full season hosting outlaw karts with improved car counts and competition each week. Promoter Adam Stewart is optimistic for this year’s Clash after a packed house turned out for last year’s event.
“We were blown away at the response last year,” Stewart said. “People from all across the industry and the region came to see who would claim the trophy and the check for the Inaugural Clash at the Creek. This year, we’ve worked on speeding up the show and have even made some adjustments to the track based off of input from racers, specifically outlaw kart enthusiast and NASCAR star Kyle Larson, who raced with us last year.”
The Clash at the Creek will feature preliminary events for beginners and box stock teams on Saturday morning with the opportunity to practice for intermediate and open drivers.
Sunday’s schedule is feature-contest oriented, with practice and qualifications for opens and intermediates along with heats, consolation races and features also on the docket.
The race’s format will use traditional time trials and heats, with the top racers from each qualifying heat advancing to Sunday night’s feature.
Beginner and Box Stock features will also be contested on Sunday.
“With all the racers in town for other events, we are working to continue to build this week up for racers from all disciplines, outlaw kart racing included,” Stewart noted. “For outlaw kart racers, they have the opportunity to win nearly eight grand in the course of a week in this region. That’s almost unheard of.
“Most likely, racers questioning the adventure will be making the trek to Charlotte to compete for a week, making this a must-see and must-do week for fans of this style of racing.”
To showcase the event for the second consecutive year, Pit Row TV will broadcast Sunday’s racing in a live, multi-camera production.
Pit Row TV is the production group behind popular events such as the CARS Tour late model series, LegendsNation TV and their Legend Car productions, plus karting events like King of the Concrete and Thanksgiving Thunder.
Online entries are now being taken for the event where racers can register and pay for their entry fees with a credit card, or traditionally-mailed entries will also be accepted.
A discount is offered to open division racers who pre-enter on or before May 12, a savings over the regular $75 entry fee. Additionally, pre-entered drivers will be permitted to practice on the Saturday prior to the event with no additional cost.
Every ticket to the Clash at the Creek doubles as a pit pass for fans to see karts and drivers up close and personal, and a two-day admission ticket is only $20, with single-day options available starting at only $10.
The rain date for the 2nd Annual Clash at the Creek will be on Monday, May 20.
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INDIANAPOLIS — The best part of any Indianapolis 500 is the history that’s walking around the joint.
Why, look: It’s Johnny Rutherford, talking with Bobby Unser. There’s A.J. Foyt’s golf cart, slowing down so A.J. can shake hands with Parnelli Jones. And that slow-moving cluster of fans is a signal that, in the center of the scrum, Mario Andretti is signing autographs.
This month I look forward to seeing all of those legends and to seeing four more who won’t be there.
One of the delights of Mays gone by was catching a glimpse of George Bignotti, the storied chief mechanic who played a role in seven Indy victories: 1961 and ’64 with Foyt, ’66 with Graham Hill, 1970 and ’71 with Al Unser, 1973 with Gordon Johncock and 1983 with Tom Sneva.
That said, spotting Bignotti was not easy. In his later years, he was quiet and unassuming, almost blending into the crowd. But if you did happen to see him, you’d find it hard to look away.
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Now, there was nothing unassuming about Smokey Yunick, and certainly nothing quiet. Depending on the weather, he’d be wearing either his trademark white work uniform — “Smokey’s: Best Damn Garage in Town” — or a charcoal-gray duster, the kind of coat only he and Wyatt Earp could pull off. The outfit was completed by his ancient wide-brimmed hat, its sides turned up.
Years of races and dyno pulls had blasted away Smokey’s hearing, which made it difficult for him to hear others. But because he had no grasp of his own volume, no one in Gasoline Alley had any problem hearing Smokey.
You could eavesdrop from 50 feet away and get his colorful, profane opinions on, well, everything. Lucky fans could brag that they’d gotten the scoop from Smokey himself, even though they’d never met the man.
As an Indianapolis mechanic, Smokey’s imagination was both a blessing and a curse. Unlike Bignotti, who endlessly refined the tried and true, Smokey’s brain would not let him stop tinkering. To hell with refining the ideas of others; Yunick rarely bothered to refine his own.
He’d show up in May with these oddball creations, and their frequent troubles increasingly left him to employ journeymen drivers rather than superstars. He went to victory lane after just one 500, the 1960 edition captured by Jim Rathmann. But Smokey was so outraged at being labeled merely the winning team’s co-chief mechanic (with Chickie Hirashima) that he hated discussing his greatest day at the speedway.
Andy Granatelli, on the other hand, could talk forever about his own greatest day at Indianapolis. That was May 30, 1969, when the STP president and master marketer finally got to see one of his cars take the checkered flag first.
Mario Andretti was its driver, and the celebratory kiss that Granatelli planted on Andretti’s right cheek remains one of the 500’s indelible images.
But Granatelli may be better known for losing the 500 than for winning it. His quixotic early-’60s attempts to win with the roaring Novi are part of speedway folklore, as are his 1967-’68 heartbreaks with turbine-powered cars.
Still, his fingerprints are all over the record books. He gave Bobby Unser his rookie ride in 1963 and sponsored Gordon Johncock’s winning car in 1982. And he was a shameless self-promoter; sure, dressing his crew in “STP pajama” uniforms embarrassed the mechanics, but it guaranteed his company logo would grace every newspaper in the country.
Andy loved the speedway, and it loved him back, even if that too seldom showed on race day.
If Granatelli had a spiritual peer as a car owner, it was Joshua James “J.C.” Agajanian. From his first 500 in 1948, when he had Johnny Mantz as his driver, Aggie’s No. 98 always had top talent in its seat: Walt Faulkner, Tony Bettenhausen, Chuck Stevenson, Duane Carter and Johnnie Parsons all drove for him. But he’ll forever be aligned with youthful Troy Ruttman, who won for Agajanian in 1952, and Parnelli Jones, the ’63 winner.
Aggie was a flamboyant dresser — sharkskin suits, Stetson hats — and at the track he wanted to be close to the action. On one occasion that got him in trouble, and on another it nearly killed him. In 1964, a pit-stop explosion blew the filler-cap assembly from Parnelli’s roadster right past Agajanian’s head.
And after the ’65 race, officials fined him $50 for sitting atop the team’s fueling rig. Aggie jokingly groused that the fine was excessive, because not even the most expensive race ticket cost that much.
It’s a strange thing: I can’t say I knew Bignotti, Yunick or Granatelli very well, and I never got to meet Agajanian, yet every May they feel like family. All four have been gone for a while; Granatelli and Bignotti passed away in 2013, Smokey shuffled off in 2001, and Aggie died way back in 1984. No matter. I’ll be seeing them in Gasoline Alley for years to come.
Some tracks and sanctioning bodies make a big deal out of issuing lifetime credentials. Reach the top at Indianapolis, and your pass is eternal.
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COLUMBUS -- Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand doesn't regret punching Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the back of the head at the end of Game 3, though he did say Wednesday that his actions were "unnecessary."
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy plans on having a chat with Marchand about the winger's discipline. Marchand has taken two penalties in the second-round series that have directly led to Columbus power-play goals.
But an even bigger hot-button issue emerged Tuesday as Marchand -- long known as one of the league's biggest agitators -- came up on Harrington from behind and punched him in the head during a stoppage late in the third period of Columbus' 2-1 win in Game 3 on Tuesday night.
Marchand was not called for a penalty, and the NHL Department of Player Safety decided not to implement any supplemental discipline other than a warning.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, asked about the punch while attending a Canadian Parliamentary hearing on concussions, said Marchand should have been penalized and, if it happens again, "he should look forward to a suspension."
Marchand called the punch "a reaction" after, he said, his teammate Jake DeBrusk was bullied in front of the Blue Jackets' net. Marchand said DeBrusk took "about six punches there from two guys" and therefore he felt he needed to defend his teammate.
"Having to talk about it today, is probably not something I'd go back and do it again," Marchand said Wednesday.
"I'm not overly concerned about what's said in the media and what fans say, and stuff like that. It was an unnecessary play, but it is what it is. Games go on, and I'll worry about the next one."
The Blue Jackets lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Thursday in Columbus.
Entering these playoffs and through the first round, a new narrative was emerging regarding Marchand: The NHL's ultimate troll had turned a new leaf after being suspended six times over seven years for penalties such as slew footing, elbowing, clipping and spearing.
After last year's playoffs were marred by Marchand's unusual behavior of licking two different opponents, the NHL's Department of Player Safety privately and publicly asked Marchand to tone things down.
The 30-year-old Marchand made a commitment to stay out of trouble.
"I've got to cut that s--- out," Marchand said after the Bruins were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning last spring. "After having a couple days, kind of looking back on the year and seeing what's happened the last few days with all the media and everything, I think the biggest thing for me now is to really take a pretty hard look in the mirror and realize the actions, some of the things that I'm doing have much bigger consequences.
"... I think it's kind of gotten to the point where the last thing I ever want to do is bring the embarrassment to my teammates and the organization that it did."
Marchand, the winger on Boston's top line, went the entire 2018-19 regular season without any discipline from the Department of Player Safety.
He went on to have a breakout offensive campaign, becoming the Bruins' first player to reach 100 points since Joe Thornton in 2003. Over the past three seasons, no other left wing -- not even Alex Ovechkin -- has more points than Marchand's 270.
"We need him on the ice," Cassidy said Wednesday.
Marchand leads the Bruins with nine points this postseason, but he's been scoreless in the three games against the Blue Jackets.
Earlier in the playoffs, the Bruins' Torey Krug told ESPN that he noticed Marchand was making a concerted effort to change his ways.
"The other part is his natural maturation into a leader in this room," Krug said. "We know the weapon that he is on the ice to win hockey games. He's not doing anything to hurt the team, and that's become something we rely on. We need him to win hockey games, so he can't be doing some crazy things on the ice to hurt the team. He's realized that, and he's done a good job growing up."
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OTTAWA, Ontario -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hit back Wednesday at the notion of banning any kind of head contact in hockey, telling a Canadian parliamentary panel that such a rule would be impossible to enforce and would lead to the end of hitting.
The league has faced calls to penalize any head contact in the hope of eliminating potentially debilitating concussions. Those calling for a strict rule include Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goalie and cabinet minister in Paul Martin's Liberal government.
In sometimes combative testimony, Bettman said such a rule at the NHL level would mean larger players would be penalized when they inevitably land blows on smaller players' heads in the normal course of play. Ultimately "there would be no more body checking," something players and fans think is an "exciting, appealing, entertaining" and important part of the game.
Bettman decried what he called "blanket statements about changing a rule" on head contact that might not address "where the injuries are being caused."
He said the game is safer for players and different in terms of physical contact from football, in which there are repeated blows to players' heads. He questioned any direct link between multiple hockey concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain condition associated with repeated blows to the head. CTE can be profoundly debilitating, with symptoms that include memory problems, personality changes, aggression and depression.
"I don't believe there has been, based on everything I've been told -- and if anybody has information to the contrary, we'd be happy to hear it -- other than some anecdotal evidence, there has not been that conclusive link," Bettman said.
When asked if there were any rules or changes he would make to the game to reduce head contact, Bettman told parliament that he likes the way professional hockey is being played. "Right now, I don't believe there's much we can do," he said.
The special committee has spent months holding hearings on the issue of concussions, including options for treatment, prevention and what, if anything, the federal government should be doing about sports-related head injuries. Experts and athletes have appeared before the cross-party panel, as have high-profile figures such as CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie and Eric Lindros, the former NHL player whose Hall of Fame career was cut short by multiple concussions.
Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly were the final witnesses of the committee's study before it tables a report in the coming weeks. Although attention has focused on amateur athletics, the committee could recommend concussion protocols for professional sports.
"I'm hoping that's not the case," Bettman said after the meeting about that possibility.
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San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer wouldn't rule out a return by star captain Joe Pavelski to the lineup during their series against the Colorado Avalanche.
Pavelski has missed the first three games of the series, which San Jose leads 2-1, following a gruesome injury he suffered when his head struck the ice in Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights on April 23.
"He's getting better every day. He was FaceTiming us after the game last night, so he's feeling better," DeBoer said Wednesday, the morning after the Sharks defeated the Avalanche in Game 3. "We're all excited about the progress he's making."
DeBoer said Pavelski was expected to resume skating on Wednesday back in San Jose.
Midway through the third period in Game 7, Pavelski's head hit the ice following a cross-check to the chest by Knights center Cody Eakin and a collision with Vegas forward Paul Stastny. Pavelski was motionless for a moment, bleeding profusely through the top of his helmet. Brent Burns and other Sharks players surrounded their captain, calling for the training staff to come out. Pavelski eventually sat up and gingerly skated to the back, his teammate Joe Thornton pressing a towel against his head.
Pavelski would not return to the game. The Sharks used the energy of that moment to rally from a 3-0 deficit and tie the game, thanks to a five-minute major to Eakin on the play. They'd eventually win Game 7 in overtime.
DeBoer has declined to specify if the injury was a concussion, but has said "he was feeling the effects. You can put two and two together on that."
Pavelski had 38 goals and 26 assists in 75 games this season, and two goals and two assists in seven playoff games. In his career, Pavelski has 95 points in 128 playoff games, including an NHL-best 14 goals during the Sharks' run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
"Pavelski is a big hole for us. He's a big piece of everything we do. We knew the challenge coming into this series. When Pavs has been out in the past, we haven't handled it well. We've been exposed a little bit by missing him in different situations," DeBoer said.
But the Sharks have managed to fill that void with their depth, moving forward Gustav Nyquist up to Pavelski's usual spot on the top line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier.
"We've gotten contributions from a lot of different guys," DeBoer said.
Pavelski has had a presence around the team since the injury, hanging around the practice facility, although he did not make the trip to Denver. His injury has continued to be a rallying point.
"We're trying to win as many games as we can so we can see him back out on the ice again," Thornton said.
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Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Hurricanes go up 3-0 on the Islanders
Published in
Hockey
Thursday, 02 May 2019 04:56
Uh-oh, could we be seeing a second-round sweep? After taking care of Barry Trotz's old team in the first round in seven games, the Carolina Hurricanes are now up 3-0 on his current team, the New York Islanders.
Here's a recap of last night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:
Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three stars
Play of the night | Today's games | Social post of the day
About last night ...
Game 3: Carolina Hurricanes 5, New York Islanders 2 (Hurricanes lead the series 3-0). Oh, how quickly it has soured for the Islanders. We knew they'd have a hard time generating offense this postseason, but this series has been a particular struggle. It's rare to climb out of an 0-3 deficit (though in this year's wacky playoffs, who would rule out anything?). Only four teams in NHL history have done it; the most recent was the 2014 Kings. Carolina, once again, put on a show for the home crowd, with an especially big third-period goal from captain Justin Williams. It proved to be the winner.
Game 4: Dallas Stars 4, St. Louis Blues 2 (series is tied 2-2). The Blues would strike first, but the Stars would control so many aspects, playing a more physically dominating game and capitalizing on turnovers. Blues rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington has been ultra-composed since inheriting the No. 1 job, and he started the night off excellently. But then, for the first time in his NHL career, we saw him lose his cool with a pair of dumb penalties. The Stars' decision to mix up the top two lines paid off, as four different players scored goals.
0:40
Dickinson, Spezza net 1st-period goals to put Stars in front
Jason Dickinson lunges for a rebound and puts it in the back of the net to tie the game, then Jason Spezza scores a power-play goal to make it 2-1 Stars.
Three stars
1. Curtis McElhinney, G, Carolina Hurricanes
At 35 years and 343 days old, he became the oldest goaltender to make his first career postseason start. He made it count, turning away 28 of 30 shots.
2. Justin Williams, RW, Carolina Hurricanes
Yeah, yeah, he's Mr. Game 7. But maybe he's just Mr. Clutch. His go-ahead goal midway through the third period was the by-product of perfect positioning and a killer finish.
.@JustinWilliams gives the @NHLCanes a 3-2 lead. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/NzxuUQZFOo
- NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) May 2, 2019
3. Tyler Seguin, C, Dallas Stars
Seguin took to his new line assignment with Mats Zuccarello and Jason Dickinson by dishing out two assists on Wednesday night. He has also established a career high for playoff points (nine).
Play of the night
One of the plays that earned McElhinney our first star of the night:
Curtis McElhinney this is a seeeeeerious skate save pic.twitter.com/L9Ngd2xc2m
- Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) May 2, 2019
Dud of the night
Blues rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington unraveling at the end of the second period.
First, Binnington retaliates after a jab from Stars captain Jamie Benn. Both players would receive two-minute penalties (Binnington's was for roughing).
This is the Benn-Binnington incident. pic.twitter.com/McTqBQGNzY
- Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) May 2, 2019
Then, on his way off the ice, Binnington took a swipe at Dallas goalie Ben Bishop near the bench.
Overhead (and only) angle shown by NBCSN of the Binnington chop on Bishop: pic.twitter.com/yr7pQyUuzS
- Alex Prewitt (@alex_prewitt) May 2, 2019
That meant the Stars had to begin the third on a penalty kill. It's the rare goalie-on-goalie slash, and it's not cool.
On the schedule
Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 4, 7:30 p.m. ET (Jackets lead the series 2-1)
The Blue Jackets are rewriting their postseason narrative this spring. Perhaps no one more so than goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who is having a dynamite playoff run. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner had been 5-14 in the playoffs, with a goals-against average of 3.49 and a save percentage of .891. This postseason? He's 6-1, with a 1.88 GAA and .937 save percentage. Columbus has all the hallmarks of a John Tortorella-coached team, clogging lanes and blocking shots -- and the Bruins' stars are getting frustrated. David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron have combined for just one goal so far. And now Marchand (who had done a good job this season of rewriting his narrative as a pest ... until this series) is on notice after some unsportsmanlike play.
San Jose Sharks at Colorado Avalanche, Game 4, 10 p.m. ET (Sharks lead the series 2-1)
The Sharks got their mojo back in Game 3, thanks to a hat trick from Logan Couture and some nifty playmaking by new dad Gustav Nyquist, who is having a whirlwind week. Now San Jose may be getting reinforcements. Captain Joe Pavelski is skating again (after FaceTiming the team after their critical road win). Colorado started strong in Game 3 but then fell apart in what might have been one of their worst performances of the postseason. Avs coach Jared Bednar lamented his team's miscues, which included "some bonehead decisions with the puck." The Avalanche are a young team, and their style is conducive to mistakes.
Social post of the day
A good boy and his favorite Bread:
Quotable
"Just a bunch of grown men being donkeys." -- Jamie Benn on the skirmishes at the end of the second period of the Stars-Blues game.
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Pregnant Lincicome preparing to shut down season, will skip USWO
Published in
Golf
Wednesday, 01 May 2019 13:14
DALY CITY, Calif. – Brittany Lincicome fans should enjoy watching “Bam Bam” while they can at this week’s LPGA Mediheal Championship.
She is a little more than five months pregnant and getting ready to shut down her season to prepare for the birth of her first child later this year.
She won’t be playing in next month’s U.S. Women’s Open and plans to make the Pure Silk Championship at Kingsmill in three weeks her last appearance of the season. She’s expecting a girl on Sept. 1.
Why no U.S. Women’s Open?
“Just talking to Gerina [Piller] and Stacy [Lewis], they both said they made it to about six months and that was enough, that was the perfect time,” Lincicome said. “I feel wonderful, physically, right now. I’ve not been sick, not been tired, feeling great, but some shots are starting to go to the right, when I come out of them. It’s getting more frustrating now. I feel like I should be an athlete and compete at the highest level, and I just can’t do what I feel like I should do.”
Lincicome feels her body changing and what that is beginning to do to her swing.
“I’ve just started feeling the pregnancy the last couple weeks,” Lincicome said. “I’m starting to feel her move around a little bit, which is cool.”
Lincicome has one of the best caddies on tour, Missy Pederson. What is she going to do while Lincicome is away? Pederson will take up a temporary job with another major champion. She’ll make her first start with Angela Stanford at the U.S. Women’s Open.
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Hmong-American Khang making inspired run at Solheim Cup spot
Published in
Golf
Wednesday, 01 May 2019 15:08
Megan Khang isn’t getting ahead of herself, but she knows her surge up the U.S. Solheim Cup standings is a source of pride among the Hmong-American population.
She’s the first Hmong-American to play the LPGA, and she knows what it would mean if she made the American team that goes to Scotland to meet the Europeans in September.
“I’m just trying to play well, and I know if I do that, everything else will take care of itself,” Khang said. “But it would be a great honor to make that team.”
With her tie for fifth last weekend at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open, Khang climbed to sixth on the U.S. Solheim Cup point standings. The top eight at the conclusion of the CP Women’s Open in late August will qualify for the team. There’s a long way to go, with 13 more events before qualifying ends, three of them majors, but she has put herself in good position before the summer run of big events. She’s in the field at this week’s LPGA Mediheal Championship.
Khang’s parents, Lee and Nou, were children when they escaped Laos with family as communist death squads hunted Hmong for aiding Americans in the Vietnam War. After spending months in Thai refugee camps, Khang’s parents finally made their way to the United States, where their families rebuilt their lives.
Lee, Meghan’s father, didn’t know what golf was when he arrived in the United States as an 8-year-old. He didn’t start playing the game until he was 32, but he taught himself, learning mostly from scouring Golf Digest and later watching YouTube videos. He’s the only coach Megan has ever known.
“Megan is definitely a role model for young Hmong boys and girls,” Lee said. “I’m so driven to make her the best player she can be, that I have to stand back sometimes to see the big picture and appreciate what she’s doing.”
Megan, a fourth-year LPGA member, knows the impact her name makes on a leaderboard.
“It would mean the world to me, to inspire children in some way, even if it’s one child,” Khang said.
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