If you are a fan of anything to do with sports about France, this is a great time.
Tennis fans are enjoying the French Open. Say what you will about the hard-court tennis at the U.S. Open or the grass court tennis at Wimbledon, but the clay court tennis at Roland Garros is special. Just the look and texture about the clay makes this annual major something special.
Basketball fans are surely excited about seeing Victor Wembanyama in the National Basketball Association finals as the 7-foot-4 French native leads the San Antonio Spurs against the New York Knicks. I love watching Wemby, what a freak of nature. He can shoot from beyond the three-point arc or block shots near the rim. I think the future of the NBA will definitely revolve around Wemby.
Then there is Celine Boutier (Titleist Pro V1x), winner this past weekend of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, her fist victory on tour since she won four times in 2023, including the Amundi Evian Championship in her home country, in July.
She’ll be hoping to do well this week in the U.S. Women’s Open, but will anybody be able to stop World No. 1 Nelly Korda (TaylorMade TP5x)? She is on quite the heater.
The professional golf world includes players from various parts of the globe. Laetitia Beck, an LPGA Tour veteran from Israel led after the first round of the ShopRite Classic shooting eight-under par, a career best, but faded to 14th after shooting five-over par in the final two rounds. Had she won, it would have been huge for her career and her country.
MY THEORY HOLDS TRUE: I have been saying for weeks and months that players who were part of the 2025 Ryder Cup teams have done well this year on the PGA Tour. The latest was Russell Henley, who won the Charles Schwab Challenge. By my unofficial count, there have been nine players from the 16 who took part in the tournament who have won this year.
Having said that, I am cursed in the PG Golf pool. I have been as high as third overall, but I’m falling like a boulder in water because I selected some of them at the wrong time. Last week, I had Justin Thomas (Titleist Pro V1x), who was the favorite, and didn’t live up to all the hype. My other pick, Sungjae Im (Titleist Pro V1x), who wasn’t a Ryder Cup player, didn’t even make the cut. I’m hoping for a miracle this week in the Memorial Tournament. I have few of the big names left. I’m hoping the golf gods will do me a solid.
