It is British Open week in men’s golf. This year‘s championship is being played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England. The tournament has only been played there two times since 1967. The winners were Tiger Woods in 2006 and Rory McElroy in 2014. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Hall of Fame-level player comes out victorious Sunday afternoon.
At the end of the first round, three players share the lead at five-under par. I am surprised no one else has gone lower in the first round because this was the best weather of the week. Unfortunately, Sunday is supposed to be the worst day of weather. I hope the ending is still exciting to watch.
In tennis, Carlos Alcaraz was able to defeat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in an exciting five-set match. I was pleasantly surprised that he was able to win, considering he lost the first set 6-1. Alcaraz is a 20-year-old impressive player, but we will have to see how many majors he can win over the coming years. My prediction is that he will win seven or eight for a great career, but not get that close to all-time greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djoković.
On the woman's side, Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic became the first nonseeded player to win Wimbledon in a long time. Apparently she has had a number of injuries in her career which is the reason she is not as well known. She beat Ons Jabeur from Tunisia in straight sets, breezing to victory in the second set.
The women’s World Cup starts this weekend in Australia and New Zealand. The U.S. team is trying to become the first team in history to win three straight championships. I know the media has a lot of expectations for this U.S. team. They will get out of the group stage of the tournament easily, but it will not be easy to win the whole thing, because this is undoubtedly going to be the most competitive women’s soccer tournament ever. Most of Europe is catching up fast to the U.S. I think there are four or five teams that can win the tournament along with the U.S. team. In Europe, this includes Germany and France, and maybe England, or dark horse Sweden, and also Japan. For the first time ever, there are 32 teams in the competition just like the men. The coverage is on the Fox networks. The first U.S. women's game is at 9 p.m., July 21. Go USA!
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
