Blog

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Steve Allan became the first wire-to-wire winner in Dick’s Sporting Goods Open history Sunday, closing with a 6-under 66 for a four-stroke victory.

Allan finished at 18-under 198 at En-Joie Golf Course for his second PGA Tour Champions victory of the season. The 51-year-old Australian opened Friday with a 63 for a two-shot edge and had a 69 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Boo Weekley into the final round.

After playing the first seven holes Sunday in 1 under with two birdies and a bogey, Allan birdied five of the next six and parred the last five.

“It was tough. It was tough, even yesterday, hanging in there, and today early on it was a bit rough with the driver,” Allan said. “In the rough a lot and just managed to hang in there. Then on the back nine, made a few putts.”

He also won The Galleri Classic in late March at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California.

Jason Caron was second after a 68. Weekley (70) and Notah Begay III (67) tied for third at 13 under, and Soren Kjeldsen (64) was another stroke back with Michael Wright (67) and Jeff Sluman (68).

Padraig Harrington wasn’t back to try to win for a fourth straight time, skipping the event to play in the Scottish Open. He also has the British Open at Royal Portrush and the Senior British Open at Royal Porthcawl.

Ernie Els, in the British Open field, shot 69 to tie for 16th at 8 under.

Reigning European champions England thrashed neighbours Wales 6-1 to reach the Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals on Sunday, securing second spot in Group D and cruising into the knockouts on a high note.

Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones were all on target for England, who finished runners-up to France after their 5-2 victory over the Netherlands.

Next up for Sarina Wiegman’s team are Sweden — who won all three of their games to top Group C — in the quarterfinal on Thursday.

“It is going to be a difficult game. We watched [Sweden] the other night and they were really good. We need to be on our best game,” Toone said. “I think they should be scared.”

The second-place finish, however, could be a bonus as provided they get past Sweden, England would avoid world champions Spain in the semifinals.

Stanway struck from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after a foul in the box, calmly sweeping her shot into the far-left corner past the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Olivia Clark to open the floodgates.

Toone then found the back of the net with a scrappy goal eight minutes later as England capitalised on a sloppy clearance by Rhiannon Roberts — with the ball falling to Russo who nudged it into the path of Toone who fired home on the second attempt.

Hemp nodded in a third inside 30 minutes after a clever pass from Lauren James to Toone on the byline. Toone found Hemp at the far post with a pinpoint cross for an easy header.

Russo bagged her first goal of the tournament just before halftime when Toone made another dart to the byline before cutting the ball back for the Arsenal forward, who took one touch to control it before firing home. Mead cut inside a Welsh defender before a cute finish secured England’s fifth in the 72nd minute.

Hannah Cain pulled one back in the 76th minute, much to the delight of the Wales fans, but England’s Beever-Jones replied in the 89th with her first goal in a major tournament, finishing off a Mead cross. 

“This is the beginning of a journey for us,” Wales midfielder Jess Fishlock said. “We’ve played three of the best teams in the world at this tournament and we’ve found out how big that jump is.”

Much was made about the traditional rivalry between England and Wales, with Wales wanting nothing better than to spoil England’s party. Thousands of Welsh fans in the Red Wall didn’t lose their voice throughout Sunday’s match, despite the scoreline.

But Wiegman’s team — World Cup finalists in 2023 and European champions the year before — showed their vast experience against a Wales side making their major tournament debut.

“We scored six goals and a big part of the game we dominated, a very good game,” head coach Wiegman said. “Playing well is the most important, who scores is not that important.”

England have won 10 of the 11 meetings between the two teams, with Wales’ best result being a 0-0 draw in 2018.

“We were really good. It is always hard to play against a team that sits in a low block,” Toone said. “It was nice we got an early goal in the first half and we enjoyed the game.”

Wiegman gets it right when England need it most

Sarina Wiegman is a manager that knows how to win.

Twice the Dutchwoman has guided a nation to a European title followed by a World Cup final, first with the Netherlands and again with England.

At EURO 2025, she is facing perhaps her toughest test as an international head coach, which is attempting to successfully defend a title. An opening 2-1 defeat by France, in quite damming fashion, left the Lionesses with plenty to ponder going into their last two group fixtures.

Something had to give – a change of personnel, or a change of tactics. In the end, it was a mix of both, which put England back on the path to defending their title.

The first minor shift came in defence, addressing the issue of being overloaded by lightning-quick French wingers. Jess Carter, who started at left-back, and Alex Greenwood, who started at centre-back, were both switched for the game against the Netherlands.

As far as Carter goes, it allowed her to operate in a position far more comfortable to her, having played there regularly for her current club, NJ/NY Gotham. Greenwood plays centrally for Manchester City, but it’s a move that is more recent for the 31-year-old, who has spent much of her career playing on the left-hand side.

The result? A far more composed performance at the back, with England avoiding getting caught out. More importantly, a clean sheet in a thumping 4-0 win.

Wiegman’s second change came further up the pitch, bringing Toone in place of Mead.

This meant moving Lauren James out wide, and while the thrilling forward can play a number of positions, it seems as though the switch allowed the Lionesses to get the best out of their star player. Toone is a natural No.10, used to operating in those pockets of space the ties together the attack. It also allows for a more fluid approach, which the defending champions benefited from in their 6-1 drilling of Wales.

Their front four of Hemp, Russo, James and Toone were intertwining throughout the first half, covering each other’s positions and dragging the Welsh defence out of shape. A 4-0 half-time lead was the effect of such an approach, an utterly relentless display from a side with a point to prove.

This system and these tactics may not work for every team they face; it’s something that is likely to evolve as the tournament goes on.

Weigman has shown she can be adaptable, and she can get the best out of her side when the moment calls for it – this alone is vital when it comes to knockout football.

LA PALMA (Spain) – Spain’s Sara Okeke captured the Most Valuable Player award of the FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket 2025 after leading the hosts to their sixth title triumph.

Okeke headlines a star-studded All-Star Five of future stars that made their mark on an unforgettable competition. Prodigies such as Finland’s Anna Gardziella, France’s Anna Tournebize, Belgium’s Jada Lynch, with Spain’s Gina Garcia completed the lineup.

MVP: Sara Okeke (Spain)

An unbeaten tournament and a first U18 Women’s EuroBasket trophy in 10 years on home soil was the perfect ending for Spain, and Okeke was a star throughout, winning MVP honors. The Movistar Estudiantes center averaged 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, shooting 57 percent from the floor, which was capped off with a 23-point, 7-rebound and 3-steal showpiece against Finland in the Final. A performance worthy of an MVP honor.

Anna Gardziella (Finland)

Gardziella led Finland to their best finish at the U18 level and their first Final. Gardziella averaged 11.8 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal shooting 34 percent from three-point land with a tournament best of 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in the opener against Slovenia.

Alicia Tournebize (France)

Tournebize led France to third place in the FIBA U18 Women’s EuroBasket through her unstoppable presence inside and athleticism, which was showcased with a two-handed dunk in the Third Place Game against Belgium, which the French won 72-47, with the 17 year old going for 19 points and 12 rebounds. Tournebize averaged 11.8 points and 8.4 rebounds, with an efficiency rating of 17.4 – all team-highs.

Jada Lynch (Belgium)

It wasn’t meant to be for Lynch in the Third Place Game against France, as she was unable to register a field goal in seven attempts. However, she earned her spot in the All-Star Five as one of Belgium’s leading offensive juggernauts, averaging 12 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals a game. She filled the statsheet, but sadly, her side couldn’t finish on the podium.

Gina Garcia (Spain)

Garcia pulled the strings for the victorious Spain side in front of their home audience. The point guard led her side to the Final thanks to a sublime all-around performance in the Semi-Final win over France with 15 points, 9 assists, and 5 steals, and followed that with a 13-point, 12-assist double-double against Finland in the Final. Garcia posted 7.6 points and 5.6 assists in the competition.

FIBA

An electrifying second-half performance from Delphine Cascarino helped France to a 5-2 win over the Netherlands on Sunday that secured victory in Group D at the Women’s Euros and set up a quarterfinal meeting with Germany in Basel on July 19.

France finished the group with nine points from their three games, three ahead of England, who join them in the knockout stage for a quarter-final meeting with Sweden in Zurich on July 17 following a 6-1 win over Wales.

The French took the lead through Sandie Toletti in the 22nd minute, but a Victoria Pelova strike and an own goal by Selma Bacha saw the Dutch take a 2-1 lead into the break.

Cascarino burst into life in the second half, setting up Marie-Antoinette Katoto for the equaliser and then scoring two goals in quick succession, with Sakina Karchaoui scoring a late penalty to secure the 5-2 win.