DARREN CLARKE

Tiger Woods made an early and emotional departure from the British Open at St. Andrews, perhaps for the last time.

Defending British Open champion Collin Morikawa is set to miss the cut.

Phil Mickelson birdied three of the final holes Sunday to win the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, and Bernhard Langer held on to win his sixth PGA Tour Champions season points title.

Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are finally getting their day in the sun.

Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Darren Clarke and David Toms will all be in the field for the $2-million PGA Tour Champions event that will be played for the fourth time. Langer, 63, is one of the most successful players in Champions Tour history with 41 victories that include three senior majors. Els, 51, is a two-time U.S. Open champion and two-time British Open champion who made his Champions Tour debut last year. He tied for 27th in last year’s Ally Challenge and won the 2020 Insperity Challenge while finishing second in four other tournaments. He is a two-time Ryder Cup captain who will be making his Ally Challenge debut.

One of Dustin Johnson’s best traits is a short memory.

The Open returned to Royal Portrush after a 68-year absence and made up for lost time with an unusual amount of theater Thursday. He was the betting favorite who as a 16-year-old stunned Irish golf with a 61 to set the course record at Royal Portrush in the North of Ireland Amateur. The throaty cheers went silent when his tee shot went left and out of bounds. Clarke turned and applauded the grandstand that filled up before his opening tee shot at 6:35 a.m., and he treated everyone else to three birdies through five holes. That belonged to Royal Portrush and the people who filled the links to see championship golf.