cson in a corresponding move. Quentin also missed Thursdays game after the birth of his son, but he is expected back with the team on Saturday. RHP Thad Weber was des

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- The Olympics has thrown another wrinkle into the golf schedule, this one affecting the American team for the Ryder Cup.The PGA Championship typically is the final event to earn one of the eight automatic qualifying spots, and then Davis Love III would have four captains picks leading up to the Ryder Cup matches that start Sept. 30 at Hazeltine.Because the PGA has been moved to the end of July ahead of the Olympics, qualifying for the Americans wont end until Aug. 28 after The Barclays.Love is looking beyond standings because of the Olympics.For example, Rickie Fowler has slipped to No. 10 in the standings. He is going to Rio de Janeiro, taking him out of at least two tournaments (Travelers Championship and John Deere Classic) that others behind him in the standings might not play.Bubba Watson (No. 7 in the standings) is playing next week at the Travelers Championship as the defending champion. However, Matt Kuchar (No. 8) and Patrick Reed (No. 11) will be in Rio for the Olympics.I think the assistant captains and I are going to be challenged, because we have so many factors like the Olympics that we havent really dealt with before, Love said. Rickie just told me hes going to be down there for 11 days. You have to factor in that theres two weeks he could have played here.Its more than just the Olympics.Brooks Koepka was at No. 3 until an ankle injury knocked him out of a lucrative World Golf Championship and the British Open, where money counts double toward the Ryder Cup standings. Koepka now is at No. 9, and his ankle is not at full strength.Daniel Berger, who won in Memphis a week before the U.S. Open, withdrew from the WGC event at Firestone and The Open with a shoulder injury. He is at No. 16.Love said he is keeping an unofficial points list in his head among those who are playing well, but either dont have enough tournaments because of injury (Jim Furyk, for example) or might be missing events because of the Olympics.We know who is playing well and who is not playing well, Love said. And we know who our team wants as their teammates or their partners. We have a longer list maybe than you would think.Love could get a little more clarity this week, anyway. The PGA Championship also is worth double points.---NO SMOKING: A week into making good on a bet, the caddie of Henrik Stenson was starting to struggle.Gareth Lord had a friend in Florida who told him he should quit smoking, and the conversation led to a bet: If Stenson wins a major, Lord stops smoking.And then Stenson won the British Open, closing with a 63 for a three-shot victory at Royal Troon.Stenson could tell his caddie was struggling when Lord jokingly told him on more than one occasion, I wish Phil had shot 59.Tuesday morning on the range as the story was going around, someone did some quick math and realized Lord should be on his ninth day of no smoking, not seventh day.I had so much to drink, the first two days didnt count, Lord replied.---LONG DRIVE: Rory McIlroy thought he had his first victory of the week before the PGA Championship even started.For the third straight year, the PGA of America staged its Long Drive Championship, this time on the first hole at Baltusrol. Jordan Spieth was the early leader at 314 yards, but that was before McIlroy hammered one 345 yards.I hit one out there pretty good this morning, McIlroy said Tuesday. Not going to lie to you, Ive been checking the board since to see if anyones got up close to me. I saw Gary Woodland on the putting green just as he was going out, and I said, `Thats one of the guys Im worried about. I thought he could maybe get it out there by me. But thankfully, he missed the fairway.I dont know if Im still on top, but I hope so by the end of the day.By the end of his news conference, he received the bad news -- Byeong Hun An ripped one 347 yards, and that was the winner.An received a gold money clip, while McIlroy had to settle for the silver and Nicolas Colsaerts (341 yards) received a bronze clip.---RUN OF THE LINKS: The Irish Open is moving to July next year, making it three straight weeks of links golf through the British Open.The European Tour said Tuesday that the Irish Open will be played at Portstewart Golf Club on July 6-9. Thats the week before the Scottish Open at Dundonald Links on the Ayrshire coast, followed by The Open at Royal Birkdale.It will be the first time Portstewart, which dates to 1894, hosts a European Tour event.To get that date right before the Scottish is huge, said Rory McIlroy, the tournament host. To play a round of links golf leading into the Open, hopefully we can attract some marquee names to come over and play. With it being at the start of July, hopefully -- fingers crossed -- we can get some decent weather.---DINNER PRANK: The late Sam Snead was famous for being tight with his money, as former PGA champion Bobby Nichols once discovered.The PGA Championship has been hosting a champions dinner since 1965, and Nichols was the first host as the defending champion. Nichols wanted to know who was picking up the tab, and he was told it would be taken care of by the PGA of America.And that allows Nichols to play a prank.At the end of the meal, I said that we needed to collect from each champion beginning in 1942 to help pay the tab, Nichols told the PGAs website. Before I could say the year, Sam Snead ... was headed for the door. We had to all call Sam back, letting him know that we were just teasing.Snead won the first of his three PGAs in 1942.---DIVOTS: Bubba Watson was home long enough between majors to open a candy store in Pensacola, Florida. Its called Bubbas Sweet Spot, offering up fudge, ice cream and a variety of candy. Who doesnt like candy and fudge and ice cream? Watson said. So Im spending the most money in there. ... Bill Calfee, president of the Web.com Tour the past 10 years, has decided to retire after this year. Calfee played on the PGA Tour from 1976-85 and has worked at the tour in various roles since 1991. ... Jhonattan Vegas at the RBC Canadian Open became the second player this year to make birdie on the final three holes and win. The other was Jordan Spieth at Colonial. ... The PGA Championship said it has sold out of all tickets for competition rounds at Baltusrol. ... Karen Stupples played her first professional tournament at Woburn Golf Club, making the cut as an amateur in the Womens British Open. She returns 20 years later as a Golf Channel analyst.---STAT OF THE WEEK: Sixteen of the past 20 winners at the PGA Championship played in the final group, the most of any major during that span.---FINAL WORD: Any time you enter a tournament with the results in mind, you never play your best. -- Phil Mickelson. Walt Hazzard Jersey . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Derrick McKey Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. https://www.supersonicsjerseys.com/990s-slick-watts-jersey-supersonics.html . LOUIS -- St. Jack Sikma Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. Rod Thorn Jersey . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year.SAN DIEGO -- Chad Tracy has two hits in 18 days. The last one cleared the veterans troubled mind. The pinch hitter slammed a game-winning home run in the 10th inning to give the Washington Nationals a 6-5 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night. Tracys heroics at Petco Park negated a blown save by Nationals closer Rafael Soriano, who gave up two runs with two outs in the ninth. It made a quality start from Gio Gonzalez and a two-home-run night from first baseman Adam LaRoche stand up, and reclaim a victory that seemed so certain early on. "That one added a few grey hairs," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "It seemed like we had that one sewn up neat and it got away from us there at the end. Im happy the way it turned out and happy that Chad was able to get the job done." Tracy has owned the Padres as a pinch hitter. His seventh career pinch-hit home run was his fifth against the Padres and his third straight. Tracy is still hitting .162, but the home run did wonders for his mentality. "We were all fired up, myself included," Tracy said. "As a pinch hitter going through some struggles, you stay up at night in the hotel, thinking about them until youre next at-bat. The frustration builds and builds, and finally you just have to let it all go. Typically, thats when things can turn around." Things have certainly turned around for LaRoche. The first baseman extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a three-run shot 431 feet to deep centre in the fourth and hit his second 403 feet in the sixth inning. LaRoches second blast followed Ryan Zimmermans home run, which just cleared the right-field wall. It was LaRoches 21st multi-homer game, his second this season and a sign that his early season slump is over. LaRoche hit .189 over his first 25 games, but has batted .396 during his hitting streak, which includes four home runs, two doubles and 11 RBIs. "Adams issues have been dispelled," Johnson said. "He had a great night tonight, but hes been on fire for a couple weeks now. Its been impressive to watch him hit like his able to." Tracys home run came off Padres closer Huston Street (0-3), who has allowed six home runs in 17 1-3 innings. He gave up two in 39 innings last season. "With Huston or any pitcher, if you get a ball up in the strike zone, he has a chance to get hit," Padres manager Bud Black said. "If they square it up, it has a chance to leave the ball park. Has it happpened to Huston a few times? Yes.dddddddddddd. Am I concerned? No." The Padres tied the game with three straight singles. Chase Headleys RBI made it 5-4 and Yonder Alonso pushed him to third with another single. Kyle Blanks evened the score with another single, which sent the game into extra innings. It was Sorianos second blown save in 14 chances, although an error by Zimmerman made both ninth-inning runs unearned. Drew Storen got his first save of the season in the 10th. The Nationals took advantage of Padres right-hander Burch Smith, making his second professional start. The 23-year-old gave up five runs on six hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out eight and walked just one, but three home runs got him in trouble. It was still an improvement over his professional debut. Smith gave up six runs on five hits in one-plus innings in a no-decision at Tampa Bay on May 11. He pitched a perfect first, but couldnt get an out in the second and left the game with five runs in and the bases loaded. Gonzalez got better as the game went on, and allowed three runs - two earned - in 6 2-3 innings. Gonzalez walked three - two in the first inning - struck out five, and retired 10 straight at one point. Gonzalez hasnt exceeded two earned runs in three straight starts and six of nine this season. "I was able to make some in-game adjustments and get back on track," Gonzalez said. "Its always good when you can do that. Its also good when things go wrong in a game and the team can rally together and still get the win." NOTES: Washington LHP Ross Detwiler was diagnosed with an oblique strain and will miss at least one start. He was injured a start Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers and had an MRI on the injury on Thursday. . Johnson said OF Jayson Werth is still experiencing hamstring tightness and that he may not come off the 15-day disabled list when eligible on Saturday. . The Padres placed OF Carlos Quentin on paternity leave Friday and promoted RHP Tim Stauffer from Triple-A Tucson in a corresponding move. Quentin also missed Thursdays game after the birth of his son, but he is expected back with the team on Saturday. RHP Thad Weber was designated for assignment to create room for Stauffer on the 40-man roster. . RHP Clayton Richard, on the 15-day disabled list with a stomach virus, allowed one run in six innings of a rehab start with Triple-A Tucson. Richard is expected to make one more start before returning to the Padres rotation. ' ' '