The Sportsletter - Just Getting Started 👀

BY JEFF YODER & MARISSA KASCH

AUG. 19, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

It’s a little bit of everything in today’s weekend rewind as we speed toward fall sports. Golf playoffs are getting tight. Caitlin Clark is back to wrecking records. MLB Players' Weekend didn’t disappoint. And there’s plenty to unpack from Week 2 of the NFL Preseason.

Stay tuned this week as we dive deeper into NFL roster outlooks and MLB pennant races. The loaded fall sports schedule is just getting started...

Letter Rip!

GOLF

Hideki's Recovery Round ⛳️

Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Hideki Matsuyama (-17) Hangs On to Win FedEx St. Jude Championship After Cruel Olympics Finish (By Marissa Kasch)

Hideki Matsuyama (-17) secured this weekend’s St. Jude Championship –- the first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He entered Sunday with a comfortable five-stroke lead, but it quickly evaporated after a double bogey on Hole 15. Viktor Hovland (4-under) and Xander Schauffle (7-under) put the pressure on in the final round, but back-to-back round-ending birdies helped Hideki save the win. It was just two weeks ago when the 32-year-old Japanese golfer lost his gold medal hold at the Olympics to Scottie Scheffler and finished third for bronze. A little redemption moment here? Round 1 (of 3) in the FedEx Cup Playoffs belongs to Hideki.

St. Jude Championship Leaderboard

1. H. Matsuyama (-17)

T2. X. Schauffele (-15)

T2. V. Hovland (-15)

4. S. Scheffler (-14)

T5. S. Burns (-13)

T5. N. Dunlap (-13)

Other Notable Scorecards: W. Clark (-12), B. Horschel (-10), P. Cantlay (-9), W. Zalatoris (-9), T. Finau (-8), C. Morikawa (-6), J. Day (-6), T. Fleetwood (-6), J. Rose (-6), R. Henley (-6), J. Thomas (-5), L. Aberg (-3), J. Spieth (+9), R. McIlroy (+9)

Watch: St. Jude Championship Final Round Highlights

FedEx Cup Point Standings

Matsuyama originally entered the FedEx Cup standings in eighth place with 1,899 points. Now, he sits in third after earning 2,000 points this weekend. Scheffler and Schauffele still hold a sizable lead while Hovland made a big move to earn his spot in next weekend's BMW Championship. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, finished 9-over and fell significantly.

FedEx Cup Playoff Standings

1. S. Scheffler (6,532 pts) —

2. X. Schauffele (5,037 pts) —

3. H. Matsuyama (3,898 pts) ↑5

4. C. Morikawa (2,595 pts) —

5. R. McIlroy (2,558 pts) ↓2

PGA: Jordan Spieth's Season Ends at FedEx St. Jude Championship, Plans Surgery on Left Wrist

B/R: FedEx Cup Standings 2024: Points, Playoff Standings After St. Jude Championship

WNBA

She's Just Getting Started 👀

Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images

Caitlin Clark Explodes After 3-Week Olympic Rest & Shatters WNBA Rookie Assist Record

The WNBA season is back, and my goodness, so is Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever star jumped from the NCAA to the pros with less than a month to acclimate to her new teammates back in April. Now, following the Olympic hiatus and a much-needed break, she’s downright scary. Clark went nuclear in two games over the weekend, tallying 29 points in a win over Phoenix and 23 points in a win over Seattle. She also dropped 19 assists across both games to break the WNBA rookie assist record (232 assists), shattering a 26-year-old mark (224) set in 1998 with 12 games left. At her current average of 8.3 assists per game, she’s on pace to nab the all-time single-season assist mark (316). She also picked up another tech this weekend, but we remember what she said to her coach after getting snubbed for the Olympic team: "They created a monster."

Watch: Caitlin Clark Breaks WNBA Rookie Single-Season Assist Record

Other WNBA Highlights

Angel Reese Notches Season-High 20 Rebounds

League-Best 20th Double-Double of the Season

Liberty 1st Team to Earn WNBA Playoff Bid

New York Beat the Aces (79-67)

MLB

Walk Offs For The Kids!

Photo: Daniel Shirey / Getty Images

Tigers Walk Off Yankees (3-2, 10 Innings) in Little League Classic to Cap Wild Day of Walk-Offs

In case you didn’t know, the 2024 Little League World Series is rocking in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The tournament is halfway over, but Sunday featured the annual Little League Classic — a big league showcase in front of the little sluggers — to cap off a full “Players Weekend” across MLB. The Tigers beat the Yankees in a fun one. It was 1-0 in favor of New York until the Tigers knotted it up in the bottom of the ninth on Jace Jung’s two-out RBI single. Both teams scored in the 10th inning before Parker Meadows slapped a walk-off single for the Tigers (3-2). The stands at Bowman field were full of youth baseball stars from around the world, and they witnessed a thrilling finish. Detroit’s ace Tarik Skubal added to his incredible season with a six-inning gem, as well. But that was just one in a wild day of walk-offs and dramatic finishes across baseball.

Watch: Tigers Top Yankees in Little League Classic (3-2, 10 Innings) via Parker Meadows’ Walk-Off

More MLB Walk-Offs & Wild Endings

NFL

Preseason Week 2 Notebook

Photo: Jamie Schwaberow / Getty Images

Rookie QBs Impress as Depth Charts Start to Take Shape Before Roster Cuts

Week 2 of the preseason was another taste test in the NFL’s August appetizer. We’re less than ten days from the 53-man roster cuts, and only two weeks away from real football. So what did we see this weekend? Well, just some more rookies stealing the spotlight — looking at you, Bo Nix — and a new starter in the desert — Minshew Mania returns! Let’s go bullet points before tomorrow’s breakdown of all the rookie QBs so far in the preseason.

Preseason Week 2 Notebook