Today’s the last day of school for my kids. Which is … kind of a mixed bag, honestly.
Luckily our amigo, Ken Sugiura, is here to keep us focused on what really matters: Sports.
(P.S., they just announced the time this year’s edition of Clean Old-Fashioned Hate.)
Quick links: Braves doubleheader on deck | United wins again | Private schools claim fewer titles
ON THE COURSE WITH KEN
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Every Thursday, Sports Daily invites AJC columnist Ken Sugiura to formally join the party. This week he’s writing about the U.S. Women’s Open, the Braves and Falcons kickers.
Take it away, Ken.
The U.S. Women’s Open began this morning in Erin, Wisconsin, with (as best I can tell) one Atlantan in the field. Amanda Doherty is in her fourth year on the LPGA Tour and playing in her third U.S. Open.
Doherty, a graduate of The Galloway School and Florida State, is 135th on the money list this season, having made three cuts in five starts.
With help, I was able to procure these very important answers from Doherty earlier this week.
⛳ What would be a successful tournament for her:
“There’s stuff I’ve been working on on my game, so I’m really trying to stick to my game plan and stick to my physical course game plan and kind of mental game plan. If I can stick to that, that’s always a win in my book, regardless of the outcome. But, obviously love to be playing the weekend and finishing as high as I possibly can would be awesome.”
⛳ What makes the U.S. Open a special event:
“I think the USGA does a good job. They run a really good event. It’s just that it’s my country’s national open; it’s kind of special. Personally, I think it’s probably the biggest event in the women’s game.”
⛳ What’s in her bag besides her clubs:
“Always snacks. I’ve got to eat every few holes so I don’t get hangry out on the golf course. Snacks, I’ve got putting drills, putting mats, always extra gloves — stuff like that.”
⛳ Favorite courses to play in the Atlanta area:
“I grew up playing Country Club of Roswell, so I always love to play there, and now I’m a member of Golf Club of Georgia and love going out there to play, too.”
⛳ Favorite Atlanta athlete:
“I love going to baseball games, so I was definitely a big Freddie Freeman fan before he left us for the Dodgers. Now I’m sad.”
⛳ What her thought is going to be on the first tee Thursday:
“Always excited to play every week; especially excited to be playing the U.S. Open. So just trying to really enjoy the week and stick to the game plan.”
Bonus golf link: Could East Lake lose the Tour Championship?
BRAVES CALCULUS
Credit: Matt Slocum/AP
Credit: Matt Slocum/AP
More from Ken:
I was planning on using this for a column when I went to Truist Park for the second game of the series against the Padres. But I decided to hold off, and then Justin Toscano wrote something similar to what I was planning on, so I wrote what I did about Orlando Arcia’s release instead.
Anyway, the gist of it was that, while there are still more than 100 games left in the regular season, in a way time is already fleeting and each loss is increasingly costly.
The math accentuates this point.
📈 So, the Braves are 25-28 before today’s doubleheader in Philadelphia. Probably, just to make the playoffs in what looks like a competitive National League, they’re going to need to get 90 wins. That means finishing 65-44 over the final 109 games.
Let’s say they play .500 on the road for the rest of the year, which would be a considerable improvement in play. They’re 9-19 away from Truist Park, with series losses to Pittsburgh (21-36) and Washington (25-30). If they complete the remaining 55-game road schedule at 27-26, they’ll finish 36-45 on the road.
📈 That means to get to 90 wins, they would need to win 38 of their remaining 56 games at Truist for a 54-27 home record.
For the sake of context, the 2023 Braves — the team that tied the MLB record for home runs in a season — were 52-29 at home.
So if the Braves break even the rest of the way on the road, to get to 90 wins they have to be better at home than a team with a historically productive offense.
You can play with the home/road numbers, but the reality is still the same. It’s not going to be easy, and each loss, either an individual game or a series, increases the degree of difficulty.
Game 1 of the Braves’ doubleheader starts at 1:05 p.m. — and Phillies star Bryce Harper isn’t in the lineup. Game 2 is at 6:45 p.m.
KOO STILL KICKING
Ken continued:
Among the many disappointments of the Falcons’ 2024 season, you may remember the downward turn of kicker Younghoe Koo, who was 25-for-34 (73.5%) before going on injured reserve with a hip injury. He made just 10 of his last 17 tries, including the forgettable 1-for-4 in the 20-17 road loss at New Orleans.
Koo had made 89.9% of his field-goal tries in his first five seasons with the Falcons before last year.
At the Falcons’ OTAs this week, Koo said he was healthy after resting the injury.
“I’m right where I want to be, if not further along, so I’m happy with that,” he said.
Koo has become a fixture, and his spot would seem relatively safe, as he has two years (including 2025) on his contract and an extended record of success.
But the team did sign kicker Lenny Krieg based off his performance at the combine, and you’d have to think Koo’s margin for error will be tighter this preseason than it has been. Krieg is from Germany and previously played in the European League of Football.
August is still a ways off, but it will bear watching when training camp gets here.
Thanks, Ken. Y’all make sure to keep tabs on all his columns — and keep reading for more newsletter goodness.
TWO’S A STREAK, BOYS
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
How do you keep momentum going after winning your first match in nearly two months? Scoring a pair of late goals to top pseudo-rival Orlando City 3-2 works.
Bartosz Slisz tied things up in the 83rd minute before Jamal Thiare added the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time — and just like that, Atlanta United’s on a bit of a roll.
Manager Ronny Deila’s white T-shirt is 2-0, too.
“We kept believing, and in the second half we are so dominant that in the end, they couldn’t cope with it,” Deila said. “This is a team that I’m proud of, that we want to look like.”
QUICK HITS
😲 Georgia private schools won about half as many state titles as usual in 2024-25, thanks to the GHSA’s new classification model. Guess who doesn’t love it?
🤔 Cam Newton, the Atlanta native and former Carolina Panthers star, opened a new content creation studio in South Fulton. His podcast and other stuff tape there.
🤤 A new barbecue joint is slated to join the growing roster of restaurants in south Downtown, not far from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We’ll have to wait until 2026 though.
IS THE RING THE THING?
Yesterday we talked about Georgia Tech football evidently commissioning championship-style rings to commemorate their 7-6 season. I asked the Jacket fans among us for feedback — and they delivered.
Here’s a sampling:
💍 From Tim, who doesn’t get it: “I’m a diehard Tech fan, but I’m with you — I don’t understand what this ring is supposed to represent. Certainly, no one is satisfied with the 7-6 record last year and no one deserves a ring just for participation.”
💍 From a different, more positive Tim: “I love it! If you worked hard and had positive results, then reward those who made it happen. It’s a deserving reward.”
💍 From Jim, an alum who says he played in the Rudy game: “Brent (Key) doesn’t coddle these kids or engage in much frivolity … so I am thinking he has gotten feedback from his team leaders that a little bling would be well received.”
A few other folks whose names did not rhyme hated the idea.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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