British Open begins Thursday
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England, July 18 (UPI) -- The oldest golf tournament in the world begins Thursday with a series of streaks in progress at the sport's major championships.
The first British Open was played a year prior to the start of the American Civil War and the tournament continues as one of the most anticipated weeks of the worldwide sporting calendar.
Barry Lane will strike the first ball of the event at 6:30 a.m. local time and 155 more of the best players in golf will follow him around the Royal Lytham & St. Annes links.
Tiger Woods, needing four major championship titles to equal the all-time record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus, will be trying for his first since he captured the U.S. Open in 2008.
A wide-open competition is expected, with all the usual candidates lined up in hopes of claiming the claret jug trophy that goes to the winner.
Woods has won three times on the PGA Tour this year, the only player to have done so, and has climbed to No. 4 in the world rankings.
Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood rank above Woods -- and all have to be considered among the top contenders.
Behind Woods in the rankings are newly crowned U.S. Open winner Webb Simpson, Masters champ Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan.
They make up just a small number of those who could contend.
If there is a first-time major winner this week, it will not be a surprise. Beginning with Graeme McDowell's victory at the 2010 U.S. Open, there have been nine consecutive first-time major champions.
McDowell's win was followed by those of Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel, McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Keegan Bradley, Watson and Simpson.
The last 15 major events have been won by 15 different players, beginning with Padraig Harrington at the 2008 PGA Championship.
The last three majors were won by three different Americans. That had not happened since Jim Furyk, Ben Curtis, Shawn Micheel and Phil Mickelson won four straight major tournaments beginning with the 2003 U.S. Open.
The weather can play a big role in determining who and who will not be a factor in the tournament.
Royal Lytham & St. Annes has been left with heavy rough created by one of the wettest springs on record and forecasters said there was a good chance of rain for the first round Thursday.
The potential for showers is expected to steadily diminish as the weekend continues.
Milestone homer wins it for A's
OAKLAND, Calif., July 18 (UPI) -- Brandon Hicks' first major league homer, in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday, sent the Oakland Athletics to a 4-3 win over Texas.
The A's erased a 3-1 deficit in the seventh on a two-run double by Josh Reddick, and then went on to win it in the ninth when Hicks -- who had come into the game as a pinch-runner -- blasted a pitch from Michael Kirkman (0-1) into the right-center field seats.
The game-ending homer gave the A's their ninth walk-off win of season, the most in the majors, and allowed them to split the two-game series.
The clout made a winner of Ryan Cook (3-2), who blanked the Rangers in the top of the ninth despite allowing a single and a walk.
Brandon Inge went 2-for-4 with a solo homer for the A's, who improved to 10-2 in July.
Michael Young, Nelson Cruz and Craig Gentry drove in runs for American League West-leading Texas.
Voeckler climbs way to Tour stage win
BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, France, July 18 (UPI) -- Thomas Voeckler conquered each mountain climb Wednesday and rolled to the victory of the 16th stage of the 2012 Tour de France.
It was Voeckler's second stage win this year and fourth overall. He pulled away in the final climb up Col de Peyresourde and cruised down the mountain for the final 9 miles overcoming the field and temperatures that soared into the 90s Fahrenheit.
The route included two uncharacterized climbs and a pair of Category 1 climbs. It was during the final climb that Voeckler separated himself from the other riders but he was first to reach the summit of each of the four climbs Wednesday.
He completed the 122.4-mile run from Pau through the Pyrenees to Bagneres-de-Luchon in 5 hours, 35 minutes, 1 second. Chris Anker Sorensen finished second, 1 minute, 40 seconds behind Voeckler and Gorka Izaguirre and Alexandre Vinokourov were both timed 3:22 back of Voeckler in finishing third and fourth, respectively.
The top riders in the overall classification rode much of Wednesday as a three-man group and crossed in the Top 10 for the stage. That left overall leader Bradley Wiggins with a 2 minute, 5 second-lead over Christopher Froome with Vincenzo Nibali in third, 2:23 off the pace.
Thursday's Stage 17 begins at Bagneres-de-Luchon and concludes at the ski resort of Peyragudes. The riders must cover 89.2 miles in the mountains.
The route involves two Category 1 climbs -- the second right at the race's end -- and one uncharacterized climb about two-thirds of the way through the stage. The final climb covers 9.5 miles at a 5.1 percent grade to the finish line.
Pitt to leave Big East a year early
PITTSBURGH, July 18 (UPI) -- The University of Pittsburgh will be able to leave the Big East Conference next year rather than in 2014 under an agreement reached Wednesday.
Pitt Athletic Director Steve Pederson said the school and the league have agreed to waive a 27-month notification period for departure enforced under Big East bylaws, thus allowing Pitt to join the Atlantic Coast Conference a year early.
"We have appreciated and enjoyed our membership in the Big East and wish them much success in the future," Pederson said. "We are anxious to compete in our final season in the Big East and look forward to an exciting future in the Atlantic Coast Conference."
Syracuse this week worked out a deal to leave the Big East early in exchange for a cash payment of $7.5 million to the conference.
In a major reshuffling, the Big East will regain Temple in football this fall, with the Owls becoming a full conference member for 2013-14, while Boise State and San Diego State were added as football-only members.
Memphis, Central Florida, Houston and Southern Methodist will join in all sports starting in 2013-14, while Navy will join for football in 2015.
