AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Taylor Jones scored 19 points as No. 1 seed Texas opened the women's NCAA Tournament with a 105-61 victory over No. 16 William & Mary on Saturday night.
Booker had her double-double by the end of the third quarter for the Longhorns (32-3), who advanced to a second-round matchup with No. 8 Illinois (22-9), which beat No. 9 Creighton earlier Saturday.
Texas is a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year after reaching No. 1 during the regular season for the first time since 2004 and winning a share of the Southeastern Conference championship. The All-American Booker was the league's player of the year.
Yet the early moments of their tournament were anything but smooth against a quick and spunky opponent making the most of its chance in the spotlight. William & Mary (16-19), which had never made the tournament until this year, quickly tested Texas with an up-tempo attack that had the Longhorns off balance early.
“We looked like we hadn't played in two weeks,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “We’ve had a long layoff. But I have to give them credit. That team was fearless. That’s what I want my team to be.”
The Tribe were within 23-18 at the end of the first quarter before Texas slowly and steadily enforced its will to take control.
The Longhorns' considerable size advantage with Jones and Kyla Oldacre in the post, and the 6-1 Booker on the wing, had Texas dominating rebounding and scoring in the paint. Oldacre finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
“When Taylor and Kyla are at their best, they are hard to stop. One subs out and another one comes in,” Booker said.
Bryanna Preston finished a fast break with a layup, Oldacre muscled her way over two defenders for a basket and Booker scored twice as Texas opened an 18-point lead and took control from there.
Bella Nascimento led William & Mary with 19 points.
“We came out swinging, come out fighting. We did everything we could to stay in the game,” Nascimento said.
William & Mary: The Tribe's first NCAA Tournament was short but sweet: They got a chance to taste victory with their First Four win over High Point. The Tribe was the only team in this year's tournament with a losing record, and coach Erin Dickerson Davis and her program had success to build on. After the game, the players gathered in a group hug on the court and cheered.
“We're so happy to have had this season and I'm proud of these girls,” Dickerson Davis said. “They have laid the foundation. Now we have a standard. We were fighting to get there. We have a taste of it.”
Texas: The Longhorns were uneven on both ends of the floor for long stretches, with sloppy passes early and leaving open shooters on the perimeter. Texas was never in danger of losing, but Schaefer has plenty to clean up going forward as the competition only gets better.
“We’ll need to play better,” Schaefer said. "I don't think anyone in my locker room thought we played very well, and yet we win by 40.”
Texas made just three 3-pointers but dominated scoring in the paint 56-22.
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Texas guard Rori Harmon, left, pressures William & Mary guard Bella Nascimento (5) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
HONOLULU (AP) — Brooks Koepka becomes the first LIV Golf player to return to the PGA Tour under a one-time program for elite players.
It's not a free pass back to the PGA Tour. Koepka has to make a $5 million charitable donation. He won't be able to receive PGA Tour equity grants for five years. He isn't eligible for FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026. And he can't receive sponsor exemptions into the $20 million signature events.
He plans to return in the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 29 at Torrey Pines in San Diego. He is eligible to reach the lucrative FedEx Cup postseason. He also is eligible for the Presidents Cup and for the indoor TGL circuit in Florida.
But the CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises, Brian Rolapp, said this was not a precedent and that only three other LIV Golf players were eligible to return.
Here's a rundown on Koepka's return and what it means for other players and the rest of golf.
The PGA Tour board developed a “Returning Member Program” that applies to players who have won majors or The Players Championship since 2022 and have been away from the PGA Tour for at least two years. Koepka won the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, one year after he defected to LIV Golf for what Koepka had said was a deal worth at least $100 million. Koepka had one year left on his LIV contract when he and the Saudi-backed group agreed to an amicable split. Koepka is exempt through 2028 because of his PGA Championship win.
That depends. The out-of-pocket expense is the $5 million donation to charity, which the tour will help decide. By not having access to equity grants, the tour estimates that could deprive him up to $63 million. That's based on Koepka averaging a top-30 finish the next five years, a 10-12% equity appreciation and Koepka holding his shares until age 50.
He also cannot get FedEx Cup bonus money from the $20 million pool distributed to the top 10 players after the regular season, and $23 million awarded to 50 players after the BMW Championship. But the Tour Championship is now official money, and that $40 million purse counts as official. Tommy Fleetwood earned $10 million in official money from winning the Tour Championship last year.
Bryson DeChambeau won the 2024 U.S. Open. Jon Rahm wont he 2023 Masters. Cameron Smith won the British Open and The Players Championship in 2022. They are the only other players who can return to the PGA Tour. They have until Feb. 2 to accept. That's two days before LIV Golf begins a fifth season in Saudi Arabia.
The PGA Tour did not clarify why it chose the 2022-25 window. LIV Golf began in 2022. But that rules out major champions Phil Mickelson (2021 PGA Championship), Dustin Johnson (2020 Masters), Patrick Reed (2018 Masters) and Sergio Garcia (2017 Masters).
Also ineligible to return are Joaquin Niemann, a seven-time winner on LIV Golf, and Tyrrell Hatton, who has played on the last three Ryder Cup teams for Europe.
None of those players has expressed any desire to leave LIV.
No. Rolapp described Koepka as a unique situation and made clear this would not be a precedent, rather a one-time program that applies only to elite champions. He also said there were no guarantees such a pathway would be available in the future.
Koepka is eligible for the four majors and The Players Championship (through his PGA Championship win), along with any full-field event on the schedule. He would have to qualify for the $20 million signature events through winning a tour event or through the two performance-based pathways, such as being among top 10 in the FedEx Cup not already eligible. But he cannot get a sponsor exemption to the signature events. He also is eligible for the FedEx Cup postseason if he qualifies.
If Koepka gets into a signature event, or if he qualifies for the postseason, the PGA Tour would add him to the field and take whoever would have been next in line. For example, he finishes among the top 70 to qualify for the postseason, the tour would take No. 71 in the FedEx Cup standings.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
FILE - Brooks Koepka laughs while talking with Justin Thomas, left, on the 15th fairway during a practice round at the Masters golf tournament, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
FILE - Brooks Koepka tees off on the 15th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Friday, June 13, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
