BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Joaquin Niemann closed with a 3-under 67 and made birdie on the first playoff hole against Talor Gooch to win LIV Golf Korea, the first title of the year for Niemann and his league-leading eighth career victory.
Gooch also shot 67 in a bid for his first LIV victory since Spain a year ago. Gooch and Niemann finished at 12-under 268 at Asiad Country Club in Busan, South Korea.
Bryson DeChambeau, who already has two wins this year, shot 65 and missed the playoff by one shot. Dustin Johnson (66) was another shot behind.
Jon Rahm, a runner-up at the PGA Championship two weeks ago, tied for 16th. It was his first finish outside the top 10 at LIV Golf in nearly a year.
KITZBUHEL, Austria (AP) — Kota Kaneko chipped in for birdie on the par-3 17th hole and closed with a 3-under 67 for a two-shot victory in the Austrian Alpine Open, making him the ninth Japanese player to win on the European tour.
Kaneko, who won the Order of Merit on the Japan Golf Tour last year to earn a European tour card, finished two ahead of Ricard Gouveia (69) and Davis Bryant (65). He finished at 18-under 262.
Bryant, who played at Colorado State, was tied for the lead when Kaneko holed his chip on the 17th. Bryant took bogey on the final hole.
Kaneko was a runner-up last week in the Soudal Open. The victory moved him to No. 11 in the Race to Dubai.
Shaun Norris of South Africa closed out his victory in the Mizuno Open with a 7-under 65 for a five-shot victory, earning a return to the British Open this summer. The Japan Golf Tour event offered British Open spots to the leading three players. Ryutaro Nagano (66) and Ren Yonezawa (65) tied for second to earn their places at Royal Birkdale. ... Helen Briem of Germany closed with a 4-under 67 for a seven-shot victory in the Jabra Ladies Open de France at Evian Golf Resort. It was the of victory this year on the Ladies European Tour. ... Ryan Van Velzen closed with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot victory in the Spanish Challenge on the Challenge Tour. ... Yui Kawamoto shot 4-under 68 and defeated Yuzuki Toshizawa in a playoff to win the Resort Trust Ladies Championship on the Japan LPGA. ... Minji Park rallied from a four-shot deficit with an 8-under 64 to win the Suhyup Bank MBN Ladies Open on the Korea LPGA.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Joaquin Niemann, of Chile, hits from the second fairway during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A big smile filled Rod Brind'Amour's face after he and the Carolina Hurricanes finally reached the Stanley Cup Final, busting through the roadblock that stopped them so many times in his first eight seasons as coach.
“Oh really? That’s surprising,” captain Jordan Staal said. “Just kidding.”
Across the country hours earlier, John Tortorella refused to answer a question about what he was like 22 years ago when he coached Tampa Bay to the Cup. The following day, he was in no mood to compare himself to Brind'Amour.
“No nostalgia, and I’m not talking about the other team,” Tortorella said.
Gruff in that setting, Tortorella is more understanding with Vegas Golden Knights players as their coach, and while he and Brind'Amour differ in age and experience levels, their similarities run far deeper. They are demanding and believe in a lot of the old-school elements of hockey that lead to success in the playoffs.
“John Tortorella, you have to block shots: If you’re not blocking the shot, you will not play,” said Mike Rupp, who played for Tortorella with the New York Rangers from 2011-13. “He doesn’t care who you are. You will not play. It’s the first thing he’ll tell you. I guarantee that the first thing Torts said is ‘You will block shots.’ I’m sure Rod would say the same thing.”
Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin has been around for Brind'Amour's entire tenure and won Olympic gold with Tortorella on the U.S. coaching staff. That experience gave him a small glimpse of why players he talks to rave about Tortorella.
“Torts was an assistant coach there, so he was fairly quiet, so I don’t know his fully coaching style,” Slavin said Sunday. “But I do know he’s passionate about the game. He loves his players.”
Two decades ago, Brind'Amour captained Carolina to the Stanley Cup. He played there four more seasons before hanging up his skates in 2010 and worked seven years as an assistant before getting promoted to head coach in 2018.
The Hurricanes have made the playoffs all eight seasons with Brind'Amour in charge and won at least a round every time. This is the furthest they've gotten since the '06 Cup run.
“Roddy’s been unbelievable,” Staal said. “Talk about a guy that will never give up and will always stay with it. It’s been such a pleasure to play in front of him.”
It is not always a pleasure to play Brind'Amour's style, which relies on being relentless, predictable and pressuring opponents. Not everyone fits the mold, which resembles the way the now 55-year-old conducted himself on the ice over 1,600 NHL games as a two-way center with faceoff prowess.
“Carolina plays to Rod Brind’Amour’s identity,” said retired goaltender Cory Schneider, who like Rupp is now at NHL Network. “He’s got their attention. It’s easy to tune a guy out. Playing that way is not fun all the time. It’s not easy. And these guys still do it for him, so I think that’s a great sign that his message isn’t growing stale and that they still buy in to what he’s preaching.”
Tortorella is 67 and running a bench for a sixth NHL team. He is only two months into coaching the Golden Knights after the abrupt firing of Bruce Cassidy in late March.
They reeled off seven of eight wins to finish the regular season, with players saying Tortorella helped get their swagger back. Tortorella is enjoying working under general manager Kelly McCrimmon and for owner Bill Foley.
“How lucky am I?” Tortorella said. “Came to know the players better now, found a way to get through the three rounds and now playing for the Stanley Cup, just, I shake myself sometime. I’ve certainly pinched myself. When I wasn’t coaching when the season started to what the second half of the year has brought, I can’t thank the people enough that has given me an opportunity.”
Ray Ferraro, now an ESPN analyst after playing more than 1,300 games from 1984-2002, likened Tortorella's evolution to parenting. Tortorella has adapted to modern players and what they need.
“I don’t know why anybody would think John would coach the same way as he did in Tampa,” Ferraro said. "The players today, the younger people want to know why. They just told us, ‘Go stand there,’ and you’d be like, ‘I don’t even really know what I’m doing here.’ But that’s what you would do because that’s what you were told. And now there’s so much more detail in the way that the game is coached, and part of that detail is the why.”
AP Sports Writers Mark Anderson in Las Vegas and Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour speaks at a new conference following Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Vegas Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella looks on during the first period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
FILE - This photo combination shows Vegas Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella, left, April 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City and Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour in Raleigh, N.C., May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak, Karl DeBlaker, file)
