NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — The final minutes of the John Deere Classic brought yet another reminder how every shot matters, and how it can affect more than one player.
Ben Kohles was tied for the lead with Chris Gotterup when he hit 8-iron into the water on the 18th hole. His penalty drop, and then a free drop from a sprinkler head, gave him a 45-foot par putt from the fringe to force a playoff.
He missed wide right and it rolled out 2 feet, 8 inches away. The short bogey putt turned into a stunning miss, and Kohles took double bogey.
Instead of a two-way tie for second with Max Homa, he fell into a three-way tie for third.
It was costly for Kohles. Not only was it a difference of $318,200 in earnings, it cost him 100 FedEx Cup points. Make the putt and Kohles would be at No. 83. The miss moved him to No. 100.
But it did wonders for Homa.
The runner-up finish allowed him to move from No. 112 to No. 73 in the world ranking. Had Kohles made that short putt, Homa in a two-way tie for second would have moved to No. 84 in the world.
The British Open used this week's ranking to fill the field. Homa was notified Monday morning that he had a spot for Royal Birkdale next week. Had Kohles made the putt, Homa would have been the fifth alternate and unlikely to get in.
Aldrich Potgieter will be competing at Royal Birkdale next week. He's just not sure if he's in the field for the British Open yet.
The R&A has filled the field by taking 15 players from the most recent Official World Golf Ranking and notified those players on Monday. That makes Potgieter at No. 77 the first alternate.
He has two ways to get in. The leading three players from the Scottish Open not already eligible will earn tee times at Royal Birkdale. Then, there is a “Last Chance Qualifier” Monday at Birkdale.
The 12-man field will include the top two reserves — Potgieter and Matti Schmid. If they did not play, they would have lost their alternate status. If they don't win the qualifier, they remain the top two alternates.
Even if Potgieter doesn't get it done at the Scottish Open or the Last Chance Qualifier, there's still a chance. Sam Burns is home because his wife is due to give birth to their second child. Burns has yet to withdraw from the Open, and there's a chance he could still play.
Being first alternate comes with the possibility of a really long day, which Sam Stevens knows all too well. He was first alternate a year ago and didn't get in. The first tee time typically is 6:35 a.m., and the last group goes off at 4:16 p.m. That's nearly 10 hours of waiting, and a long flight home.
Patrick Reed faces a big stretch of golf the next two weeks at the Scottish Open and the British Open as he tries to become the second American to win the Race to Dubai on the European tour.
Reed, who left LIV Golf before its season started this year, had a three-week stretch in the Middle East when he won twice and lost in a playoff. By being devoted to a full European tour schedule, he still has a lead in the Race to Dubai over Masters champion Rory McIlroy.
The tour takes a three-week break after the British Open, and it won't be long before Reed would be eligible to play PGA Tour events again — his one-year ban from LIV Golf ends in September.
But he indicated he would be more interested in European tour events in the fall, such as the BMW PGA Championship, French Open and Dunhill Links, then some of the PGA Tour's fall events. At stake is the Race to Dubai and his loyalty since becoming a lifetime honorary member.
“I don't want to turn my back on it now,” Reed said.
He is virtually a lock to get one of the 10 PGA Tour cards based on the Race to Dubai standings. Reed said the only upside to a PGA Tour fall event would be a two-year exemption if he were to win.
The last two weeks have brought European victories for the Chacarra family.
Eugenio Chacarra, the No. 2 amateur in the world when he left Oklahoma State for LIV Golf, won the Italian Open for his second straight European tour victory as he tries to lock up a PGA Tour card through the Race to Dubai.
One week later, Carolina Chacarra won her first professional title since graduating from Wake Forest. She closed with a 68 for a three-shot victory in the Hulencourt Women’s Open on the Ladies European Tour.
The victory gave Chacarra, also a rookie on the LPGA Tour, a spot in the Women's Scottish Open and the Women's British Open. That two-week swing follows next week's British Open, where big brother earned a spot from his Italian Open victory.
"It’s been a great few weeks,” Carolina Chacarra said. “Life is treating us amazing. My brother is my inspiration and to see him win gave me lots of momentum to keep going and try to win myself. I’m very happy. I’m super excited for the next month. It definitely changes my calendar, but it’s always great to play a major. I’m very excited and can’t wait to be there.”
Max Homa and Sam Bairstow are the only players at the ISCO Championship in Kentucky who are in the British Open next week in England. Bairstow made it through a 36-hole qualifier and then played the BMW International Open in Germany last week. One reason for Bairstow to fly back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean? He is No. 119 in the Race to Dubai on the European tour, which co-sanctions the PGA Tour event in Kentucky. ... Yana Wilson has withdrawn from the Evian Championship this week because of what Golfweek reported to be an illness. The 19-year-old LPGA rookie won the team event this year in Michigan. ... The First Tee is starting a chapter in Scotland for the first time. The First Tee is collaborating with the Stephen Gallacher Foundation on a new facility being located at The Renaissance Club, site of the Scottish Open. ... Nine players have turned down playing in the Scottish Open, which offers three spots in the British Open, to play the ISCO Championship in Kentucky. That includes William Mouw, who won the Kentucky event last year.
Chris Gotterup has won all three of his PGA Tour titles this year with a final round of 64 or lower. He shot 64 in the John Deere Classic and WM Phoenix Open, and 62 in the Sony Open.
“We choose to do this. If you want to do it at the highest level, you choose to have failure, heartbreak, and on the other side you get so much more reward from the good, and that risk is worth it to me.” — Jordan Spieth.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Chris Gotterup holds the trophy after winning the John Deere Classic golf tournament, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Silvis, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Ben Kohles putts on the ninth hole during the final round of the John Deere Classic golf tournament, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Silvis, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Max Homa lines up a putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the John Deere Classic golf tournament, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Silvis, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
NEW YORK (AP) — After decades of reliable bipartisan backing for Israel, a new AP-NORC poll reveals a dramatic erosion of support for the longtime U.S. ally, with rising opposition from Democrats and signs of division among Republicans.
The survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research arrives at a moment when a once-consensus foreign policy issue is increasingly polarizing Americans along partisan and generational lines, driven by criticism for Israel's conduct nearly three years after the outbreak of its latest war with Hamas in Gaza.
About one-third of U.S. adults — including roughly half of Democrats — believe that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza, an accusation that’s been leveled by some human rights organizations and vehemently denied by Israel and the U.S. government. About 2 in 10 Americans say Israel has not and the rest, about half, don’t know enough to say.
A similar share, 30%, of Jewish adults say Israel has committed genocide, although about half, 49%, say it has not.
Harold Kalmus, a 69-year-old Democrat from Arden, Delaware who describes himself as Jewish by birth, said he remembers being proud of Israel when he was younger. Not anymore.
“I realize that there is a threat from Hamas. And I realize they’re in a very difficult situation, but what they have done is just an unspeakable horror,” he said of Israel’s military action against the Palestinians. “They’re trying to wipe out a civilization as far as I’m concerned.”
The findings show sharply eroded views of Israel in the U.S., nearly three years after Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which left 1,200 people dead in Israel, mainly civilians, while 251 hostages were taken back to Gaza. More than 73,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilian and militant deaths, including more than 1,000 killed since the beginning of the latest ceasefire. American sympathies had been shifting toward the Palestinians and away from the Israelis since around 2020, according to other polling, but has nose-dived since the latest war in Gaza began.
Many Americans, about 4 in 10, don't know enough to say whether Israel’s immediate military response to Hamas’ attack or its ongoing military operations were justified. Among those who did have an opinion in each case, most say the initial retaliation was justified — but a majority think its current actions are not.
About three-quarters of Jewish adults said Israel's initial response was justified, but only about 4 in 10 believe that about its ongoing operations.
Only about one-third of U.S. adults view Israel as an “extremely” or “very" important issue to them personally. But it's been a searing topic in American politics as the relationship between the two countries remains tense, just four months before high-stakes midterm elections determine the balance of power in Congress for President Donald Trump’s final two years in office. Vice President JD Vance recently criticized Israeli leaders who have expressed frustration with Trump, while vocal critics of Israel recently defeated establishment-backed Democrats in New York and Colorado primaries.
The AP-NORC poll reveals a decisive shift within the Democratic Party.
About 58% of Democrats now say the U.S. is “too supportive” of the Israelis, up from 45% in an AP-NORC poll from January 2024 when former President Joe Biden was in office. That includes 51% of Jewish Democrats in the new poll.
Roughly 6 in 10 Democrats, 62%, say the U.S. is “not supportive enough” of the Palestinians, up from 49% in 2024. Younger Democrats — those 45 and younger — are still more likely than older ones to say that the United States is “not supportive enough” of the Palestinians, but older Democrats are catching up to their younger counterparts. About 57% of older Democrats now say the U.S. should do more for the Palestinians, up from 39% two years ago.
Joy Jennik, a 73-year-old Democrat from Brookfield, Wisconsin, said she didn’t have strong opinions about the U.S. relationship with Israel until after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Now, she believes Israel is guilty of genocide.
“The Gaza Strip, there’s not a lot left of it. Those poor people are barely living,” said Jennik, a retired home economics teacher.
Just a sliver of Republicans, 13%, describe Israel’s actions as genocide, although there is an apparent age gap. About 2 in 10 Republicans under 45 say Israel has committed genocide, while about 1 in 10 Republicans ages 45 and older say the same.
Overall, 60% of Republicans describe the U.S. support for Israel as “about right." Only about 2 in 10 Republicans say that the United States is “too supportive” of the Israelis, although Republicans under 45 are more likely to say this.
The share of Republicans overall who say the U.S. is “too supportive” of Israel has not changed meaningfully since 2024, but the share who say the U.S. is “not supportive enough” has shrunk from 39% to 15%.
Mike Cardona, a 70-year-old Republican from suburban Phoenix, said he's pleased with the level of support that the U.S. is giving Israel and rejects the notion that Israel has committed genocide.
“I wish they’d gone in harder and better,” Cardona, a retired industrial supply salesperson said of Israel's military action in Gaza. “Unfortunately, some innocents will be hurt, but Hamas and Hezbollah never took that into consideration when they were killing children and women in Israel.”
In interviews, several respondents emphasized that their criticism of Israel was focused on its leaders, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is perceived as closely aligned with Trump after repeated clashes with Democratic presidents.
Overall, only 20% of U.S. adults have a favorable view of the Israeli prime minister, while about twice as many, 38%, have an unfavorable view. About 41% don't know enough to have an opinion.
Netanyahu is particularly unpopular among Jewish adults: about 6 in 10 view him unfavorably, while about one-third see him positively.
Younger adults, regardless of party, are more likely than older adults to say they don't have an opinion about Netanyahu. But while older Republicans see Netanyahu more positively than negatively, younger Republicans' views tilt unfavorably.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has gained prominence as an outspoken critic of Israel, and 27% of U.S. adults have a favorable opinion of the 34-year-old democratic socialist. Another 28% of U.S. adults have an unfavorable opinion, while 44% don’t know enough to say.
Jewish adults, who overwhelmingly identify as Democrats, have a more positive view of Mamdani than of Netanyahu, with 44% viewing the New York City mayor positively, 39% viewing him negatively, and 17% saying they don't know enough to say.
About half of Democrats overall have a favorable impression of Mamdani and only about 1 in 10 have an unfavorable view of him, while the rest, about 39%, don't have an opinion.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-Israel relationship is not top of mind for many Americans as they think about the upcoming midterm elections.
For people like Michael Ripka, a 34-year-old stage hand from Casper, Wyoming who typically votes Republican, the economy is by far the most important thing on his mind.
“Everything is mad expensive,” he said. The conflicts in the Middle East, he added, is “100% a very big distraction.”
Sanders reported from Washington.
The AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults was conducted June 11-17 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The poll included interviews with 1,022 Jewish adults. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points and the margin of sampling error for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers an address from George Washington's desk, surrounded by recently naturalized citizens, to commemorate America's 250th anniversary on Friday, July 3, 2026, in New York. (Anna Connors /The New York Times via AP, Pool)
