Europe beats US 15-13 in Solheim Cup. Lowry takes Irish Open by record 11 shots

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — The Solheim Cup is back in the hands of the Europeans after they won seven of the 12 singles matches Sunday at Bernardus for a 15-13 victory over the United States.

The blue wave came early and never really went away, with Lottie Woad holing a putt from 2 feet on No. 17 to guarantee Europe reaching the 14 1/2 points needed to beat the United States. Moments later, Carlota Ciganda closed out her match over Jennifer Kupcho for the final point.

Ciganda also won the point that retained the Solheim Cup for Europe in 2023.

The Europeans have now won three of the last five editions, the only loss in that stretch coming in Virginia two years ago.

The teams were tied at 8-8 after two days and set out Sunday in heavy rain for the singles, with Europe going out fast and putting blue all over the scoreboard. Early wins for Charley Hull and Linn Grant set the tone. The only wobble coming when U.S. player Alison Lee came from 4 down after 11 holes to beat Esther Henseleit, 1 up, for the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history.

Europe now has won the last three times on home soil.

DOONBEG, Ireland (AP) — Shane Lowry gave his home crowd and President Donald Trump plenty to cheer Sunday when he turned a four-shot lead into a runaway at Doonbeg, closing with a 7-under 63 to break the Irish Open record with an 11-shot victory.

Lowry opened with four birdies in eight holes, one of them from 45 feet over a ridge at No. 7, and the Irishman poured it on before a delirious gallery at Trump International Ireland.

He finished on 23-under 257, seven shots better than the previous 72-hole record of 264 by Jon Rahm at Lahinch in 2019. Lowry won by 11 shots over Patrick Reed (64) and Joaquin Niemann (67), breaking the Irish Open record by one shot for the largest victory margin. Bernhard Langer held the record of 10 shots at Portmarnock in 1987.

Lowry won the Irish Open for the second time, 17 years after he won as an amateur.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Zach Johnson won the Sanford International on Sunday for the fifth victory of his first PGA Tour Champions season, birdieing the final two holes to edge Ben Crane by a stroke.

The 50-year-old Johnson closed with a 4-under 66 at Minnehaha Country Club to finish at 11 under. He matched Stewart Cink for the tour victory lead.

Crane also shot 66. He finished birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie.

Mario Tiziani had a 63 to tie for third at 8 under with Boo Weekley (64), Ryan Armour (66), Chad Campbell (67) and 2025 winner Retief Goosen (68).

Johnson won 12 times on the PGA Tour, highlighted by major titles at the 2007 Masters and 2015 British Open.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — Alvaro Ortiz of Mexico wrapped up a PGA Tour card for next season, winning the Simmons Bank Open on Sunday for his second Korn Ferry Tour title of the year.

Ortiz closed with a 7-under 63 for a four-stroke victory, that sent him from 20th to fifth in the season standings. He finished at a tournament-record 26-under 254 at Vanderbilt Legends Club after opening with rounds of 65, 61 and 65.

Ortiz also won the UNC Health Championship in a playoff in May.

Sandy Scott of Scotland was second after a 67.

Etienne Papineau of Canada won the PGA Tour Americas' Digital Commerce Group Open at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria, British Columbia. He finished with a 9-under 61 to reach 25-under 255. Charlie Nikitas was four strokes back in second. ... Kosuke Sunagawa closed with a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory in the Shinhan Donghae Open for his first Japan Golf Tour title ... Former LIV Golf player Frederik Kjetterup shot 5-under 67 and held on for a one-shot victory in the English Trophy to claim his first Challenge Tour title. ... Samuel Simpson closed with a 5-under 65 for a one-shot victory in the SunBet Challenge on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. ... Miyu Yamashita, the 2025 Women’s British Open champion, closed with a 3-under 69 and defeated Yuzuki Yoshizawa in a playoff to win the Sony JLPGA Championship. ... Bokyeom Park won the KB Financial Group Golden Life Championship by closing with a 1-under 71 to win by one shot on the Korea LPGA.

See AP’s full golf coverage here

President Donald Trump, right, smiles as Shane Lowry of Ireland celebrates with the trophy after winning the Irish Open golf tournament at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, Ireland, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

U.S. President Donald Trump presents the trophy to Irish Open golf winner Shane Lowry of Ireland whilst Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin, center rear, looks on, at the Trump International Golf Links course in Doonbeg, Ireland, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Linn Grant of Europe holds the trophy as she celebrates with teammates after they won the Solheim Cup in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Anna Nordqvist, Europe team captain, kisses the trophy after her team won the Solheim Cup in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson said last month that winning the Super Bowl isn't enough for him. He wants to have the highest-scoring offense in NFL history.

If the Bears can put together more weeks like their opener, that goal will be within reach.

Chicago scored eight touchdowns in a 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. It was the most points in a season opener in the Bears' long, proud history and tied for the second-most points by a team in Week 1, behind only the 1973 Falcons, who put up 62 on the Saints.

And here's the funny thing: The Bears were far from perfect.

They started the game with a fumble, had some costly penalties and even turned the ball over on downs deep in their own territory. Still, they put up 552 yards — including 291 on the ground — and scored two touchdowns in every quarter.

D'Andre Swift paced the running game with 124 yards and three touchdowns.

“That’s amazing,” Swift said of the team's scoring output. “But to come out of a game like that and have so much to clean up. ... I mean, yeah, we’ll take the win, and 59 points is amazing, but it should have been worse.”

That's the mentality Johnson has instilled in his team: They truly think they're going to score on every possession. Before the season, he told The Athletic his goal is “to have the highest-scoring offense ever.”

That's why none of his players were surprised when Johnson went for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 21 in the second quarter with the Bears leading 21-14. It backfired as Caleb Williams came up short on a quarterback sneak, and the Panthers capitalized with a touchdown.

Johnson wouldn't call it a mistake. When asked if he would do it again, he said it depended on the situation.

The Bears seem to thrive off Johnson's aggressive mentality.

Williams, who threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 65 yards and two more scores, wasn’t surprised Johnson went for it — and hopes he tries it again.

“Yeah, we got to go get it (the first down) — that's what it says to us,” Williams said. “As players on the field, when coach has that belief, when coach has that trust, when coach has that faith and all of that in us, we have to go get it as players when he calls it. It doesn’t matter what the play is. It’s a mentality play when you’re fourth-and-1. That’s what it comes down to.”

After the game, Johnson didn't back down from his stated aspirations.

“Listen, that will always be the goal — we want to be the highest-scoring, we want to have the most wins, we want to win Super Bowls,” Johnson said. “Like, that’s what we do. We didn’t get into this profession trying to be mediocre, average.”

The 2013 Denver Broncos, led by MVP Peyton Manning, scored the most points in an NFL season with 603, an average of 37.6 points per game.

That was when the NFL played a 16-game season. Teams now play 17.

Johnson said he expects Sunday's game will be the Bears' worst of the season. He expects them to get better each week.

But he was encouraged by how his players handled the early adversity of turning the ball over on their first possession.

“We talked about weathering the storm there early on,” Johnson said. “We had some adversity on that first drive, and yet no one blinks. No one bats an eye. And so that’s probably what I’m most proud of there.”

The players know all about Johnson's goal of becoming the league's most prolific offense.

“That's what we're striving for,” receiver Rome Odonze said. “We have heard the head of the snake, Ben Johnson, say he wants to be the most prolific offense in history and that takes that attention to detail. .. So we are all bought in to that and trying to accomplish that.”

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) runs to score a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) looks on after an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs to score a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson speaks in a press conference after an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)