Cameron Smith of Australia wins The 150th Open Championship | Final Round Highlights

Cameron Smith of Australia takes the halfway lead | Round 2 Full Highlights - Dustin Johnson shoots a 67

Phil Mickelson faces the press after his 1st Round in The Open - Phil shot a 72 for Even par

Spaniard Wins Scottish Open - leading to the next major

Rafael Cabrerra-Bello of Spain won the European Tour's 2017 Scottish Open at the Dundonald Links in Troon,Ayrshire.Rafa finished with a remarkable score of 64 for the fourth round,finishing the tournament at thirteen under par and tied with the young Englishman Callum Shinkwin.He beat Shinkwin in the first hole of a playoff.Several golfers were tied for fourth,including American Matt Kuchar.Fellow American Rickie Fowler finished tied for ninth at -7.
Next on the calendar is The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport,England,the year's third major,which will see a full field of international stars.Henrik Stenson of Sweden is the defending champion,having prevailed over Phil Mickelson last year.The Open Championship starts on Thursday 20 July at Royal Birkdale,a Liverpool area course.

Selena Gomez;Rory McIlroy;Suzi Quatro

Selena Gomez is a Birthday Girl this week,turning 22 on Tuesday.We're celebrating with "Who Says."The Texas native just got a new tatoo.It is in Arabic and means "love yourself."The new tatoo is on the upper right side of her back.
Selena also has her mother's birthday in Roman numerals across the back of her neck, and a musical note on her left wrist.A Bible verse adorns her hip.It is Philippians 4:13,"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."*
Rory McIlroy is celebrating his win at The Open Championship,golf's biggest tournament,which was held at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.At 25,he has already won three of the four majors.
It's what I think about in the morning;it's what I think about when I go to bed,McIlroy said.I just want to be the best golfer I can be.*
Suzi Quatro was one of the first female rock and roll performers.She is represented by her classic "The Wild One."She has performed in Russia in recent years,including Ekaterinburg.

Mickelson at the NYSE;Royal Birkdale Golf

The Open Championship winner Phil Mickelson visited the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday,accompanied by Exxon Mobil Vice President for Exploration&Development Emil Jacob.Mickelson,fresh off his celebrated victory at Muirfield and at Royal Stuart the previous week,brought the claret jug trophy with him and was interviewed on CNBC's "Squawk On The Street" by Carl Quintanilla. Our favorite week is the week after the British Open,Mickelson said.We're putting on an academy for science and math teachers.Our students aren't interested in those subjects,and there are three million science and technology jobs going unfilled. That's a concern for us,added Exxon's Jacobs-not only for us,but for the country.If we can hook the students in grades 3-5,it'll be great for us in the future.Science and technology play a big part in the game of golf and in my success,Mickelson noted.I've been pretty well and able to drive the ball better,which has a lot to do with science and technology-the new technology inside the golf club. The wakeup call for me was coming down with psoriatic arthritis two years ago.I've been losing a pound a month and now,about two years later,I'm 25 pounds lighter and playing better,champion golfer Phil Mickelson said on CNBC.He indeed was looking leaner and more fit than in previous years. At Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport,Merseyside,England,the older golfers were playing in The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex.At the end of round two on the links style course,site of many previous Open Championships,the standings were as follows: Mark Wiebe,USA,-5 Bernhard Langer,GER,-5 David Frost,SCO,-4 Mark McNulty,IRL,-3 Peter Fowler,AUS,-3 Gene Sauers,USA,-3 Sandy Lyle,SCO,-2 Rocco Mediate,USA,-2 Jeff Hart,USA,-2 Greg Turner,AUS,-1 Just as in the regular Open Championship,the Senior winner will recieve a claret jug trophy.Royal Birkdale is considered one of the world's finest courses,and is notable for its art deco style club house.The club house is considered unattractive by some,not fitting into its bucolic setting,frankly.It resembles a small airport terminal. An interesting moment occurred in the second round.While Bernhard Langer carefully studied one of his shots,his playing partner American Cory Pavin sat down on the ground and crossed his legs,apparently meditating.At the end of the round,Pavin slapped his old friend Langer on the shoulder,congratulating him. Update:Bernhard Langer took sole possession of the lead at The Senior Open Championship on Saturday.Praised for his precision,he goes into the final round at -9,three shots ahead of South African David Frost at -6.

Scottish Open Golf;Popocatepetl Volcano

The Scottish Open is underway at Castle Stuart Golf Links,Inverness.The tournament is on Scotland's Northeast coast along the Moray Firth,looking across to Black Isle and the town of Fortrose.It is an important practice session for next weekend's Open Championship at Muirfield. Phil Mickelson shot a second round eight under par 70 at Castle Stuart Friday,tying for 13th place on the leader board and staying in contention.Fellow American Peter Uihlein did even better with his eleven under par 66 for second place.Uihlein won earlier in the season on the European Tour,and his chances for a second victory certainly looked excellent as of Friday's round. Mickelson got himself out of trouble several times with his much-admired bunker skills.A classic flop shot out of a hazard or rough is pure Mickelson.He seems to be at his best in such difficult situations,excelling at the most challenging moments. It is Mickelson's 11th Scottish Open.His best finish to date was second place at Loch Lomond in 2007. The top ten on Friday were as follows: Christopher Doak(SCO) -12 Peter Uihlein(USA) -11 Matthew Southgate(ENG) -11 Ross Fisher(ENG) -11 Joachim B Hansen(DEN) -11 Henrik Stenson(SWE) -10 Simon Khan(ENG) -10 Lorenzo Gagli(ITA) -10 James Morrison(ENG) -10 Victor Dubuisson(FRA) -10 Mexico's snowy Popocatepetl volcano,about forty miles from the capital,Mexico City, continued to send up a four mile high cloud of ash and steam Friday,coating nearby communities with ash and closing Puebla International Airport,about 20 miles from the eruption. Several airlines have been canceling flights to the area as a precaution.In communities near the mountain,water may not be used for drinking or bathing,since it comes from snowmelt on the mountain,which is 17,930 feet high,or 5465 meters. Update:Phil Mickelson fired off six birdies in the third round of the Scottish Open on Saturday,his excellent 14 under par 66 lifting him from 19th to a tie for 2nd place,two shots behind leader Henrik Stenson at -16.It was vintage Phil,momentum taking hold once he started to roll.At one point,he made four birdies in an hour.

Tiger Woods Electrifies British Crowd

He may not be dominant again,but Tiger Woods has definitively rediscovered his old competitive fire,taking the British Open crowd along with him.On his final hole of the second round,Woods pinpointed a superb birdie from a bunker,igniting the British fans and impressing the gaggle of photographers huddled nearby,eager to snag an image of greatness reborn.He modestly downplayed the shot afterward,saying it wasn't that hard as it was from a slope in the bunker.British bunkers are like lunar craters,however.There's really nothing easy about getting out of them,let alone holing from one.
Woods shot his second consecutive 67 in the tournament,placing him in third position with his six under par behind fellow American Brandt Snedeker at -10 and Australian Adam Scott at -9.The venerable Tom Watson, 62,another favorite of the British fans,rallied at the end of his round,ensuring himself another weekend at the oldest major tournament in professional golf.The Open Championship,as it is formally known,is being held at the Royal Lytham &St.Annes Golf Club.
Leader Brandt Snedeker,31,who is from Nashville,Tennessee,said I love playing golf over here.I've been putting great all year.I knew if I got on the greens,I'd have a good chance.The soft-spoken Snedeker,a graduate of Vanderbilt University,equaled an Open Championship record low score of 130 for the first two rounds after his six under par 64 on Friday.
ESPN is carrying the tournament,which is being underwritten by luxury watchmaker Rolex.
Update:On Saturday,Adam Scott seized the lead from Brandt Snedeker with three straight birdies,ending the day with a two under par 68,-11 for the tournament.Snedeker was tied for second  at -7 with Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell,his close friend from their college golfing days.Tiger Woods was in fourth,distinguished by his 30 foot putt at the sixth hole,and goes into the final round still in contention,five strokes back of the lead in his quest for the claret jug.
The golf club adjoins the town of Lytham St.Annes,Lancashire.It is the 11th time the Open Championship has been played there in the tournament's 141-year history.

Watson Aces Sixth Hole,Stocks Down on Week

Tom Watson,one of golf's leading lights at 71 years old,showed a flash of old brilliance in second round play at The Open Championship Friday.Watson hit a hole in one at the sixth,the fifteenth ace of his career and his second at a major.He also aced at the 1980 U.S. Open.Watson finished the round at an even 70,four strokes off the lead.Phil Mickelson was three strokes behind at one under par.
Fellow American Lucas Glover and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke shared the lead at four under par.The tournament is being held at the Royal St.George's Golf Club in Sandwich,England.
The stock market did not score an ace this week,suffering modest declines on the endless debt concern as well as unemployment hangover from last Friday and a weak Empire State manufacturing report,coupled with poor consumer confidence.The Dow fell 1.4,while the NASDAQ lost 2.5 and the S&P slipped 2.1.The Jefferies-Reuters CRB commodities index edged up 0.5.
Next week features data on existing home sales,housing starts and Mid-Atlantic manufacturing,the Philly Fed report.The S&P futures were up 8.20 Friday evening,and bond index futures also rose.Oil futures were up 1.55 at 97.24 a barrel,and gold futures rose 0.80 to 1590.10 an ounce.
Update:Darren Clarke,who will turn 43 next month,took sole possession of the lead in Saturday's third round of The Open Championship,shooting a 69 five under par.Young Americans Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler were second and third on the leader board,respectively.Clarke only missed a few greens in the challenging weather conditions,and was the only player to make birdie on the first hole.
The crowd favorite,Clarke had previously won at Majorca,Spain on the European tour this season.Phil Mickelson was at even par Saturday,five shots back of the lead in seventh place.