Darrell Davis: Early sports from Europe

Sports reporters aren’t usually early-morning fans, but for a few weeks in July we have to wake up early for two very good reasons — prestigious tennis and golf tournaments being played in Europe.

If we had slept in in Western Canada during the weekend, we would have missed Serena Williams trying to win her 24th Grand Slam event in the Wimbledon women’s final, before falling 6-2, 6-2 to Simona Halep. And heaven forbid anyone missed one of the most exciting tennis matches of all time: The men’s final won by Novak Djokovic in a fifth-set tiebreaker against the inimitable Roger Federer.

Starting Thursday we start waking early for the Open Championship. Royal Portrush, the host golf course built along cliffs in Northern Ireland, is different from most British Open courses. But because of the tee times and a seven-hour time difference, before starting our work days we can watch Francesco Molinari try to repeat as champion, see if Masters winner Tiger Woods can win a second major this season, or see if Rory McIlroy can claim the Claret Jug in front of his home country’s fans on a course he knows quite well.

Set your alarm!