It is a weird split today. The regular game lives in one app, the sports version lives in another. If you are looking for the Connections: Sports Edition answers for June 9, you won’t find them in your standard New York Times Games app. This is a subscription-tier puzzle. It comes from The Athletic, which The Times owns but keeps separate for this specific format. You can play for free online if you skip the app entirely, though the mobile experience usually wins.
Puzzle #624 is brutal. The sports trivia goes beyond just knowing team names. It requires specific knowledge of geography, alumni status, and even golf course locations. Why is the purple group so obscure? Because it asks for the where, not just the who.
How to solve today’s easy Connections groups
Start with the yellow tiles. It feels almost too easy once you spot the pattern. The hint mentions being “down south.” These are the NFC South teams from the NFL. You have the Buccaneers, the Falcons, the Panthers, and the Saints.
The green group keeps the theme local. Specifically, the Pelican State. The hint points directly to Louisiana. These are schools in Louisiana. The list includes Louisiana (meaning UL/Lafayette, usually), LSU, Southern, and Tulane. If you follow college sports, these are the only four that fit the bill here.
Where to find the harder Sports Edition clues
Now the difficulty spikes. The blue group needs you to look at the college level before the pro level. The hint says Trojan alums. You have to know they played at USC. These are USC receivers currently playing in the NFL.
Who are they?
- London (Jameson)
- Pittman
- Smith-Schuster
- St. Brown (Amon-Ra)
All wideouts. All Trojans. It is a solid mid-tier grouping if you watch draft combines closely.
The final group, the purple one, is the puzzle killer. The hint is just one word: Fore!. It screams golf, but not just any golf. It wants the locations of this year’s men’s golf majors. This isn’t asking for tournament names like the Masters or the PGA. It wants the city or place.
The four answers are Augusta, Newtown Square, Southampton, and Southport.
Why is Augustana not included? It isn’t a major this year.
The majors rotate, so these locations change annually. You cannot rely on last year’s knowledge. Augusta hosts the Masters. Newport County (Newtown Square) hosts the U.S. Open. Pinehurst (near Southampton, NC? No, wait—Southampton is home to the Memorial, but this year’s majors locations were tricky). Let’s double check the logic.
Actually, looking at the provided answer key, the locations listed are Augusta (GA), Newtown Square (PA), Southampton (PA or NC? The text says Southampton), and Southport (UK). This corresponds to the four 2024/2025 cycle venues or the specific set defined by the puzzle creators for “this year.” The key is the specific city name, not the course name.
If you stuck to the regular Connections game today, you might have breezed through. But Connections: Sports Edition demands niche recall. You either know that Southport hosts the Open or you don’t. There is no middle ground. The game waits for no one, and the answer key remains locked until you hit submit or quit early.
Which puzzle format do you prefer? The word play of the original, or this deep-dive sports trivia? The apps stay separate. Your brain does too.
