McIlroy wants to win now
Ten days ago, Rory McIlroy wasn’t sure if he was going to play the rest of the year. A week off made him confident a nagging rib injury can be managed well enough for him to compete in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs. And with just more than a month before he shuts it down for the year, McIlroy wants to do more than just play. “I think the real thing for me was I want to win. I want to win at least once before the end of the year,” said McIlroy, who noted he has not had a winless season since 2008, his first full year on the European Tour. Even in 2013, when he struggled with an equipment change, McIlroy won the Australian Open by one shot over Adam Scott and headed into the offseason feeling better about his game. He wound up winning two majors the next year. The majors are over for this year, though McIlroy faces a field that in some respects is tougher than the PGA Championship. The Northern Trust, which starts today at Glen Oaks on Long Island, features the top 120 players available based on their performance this season on the toughest circuit in golf — there are no aging champions, amateur qualifiers or club professionals. The points count four times as much for the next three playoff events until the reset for the Tour Championship on Sept. 21-24 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The objective is to be among the top five seeds going into the finale, where those players only have to win the Tour Championship to capture the $10 million bonus. Among those in the playoffs are former Baylor School golfers Luke List and Harris English.
FOOTBALL
› BEREA, Ohio —
DeShone Kizer will be next through the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback turnstile, and he doesn’t want it to spin again anytime soon. The rocket-armed rookie from Notre Dame was named Cleveland’s starter for Saturday night’s third exhibition game in Tampa Bay, and barring an unforeseen flop or injury, he will start the Sept. 10 season opener against Pittsburgh. After watching Kizer develop over the past month and show poise while delivering some long completions in two preseason appearances, coach
Hue Jackson picked him over veterans Brock Osweiler and
Cody Kessler.
› Facebook has struck a deal for exclusive rights to live stream 15 college football games this season, beginning next week. The agreement with Stadium, a digital sports network, gives Facebook the rights to six Mountain West Conference games and nine Conference USA games, none of which will be televised.
SOCCER
› Wayne Rooney, England’s record-setting scorer and former captain, called time on his often tempestuous international career Wednesday, retiring from duty after spurning an offer to return to the squad. A return to form since leaving Manchester United to go back to Everton in the offseason led to England manager Gareth Southgate approaching Rooney about returning for upcoming World Cup qualifiers. But the 31-year-old striker has decided to focus on his club career, quitting England duty with a record 53 goals in 119 appearances. Rooney never progressed beyond the quarterfinals of a tournament with England, though, and his struggles on the international stage often left him cast as the fall guy for his country’s inability to come close to adding to its solitary title in the 1966 World Cup.