McIlroy back, wanting to win as Cup play starts
AUTO RACING: Sebastien Bourdais will return to IndyCar competition this weekend after a three-month recovery from an accident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bourdais fractured his pelvis and right hip during a crash while qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Oklahoma F Kristian Doolittle has been suspended for the fall semester for failing to meet academic standards. Doolittle started 25 games for the Sooners last season and averaged 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds . ... Grand Canyon has been granted Division I active membership by the NCAA following a four-year transition period.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Former USC K Matt Boermeester filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court in an effort to overturn his expulsion following a school investigation of allegations that he abused his girlfriend. Boermeester was suspended in January and later expelled for violating a school order to stay away from his girlfriend, who denies she was abused . ... Former Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys wrote an online commentary Wednesday defending himself after an outside review blamed “weak leadership” by the coaching staff for a threat by players to boycott the Holiday Bowl after the school suspended 10 team members following an accusation of sexual assault. Claeys, who was fired a week after supporting the proposed boycott, said his players “responsibly addressed the situation and quickly defused the boycott.”
GOLF: Billy Payne is retiring as chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters after 11 years of substantial change that included the club inviting female members and hosting two international amateur tournaments. Payne officially retires Oct. 16 when the club opens for a new season and will be succeeded by Fred Ridley, a former USGA president and U.S. Amateur champion who heads the Masters competition committee. He will be the first chairman who played in the Masters.
NBA: The Clippers reached an agreement with the Thunder’s Michael Winger to become their general manager. Winger, who was assistant GM and team counsel for the Thunder for the last seven years, will replace Dave Wohl, who is staying with the Clippers as special adviser . ... Timberwolves G Andrew Wiggins filed paperwork with the players association to end his relationship with agent Bill Duffy, but he is expected to sign the five-year deal Duffy negotiated with the Timberwolves . ... The Spurs signed G London Perrantes, who was undrafted out of Virginia. He made summer-league appearances for the Heat in Las Vegas and Orlando.
NFL: The Giants waived OL Michael Bowie days after finding out he had been charged with assault and battery in Oklahoma. Bowie is accused of grabbing his girlfriend by the neck during a fight at her home, then breaking two televisions and punching a hole in the wall.
TENNIS: Boris Becker has been hired by the German tennis federation for the new position of head of men’s tennis. The six-time Grand Slam champion will advise all top male players from the country and help its Davis Cup team.
Ten days ago, Rory McIlroy wasn’t sure if he was going to play the rest of the year.
A week off made him feel good enough that a nagging rib injury can be managed well enough for him to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs. And with just over 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,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “I want to win at least once before the end of the year. I haven’t not won a tournament since the 2008 season, which was my real rookie season 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 following year.
“I’d like to have that feeling again before taking that time off at the end of this year and getting myself right for 2018,” he said.
The majors are over, though McIlroy faces a field that in some respects is tougher than the PGA Championship.
The Northern Trust, which starts Thursday 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.
There is no Masters champion, either, as Sergio Garcia again is taking off the first playoff event.
Hideki Matsuyama enters the FedEx Cup playoffs as the fifth player in the last five years to be the No. 1 seed. The points count four times as much for the next three playoff events until the reset for the Tour Championship at East Lake.
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.