McIlroy among many in mix at BMW event
A truncated tournament could pave the way for a thrilling finish to the BMW PGA Championship, with the top 10 players separated by two shots heading into Sunday’s final round.
Rory McIlroy is in there. And so are two golfers from the Saudi-backed breakaway series.
The European tour’s flagship event has been shortened to 54 holes after a day’s play was canceled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Viktor Hovland and Soren Kjeldsen
are tied for the lead at 12 under par at the end of the second round Saturday in Virginia Water, England.
McIlroy finished birdiebirdie on the closing par five at Wentworth to shoot seven-under 65 — tying his career-low round in the tournament — and was in a three-way share of third place with Thomas Detry
(65) and Rafa Cabrera Bello
(65), one back of the leaders.
Then came five players at 10 under — including Adrian Otaegui (65) and Talor Gooch (64), who both play in the LIV Golf series.
Ally Ewing shot a fiveunder 67 to build a one-shot lead over Maria Fassi in the Kroger Queen City Championship at Cincinnati. Fassi is seeking her first LPGA Tour win. Another shot behind was Xiyu Lin of China after a 70 . ... Padraig Harrington bogeyed the final hole for a five-under 66, leaving him just a stroke ahead of Steve Stricker and Bernhard Langer in the Ascension Charity Classic at St. Louis. ... Scottie Scheffler, who won four events this season, was voted the PGA Tour player of the year, earning 89% of the vote from players.
U.S. eliminated from AmeriCup
Gabriel Deck scored 30 points, Nicolas Laprovittola had 18 and Argentina topped the United States 8273 in the semifinals of the AmeriCup at Recife, Brazil.
The Americans — a team composed of players who have been in the G League or on internationally based teams — was outscored 17-7 in the final 4:59.
Norris Cole led the U.S. with 18 points and Zylan Cheatham added 10.
Rudy Gobert scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, and Olympic silver medalist France moved into the EuroBasket quarterfinals by holding off Turkey 87-86 in overtime at Berlin.
Tight end Darren Waller agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Las Vegas Raiders through 2026 that adds $51 million to his existing deal, according to agent Drew Rosenhaus . ... The New York Jets put left tackle Duane Brown on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury that will keep him out until at least the fifth game of the season. ... Baltimore Ravens tackle Ronnie Stanley was ruled out of Sunday’s season opener against the Jets.
Tyler Reddick will start from the pole in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Reddick stopped the clock in 29.899 seconds, denying Joey Logano a second straight pole . ... Will Power broke Mario Andretti’s record for poles, grabbing his 68th IndyCar pole with Andretti watching from pit lane at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey . ... Noah Gragson outran the rain and Justin Allgaier to win the rain-shortened NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway . ... Charles Leclerc looks to reignite the Formula One championship race on his home track after clinching pole position for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. Runaway points leader Max Verstappen will try to fight his way to the front from seventh after he was one of several hit with grid penalties.
The Kings signed defenseman Mikey Anderson, 23, to a one-year, $1-million contract extension. Anderson played in a career-high 57 games last season.
Nate Diaz stopped Tony Ferguson with a guillotine choke early in the fourth round of the hastily arranged main event of UFC 279 in Las Vegas. Ferguson subbed in for Khamzat Chimaev, who missed weight on Friday for the bout with Diaz.