McIlroy’s shot wins match
Rory McIlroy delivered the money shot Sunday as live golf returned to television for a Skins game that revealed plenty of rust and raised more than $5 million for COVID-19 relief funds.
McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, who had not won a skin since the sixth hole, had a chance to win the final six skins worth $1.1 million on the final hole at Seminole in Juno Beach, Florida, in the TaylorMade Driving Relief exhibition. Both missed and they returned to the par-3 17th for a closest-to-the-pin contest.
From a forward tee at 120 yards, Matthew Wolff was 18 feet below the hole. His partner, Rickie Fowler, missed the green. Johnson found a bunker. Down to the last shot, McIlroy barely stayed on the shelf left of the pin, measured at 13 feet.
The final carryover gave McIlroy and Johnson $1.85 million for the American Nurses Foundation.
BASEBALL
Major League Baseball told players their prorated salaries would contribute to an average loss of $640,000 for each game over an 82-game season in empty ballparks, according to a presentation from the commissioner’s office to the union that was obtained by The Associated Press.
Painting a picture of a $10 billion industry shuttered by the contagion, the 12-page document titled “Economics of Playing Without Fans in Attendance” and dated May 12 was an initial step in negotiations aimed at starting the delayed season in July.
Teams say the proposed method of salvaging a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic would still cause a $4 billion loss and would give major league players 89% of revenue.
SOCCER
After watching the Bundesliga resume, English Premier League clubs will try Monday to agree on protocols to allow a return to training during the coronavirus pandemic.
Teams have already started checking players and coaches for the coronavirus, with a total of 1,600 weekly tests anticipated across the 20 clubs in England’s top division.
With Britain suffering a worse coronavirus outbreak than Germany, the sports shutdown is yet to end and players would have to remain socially distant for now in training. But the Premier League has government backing to pursue restarting games in June if there is no new spike in COVID-19 cases across the country.