Scheffler in pain; Clark in TPC lead
Scottie Scheffler had his 25th consecutive round under par Friday in The Players Championship, and this was hard work. He felt pain in his neck that required treatment on the course, and he struggled to swing and to stay within range of Wyndham Clark.
Clark was playing in the group behind, oblivious to Scheffler’s injury or anything else. He ran off four consecutive birdies on the front nine and finished with a 7-under 65, one shot short of the 36-hole record at the TPC Sawgrass.
He finished the day four strokes ahead of Nick Taylor and Xander Schauffele at 14under. Scheffler was simply happy to be done. He felt something wrong on his fourth full swing of the day, a shot that went left on the par5 11th that kept him from a good look at birdie. He managed a 3-under 69.
“I felt a little something in my neck, and then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12, and that’s when I could barely get the club back,” Scheffler said through a PGA Tour official. “So I got some treatment, maybe loosened it up a tiny bit. But most of the day, I was pretty much laboring.”
The hope for Scheffler is he would have free range by the weekend. The concern is that he already was No. 1 in the world and appearing to hit another gear coming off his five-shot victory last week at Bay Hill.
Clark, the U.S. Open champion, is proving each week to be a serious challenger no matter Scheffler’s condition. He already shot 60 at Pebble Beach to win in 54 holes because of weather, and was the only player who mounted any challenge against Scheffler at Bay Hill last week.
College football
The nine Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame reached an agreement on a six-year deal to continue the College Football Playoff through the 2031 season. The move establishes a revenue-sharing plan and allows the CFP to finalize a new media rights agreement. The playoff is expanding this season from four teams to 12, but that number
Pro football Fri 22
could grow after the current contract with ESPN expires after the 2025 season.
The Minnesota Vikings acquired the Houston Texans’ first-round pick in a predraft trade, giving them the 11th and 23rd overall selections.
• The Cleveland Browns hired former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel as an analyst and personnel consultant.
• Veteran receiver Keenan Allen was traded late Thursday by the Los Angeles Chargers to the Chicago Bears for a 2024 fourthround pick.
• After missing out on their quest to sign free agent linebacker Eric Kendricks, who signed with Dallas, the San Francisco 49ers pivoted and signed former Green Bay Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell.
• Jimmy Garoppolo, cut this week by the Las Vegas Raiders, agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Rams, according to the L.A. Times. The Rams were considered a Super Bowl contender in 2023 but were hurt by the lack of a dependable backup QB.
College basketball
Michigan fired coach Juwan Howard after five seasons, parting ways with a former Fab Five star whose return to his alma mater included two trips to the NCAA tournament before a decline the past two seasons. Howard finished with an 8267 overall record at Michigan, just 8-24 this season.
Baseball
The St. Louis Cardinals reached agreement with manager Oliver Marmol on a two-year contract extension through the 2026 season. Marmol led the Cardinals to an NL Central title in 2022, his first season, but was 71-91 in 2023.
• Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen has a fractured bone in his right wrist and could miss opening day.
Hockey
The New York Rangers agreed to terms with Swedish goaltender Hugo Ollas on a two-year, entry-level contract.
He appeared in 21 games for Merrimack College this season, posting a 2.84 goalsagainst average.