EUROS PUT RYDER FACES ON
Europe’s 12 Ryder Cup players delivered a mixed bag of scores in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship at Virginia Water, England.
None of them were better than Marcus Helligkilde.
The No. 232-ranked Dane made seven birdies in a ninehole stretch then closed with three in a row to shoot an 8under 64 and take a two-stroke lead at the European tour’s flagship event on Thursday.
Of the Europeans heading to Rome for the Ryder Cup in two weeks, Matt Fitzpatrick (66), Ludvig Åberg (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (68) posted the best rounds at Wentworth.
Nicolai Hojgaard, who earned the final pick of captain Luke Donald ahead of Adrian Meronk, was at the other end of the scale in shooting 76.
Then there were Europe’s two big guns, No. 2-ranked
Rory McIlroy and No. 3-ranked
Jon Rahm, who labored their way around the West Course and shot 72 and 71, respectively, on a glorious day at the European tour’s headquarters where the upcoming Ryder Cup remained a glaring subplot.
“I think we are all a little bit in the Ryder Cup mindset,” said No. 4-ranked Viktor Hovland, who will be one of Donald’s key players at the Marco Simone club from Sept. 29-Oct. 1 and shot 69 in his first round at Wentworth.
In another setting out in the morning, Shane Lowry and
Tommy Fleetwood both shot 69 alongside Sepp Straka (70).
Fitzpatrick, who went out with Robert MacIntyre and
Justin Rose (both 72), played the best of the Ryder Cup squad after starting with four birdies in his first six holes. He curled in a birdie putt at the last from 18 feet to join Richie Ramsay ina tie for second place.
More golf
Justin Thomas scuffled through an uneven afternoon with a 3-under 69 in his return to the PGA Tour following a lengthy layoff, leaving him six shots off the lead in the first round of the Fortinet Championship at Napa. Thomas made four birdies and worked around a bogey on the par-4 ninth. He was tied for 20th, chasing Lucas Herbert, the leader after a 6under 63.
College football
Tyler Van Dyke threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns
while playing only the first half and No. 22 Miami eased past FCS member Bethune-Cookman (1-2) 48-7 at home. Van Dyke completed 19 of 23 passes and ran for a score for Miami (3-0), which got touchdowns on five of its six first-half possessions on the way to a 34-0 lead at the break.
• Blake Watson rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown, and Memphis overcame two turnovers in the final six minutes to beat Navy 28-24 in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams. Memphis (3-0, 1-0) beat Navy (1-2, 0-1) for the fifth straight time.
Soccer
Spain’s Women’s World Cup winning coach Jorge Vilda was left off the short-list of nominees for the annual FIFA awards announced, a week after he was fired following an international uproar in the wake of the final.
Vilda was not among five candidates for the Best Women’s Coach Award for 2023, which did include England coach Sarina Wiegman, whose team lost the final to Spain. The candidates were picked by a FIFA-appointed expert panel that included United States great Mia Hamm.
• Kyle Walker has signed a contract extension at Manchester City until 2026, the club said.
The England defender’s future had been in question after links with a move to Bayern Munich during the last transfer window.
Tennis
Frances Tiafoe was beaten for the second straight time and the United States lost to the Netherlands in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals at Split, Croatia. Tallon Griekspoor defeated Tiafoe 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3) to secure the Netherlands the victory in Group D in Split. Botic Van de Zandschulp had beaten Tommy Paul 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the opening singles match.
Olympics
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee officially endorsed Salt Lake City as the American bid city for an upcoming Winter Olympics, with the committee’s chairman saying that while the U.S. bid remains flexible, it would prefer hosting in 2034 over 2030.
Motorsports
Sergio Pérez said he received a personal apology from Red Bull boss Helmut Marko over comments Marko made suggesting his heritage was to blame for inconsistent results on the track.
• Shane van Gisbergen’s expected move to NASCAR will be in a development program driving in all three national series
for Trackhouse Racing. Trackhouse has now committed to build a program around the 34-year-old from Auckland to run select races in the the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series. He’ll also run some other lowerlevel races.
Also
UC San Diego women’s volleyball defeated Tennessee State in four sets to open the TSU/Belmont Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
• The Cal State San Marcos women’s soccer team (3-1-0) posted a 5-0 shutout victory against Westmont (2-1-1) at home.
• Remco Evenepoel put on a dominant performance to win the 18th stage of the Spanish Vuelta, with overall leader Sepp Kuss comfortably holding on to the red jersey by crossing the line ahead of his closest rivals and taking a big step toward his first major victory.
• Brandon Hunter, who played two NBA seasons after starring in college at Ohio University, died Tuesday. He was 42. The Orlando Magic, for whom Hunter played in 200405, announced his death in a statement, as did the university. Hunter played the previous season for the Boston Celtics, who drafted him in 2003.