OAKMONT, Pennsylvania: Rory McIlroy could leave Oakmont feeling like he accomplished something, even if it took the full four days for him to produce a truly impressive round.
McIlroy shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday, finishing the US Open at 7 over and giving himself a performance he can build off as he works toward the year’s final major — next month’s British Open at Royal Portrush in his home country of Northern Ireland.
“It will be amazing to go home and play in that atmosphere and see a lot of people,” McIlroy said. “I’m really looking forward to it. It was nice to end this week with a bit of a positive note with the way I played today.”
McIlroy skipped talking to the media after his first two rounds this week, and much of his availability Saturday was spent being asked why. His golf was a bigger topic Sunday. It had been unremarkable through three days, but he at least momentarily had Sunday’s low round after finishing with six birdies — four on the back nine.
“Physically I feel like my game’s there,” he said. “It’s just mentally getting myself in the right frame of mind to get the best out of myself.”
That’s been a theme for McIlroy lately when he has talked. Winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam was a seismic moment in his career, and returning to those heights has been a struggle.
“Look, I climbed my Everest in April, and I think after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down, and you’ve got to look for another mountain to climb,” he said. “An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.”
First, McIlroy has the Travelers Championship in Connecticut next week. And the Scottish Open is a week before Royal Portrush.
In addition to finding motivation, McIlroy has needed to work out some issues on the tee after his driver was deemed nonconforming before the PGA Championship.
In that respect, Oakmont was a step forward — even if at times this week he seemed eager to leave this course behind.
“I feel like I’ve driven the ball well all week,” McIlroy said. “Really encouraged with the driver and how I drove it as well. It’s not necessarily the driver, it’s more me and sort of where my swing was. I feel like I got a really good feeling in my swing with the driver, which was great. Hopefully I can continue that on into next week.”
After the Travelers, a return to the other side of the Atlantic looms, and McIlroy is looking forward to it.
“If I can’t get motivated to get up for an Open Championship at home, then I don’t know what can motivate me,” he said. “I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind. I probably haven’t been there the last few weeks.”
Rory McIlroy ends his US Open on a high note with a 67. The next major is in his home country
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Rory McIlroy ends his US Open on a high note with a 67. The next major is in his home country
- McIlroy shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday, finishing the US Open at 7 over
Big adrenalin’ propels Pogacar to Tour de France stage and 100th career win
- It was the 26-year-old Slovenian’s 18th Tour de France stage win as he seeks a fourth overall triumph on the Tour
- Van der Poel took the overall lead on stage two but risks losing it on Wednesday’s time trial
ROUEN, France: Tadej Pogacar blew past his rivals in an “explosive” finish to take Tour de France stage four at Rouen on Tuesday and claim his 100th professional victory.
“That was really pure, classic Tour-de-France-style explosive,” said an elated Pogacar.
The win did not quite bring him the overall lead. Dutch powerhouse Mathieu van der Poel finished second to keep the yellow jersey.
Pogacar attacked on an incline to the line to finish just ahead of Van der Poel with Jonas Vingegaard third.
It was the 26-year-old Slovenian’s 18th Tour de France stage win as he seeks a fourth overall triumph on the Tour.
“There was big adrenalin and a big field of contenders,” Pogacar said.
Fans were treated to another Pogacar-Vingegaard head-to-head duel as five hills made the final 40km a roller-coaster.
Van der Poel also entered the fray and kept the overall lead he took from Alpecin teammate Jasper Philipsen, who quit the Tour injured after a nasty fall on Monday.
“Jasper needs to recover, and I hope he understands how hard I tried to win for him today,” Van der Poel said.
On the day’s final real climb, Pogacar dropped all his rivals with only Vingegaard offering a real fight.
But the big Dutch rider and the slender Dane both came back at Pogacar, making him fight all the way to the line in a thunderous finale.
The same trio top the overall standings, with Pogacar second and Vingegaard in third.
Van der Poel took the overall lead on stage two but risks losing it on Wednesday’s time trial.
“I should be happy to have the jersey again,” said Van der Poel. “I was surrounded by climbers out there you know.”
“Tadej was stronger and it’s as simple as that.”
Unlike the opening three stages, there was hardly a puff of wind and not a drop of rain, but there were still plenty of falls.
There was also a knifing incident with a man at Rouen slightly injuring a police officer before himself being shot as he tried to escape.
Neither the police officer nor the alleged culprit suffered life-threatening injuries.
Stage five will shake up the overall standings with a 33km individual time trial around Caen.
The stage is being billed as the day Remco Evenepoel will finally slip into the overall leader’s yellow jersey.
To do so the 25-year-old Belgian world and Olympic champion in the discipline will need to cover the course 59sec faster than Pogacar and Vingegaard.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be the big day, the real test of how good everyone is,” said Pogacar.
“Don’t count Remco out,” he added. “He’s the best in the world and he’ll be going full gas, like me.”
The man who designs the race, Thierry Gouvenou, predicted big time differences on the time trial.
“It’s flat and runs through exposed plains. This is a course designed for the specialists. You need to be aerodynamic and powerful,” he said, which suggests it could suit Evenepoel in particular.
“This is a red letter day for all the main contenders.”
Rarely lacking in confidence, Evenepoel was true to form.
“I can put a minute into them all tomorrow,” he said in Rouen after the fourth stage.
The first mountains come as late as stage 10 over the volcanic landscape of the Puy de Dome, with two more colossal climbing days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.
Sweden reach Euro 2025 knockouts with 3-0 win over Poland
- The win also guaranteed Germany’s berth in the last eight after they beat Denmark
- Germany and Sweden occupy the top two spots in Group C on six points and meet in Zurich on Saturday to decide who will win the group
LUCERNE: Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani scored one goal and made another as her side cruised into the knockout stages of the women’s European Championship with a 3-0 win over Poland on Tuesday that eliminated the Poles.
The win also guaranteed Germany’s berth in the last eight after they beat Denmark earlier on Tuesday, with the Danes joining Poland in exiting the competition after both lost their opening two matches.
Germany and Sweden occupy the top two spots in Group C on six points and meet in Zurich on Saturday to decide who will win the group after Sweden’s aerial bombardment from the wings proved too much for the Polish defense.
Asllani and Madelen Janogy both hit the woodwork with early headers before striker Stina Blackstenius nodded home a cross from her captain in the 28th minute to break the deadlock.
The Swedes were well aware of the threat posed by Poland captain Ewa Pajor and kept her well-shackled for much of the game.
On the few occasions she did get the ball, the Polish fans rose to their feet in anticipation, but the Sweden defense was quick to snuff out any danger.
Playing in her 201st senior international, Asllani made no mistake in the 52nd minute as she ghosted through the middle before burying Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s cross past Kinga Szemik.
Blackstenius wasted a number of good chances to add to her tally as Sweden’s aerial attack continued, and substitute Lina Hurtig added their third goal with yet another header, this time from a corner, to round out the scoring in the 77th minute.
The closest the Poles came to scoring was in stoppage time when Ewelina Kamczyk fired a long-distance shot that smacked off the far post, but the Swedes were never threatened as they secured their spot in the quarter-finals.
“Great to win by 3-0, Poland are a tough opponent. We were determined and aggressive and it feels like it was exciting. Great to score goals,” Asllani said before sending a warning to Sweden’s German rivals ahead of Saturday’s showdown.
“We just wanted to win and score as many goals as possible. We want to win against Germany, we don’t want a draw. It’s been a dream start, but we’re focusing on the next one now,” she said.
India look to maintain momentum against faltering England in third Test
- Shubman Gill has enjoyed a stunning start to his reign as India captain, with a remarkable 585 runs in his first two Tests as skipper
- So prolific has Gill been, he could now threaten Australia great Donald Bradman’s record of 974 runs in a single Test series
LONDON: An in-form India will continue their quest for just a fourth series win in England when the third Test at Lord’s starts on Thursday.
India levelled this five-match campaign at 1-1 with a 336-run rout of England in last week’s second Test at Edgbaston.
Here are several key talking points ahead of what promises to be a fascinating encounter:
Shubman Gill has enjoyed a stunning start to his reign as India captain, with a remarkable 585 runs in his first two Tests as skipper after replacing the retired Rohit Sharma.
At Edgbaston, thanks to innings of 269 and 161, the admirably composed and elegant Gill became the first batsman in Test cricket to make scores of 250 and 150 in the same match.
So prolific has Gill been, he could now threaten Australia great Donald Bradman’s record of 974 runs in a single Test series, after the 25-year-old also made 147 in India’s five-wicket defeat in the opener at Headingley.
“You’ve got got to give your opposition credit when it’s due and for him to bang out as many runs as he has done in this game has been pretty special,” said England captain Ben Stokes.
One encouraging thought for Stokes, however, as he ponders how to get the better of Gill, is that Bradman’s mark has stood for 95 years.
Many batsmen have made blistering starts, only for the runs to dry up later on.
South Africa’s Graeme Smith started his captaincy reign with back-to-back double hundreds in England, at Edgbaston and Lord’s, in 2003.
Opening batsman Smith, however, managed just 93 more runs in the remaining three Tests of that series.
It has been over four years since fast bowler Jofra Archer last played a Test but the injury-blighted express quick now appears set to return at Lord’s, where in 2019 he marked his debut by felling Australia’s Steve Smith with a fearsome bouncer.
Doubts remain over whether Archer can be the bowler he once was after such a lengthy lay-off.
But England coach Brendon McCullum said: “He’s obviously been through his injuries and his time out of Test cricket, but we all know what he’s capable of achieving and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he’s able to recapture and improve on what he’s been able to do already.”
Archer at his best would certainly give England a much-needed cutting edge.
Chris Woakes has taken just three wickets at a hugely expensive average of nearly 97 apiece so far this series, despite being given the new ball.
England great Geoffrey Boycott suggested the 36-year-old was now “past his sell-by date” but all-rounder Woakes has a fine record at Lord’s, with 32 wickets in seven Tests at a miserly average of 12.90, as well as a batting average of 42.50.
Akash Deep proved a more than capable stand-in with a 10-wicket haul in Birmingham — a return that will surely see him keep his place— but it is hard to see how India can be anything but stronger with a refreshed Jasprit Bumrah in their side after resting the world’s top-ranked Test bowler at Edgbaston.
“He (Bumrah) jogs in, you will be thinking ‘this will be 70 miles an hour’ and it hits you at 90,” former England paceman Stuart Broad told his ‘For the Love of Cricket’ podcast.
Overseas players often raise their game at Lord’s and Bumrah is unlikely to be an exception as the 31-year-old fast bowler bids to gain a coveted place on the dressing room honors board for the first time in his career.
Joao Pedro brace sends Chelsea into Club World Cup final
- Joao Pedro refused to celebrate after either goal against the club with whom he started his career and made 36 top-team appearances before moving to England with Watford in 2020
EAST RUTHERFORD, United States: New signing Joao Pedro scored twice on his first start as Chelsea eased to a 2-0 win over Fluminense on Tuesday to seal a spot in the final of the Club World Cup.
The Brazilian striker opened the scoring in lethal fashion in the 18th minute of the last-four clash at the MetLife Stadium and struck again shortly before the hour mark as Chelsea set up a showdown with either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final.
Signed from Brighton and Hove Albion last week for a reported £60 million ($79 million), the 23-year-old cut short a holiday and made his debut off the bench in the quarter-final win over Palmeiras.
He was then given his first Chelsea start up front here in place of the suspended Liam Delap.
Joao Pedro refused to celebrate after either goal against the club with whom he started his career and made 36 top-team appearances before moving to England with Watford in 2020.
The result ends Fluminense’s impressive run at the tournament after the 2023 Copa Libertadores winners held Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, beat Inter Milan in the last 16 and knocked out Manchester City’s conquerors Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals.
With their exit go the prospects of a South American winner of the first 32-team Club World Cup, with Chelsea claiming back-to-back victories against Brazilian opposition to reach the final.
As always seemed most likely, the trophy will be claimed by one of Europe’s superpowers, with the final now guaranteed to be between two of the last five winners of the UEFA Champions League.
“It is a great achievement. It has been a fantastic season — top four in the league, (winning) the Conference League and now in the final in this competition. We are so, so happy,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca told broadcaster DAZN.
“Now finally it is the last game of the season, we can say that, and hopefully we can win the tournament.”
Fluminense coach Renato Portaluppi had described his team as the “ugly duckling” of the tournament due to the enormous difference between their budget and those of the other three remaining sides.
This game ultimately proved to be a step too far for their team, captained by 40-year-old former Chelsea center-back Thiago Silva.
“This was a wonderful Club World Cup,” said Portaluppi.
“There is no crying over spilled milk now. We wanted to get to the final for our fans but we leave with our heads held high, and go back to our reality stronger now than we were before.”
Chelsea were without the suspended Levi Colwill and Delap but Moises Caicedo returned after a ban.
The Premier League side were simply too strong for their opponents in a game watched by 70,556 fans on a hot afternoon just outside New York City.
They went ahead thanks to a wonderful strike by their new forward, who controlled the ball on the edge of the box after Silva had cleared a Pedro Neto cross.
Joao Pedro took a touch and curled a shot beyond veteran goalkeeper Fabio into the far corner, before holding up his hands apologetically toward the Fluminense fans behind the goal.
The team from Rio de Janeiro were an intermittent threat, and Hercules — match-winner against Al-Hilal in the last eight — almost equalized in the 25th minute.
He played a one-two with German Cano and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, but Marc Cucurella cleared off the line.
Fluminense were then awarded a penalty 10 minutes before the interval when a set-piece delivery by Rene struck the arm of Trevoh Chalobah in the box.
However, French referee Francois Letexier overturned the decision following a VAR check.
“Had we been awarded the penalty we would have scored and it would have been a different story,” said Portaluppi.
Chelsea got their second on 56 minutes, just after Fluminense had sacrificed one of their three center-backs to send on an extra attacker.
Enzo Fernandez released Joao Pedro on the break, and the forward produced another clinical finish in off the bar.
There were chances for Chelsea to score further goals after that, but the new boy’s double strike sufficed with the only potential black mark on the day the knock which forced Caicedo to limp off before full-time.
Alcaraz, Sabalenka take contrasting routes into Wimbledon semifinals
- Alcaraz needed just 99 minutes to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his most commanding performance in this year’s tournament
- Sabalenka fought back from the brink of a shock exit to reach the semifinals
LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz swept into the Wimbledon semifinals for a third successive year as the defending champion demolished Cameron Norrie, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka survived a major scare to reach the last four on Tuesday.
Alcaraz needed just 99 minutes to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his most commanding performance in this year’s tournament.
The Spanish second seed dropped four sets in a series of scrappy displays during his run to the last eight.
But Alcaraz was back to his imperious best in the quarter-finals, blasting 39 winners against the overwhelmed British world number 61, setting up a last-four clash with American fifth seed Taylor Fritz.
Alcaraz is on a career-best 23-match winning run since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April — a superb streak which has brought him titles at the French Open, the Rome Masters and Monte Carlo.
The Spaniard, who vanquished Novak Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, has won 34 of his 37 Tour-level matches on grass, while his last defeat at the All England Club came against Jannik Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.
“To be able to play another semifinal here at Wimbledon is super special,” Alcaraz said.
“It’s going to be great. I’m really happy with the way I played against a really difficult player,“
Wimbledon’s controversial line technology system malfunctioned again as Fritz beat Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4) to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal.
Swedish umpire Louise Azemar Engzell had to stop a point in the opening game of the fourth set on Court One when “fault” was incorrectly called after a Fritz forehand landed well inside the baseline.
The call of “fault,” rather than “out,” and positioning of the ball suggested the system was still tracking Fritz’s serve as opposed to a rally and the point had to be replayed.
Tournament organizers were forced to apologize and make a change to the system to avoid further issues after a major error in Sonay Kartal’s fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women’s draw.
A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon for the first time this year, in line with the Australian Open and the US Open.
Tournament organizers claimed the system had failed to reset because the ball from Fritz’s first serve was still being retrieved when he started lining up his second.
“The player’s service motion began while the BBG (ball boy or girl) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn’t recognize the start of the point,” an All England Club statement said.
“As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed.”
Sabalenka fought back from the brink of a shock exit to reach the semifinals with a gutsy 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win against Germany’s Laura Siegemund.
She twice trailed by a break in the final set on Center Court and was two games away from crashing out before staging a dramatic revival to win in two hours and 54 minutes of unrelenting tension.
The 27-year-old top seed is through to the Wimbledon semifinals for the third time after losing at that stage in 2021 and 2023.
Beaten in the Australian and French Open finals this year after winning the US Open in 2024, Sabalenka remains on course to reach a fourth successive Grand Slam title match.
Sabalenka remains the only one of the top six women’s seeds still standing at the tournament after two weeks of shocks.
“That was a real test. I need some time to cool down and recover after this,” Sabalenka said.
In the semifinals, the Belarusian will face American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who defeated Russian world number 50 Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6 (11/9).
Anisimova took an eight-month break from tennis in 2023 after suffering with depression brought on by the scrutiny and expectations that came from her run to the French Open semifinals aged just 17.
“It’s been an extraordinary year for me. So many highs. It’s been such a ride,” she said.
