Sports News Roundup: Golf-PGA Championship qualifying criteria in spotlight after Casey invitation; Tennis-Flawless Djokovic crushes Norrie to reach Rome quarter-finals and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Golf-PGA Championship qualifying criteria in spotlight after Casey invitation

While golfers have distanced themselves from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf feud, PGA Championship officials were left to defend their qualifying criteria on Tuesday after extending an invitation to Paul Casey. Casey, an LIV member who is ranked outside the top 100, has never won a major and meets none of the selection standards, will tee it up at the year's second major at Oak Hill Country Club after being extended a special exemption.

Tennis-Flawless Djokovic crushes Norrie to reach Rome quarter-finals

Holder Novak Djokovic powered past Briton Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-4 in a tense match to reach the Italian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday and remain on track for a seventh title in Rome. Djokovic made slow starts to his opening two matches but the fired-up world number one quickly opened up a 3-0 lead and let slip two opportunities to break Rio champion Norrie a second time before taking the first set on serve.

Golf-Nothing like a good beating to provide major motivation for Scheffler

A couple of good beatings from Jon Rahm will provide Scottie Scheffler with some added motivation this week at a PGA Championship that could herald the start of a new major rivalry.

Golf, like every sport, is quick to latch onto any intriguing rivalry and a Rahm/Scheffler one may still be in the nascent phase but possesses all the necessary ingredients.

Soccer-Inzaghi always believed that Inter would reach Champions League final

Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi said he never doubted that his team could reach the Champions League final as they completed a resounding 3-0 aggregate victory over rivals AC Milan on Tuesday. A month ago, Inzaghi faced criticism and was under pressure after a lacklustre run of results, yet his side has turned it around and their 1-0 semi-final second leg win over Milan was their eighth in a row in all competitions.

Qatar's Sheikh Jassim makes improved final offer for Manchester United - The Times

Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani made an improved final offer for Manchester United in an attempt to see off his main rival British petrochemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, The Times reported on Tuesday. Sheikh Jassim is offering to buy 100% of the club now for a price nearer to 5 billion pounds ($6.31 billion), the report said.

Golf-Rahm, Smith and Fitzpatrick form PGA Championship major attraction

Spaniard Jon Rahm, Australian Cameron Smith and Briton Matt Fitzpatrick were put together on Tuesday in a star-studded group of major champions for the first two rounds of the PGA Championship. World number one Rahm, winner of last month's Masters, joins U.S. Open champion Fitzpatrick, and Smith, who won last year's British Open before jumping to the LIV Golf, in a marquee threesome that will be among the early starters at Oak Hill on Thursday going off the 10th tee at 8:33 AM ET (1233 GMT).

Soccer-Martinez deals knockout blow as Inter reach Champions League final

A second-half goal by forward Lautaro Martinez earned Inter Milan a 1-0 victory over rivals AC Milan in their Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday, sealing a 3-0 aggregate win to book their ticket to the showpiece in Istanbul.

Milan recovered some of the spark they lacked in the first leg but Inter's Martinez put the tie to bed when he struck powerfully from close range in the 74th minute at the San Siro.

NBA-Morant takes 'full accountability' after allegedly waving gun again on video

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said he took full accountability for his actions, in a statement published by U.S. media on Tuesday after another social media video emerged showing the two-time All-Star holding what appeared to be a gun.

The Grizzlies suspended Morant from all team activities on Sunday, roughly two months after a similar incident that saw him suspended for eight games when he appeared in a live-streaming video on Instagram holding a firearm at a nightclub.

Soccer-Ronaldo helps revive Al-Nassr hopes in Saudi title race

Cristiano Ronaldo revived Al-Nassr's slim hopes of winning the Saudi Pro League title in his first season at the club after scoring a penalty to help them to a 2-0 victory over Al-Ta'ee on Tuesday. With league leaders Al-Ittihad throwing away a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 with Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr drew to within three points of the top spot with three games remaining in the season.

Figure skating-Ukraine asks ISU for full Russian ban until end of war

The athletes commission of the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation has called on the sport's international governing body to back a full ban against Russian figure skaters and officials until the end of the Ukraine invasion. In a letter seen by Reuters, figure skater Anna Khnychenkova, chair of the Ukrainian federation's athletes commission, said Russians' participation "in any status or form" in events sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) was unacceptable.