Reuters Sports News Summary

The 15-times major winner belongs in the pantheon of greats but found little comfort at Valhalla Golf Course, where he struggled early after starting on the back nine. Golf-Scrappy McIlroy rolls with the punches to strong PGA Championship start A gritty performance from Rory McIlroy saw him four shots back of the clubhouse lead on Thursday, as the Northern Irishman carded a fine, five-under par 66 in the opening round of the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Golf-Woods struggles to find rhythm in PGA Championship opening round

Tiger Woods struggled to shake off the rust in his PGA Championship opening round on Thursday, carding a disappointing one over par 72 in Louisville, Kentucky, as he fought to find his competitive rhythm. The 15-times major winner belongs in the pantheon of greats but found little comfort at Valhalla Golf Course, where he struggled early after starting on the back nine.

Golf-Scrappy McIlroy rolls with the punches to strong PGA Championship start

A gritty performance from Rory McIlroy saw him four shots back of the clubhouse lead on Thursday, as the Northern Irishman carded a fine, five-under par 66 in the opening round of the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. McIlroy arrived at Valhalla Golf Club on the heels of back-to-back wins and absorbed everything that the course could throw at him, with six birdies and one bogey.

Dream move Caitlin Clark visits to State Farm Arena

The Atlanta Dream are the latest WNBA team to accommodate attendance demands for visits by the Indiana Fever and rookie sensation Caitlin Clark. The Dream announced Thursday that home dates against the Fever on June 21 and Aug. 26 will be played at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.

Soccer-Brazil declared host of 2027 Women's World Cup at FIFA Congress

Brazil was declared the host of the 2027 Women's World Cup at the FIFA Congress on Friday, beating the joint bid of Belgium, Netherlands and Germany to become the first South American country to hold the tournament. The Brazil bid received the backing of 119 member associations of the FIFA Congress to host the 10th edition of the competition, compared to 78 votes for the European bid.

MLB roundup: Yankees finish sweep of Twins

Clarke Schmidt did not allow a run over a career-high eight innings and the New York Yankees scored three times in the first inning to complete a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 5-0 victory on Thursday in Minneapolis. New York won for the fourth straight outing and the 10th time in 12 games while completing its first sweep at Minnesota since 2013.

Sixers G Tyrese Maxey wins NBA Sportsmanship Award

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey was named the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner on Thursday. Maxey, 23, adds the accompanying Joe Dumars Trophy to his Most Improved Player award announced last month.

Golf-Dazzling eagle gets Scheffler on right track at PGA Championship

Scottie Scheffler sent the crowd into a frenzy as he holed out for an eagle to start his PGA Championship campaign in Louisville, Kentucky, on Thursday, as he carded a four-under par 67 to end the day five shots back from the lead. Playing his first hole as a new dad after welcoming baby Bennett last week, the top-ranked American hit the ball some 167 yards from the middle of the fairway and grinned widely as it bounced once on the green and hopped into the cup.

Golf-Sizzling Schauffele grabs first round lead at PGA Championship

A rampaging Xander Schauffele powered to the top of the PGA Championship leaderboard on Thursday, firing a record-equaling opening round nine-under 62 at Valhalla Golf Club, as the Olympic champion looked to atone for a shock loss at the Wells Fargo. Out with the early starters Schauffele set the target that no one in the 156-player field could match. Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala came the closest, returning six-under 65s to sit three back.

Bruins on comeback trail against pesky Panthers in Game 6

There still is work to do to complete the difficult task of recovering from a 3-1 series deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but the Boston Bruins can push the series the distance with a Game 6 win on home ice Friday. The Bruins nearly lost such a deficit of their own against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round, but ultimately won Game 7 in overtime. As for this series, they forced a Game 6 when down 3-1 for the eighth time in franchise history with a 2-1 Tuesday win in Sunrise, Fla.

Tennis-Pain-free Sabalenka keeps close eye on back injury before French Open

World number two Aryna Sabalenka said she is playing without pain following a lower back injury in Rome but will not hesitate to pull out of Saturday's final with Iga Swiatek if the issue flares up and threatens her French Open participation. Sabalenka sustained the injury during her fourth-round clash with Elina Svitolina, where the Belarusian needed a long medical timeout and saved three match points to prevail as the contest spilled into the early hours of Tuesday.