Sports News Roundup: Woods struggles to find rhythm in PGA Championship opening round; Caitlin Clark show comes to Big Apple as Fever visit Liberty and more

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.

Caitlin Clark show comes to Big Apple as Fever visit Liberty

The New York Liberty look to remain unbeaten on Saturday afternoon when they host the Indiana Fever and rookie Caitlin Clark in their home opener in Brooklyn. "We have to show up and play our 40 minutes of best basketball in order to win," Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said.

Soccer-Brazil picked to host 2027 Women's World Cup at FIFA Congress

Brazil was declared host of the 2027 Women's World Cup after winning a vote at the annual FIFA Congress on Friday, beating the joint bid of Belgium, Netherlands and Germany to become the first South American country picked to stage the tournament. Brazil won with 119 votes versus 78 for the joint European entry, boosted by a technical evaluation from world governing body FIFA that gave a high score for its commercial plan and stadiums purpose-built for the 2014 Men's World Cup.

Bruins' Brad Marchand game-time decision for Game 6 vs. Panthers

Bruins captain Brad Marchand participated in Boston's morning skate and is a game-time decision for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference second-round series Friday night against the visiting Florida Panthers, coach Jim Montgomery announced. Marchand sat out Boston's 3-2 loss in Game 4 and the Bruins' 2-1 win in Game 5. The forward has been idle since receiving an upper-body injury after a hard check from Florida's Sam Bennett in the first period of the Panthers' 6-2 victory in Game 3.

NFL distances itself from player's controversial speech on women, LGBTQ issues

The NFL has distanced itself from a commencement speech by Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker in which he urged women to prioritize motherhood over careers, attacked President Joe Biden for supporting abortion rights and criticized "dangerous gender ideologies." Jonathan Beane, a senior vice president and the National Football League's chief diversity and inclusion officer, said Butker's views "are not those of the NFL as an organization" and reiterated the league's commitment to inclusion.

Olympics-US seeks shotgun boost to give sharpshooters smooth Paris 2024 experience

A gold inlaid Krieghoff shotgun goes under the hammer in Texas this weekend and USA Shooting is hoping for a $150,000 boost to its coffers as it looks to give its shooters the best possible experience at the Paris Olympic Games. Over 300 shooters will compete in 15 events in Chateauroux, 270 kilometres south of Paris, with the onus on the federations to provide their athletes with some of the comforts traditionally available in the main Olympic Village.

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.

Golf-Scheffler charged with police officer assault before PGA Championship second round

World number one Scottie Scheffler was arrested and charged with the assault of a police officer in what he called a "chaotic situation" before being released in time to start his second round at the PGA Championship on Friday. Scheffler, who was placed in the back of a police car in handcuffs and later pictured in a jail-issued orange jumpsuit, said the early-morning incident was due to a misunderstanding with regards to traffic flow following a fatal accident in the area around Valhalla Golf Club.

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.

(With inputs from agencies.)