Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts admitted he no longer gets on with team-mate Dimitri Van den Bergh after they opened their World Cup of Darts campaign with an emphatic win over Finland.

The fifth seeds proved far too strong for the Finns in their first Group A match at the doubles tournament in Frankfurt, but there was obvious indifference between the pair during their 4-0 win on Thursday.

Huybrechts, the world number 31, told Online Darts: “It was a professional victory. We did a job but that’s about it.

“For me it’s the first time playing a doubles tournament with someone you don’t get along with now.”

Huybrechts added there was “something personal” between him and world number 10 Van den Bergh.

Meanwhile, the Australian duo of Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock began the defence of their title with an emphatic 4-0 win over debutants Guyana.

Eighth seeds Northern Ireland suffered a surprise 4-1 loss to France while the Republic of Ireland beat Thailand 4-1. Hosts and sixth seeds Germany overpowered Hong Kong 4-0.

The final two rounds of fixtures in the group stage are played on Friday.

England, Wales, Netherlands and Scotland – the top four seeded teams – do not enter until the second round on Saturday.

Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele both equalled the lowest score in men’s major championship history with stunning rounds of 62 on the opening day of the 123rd US Open.

Fowler took advantage of ideal conditions for the early starters to fire 10 birdies and two bogeys at Los Angeles Country Club, matching the mark set by Branden Grace in the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

It is also the lowest score ever recorded in a US Open, England’s Tommy Fleetwood making the most recent of the six previous 63s in the final round in 2018.

But remarkably Fowler held that distinction on his own for just 30 minutes as Schauffele, playing two groups behind, carded eight birdies in a bogey-free 62 of his own.

Starting on the back nine of the North Course, Fowler carded five birdies, two bogeys and just two pars to reach the turn in 32, before picking up another shot on the par-five first.

The 34-year-old also birdied the second and third and was agonisingly close to a fifth birdie in a row as a superb recovery from a greenside bunker on the fourth stopped millimetres short of the hole.

Birdies on the sixth and eighth – the latter despite having driven into the barranca to the right of the fairway – took Fowler to eight under par and he safely two-putted the ninth from long range to secure his place in the record books

The California native has recorded eight top-five finishes in the majors, including in all four 2014, and was runner-up to Patrick Reed in the 2018 Masters following weekend rounds of 65 and 67 at Augusta National.

He had failed to qualify for the last two US Opens as a loss of form saw him tumble to 185th in the world rankings, but he came into the week on the back of successive top 10s on the PGA Tour and ranked 45th.

“It was a great day,” Fowler said. “I got off to a nice start making a three on 10, but never really thought about a score out there.

“The first few days this week I was not feeling very comfortable or making many putts but I kept working on the range and finally a couple of things clicked a bit yesterday (Wednesday).

“Then it was just a case of going out there and trusting it and letting things happen.”

Schauffele, who has never finished worse than 14th in six previous US Open appearances, also started on the back nine and picked up shots on the 10th, 12th and 14th before storming home in 30, aided by a birdie from 60 feet on the fifth.

Lewis Hamilton has knocked back Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s claim that he is on the brink of signing a new contract.

Earlier this week, team principal Wolff said Hamilton’s contract renewal would be resolved “in days rather than weeks”, adding that he was “trying hard” to finalise terms with his superstar driver before this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

But speaking in Montreal on Thursday, Hamilton, 38, said: “I don’t have a huge amount to say on the contract.

“It will get done when it is done. If that is next week, or in a month’s time, as long as it gets done, I am not really bothered.”

After the previous round in Barcelona, Wolff said it would take only “half an hour over coffee” to agree an extension to Hamilton’s £40million-a-season deal which expires in six months.

Hamilton met with Wolff the day following the Spanish Grand Prix in the hope of rubber-stamping a new deal – which is set to extend the seven-time world champion’s stay in Formula One beyond his 40th birthday – and has also spent time with the Austrian in New York this week.

Hamilton added: “I have seen Toto and we have talked several times. We have a great relationship but there is nothing to say at the moment.”

Asked if any progress on negotiations had been made, Hamilton replied: “Yes, but there is nothing new to add to it.”

Hamilton, who has not won a race since his contentious championship defeat to Max Verstappen at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, is already 83 points off the title pace this year.

On Sunday, a sixth victory of the season for Verstappen would put him on 41 victories for his career, equalling Ayrton Senna’s tally, with only Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him.

And Hamilton admitted Verstappen, still only 25, could break his record.

“He has got a very long career ahead of him so he absolutely could,” said Hamilton. “Records are there to be broken and he has got an amazing team.

“Max has been doing an amazing job and he has had an incredible career so far.

“But we have got to work harder to try and continue to extend our record and I hope, with the period of time I have left in my career, I get to have more close racing with him.”

Rickie Fowler equalled the lowest score in men’s major championship history with a stunning 62 in the first round of the 123rd US Open.

Fowler took advantage of ideal conditions for the early starters to fire 10 birdies and two bogeys at Los Angeles Country Club, matching the mark set by Branden Grace in the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

It is also the lowest score ever recorded in a US Open, England’s Tommy Fleetwood making the most recent of the six previous 63s in the final round in 2018.

Starting on the back nine of the North Course, Fowler carded five birdies, two bogeys and just two pars to reach the turn in 32, before picking up another shot on the par-five first.

The 34-year-old also birdied the second and third and was agonisingly close to a fifth birdie in a row as a superb recovery from a greenside bunker on the fourth stopped millimetres short of the hole.

Birdies on the sixth and eighth – the latter despite having driven into the barranca to the right of the fairway – took Fowler to eight under par and he safely two-putted the ninth from long range to secure his place in the record books.

The California native has recorded eight top-five finishes in the majors, including in all four 2014, and was runner-up to Patrick Reed in the 2018 Masters following weekend rounds of 65 and 67 at Augusta National.

He had failed to qualify for the last two US Opens as a loss of form saw him tumble to 185th in the world rankings, but he came into the week on the back of successive top 10s on the PGA Tour and ranked 45th.

Danilo Gallinari will return to the Boston Celtics for the 2023-24 season after reportedly exercising his $6.8million player option.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the news on Thursday.

The 13-year veteran from Italy missed the entire 2022-23 season after tearing his left ACL while playing for his native country in a FIBA qualifying game last August - a month after signing a two-year, $13.3million contract with the Celtics.

Expected to be a regular in the rotation for a Boston team with NBA title aspirations, the 34-year-old Gallinari signed with the Celtics after averaging 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 38.1 per cent from 3-point range in 66 games for the Atlanta Hawks in 2021-22.

His best season came in 2018-19 for the Los Angeles Clippers, when he averaged career highs of 19.8 points and 6.1 rebounds and shot 43.3 per cent on 3-pointers to rank fifth in the NBA among qualifying players.

Last summer's injury marked the second time Gallinari missed an entire season with a torn left ACL after tearing it a first time in April 2013.

He came back in 2014-15 with averages of 12.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 59 games for the Denver Nuggets.

Selected sixth overall by the New York Knicks in the 2008 draft, Gallinari has career averages of 15.6 points and 4.8 rebounds and an average of 2.0 made 3-pointers per game.

Since his 2008-09 rookie season, the only player 6-foot-10 or taller with more made 3-pointers than Gallinari's 1,426 is Kevin Durant with 1,804.

Andy Murray says he is in the best physical condition since his hip operation after racking up a seventh straight win to ease into the quarter-finals of the Rothesay Nottingham Open.

Murray won his first tournament in this country since his 2016 Wimbledon title when he triumphed at Surbiton last week and has continued his good form in the midlands, beating Frenchman Hugo Grenier 6-3 7-5.

The 36-year-old’s career was derailed by a hip resurfacing operation in 2018, where a metal insert replaced his bone, and he has battled fitness issues since.

But his movement on the Nottingham grass is looking as good as ever and he is feeling in good shape, despite the long run of matches.

“In terms of physically how I have been, the last six to nine months have been really good and that has been the best I have felt since my surgery, that is really positive,” he said.

“I am getting lots of matches in. I always feel really comfortable on the grass courts, so the next few weeks will be a good test for me.

“It is really hard to say if I’m playing my best level overall, I don’t know, because I mean absolutely no disrespect to the players I am playing against, I am aware they are very good players, but when you’re playing against guys who are in the top 10 in the world they are able to expose certain things in your game a little bit more as well.”

Murray will be hoping to stay in Nottingham for the rest of the week before returning to his happy hunting ground at Queen’s next week.

And the Scot hopes this is all good preparation for SW19 next month, where the two-time champion could be seeded again.

“It has been great to get lots of matches, you don’t know how this will impact in two or three weeks time, but I am doing my best to give myself the best preparation I can for Wimbledon,” he said.

“Hopefully I can perform well in the next few days and heading into Queen’s I will have definitely had a lot of matches.

“Granted it is not as high a level as Queen’s will be or the latter stages of Wimbledon, but it is building confidence and fitness and all of those things.”

Fresh from revealing a potential investment in Leeds United, Rickie Fowler kicked off his bid for a first major title in impressive fashion in the 123rd US Open.

Fowler was among the early starters on day one at Los Angeles Country Club and covered his first 10 holes in four under par to set the early pace ahead of a four-strong group which included Olympic champion Xander Schauffele.

Starting on the back nine of the North Course, Fowler carded five birdies, two bogeys and just two pars to reach the turn in 32, before picking up another shot on the par-five first.

The world number 45 admitted on Wednesday that he and Ryder Cup team-mates Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were considering investing in Leeds as part of the imminent takeover by 49ers Enterprises.

The American investment group are set to take charge of the Championship club after agreeing a deal to buy out chairman Andrea Radrizzani’s controlling stake.

Fowler told Sky Sports News: “It’s cool to have these opportunities. I know we’re looking into it, and it would be fun if we get to be a part of it, if not we’ll continue to root for Leeds.

“Obviously they got relegated but to get to go to a Premier League game, a Champions League game, any of that (would be great). It’s a massive sport and I feel like it is continuing to get bigger in the (United) States.

“Since I haven’t been to a game, I don’t have the true appreciation until (I get to) be there and feel that energy.”

Fowler was playing alongside former US Open champion Justin Rose in the first two rounds, but Rose was enduring a miserable round on the 10th anniversary of his victory at Merion.

After starting the day with five straight pars, Rose bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 17th before running up a double bogey on the 18th to reach the turn in 40.

The New Jersey Devils and forward Jesper Bratt agreed to terms on an eight-year contract worth $63 million on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Swede was slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

"It was always a priority to keep Jesper Bratt here long term and both parties are thrilled that a deal was completed," Devils executive vice president and general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "I value and commend the commitment Jesper made to this organization.

“We believe that he is a special player and a key member of our core group of talent who will contribute towards the team's long-term success, and organizational goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to New Jersey."

The Devils selected Bratt in the sixth round (162nd overall) of the 2016 draft, and he made his NHL debut in 2017-18.

Bratt’s last two seasons were his best in the NHL with a career-high 73 points in each campaign. He set a personal best with 32 goals in 2022-23 to rank second on New Jersey.

Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart and Jodie Burrage helped create history as four British women are in the the quarter-finals of a WTA Tour event for the first time after their progression at the Rothesay Nottingham Open.

Boulter, who is Britain’s number one, battled past Ukrainian lucky loser Daria Snigur 7-5 6-3 while Dart enjoyed a fine 6-0 7-5 victory over fifth seed and world number 25 Anhelina Kalinina.

But perhaps Burrage’s victory was the most impressive as she beat world number 21 and Australian Open semi-finalist Magda Linette 7-5 6-3 in one of the best victories of her career and all three join Heather Watson in the last eight.

Burrage made it through to a first career quarter-final on the WTA Tour but hopes there may be more to come.

“I am feeling really good, I have won a few matches in the WTA but never got to the quarter-finals, so it feels really good to tick that off,” she said. “But there is still a lot left to go in the week and we’ll see what happens.

“When we are all doing well it really pushes everyone on, it is a bit daunting going on after the other two (Boulter and Dart) won, it was a little bit of pressure, but in the same breath it did help as well, but when you’re out on court you’re just wanting to win.”

Boulter and Dart will now play each other to ensure there will be at least one Brit in the semi-final on Saturday.

It is also the best home performance at Nottingham in the tournament’s current format and all three of those women will have realistic ambitions of following in Johanna Konta’s footsteps and winning it, as the now-retired former British number one did two years ago.

Boulter, who is from Leicester and staying at her house during this week, has never got past the quarter-finals here before.

“It’s funny because I feel like I have been one of the years I was a set up and had to pull out and there have been many times where I have been playing great but I have never been able to go all the way through,” she said.

“For me I feel very comfortable, I feel at home, I play some great stuff and hopefully I can keep that up. I am going to keep fighting and keep enjoying it and it is easy to forget to do those two things so that is my main goal.”

Boulter and Dart are part of a very close-knit British team, but the former is able to separate between friend and opponent.

“At the end of the day you are playing against a tennis ball, I don’t think it matters too much who that person is, you have to play the ball and what’s coming at you,” she added.

“That’s the way I see it. I don’t think it is going to be an easy match either way, I am looking forward to it. It’s not often you get to the quarter-finals at your home tournament so that’s all I’m concentrating on.”

Burrage will play Magdelena Frech while Watson, who booked her quarter-final spot on Wednesday, takes on Viktorija Golubic.

Michael O’Neill has told his young Northern Ireland players to embrace the challenge of taking on Denmark in Copenhagen on Friday night.

O’Neill said this Euro 2024 qualifier was not only the hardest fixture on paper but the “hardest fixture full stop” as Northern Ireland travel to take on the top seeds in Group H at the always noisy Parken Stadium.

Jamal Lewis has been added to an already lengthy injury list which has robbed O’Neill of half a dozen of his most experienced players, and with Shane Ferguson also out there is a shortage of left-sided players.

O’Neill will try to get as much experience as he can into his starting 11, but there will be no option but to rely on younger players too, with Conor Bradley and Shea Charles among the contenders to start.

“This is a good game for us,” O’Neill said. “It’s a young squad, we’ve got seven under-21 players with us. We’ll rely heavily on our experienced players as well. It’s a game we can only gain from really.

“Obviously we were disappointed with the home game against Finland (a 1-0 defeat in March), we felt we deserved more than we got, so we’ve got to try and make up points somewhere along the line. This is a hard place to play, but we’ll go with the intention of trying to find something from the game.”

The 38,000-seater Parken Stadium can become an intimidating place for visiting teams, but while it might be unlike anything Northern Ireland’s younger players have experienced before, O’Neill does not want them to shy away.

“I think they should embrace it really more than anything else,” he said. “The message will be go out and enjoy playing in a stadium like this…

“The thing I’ve enjoyed in working with the younger players is I see their attitude to the game, it’s very positive, I don’t think they’ll have a fear.

“There’s a lot of self-belief and abilities in the likes of Shea Charles, Isaac Price, Conor Bradley, Trai Hume, they play in games where they’ve a lot of expectancy where they’re currently playing their football.

“I think we have to have that mindset that we’ve got everything to gain from Friday night and not fear the atmosphere but look forward to it.”

One key challenge for Northern Ireland will be limiting Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen’s ability to dictate play from the centre of pitch.

“We understand we are dealing with a top level player here,” O’Neill said. “It’s brilliant seeing him back playing international football.

“The days of man marking players is more difficult now but as a team we have made the midfield players in particular very aware of the Danish midfield and Christian Eriksen is the major player in that midfield. He is a hugely experienced player at international level.

“I think to deal with players at that level it’s more about what we do as a collective as opposed to possibly that designated player to deal with that situation.”

Both sides come into the game nursing disappointments from the last round of fixtures in March.

Denmark suffered a shock defeat to Kazakhstan, blowing a 2-0 lead as their unfancied hosts scored three in the last 20 minutes, while O’Neill’s first game back in charge at Windsor Park ended in that loss to Finland.

O’Neill insisted he was not interested in making any sort of statement by claiming a big scalp on Friday, but his mind is on making up for what he sees as lost points.

“It would give us six points and it would make up for the disappointment of Finland,” he said. “I don’t think it’s about sending out a statement. I think this group could be very tight. Results have demonstrated that.

“If you can take anything off the number one seed in the group it is a massive achievement.”

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny will hope to finally exorcise the ghost of Cristiano Ronaldo as he targets a priceless Euro 2024 qualifier victory in Greece.

Kenny will send his troops into Group B battle at the OPAP Arena on Friday evening desperate to open their account at the second time of asking after they lost 1-0 to France in Dublin in their opener.

He will do so still reflecting on the famous World Cup qualifier win over Portugal which was snatched from his grasp by Ronaldo’s late double in September 2021, and game in which Ireland led through John Egan’s header with just a minute of normal time left on the clock.

Asked if he was encouraged by the fact that some of his team’s better performances had come away from home, Kenny replied: “You can’t look back.

“Of course we have analysed all the performances and the obvious one is the game in Portugal, of course, which we lost late.

“We have learned so much about the team over the last year and you can see the team improving, but this is a stern test.

“Greece are a really good team, they are at home, and it will be a brilliant atmosphere, I’m sure, and it is one that we want the players to rise to and put in a big performance.”

Kenny and his players arrived in Athens after using a nine-day training camp on Antalya, Turkey to acclimatise to the heat and humidity they expect to face at the home of AEK Athens.

Greece boss Gus Poyet has billed the game as must-win for both nations with the Netherlands as well as France – minnows Gibraltar complete the group – also vying for qualification, but Kenny is taking a more pragmatic view.

He said: “We are looking for that historic away win, that’s our objective, that’s what we want.

“Greece have a very good home record, they have been in good form over the past year – we respect that.

“Nothing will be easy, we will have to fight for everything and it’s only the second game of the group, so I don’t think anything is decided so early, but it is certainly going to be an important game for both teams.”

It could be a particularly big night for Ireland’s 18-year-old striker Evan Ferguson, who would dearly love to wrap up a memorable season, during which he has burst on to the Premier League scene at Brighton, made his senior international debut and scored his first Ireland goal.

Asked if the challenge to the teenager was to finish the campaign in style with a telling contribution in Athens, Kenny said: “Evan has emerged quicker than we could have anticipated. He’s done brilliantly for Brighton in the Premier League. We’re delighted to have him.

“He’s trained really well this week. Such a young player, you wouldn’t want to put too much on his shoulders because we’ve got five good young forwards in the squad.

“But he has got terrific ability and we’d love to see that emerge over the next week.”

New recruit Sam Lammers admits he was impressed by Michael Beale’s vision for Rangers as he signed for the Ibrox club on a four-year deal.

The 26-year-old Dutch attacker has joined Gers from Serie A side Atalanta after spending the past season out on loan at Empoli and then Sampdoria.

Lammers explained how Beale’s willingness to travel to Italy to meet him helped persuade him to pledge his future to Rangers.

“I am really excited to join Rangers, my first impressions have all been good, so I am even more excited for the season to start now,” he told Rangers’ website.

“I came in contact with the manager and he came over to see me in Italy, we had a good talk and he gave me a presentation about the club and about how I could fit in, so ever since that moment I was excited for this project and to get here.

“I already knew some things about Rangers, I know the history, I know it is a massive club in Scotland and also worldwide, but it is always a good thing to have the personal side of it.”

Lammers began his career with PSV Eindhoven before leaving his homeland to move to Italy in 2020. He also spent time on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021/22 and was an unused substitute for the Bundesliga side when they defeated Rangers in the Europa League final a year ago.

Beale believes the Dutchman will slot perfectly into his new-look Rangers team.

“Sam is a player I have been aware of for a number of years,” he said. “I first knew him as a young player at PSV and have followed his career closely from afar and he excelled in Holland both in the Eredivisie and the under-21 national team.

“Sam will give us great technical and tactical quality, being able to play in a variety of attacking positions as a number 10 or nine.

“He was the first player I met with as part of the planning for the new season and, during our lengthy discussions, it was clear that we share the same ideas on football and on his personal development moving forward. He has a strong alignment to the other players in our squad.

“Having recently turned 26, he brings a wealth of experience, having already played in the top leagues in Holland, Germany and Italy. We are delighted he is joining us at Rangers and I’m looking forward to working closely with him.”

Lammers is Rangers’ fourth new signing of the close season.

“I am delighted with our progress so far in this summer transfer window,” said Beale. “We have worked extremely well to recruit Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling, Kieran Dowell and Sam Lammers. We are ahead of schedule in our plans.

“The coming weeks will see more trading both in and out of the squad as we prepare for the season ahead. We have key areas of focus and we are close to securing our targets in those positions.”

Charlie Hills believes Iberian could develop into a contender for some major juvenile prizes come the end of the season following an impressive debut success at Newbury.

The Lope De Vega colt, who cost 200,000 guineas as a yearling, made plenty of appeal on paper, and more so on the track.

Under Rossa Ryan, he powered to a length and three-quarters success from Judge Frank in the Welcome To The BV Group Novice Stakes, which was better value than the winning margin suggested, as Hills felt he idled in the closing stages.

The Lambourn handler is eyeing a step up into Group company for his next start.

“He’s a nice horse,” said Hills. “He is having a good old blow and will come on a good bit for the run.

“It had just got to the stage where I just wanted to get a run into him, really. He has always worked really nicely at home and he’s going to learn a lot more today than keeping him at home.”

Newmarket could be his next stop, with the Group Two Superlative Stakes, won last year by the subsequent French 2000 Guineas runner-up Isaac Shelby, on the agenda.

“He is an exciting horse, hopefully,” added Hills. “My immediate thought was something like the Superlative Stakes, but it is a long season.

“He travelled really nicely in the race, but probably idled a bit in front at the end, but he was having a good blow, so might have got a bit tired.

“Superlative, Dewhurst… it’s a nice thought if it maps out like that, isn’t it?”

Karl Burke had a rare winner at the Berkshire track, when Back See Daa went one better than she did when beaten a neck at Doncaster upon her return to action 12 days ago.

Upped to a mile for the first time, she impressed with a three-length victory in the Darley EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes.

Her jockey, Charles Bishop, said: “She is quite a nice filly. She got tired at Doncaster last time, but has improved and appreciated the extra furlong. She has done it very well.”

Sir Mark Prescott also had a rare Newbury winner. Blindedbythelights, having a third run inside a week, scored at odds of 2-7 under Luke Morris in the concluding Follow @BetVictor On Twitter Handicap, giving the Newmarket handler a rare Newbury winner.

Having won at Yarmouth, he was downed narrowly when long odds-on at Lingfield on Monday, but made no mistake this time, taking the mile and a half event cosily.

Morris said: “He’s a lovely progressive horse. Things transpired against him on Monday, but back on a nice galloping track, he was seen to much better effect.

“I think, as he steps up in trip, he will keep progressing. His ears were pricked and he wasn’t doing a whole deal. Hopefully he can turn into a nice horse.”

There was drama in the Highclere Castle Gin Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap with Tessy’s Lad, ridden by Miss Taryn Langley, dead-heating with Lenny’s Spirit, ridden by Miss Sophie Smith.

Tessy’s Lad’s trainer, Richard Hughes, said: “We went to Windsor a couple of weeks ago when I thought he’d nearly win. William Buick came in and said he blew up, and I thought, ‘Jeez, I thought I had him fitter than that’.

“We scoped him, as it didn’t sit well with me, and he wasn’t quite right. He had a little bit of mucus.

“He blew for 25 minutes afterwards, and while it was his first run of the year, all his work was easy. Maybe he was doing it too easy.

“He’ll go jumping now as well. We’ll get a nice bit of good ground for him. He’s a grand horse.”

Eve Johnson Houghton admits she has finally found the key to Flying Secret, who took the seven-furlong Highclere Castle Gin Handicap under Mia Nicholls by a short-head from Popmaster.

“We always knew he was a good horse but he has had little issues, niggles, and I’ve finally got it right – he needs a straight track and seven furlongs,” said the trainer.

“They are not easy to find. We had to go to Yarmouth to win last time! He takes a bit of time to recover from his races, because he is fragile.”