France’s Matthieu Pavon maintained his two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the DS Automobiles Italian Open.
Pavon followed an opening 63, his lowest-ever round on the DP World Tour, with a 70 on Friday to reach nine under par, with compatriot Julien Guerrier and Spain’s Adrian Otaegui on seven under.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk is a shot further back after a second consecutive 68.
Starting on the back nine at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Pavon threatened to leave the field trailing in his wake when he carded a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th, but dropped three shots over the next 13 holes before closing with a 57-foot birdie on the ninth.
“Quite an up and down day,” Pavon said. “I started quite fast with a lot of good shots, made some birdies earlier on and that was great, but then I made some mistakes.
“Nothing really big but when you miss something here it feels like it is really tough to get the up and down done, so I dropped a few shots.
“I was a bit tired in the end also after a poor night yesterday, so to finish my round under par I am really happy.”
Defending champion Robert MacIntyre had earlier been forced out of the tournament due to a back injury less than an hour before he was due to tee off alongside home favourite Guido Migliozzi and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.
The Scot wrote on social media: “Gutted to withdraw this morning from the @ItalianOpen with a back strain. Hopefully nothing too serious. Now for a week of rest before the PGA Championship.”
MacIntyre, who defeated US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off to win his second DP World Tour title last September, had carded an opening two-over-par 73 on Thursday.
Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald missed the cut after consecutive rounds of 74 left him six over par.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Donald said.
“Great to be back here again, obviously had a nice dinner with the vice-captains one night and did a lot of work behind the scenes, it was a busy week and a productive week, (but) my game was a little bit off this week.”
Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 20th birthday by beating Borna Coric to reach the final of the Madrid Open.
The Spaniard is bidding to win back-to-back titles in his homeland for the second year in a row after successfully defending the title in Barcelona last month.
Croatian Coric put up a good fight, with the first set in particular full of gruelling all-court rallies, but ultimately Alcaraz was too good and he claimed a 6-4 6-3 victory.
After the pair had shaken hands, the home hero was presented with an enormous birthday cake while the crowd sang happy birthday.
“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid,” said Alcaraz. “It’s such a special place for me and I have great memories since I came here to play under-12s. Of course last year was amazing.
“Turning 20 like that is special, so I will enjoy the final here and of course I will try to make all of Spain happy.”
Alcaraz’s latest win came amid the news Rafael Nadal will miss the Italian Open in Rome next week as he continues to recover from a hip injury, and the younger Spaniard is rapidly establishing himself as the French Open favourite.
Novak Djokovic missed Madrid with an elbow problem and, if he wins the title this weekend, Alcaraz will only need to play a match in Rome to ensure he returns to world number one.
Andy Murray defeated French teenager Luca Van Assche to reach the semi-finals of the Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
The Scot opted to drop down to the second tier after his first-round loss at the Madrid Open last week and the decision has paid off, with Murray’s 6-2 7-6 (6) victory over 18-year-old Van Assche his third in a row.
The teenager is regarded as a big talent and is already ranked in the top 100 but Murray was solid from the baseline and, unlike in his second match against Laurent Lokoli on Thursday, he managed to avoid being taken to a deciding set.
The second set was not without its frustrations, with Murray missing a match point at 5-4 and then seeing an early lead in the tie-break slip away.
Van Assche had two set points but Murray, who needs one more victory to climb back into the top 50, saved both and yelled in delight when he made it over the line.
The 35-year-old is looking for his first title at any level since Antwerp in 2019 having lost his last four finals.
Rafael Nadal’s hopes of defending his French Open crown suffered another blow with the news he has pulled out of next week’s Italian Open in Rome.
The tournament is the last big event before the tennis tour moves to Roland Garros at the end of May but Nadal is still not in good enough shape to compete following the hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open.
Nadal had hoped to be fit by the start of the clay-court season but a gloomy update last month revealed the treatment he had been having had not worked.
The 36-year-old said on Twitter on Friday: “Hello everyone! I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to be in Rome.
“You all know how much it hurts me to miss another one of the tournaments that have marked my professional and personal career for all the love and support of the Italian tifosi.
“Despite having noticed an improvement in recent days, there have been many months without having been able to train at a high level and the re-adaptation process has its time, and I have no choice but to accept it and continue working.”
Nadal has won the title in Rome 10 times and has never gone into the French Open before without at least one warm-up event on clay.
For all his injury troubles, Nadal has never failed to play at Roland Garros since the first of his 14 titles in 2005, although he did pull out ahead of the third round in 2016 because of a wrist problem.
There are events in Lyon and Geneva the week before the start of the French Open on May 28 that Nadal could potentially seek wild card entry to but his hopes of a 15th title in Paris appear to be receding by the day.
Olympic gold medallist Oliver Townend has made a strong start to his quest for a first Badminton Horse Trials title since 2009.
The Shropshire-based Yorkshireman leads after day one of dressage, guiding Swallow Springs to a score of 23.2 penalties from an early morning draw.
Townend, a member of Great Britain’s eventing team that won gold at the Tokyo Games, holds a narrow lead over Gemma Stevens and Jalapeno, with world number one – New Zealander Tim Price – lying third on Vitali.
Townend’s Tokyo ride Ballaghmor Class is among a raft of Badminton contenders in dressage action on Saturday, when his Olympic team-mates Tom McEwen, riding Toledo De Kerser, and Laura Collett with Dacapo will also enter the arena.
And there is also likely to be a strong challenge launched by 2018 world champion Ros Canter, who returns aboard last year’s Badminton runner-up Lordships Graffalo in pursuit of a £105,000 top prize.
Sunday’s demanding cross-country test will be pivotal to the final outcome before the concluding showjumping phase on Monday.
“That was a very good start to the week,” said Townend, who was third on Swallow Springs at Badminton 12 months ago.
“I have two older horses here and I don’t think they have ever felt better, which is a great tribute to my team at home.
“I am very happy with the draw for Swallow Springs and think it will suit him. He is the quickest event horse I have ever sat on.”
Hollywood star Brad Pitt is set to drive at this year’s British Grand Prix to film scenes for his upcoming Formula One blockbuster.
It is understood that the 59-year-old American will race an adapted Formula Two car at Silverstone during the weekend of the Grand Prix which takes place on July 9.
Lewis Hamilton is helping to produce the movie, and the British driver’s Mercedes team has designed the bodywork for Pitt’s modified machine.
Pitt is expected to take to the track between practice sessions at the sold-out Formula One event, and no other cars will be on the circuit.
Apple has bought the rights to the movie with a reported budget of 140million US dollars (£125m). Joseph Kosinski, the man behind Top Gun: Maverick, will direct the film, in which Pitt’s character comes out of retirement to take on a rookie driver.
Speaking about his role in the blockbuster ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton, 38, said: “I am focused on making sure the script is where it needs to be, and making sure we have a great and diverse cast.
“Joe’s focus is to make sure we are as embedded into this sport as much as possible and it is current, and for me it is to make sure that it is authentic, and that it is believable and also to provide a view of racing from a different perspective than you might see on TV.
“I am spending a lot of time right now helping Joe and the team get the script right, and that is an amazing process and something I am really enjoying.”
Lewis Hamilton has raised the remarkable prospect of extending his Formula One career into his fifties on the eve of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
Hamilton has only six months to run on his current £40million-a-year deal at Mercedes, but both sides say a contract extension – which is set to carry the seven-time world champion beyond his 40th birthday – will be agreed.
Hamilton, 38, is the second-oldest driver on the F1 grid behind Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, 42 in July, is enjoying an upturn in his career with his rejuvenated Aston Martin team.
Hamilton is also heavily involved in a new Hollywood F1 blockbuster starring Brad Pitt. The 59-year-old American actor will play the role of a former driver emerging from retirement.
It emerged here in Miami that Pitt is set to drive an adapted Formula Two car during filming for the movie at the British Grand Prix in July.
“You can never say never,” said Hamilton, when asked about his longevity and the possibility of competing against Alonso in his fifties.
“Brad is going to be racing in the movie in his fifties, so I would be the third-oldest driver.
“There are people out there like Tom Brady [who retired, aged 45]. There are different ways you can train, how you can eat, and your focus.
“The technology in our bodies is shifting, and it is just about the mentality and whether or not you still have the drive to sacrifice the same as you did when you first started, and I do.
“I cannot speak for Fernando but I am hoping for more great fights with him moving forward.”
Juan Manuel Fangio is the oldest man to win a world championship. The Argentine captured his fifth title when he was 46 in 1957.
Hamilton was then asked if the physical demands of the sport’s gruelling record-breaking calendar are impacting his recovery.
But the Mercedes man replied: “It is not taking me longer to recover. It is better because I am more focused on recovery than I ever have been before.
“When I was 22, I was not focused on recovery. I didn’t know anything about it. I was just going home having a pizza, and not knowing what I needed to do the next day.
“I did not have any specialists around me to help me navigate that. I didn’t have the details of what to eat, how to replenish the liquids I lost, stretching, and all those different things.
“I wasn’t doing that back then. I don’t know if the drivers back in the day were that fit. They probably fell off quicker than us because we train a lot more than they did.”
Hamilton remains motivated to win a record eighth title. However, the British driver is on the longest losing streak of his F1 career.
Red Bull have won 14 of the last 15 races with Hamilton already 45 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen after just four rounds.
And Hamilton warned Red Bull’s dominance could last until 2026 if the current regulations – ironically introduced last year to make the racing closer – are not changed.
“We need to do better as a sport,” said Hamilton. “They have tried to bring the teams closer but it never seems to work.
“It is good that we are trying new things and evolving, but it is just unfortunate that we see the same kind of gaps between teams.
“I don’t know what the solution is for the future but we have to continue to adapt the regulations otherwise it could be the same as it is now until 2026.”
Klay Thompson felt "moments of euphoria" as his impressive performance led the Golden State Warriors to a 127-100 win over the Lakers in the NBA playoffs.
Golden State levelled their second-round series at 1-1 on Thursday, as Thompson thrived by scoring 30 points in a display that included eight 3-pointers.
The hot-shooting Warriors bounced back from Tuesday’s close Game 1 loss to recapture the momentum ahead of Game 3 in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Golden State shot over 50 percent overall and set an NBA record for the most 3-pointers in the first two games of a playoff series with 42.
And Thompson now has 12 playoff games where he has made at least seven 3-pointers, giving him an NBA record.
"These are moments you work for," Thompson said after the game, per NBC Sports.
"You might not see them all the time when you're in the gym, when you're conditioning, running a thousand miles.
"Those short moments of euphoria and that flow state where you just feel like you can't miss, make all those hard days more than worth it.
"I was just trying to get the crowd going, and it's always fun when you shoot the ball well. But it's even better when you couple that with a win."
Thompson was visibly animated in the closing stages of the game, often shouting and jumping in delight as he converted shot after shot.
He was 8-of-11 from 3-point range and 11-of-18 shooting, with 14 of his points coming in a third quarter that the Warriors dominated 43-24 to end any hopes of a Lakers comeback.
"Sometimes when you are out there and you're having fun, things just come about without intention or thought," explained Thompson.
"I think I was saying something along the lines of probably a few cuss words I'm not proud of. But those are the moments I feel the best as an athlete - when you feel like you're just clicking with your game, it’s just effortless."
Thompson had 25 points in Game 1, but shot only 9-of-25 in the opener.
"I relaxed a little bit more," Thompson said about his improvement in Game 2.
"I was not happy with my Game 1 performance. Shot the ball very inefficiently and probably rushed some shots. So I just let it come to me. I was telling myself to stay patient and it paid dividends."
Draymond Green came up just short of a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He relished seeing his fellow four-time NBA champion Thompson thrive.
"I just knew he was locked in," said Green. "He was really p****d off with our [Game 1] performance and he was dialled in coming in.
"When he's getting great looks like that, we know he's one of the best shooters to ever play this game."
Stephen Curry had 20 points and 12 assists, while JaMychal Green added 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting in his first playoff start since 2019.
Tao Geoghegan Hart can show he is back to his best at the Giro d’Italia over the next three weeks, according to two-time former winner Alberto Contador.
Londoner Geoghegan Hart enjoyed his breakout moment at the pandemic-affected 2020 edition of the Italian Grand Tour, claiming the pink jersey on the final day by beating Jai Hindley in the decisive time trial in Milan.
Since then, the 28-year-old has endured a difficult period with illness and injury, but last month he took two stage wins and overall victory at the Tour of the Alps last month – his first general classification win since the Giro.
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Geoghegan Hart will go into the Giro as a co-leader of the Ineos Grenadiers alongside 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, 36, while the squad also includes emerging talent Thymen Arensman.
“I think that the 2020 Giro was a little bit different (because of Covid-19) but we know that Tao has an incredible talent,” Contador told the PA news agency.
“At the Tour of the Alps he was very strong. Many riders that will be at the Giro were there and he won two stages and also the GC so for sure he is a good option and Tao can come back at the top.”
But, although Geoghegan Hart is seen as a contender, the main focus going into the race is on world champion Remco Evenepoel and three-time Vuelta a Espana winner Primoz Roglic.
“Everyone expects a big battle between Remco and Roglic but there are some up riders who can shake things up like Arensman, Thomas, (Joao) Almeida, and Tao, and they can make things difficult for the two big favourites,” added Contador, part of Eurosport’s analysis team for the race.
“If those two riders make a mistake they can have their chance. I cannot give to you one name. Both are very strong in the time trials and also the climbs, but the important thing in the Giro is always to not have a bad day as you can lose many minutes.”
An imposing Giro route – which covers a total of 3,489 kilometres and includes 51,400 metres of climbing – begins with an 19.6km time trial from Fossacesia Marina to Ortona on Saturday, the first of three time trials that cover a total of 73km over the three weeks.
There are also summit finishes on the Crans Montana, Monte Bondone, Val di Zoldo and Tre Cime di Lavaredo, plus seven stages of more than 200 kilometres and four others that come within a whisker, promising a gruelling three weeks for those intending to go all the way to Rome.
“This year the Giro comes back to the old style, the traditional long stages, days with more than 5,000 metres of climbing and 11 stages close to 200 kilometres,” Contador said. “It will be very important to recover day by day because the last week is normally the hardest week.
“I think the last time trial (18.6km from Tarvisio to Monte Lussari Tudor on stage 20) will make the difference because some riders can lose everything there.”
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Contador won the Giro in 2008 and 2015, part of a career that also brought two Tour wins and three Vuelta crowns. The Spaniard was additionally stripped of the 2010 Tour and 2011 Giro title after testing positive for clenbuterol.
“For me, the Giro is my favourite race for sure,” he said. “I was there my first time in 2008, going at the last minute because of a sponsor, and three weeks later I won the Giro. The Tifosi love me and for me it is the most beautiful because you can break from the script and go on the attack.
“The Vuelta is special for me, my home race, and the Tour de France is the biggest race in the world, but my favourite is the Giro.”
:: Watch live and exclusive coverage of the Giro d’Italia on Eurosport, discovery+ and GCN+
British boxer John Ryder claims he will be no pushover as he prepares to fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight titles this weekend.
Ryder has travelled to Guadalajara in Mexico as he aims to become England’s first undisputed male champion in the four-belt era on May 6.
Canelo bounced back from his defeat to Dmitry Bivol, this exact weekend last year, with a unanimous decision victory over Gennadiy Golovkin four months later and while fighting in Mexico is new for Ryder, Canelo has never fought in front of his home crowd either.
Much discussion leading up to the fight has claimed champion Canelo has chosen an ‘easy’ bout in a bid to add another British fighter to his winning record, along with the other seven that have come before The Gorilla.
Ryder is keen to show the world that Saturday will not be straightforward for Canelo and is ready to make a statement.
He told the PA news agency: “I’m sure people do see it as an easy fight but I’m in there to make a statement and stake my own claim on the super-middleweight division.
“I want to show people I do deserve to be a true world champion. I was harshly judged on in the fight with (Callum) Smith and already should have a world title but I’m blessed that this opportunity has come now.
“I’ve worked hard, I’ve had a few more fights in and around that level, picked up the interim world title and now I’m sitting in a fantastic position taking on Canelo next.”
Ryder has previously lost five career fights to Billy Joe Saunders, Nick Blackwell, Jack Arnfield, Rocky Fielding, and the most recent being Callum Smith in 2019 by unanimous decision.
Since then, Ryder has won four fights which has given him the opportunity to take on Canelo, but he is not treating it any bigger than any of his previous match-ups.
He added: “I treat every fight as my biggest challenge and I used to get nervous for the first couple of fights I was going in with so-called journeymen.
“The thought of losing a fight like that petrified me because you lose to them people and you are on a road to nowhere, so I always go into every fight giving the opponent the respect they deserve and Canelo is no different.
“If I say I’m supremely confident then people think I’m delusional but I wouldn’t be going out there if I wasn’t confident in my own ability and wouldn’t be taking a team out there that I am.”
The fight will be the first ever boxing match to take place at the Akron Stadium, with around 48,000 fans expected to be in attendance.
“I think the Mexican fans are real fight fans,” Ryder said.
“As long as you’ve giving them what they want to see and putting it all on the line… I’m sure they might boo on the way in but cheer on the way out.”
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Leeds Rhinos will pay tribute to the late Doddie Weir by wearing a limited-edition kit designed in his image when they face Castleford Tigers at next month’s Magic Weekend.
Former Scotland rugby union international Weir died in November after a lengthy battle with motor neurone disease (MND), but before his death had become a mentor for Rhinos great Rob Burrow, who has also been diagnosed with MND.
The Rhinos have decided to honour the former British and Irish Lions ace on June 3 when they play against Castleford at St James’ Park in Newcastle, the city where Weir won the Premiership title, with a shirt that will carry quotes from both Burrow and Weir in addition to a Tartan design on the side panels.
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John Bentley, who played for Leeds and was also a team-mate of Weir at Newcastle, said: “I love it and Doddie would have too. It’s a real tribute with the famous tartan.
“I think it is a fantastic gesture by the club, especially with the link to Rob too obviously. I am really proud to have played at Leeds and I love the link with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation especially as the game will be played in Newcastle where we share so many wonderful memories.”
Paul Thompson, director of fundraising at My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, added: “This is a fantastic gesture by the Rhinos. The community across both codes of rugby have come together so strongly over the past six years in support of Doddie, Rob Burrow and others.”
Defending champion Robert MacIntyre was forced out of the DS Automobiles Italian Open due to injury ahead of Friday’s second round.
The news was announced by MacIntyre’s management company less than an hour before the left-hander was due to tee off alongside home favourite Guido Migliozzi and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.
MacIntyre himself then wrote on social media: “Gutted to withdraw this morning from the @ItalianOpen with a back strain.
“Hopefully nothing too serious. Now for a week of rest before the PGA Championship.”
MacIntyre had carded an opening two-over-par 73 at Marco Simone Golf Club on the outskirts of Rome, the venue for this year’s Ryder Cup.
The 26-year-old defeated US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off to win his second DP World Tour title last September.
MacIntyre birdied the first extra hole after he and Fitzpatrick had finished tied on 14 under par.
That was just the second qualifying event for the Ryder Cup, although MacIntyre has since fallen outside the automatic places.
Klay Thompson scored 30 points with eight 3-pointers and all five Golden State starters reached double figures as the Warriors cruised to a 127-100 rout of the Lakers on Thursday.
The hot-shooting Warriors bounced back from Tuesday’s close Game 1 loss to tie the second-round series at one game apiece.
Stephen Curry had 20 points and 12 assists, JaMychal Green added 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting in his first playoff start since 2019 and Draymond Green nearly notched a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Golden State, which shot over 50 percent overall, set an NBA record for the most 3-pointers in the first two games of a playoff series with 42.
LeBron James scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half and Los Angeles struggled to keep up, with Anthony Davis limited to 11 points and seven rebounds following his 30 and 23 performance in the series opener.
Thompson’s 3 early in the third quarter ignited a 14-4 run for Golden State that extended the lead to 82-64. The Warriors were never threatened thereafter and finished with 43 points in the third quarter.
The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday.
Julen Lopetegui has told Wolves they need to be “very close to perfection” if they are to prevent Aston Villa from plunging them back into a Premier League relegation fight.
The Black Country club entertain Unai Emery’s men on Saturday still smarting from their 6-0 humiliation at Brighton last weekend and knowing they need to bounce back immediately if they are to avoid conceding ground to the chasing pack.
However, that will be easier said than done, with Spaniard Emery having transformed Villa’s fortunes to the extent that they are level on 54 points with seventh-placed Tottenham with four games remaining, and just one behind Brighton in sixth.
Compatriot Lopetegui told a press conference: “It’s a match against a very good team. They have improved a lot from the first half of the season until now.
“They are a very good team, good players, very experienced coach. They have a very clear idea and have developed, and after they have the quality to damage you in each moment.
“They have very big players so we have to have confidence in our players, our idea, to be able to beat them. We have to be very close to perfection to play against this kind of team.
“Above all, we have to put the focus on our strengths, be confident with our work and we have to be ready.
“I prefer to talk about us, our strengths, because we have to be confident in our energy, our strengths, and put the focus to be able to compete with them.”
Lopetegui, who hopes to have defender Nelson Semedo at his disposal following his return to training after resting the knee he damaged at Brighton, has a task on his hands after witnessing an alarming capitulation at the AMEX Stadium.
The Seagulls were 4-0 up by half-time and ultimately won the game at a canter to further their own European ambitions while at the same time arresting a run of three wins in four games for Wolves.
However, Lopetegui remained philosophical as he sifted through the wreckage of an extremely bad day at the office.
He said: “If we won or lost, the next day we know we have to improve a lot of things. We analyse the matches but this is over, the match is over and we have to put the focus on the next challenge.
“It’s important for us to be able to compete because Aston Villa demand a lot of things from the opponent.”
England and Wales will head for New Zealand in October as the world champions host the sport’s elite teams in the inaugural WXV tournament.
World Rugby has confirmed the venues and dates for the new three-tier competition, which seeks to increase “the competitiveness, reach and impact” of the 15-a-side women’s game across the globe.
Eighteen teams will take part in the event, with the top six battling it out in WXV 1 in New Zealand across three weekends on October 21 and 28 and November 4, the next six contesting WXV 2 in South Africa on October 14, 21 and 28, and WXV 3 using the same dates but with the venue dependent on the nations qualifying.
World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We made a pledge at a spectacular Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand to accelerate the advancement of the women’s game.
“Much progress is being made at rapid pace and today we are marking another milestone with confirmation of the dates and venues for the inaugural WXV competition.
“With women and girls leading our strategy to grow the sport on a global basis, this competition will increase the reach and impact of the sport and drive the overall competitiveness of women’s international rugby as we look forward to an expanded 16-team Rugby World Cup 2025 in England and subsequent Rugby World Cups in Australia in 2029 and USA in 2033.”
Beaten World Cup finalists England, France and Wales have already booked their places in WXV 1, while Scotland and Ireland will participate in WXV 2 and WXV 3 respectively.
The World Rugby Pacific Four Series 2023 will determine the remaining three teams in WXV 1 and one team in WXV 2, with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States contesting the competition featuring the top two teams in Oceania and North America.
WXV will comprise two sides from Europe and one each from Asia, Oceania, Africa and South America.
Each division in the annual tournament will be played out as a cross-pool format, with promotion and relegation – although not for the first two years leading up to the 2025 World Cup – adding spice.
Former England captain Sarah Hunter is confident the competition will help raise standards globally and hone teams for World Cup battle.
Hunter said: “To know that when you look at the calendar as England – and having recently played for England – that you’ll be playing some of the best teams in the world, it can only make you better, and to know that it’s not just every four years you get that opportunity to do so.
“I just think it’s a really exciting concept, that every year you’re going to be playing in one of the toughest competitions there is.”
Birdies on the closing two holes gave Tommy Fleetwood the first round lead in the Wells Fargo Championship as Rory McIlroy made solid return to action.
Fleetwood shot a bogey-free 65 as he continued his pursuit of a first PGA Tour title, one better than a group on five under – Xander Schauffele, Kevin Streelman, Taylor Moore, KH Lee and Ryan Palmer.
McIlroy, playing for the first time since missing the cut at the US Masters, is three strokes behind after an opening 68 on his 34th birthday at Quail Hollow.
Fleetwood has won six times on the DP World Tour, but the Englishman is still chasing a first title in the US.
“I just have to keep going and wait for those really big results and hopefully start contending again up at the top of the leaderboard,” said Fleetwood. “We’ll see what we can do from there.”
McIlroy has won three times at Quail Hollow with nine top 10 finishes in 11 starts, but he admitted not touching his clubs for more than two weeks after the disappointment at the Masters.
“I feel relaxed here,” he said. “It’s just a level of comfort at this golf course and at this club that I probably don’t have any other venue.
“I’ve played here so many times I know where to miss it. I missed a few greens but I didn’t feel like I hit the ball that badly.
“It was just really nice to be out there again… nice to feel like I played well. I didn’t want to spend my birthday afternoon grinding on the range.”
Schaufelle had looked on course to set the early pace, but two bogeys in Quail Hollow’s notorious closing three holes – dubbed the “Green Mile” – left him one off the lead.
US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick finished a stroke behind playing partners McIlroy and Justin Thomas, his 69 matched by fellow Englishman Tyrell Hatton with defending champion Max Homa opening with a 70.
English trio Matt Wallace, Callum Tarren and Harry Hall also opened with one-under-par 70s while Tony Finau, winner in Mexico last week, shot a 71.
The Milwaukee Bucks have fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after another promising season ended in an early playoff exit.
The Bucks announced the end of Budenholzer's tenure a week after they were eliminated in five games by the Miami Heat in a first-playoff series.
Budenholzer compiled a 271-120 regular-season record with the Bucks and helped lead Milwaukee to the NBA title in 2021, but each of his four other seasons ended in playoff disappointment.
"The decision to make this change was very difficult," Bucks general manager Jon Horst said on Thursday.
"Bud helped lead our team for five incredible seasons, to the Bucks' first title in 50 years, and into an era of sustained success. We are grateful for the culture of winning and leadership that Bud helped create in Milwaukee.
"This is an opportunity for us to refocus and reenergize our efforts as we continue building toward our next championship season."
Deciding Budenholzer's fate became more complicated when one of the coach's brothers died in a traffic accident before Game 4 – a factor that was made public after the Bucks were eliminated.
Budenholzer had long faced rumours of his dismissal.
The team's 2021 championship run held those rumours at bay for two years, but this season's stunning exit after a league-best 58-24 regular-season record spelled the end.
Playing with an injured Giannis Antetokounmpo, the top-seeded Bucks blew fourth-quarter leads in Games 4 and 5 against the No. 8 seed Miami, while players and Budenholzer himself admitted afterward that tactical errors played a role.
After the series-ending overtime loss, Antetokounmpo said the team should have made defensive adjustments against Jimmy Butler, who averaged 37.6 points across the matchups.
Stubbornness and inflexibility were frequent criticisms of Budenholzer throughout his tenure in Milwaukee, especially in the postseason.
In stints with the Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks, Budenholzer has a career 484-317 record (.604 winning percentage) and a 56-48 (.538) mark in the playoffs.
The Miami Heat are in wait-and-see mode when it comes to Jimmy Butler’s right ankle sprain as it pertains to his status for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the New York Knicks on Saturday.
"No update. I'm not going to get into all the minutiae of it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said on Thursday.
"When we find out how he is feeling on Saturday, we'll let you know. That's what the deal is."
Butler sat out Tuesday's 111-105 loss to the Knicks because of the ankle sprain that he sustained late in Sunday's 108-101 win in the series opener at Madison Square Garden.
Although he never came out of Game 1 after getting hurt, the six-time All-Star was noticeably limping and played a smaller role in Miami's offense down the stretch.
Still, the Heat managed to hold on for the victory and now return to Miami having stolen New York's home-court advantage.
By sitting out in Game 2, the 33-year-old Butler also has five days off between games to get treatment on the ankle in an effort to return to full strength.
Tuesday was just the fourth game since late January that Butler sat out, and two of those were the final two regular-season games with the Heat already ticketed for the play-in tournament.
Butler has been instrumental to Miami's surge into the conference semi-finals as the eighth seed.
He is averaging an NBA-leading 35.5 points per game in the playoffs on 58.5 per cent shooting, along with 6.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists.
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