Scottie Scheffler has been working hard on the one weak link in his game as he bids to win a third PGA Tour title this season.

Scheffler, who can reclaim the world number one ranking from Jon Rahm with victory in the AT&T Byron Nelson, defended his title in February’s WM Phoenix Open and also claimed the prestigious Players Championship at Sawgrass.

And the former Masters champion did so despite ranking just 89th in total putting on the PGA Tour, a stark contrast to leading the categories for strokes gained off the tee and tee to green, as well as greens in regulation.

“I just feel like I’ve seen a lot of putts that I’ve really thought were going to go in that haven’t,” Scheffler told a pre-tournament press conference at TPC Craig Ranch.

“I’m usually pretty dangerous when my putter gets hot, so I’ve been working on it pretty good. Yeah, just hoping to see some putts go in. Instead of lipping out, maybe lipping in.”

Scheffler made his PGA Tour debut in what was then called the HP Byron Nelson Championship as a 17-year-old amateur in 2014, recording a hole-in-one during the third round and eventually finishing in a tie for 22nd.

Nine years later he is the star attraction and the only member of the world’s top 15 in the field following the injury withdrawal of Jordan Spieth.

“It’s definitely a bit different than when I came here in high school,” Scheffler added. “I feel like I’m a little bit more a part of this thing than I was then, but I was just fortunate to get a spot and come out and play.

“Now I guess coming full circle out here is a little different scenario and it’s a lot of fun being able to play in front of the home crowd.

“Now that I’ve had some success out here on Tour, there’s a lot more people that will show up to watch me, which is great.

“I’m fortunate to be able to come out here and support an event that supported me from a young age, and I’m looking forward to going out there and playing in front of the home crowd and hopefully making some birdies.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 10.

Football

Burnley celebrated their trophy parade.

And sealed a deal!

Manchester City players reflected on their trip to Madrid.

Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze and Luther Blissett were honoured.

Cricket

Morning motivation from Virat Kohli.

Kevin Pietersen marked his son’s 13th birthday.

Golf

Justin Rose was back on the road.

Boxing

A tip from Eddie Hearn.

Formula One

Flashback.

Valtteri Bottas was back on his bike.

Nice views from Williams.

Tiger Woods will miss the US PGA Championship as expected after undergoing ankle surgery last month.

Woods was not included in the 155-strong field issued by the PGA of America on Wednesday for next week’s event at Oak Hill Country Club.

The final spot will be filled by the winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas.

Jordan Spieth was included in the field despite withdrawing from this week’s PGA Tour event with a wrist injury.

Woods pulled out of the Masters during the third round in April, saying at the time it was due to plantar fasciitis.

However, the 47-year-old then had a subtalar fusion procedure in New York to address the problem caused by a previous fracture of his talus, a bone in the ankle joint.

Woods feared his leg would have to be amputated due to the serious injuries he suffered in a car accident in Los Angeles in February 2021.

He made a remarkable return to action 14 months later and finished 47th in the Masters, but withdrew from the US PGA following a third-round 79 and did not contest the US Open before missing the cut in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.

Woods has accepted that he can only play a handful of times a year going forward and is targeting majors and events with which he has a personal connection.

The US Open takes place at Los Angeles Country Club in June and Woods will hope to defy the odds and be able to compete in July’s Open at Royal Liverpool, where he won a third Open title in 2006 in his first tournament since the death of his father Earl two months earlier.

Motherwell striker Kevin van Veen joked that journalists thought he was on the whisky when he revealed the goal targets he realised to become a player of the year candidate.

The 31-year-old Dutch forward, who joined Well from Scunthorpe in 2021, is the only non-Celtic player among the four nominees for the PFA Scotland Premiership player of the year award.

Van Veen is on the shortlist alongside the title-winning Hoops trio of Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi and last season’s winner Callum McGregor.

Van Veen has scored 25 goals this term for the eight-placed Steelmen, including 13 in his last 12 games, and is currently joint second-highest scorer in the top flight, alongside Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland, with 21 to his name.

Furuhashi has notched 30 goals in all competitions and sits top of the Premiership scoring charts with 24.

Van Veen said: “I always believed in myself. That’s why I said last year when journalists came to the club, ‘I am going to chase the top scorers in this league’ and I have done it this year.

“No, they definitely did not (believe him). They probably thought this was just a random Motherwell striker talking, had a whisky in the morning and he is probably not all there.

“I said it because I believed in myself. I know what I am capable of. I am just very happy that I have shown people what I am capable of and what I can do.”

Van Veen still has another year on his contract and asked about the speculation around his future he said. “I can’t say anything other than I am focused on Motherwell.

“I love playing for the club, they gave me a platform to show what I can do.

“But if the club gets a very good transfer sum in the summer, I am willing to help the club.

“It doesn’t mean I want to leave but if everyone is happy and everyone thinks it is the right thing then we need to sit round the table and see what’s best for the player and the club. We have to see what will happen.”

On his nomination, Van Veen said: “I am very happy. To get recognition from the players you have played against, it shows I have done something to impress them.

“I think the other three nominees are sensational players, it is a pretty good achievement for myself.”

Katie Taylor believes her career has been shaped by pressure moments so the Irish fighter doubts she will be overwhelmed by her homecoming against Chantelle Cameron later this month.

Taylor (22-0, 6KOs) is headlining the first major boxing card in Dublin since 2016, attempting to emulate Claressa Shields in becoming an undisputed two-weight world champion on May 20 at the 3Arena.

It will be her first professional fight in Ireland but, from winning gold at London 2012 to taking on Amanda Serrano at New York’s Madison Square Garden last year, Taylor is accustomed to blazing a trail.

So the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight champion, who is stepping up to light-welterweight to challenge for Cameron’s four belts, is sceptical about succumbing to fight-night nerves.

“I have the experience of fighting in these big occasions,” the 36-year-old said. “I have the experience of fighting when there is a lot of pressure on my shoulders.

“I don’t really see it as anything too outrageous in terms of what I’ve actually experienced before. Every single time I step into the ring I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on me.

“I am just getting on with things, looking forward to the fight, I’m excited about it, I’m not feeling the burden right now, I’m just excited. This could be the biggest moment of my career so far.

“This is a huge occasion for me and I’m just delighted to have a chance to fight at home. A few years ago, I didn’t think this was ever going to happen so I’m just so excited about it.”

Taylor was initially supposed to fight Serrano again at Croke Park in a rematch of their epic first meeting, which was the first women’s contest to top the bill at the so-called ‘Mecca of Boxing’.

Security cost issues scuppered the initial plan while a switch of opponent was necessary after Serrano suffered an injury, but Taylor remains hopeful of one day fighting inside Ireland’s largest stadium.

“I definitely haven’t given up on it,” she said. “I would absolutely love the opportunity to fight at Croke Park, our most iconic stadium, but these things are genuinely out of my control.”

Taylor, who stepped up to the 140lb division and won the WBO title by beating Christina Linardatou in 2019, was taken to her limits by Serrano in April last year but earned a split decision victory.

She will face height and reach disadvantages against Cameron, who has won all 17 fights in the paid ranks, but Taylor insisted she is ready for whatever the Northampton fighter has to offer.

“I definitely believe this fight has the potential to be the hardest of my career so far and I am ready for that challenge,” Taylor added. “These are the kinds of fights that I am very, very excited about.

“I’ve had my eye on Chantelle for a few years now, this is a fight that I’ve always wanted. The motivation is as high as ever for this fight for me.

“It would have been a lot worse if I was going from Amanda Serrano to a mandatory opponent, a fight I can’t really get up for. This is a fight where I am genuinely motivated for and she is as well.

“I’m going to have to be at my very, very best on fight night. People are saying this is going to be an even better fight than the Amanda Serrano fight so there is a huge appetite.”

England forward Beth Mead says she will “try my hardest” to make the summer’s World Cup while admitting “it may be a little bit too soon”.

Mead, who claimed the Golden Boot and player of the tournament award when the Lionesses won the Euros on home soil last year, has been sidelined since suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Arsenal in November.

In March, England boss Sarina Wiegman said she was planning for the World Cup without Mead, adding: “If a miracle happens and she goes so fast (in her recovery), then we will reconsider it – but at this moment I don’t expect that.”

Speaking on Wednesday as she received an MBE at Windsor Castle for services to football, Mead told the PA news agency: “I’m back on the pitch, back kicking a ball. So it’s starting to be a little bit more normal again, but it’s been a long, tough period.

“I will try my hardest to get as close to that as possible. But (the World Cup) may be a little bit too soon for me this time around.”

Mead also told Sky Sports she was “ahead of schedule” in her recovery, before adding that her World Cup participation is “out of my control”.

The showpiece in Australia and New Zealand gets under way on July 20, with Wiegman set to name her squad for the tournament later this month.

Mead is one of four Arsenal players to have sustained ACL injuries this season, with England captain Leah Williamson another, along with Vivianne Miedema and Laura Wienroither.

On the broader picture in terms of ACL injuries, Mead told PA: “I think there’s more that can be done. Obviously, we’ll be delving into that a lot more as individuals and as a club and in the women’s game in general.

“I think it’s becoming like six more times likely than male players and we’ve got that figure and that’s something that can help.

“It’s a long injury and you don’t want to be seeing any player going out with it, but some of the best players that you want to be seeing in World Cups and things like that (have sustained the injury).

“We’ll try and help push that out there more and get more research done on that.”

Also receiving an MBE on Wednesday was Mead’s England team-mate Lucy Bronze, who has been out of action herself after undergoing knee surgery last month.

The Barcelona defender, whose club play Wolfsburg in the Champions League final on June 3, said: “I think (the World Cup) is really far in the future and I should be back training within a few weeks now. The surgery was two weeks ago but very minor compared to some of the other girls.

“I’m hoping to get back fit for the Champions League final.”

Fit-again Ben Stokes was overlooked by Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, extending his time on the Indian Premier League sidelines beyond five weeks.

The England Test captain was signed by CSK for a bumper £1.6million but has appeared in just two of their 12 fixtures.

He arrived managing a longstanding condition in his left knee following a flare-up during February’s tour of New Zealand and also picked up a toe complaint which has kept him out of action since April 3.

The all-rounder’s fitness is being closely monitored by the England and Wales Cricket Board ahead of this summer’s Ashes and it is understood he is now cleared to play. CSK tweeted a video of him batting in the nets on Tuesday, showing the 31-year-old striking powerfully down the ground and captioned ‘freeing up those big arms’.

Yet despite his price tag, status and player-of-the-match showing in last year’s T20 World Cup final, he was left out of the squad to face Delhi Capitals.

CSK went into the game in second place and opted to stick with an overseas unit comprising Stokes’ fellow Englishman Moeen Ali, New Zealander Devon Conway and Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana.

Conditions at the Chepauk Stadium have been conducive to slow bowlers, which may have stacked the deck in favour of Moeen and Theekshana, as well as Kiwi left-armer Mitchell Santner, who was named among the impact substitutes.

Speaking ahead of the match head coach Mike Hussey said: “Stokes has been training really well. I am pretty sure that he is available for selection. It just comes down to the balance of the squad.

“Obviously, we have been playing in sort of spinning conditions, so they have decided to go for the extra spin-bowling option rather than Stokes, an all-rounder who can bowl seam.”

Stokes, who plans to leave the tournament ahead of the knockout phase to captain England’s summer curtain-raiser against Ireland from June 1-4, has made 15 runs in two innings and bowled a single over since arriving in India.

England fans may be more than happy to see that unexpectedly light workload continue, given the irreplaceable role he plays as batter, bowler and leader. He has overseen 10 wins from 12 games since taking the Test captaincy from Joe Root last year, reinvigorating the side in tandem with head coach Brendon McCullum.

Callum McGregor says Celtic will take a “siege mentality” to Ibrox on Saturday to face Rangers without the backing of any Hoops fans.

Ange Postecogou’s side clinched their second successive cinch Premiership title with a 2-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday and are on course this season for the domestic treble.

The final Old Firm league fixture of the season will have home fans only inside the stadium due to “safety and security” reasons, as was the case when the two sides met at Parkhead in April.

The Celtic captain – nominated along with team-mates Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi, and Motherwell striker Kevin van Veen for the PFA Scotland Premiership player of the year award – admitted the champions would travel to Govan with a spring in their step after yet another title win but ready to deal with unusual circumstances.

The Scotland midfielder said: “It is brilliant to go there as champions.

“We did it with four games to spare which is excellent. It shows we have had a really good season.

“It shows that we have had good personality in the group as well and we have to show that, we have to go there and be brave and play our football.

“Obviously in terms of the crowd situation, everyone will be against us.

“We won’t have any supporters in so we have to go in with a siege mentality and understand what the game looks like from that perspective and give everything we can to get a positive result.

“The big challenge is can we go there and get a positive result from the game and that what’s the full focus will be on.”

Celtic are unbeaten in five games against Rangers this season, a record which includes a Viaplay Cup final win and a Scottish Cup semi-final victory.

McGregor admits it is “a big incentive” to go through the campaign without tasting defeat against their Old Firm rivals, who are consigned to second place in the league.

He said: “These games are always important throughout the course of every season. We have been really strong in this fixture up until now.

“We go there as champions with a bit of confidence behind us as well.

“We don’t take for granted how difficult the game is going to be, a full house for them and we have to go and try and impose ourselves on the game.

“Obviously we will take confidence from the results we have had but if we don’t turn up there, don’t perform and don’t give our maximum we can’t expect anything from the game.”

McGregor won the PFA Scotland player of the year award last year and on this season’s nomination he said: “It is always nice to be in the conversation when these individual awards are being handed out, it means you are doing something right and obviously the PFA one is the players’ union and voted by for the players which is always a nice one.

“The fact that we have three players nominated means collectively we have had a very good season and that is the most important thing.”

Two more Celtic players have been nominated for the young player of the year award, with Liel Abada and Matt O’Riley joined by Rangers midfielder Malik Tillman and Charlie Reilly, who scored 24 goals for Albion Rovers despite the Cliftonhill side finishing bottom of League Two.

Joy Neville will make rugby union history in France later this year when she becomes the first woman to officiate at a men’s World Cup.

The Irish referee has been included among seven television match officials for the tournament.

Neville, 39, controlled the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup final between England and New Zealand in Belfast.

Wayne Barnes, meanwhile, will lead a four-strong contingent of English officials among the 12 referees selected.

Barnes has controlled a world-best 102 Tests and will officiate in a fifth successive World Cup, having made his tournament bow during the 2007 staging.

He is joined by Luke Pearce, Matthew Carley and Karl Dickson, with Carley and Dickson making their World Cup refereeing debuts.

The group of referees announced by World Rugby also includes Irishman Andrew Brace and Nika Amashukeli, who becomes the first Georgian to officiate at a World Cup, with England’s Christophe Ridley and Welshman Craig Evans chosen among seven assistant referees.

“The journey to Rugby World Cup 2023 is not an easy one for match officials,” World Rugby high performance 15s match official manager Joel Jutge said.

“There are fewer roles with as much public scrutiny, but I am proud of how the team has responded to the ups and downs, always being open and acting with integrity.

“Selection is one milestone, and we have a lot of work to do before the start of the tournament with warm-up matches and the Rugby Championship.

“But this team has a great work ethic, an unwavering spirit and a great bond, and we will all benefit from increased time together as we prepare for what will be a very special Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.”

The tournament kicks off on September 8 when France host New Zealand in Paris.

The NFL announced a handful of games for the 2023 season on Wednesday before the league’s full regular-season schedule will be unveiled Thursday night.

A first-ever Black Friday game will take place on November 24, as new Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers will lead New York against the visiting Miami Dolphins.

The defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles will host the New York Giants on Christmas Day, while the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Cincinnati Bengals on New Year’s Eve in a rematch of last season's AFC Championship Game.

The NFL also announced there will be five international games – three in London and two in Germany.

In London, the Jacksonville Jaguars will become the first team to play two games outside of the United States in the same season when they face the Atlanta Falcons on October 1 at Wembley Stadium and the Buffalo Bills the following week on October 8 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will also host the third London game on October 15 when the Tennessee Titans take on the Baltimore Ravens.

After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Germany last season in Munich, the league will return to Germany for two games at Frankfurt Stadium.

Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs will meet the Dolphins on November 5, and the New England Patriots will face the Indianapolis Colts on November 12.

Bianca Cook is determined to secure a “fairytale ending” to her taekwondo career by erasing her Olympic heartbreak in Paris next year.

The 31-year-old, who was forced to settle for gut-wrenching bronze medals in both Rio and Tokyo, has confirmed that next year’s Games in the French capital will be her last.

Cook, who married her long-term partner and fellow taekwondo champion Aaron Cook last year, fell on golden point to China’s Shuyin Lee in the 2016 semi-finals then lost to a last-second head-kick against Dabin Lee in Tokyo.

But she insists that, after shrugging off her most recent disappointment, she is more motivated than ever to complete her glittering career on a high.

“It’s definitely the last one I’m going for so I’m going to give it everything I’ve got,” Cook told the PA news agency.

“All I’ve got on my mind is getting to Paris and winning that gold. I know I’m still good enough and, if I can finish my career with a gold medal in Paris, it would be the fairytale ending.”

In the meantime Cook is hoping to make more history in her sport by becoming the first woman to win four world taekwondo titles in Baku, Azerbaijan later this month.

Cook won consecutive gold medals in Chelyabinsk, Muju and Manchester between 2015 and 2019 but failed to make it four in a row when she missed out on the 2022 tournament in Guadalajara due to injury.

“I never thought I’d be in the position to make history after missing the last one, so it is a great motivation to become the only female ever to have four gold medals,” Cook added.

“Making history is the sort of thing that motivates you through another cycle because for me it is all about that Olympic gold – I would give everything else away for that right now.

“But I don’t feel like I’m chasing anything. I could go to Paris having won four world titles and five Europeans so I have already achieved more than I ever dreamed of in this sport.

“Paris would be the happy ending but if I didn’t get it I wouldn’t be going to try again to get to the next one.”

Great Britain’s 11-strong team for the World Championship also includes double Olympic champion Jade Jones, and Cook’s fellow Tokyo medallists Lauren Williams and Bradly Sinden.

Alfie Haaland, father of Manchester City striker Erling, has played down the incident which led to him being escorted from his seat at the Bernabeu on Tuesday evening as “good banter”.

Video on social media showed Haaland, 50, involved in an exchange with Real Madrid supporters as he celebrated Kevin De Bruyne’s equaliser for City in the Champions League semi-final first leg.

Former Leeds and Manchester City midfielder Haaland cupped his ears in response to taunts from supporters near the executive box before he was guided away from the area by security staff.

Reports in Spain suggested Haaland had thrown food in the direction of home fans, which he denied, saying he had been asked to move to another location close by.

“RM was not happy we were celebrating KDB goal. Other than than that we had to move because RM fans not happy with 1-1,” the Norwegian wrote on Twitter.

In response to a report he had thrown peanuts at Real Madrid fans, Haaland said: “I did not. Not true.

“We had some good banter with Madrid fans. They were not happy when City scored. Typical. Then we had to move 50 meters away. Nothing more. All happy. Well nearly.”

Erling Haaland has enjoyed a standout first season with City, scoring 51 goals in all competitions.

Livingston manager David Martindale is delighted to have signed “ultimate professional” Andrew Shinnie to a new contract for next season as he attempts to deal with the impending loss of some key personnel from his squad this summer.

The 33-year-old former Inverness, Birmingham and Luton midfielder joined the Lions in 2021 and the West Lothian club announced on Wednesday that he had extended his deal until the end of next term.

Martindale is thrilled to have retained Shinnie as he prepares for his “toughest” rebuild yet, with the manager expecting Joel Nouble to be sold and Stephane Omeonga, Nicky Devlin and Jack Fitzwater to leave under freedom of contract.

“I’m going to lose a lot of quality from the squad this year and probably a bit of quantity at the same time so it was imperative I keep as much quality as I possibly can,” he said.

“I’m going to lose a lot of Premiership experience in terms of Joel potentially and definitely Nicky Devlin, Jack Fitzwater and wee Stephane.

“There’s three very big players we’re going to lose in terms of the experience they bring to the team, so it was imperative that we kept Shinnie at the club for the quality that he brings first and foremost but also the experience he brings on and off the park.

“He’s the ultimate professional. Andrew’s probably the most senior one in the group and I think it’s imperative the younger players have someone like him to watch on a day-to-day basis.”

Martindale has grown accustomed to overhauling his low-budget squad each summer but he is braced for a big job in the months ahead.

“I think it’s going to be the toughest one,” he said when asked how the impending rebuild might compare to previous years.

“In terms of numbers, I don’t think it’s going be like year three (in the Premiership) when we had about 13 leaving the club, but I think I’ll be losing 25-30 per cent – potentially a little bit more than that – of the 12-14 players who have played the most football for us.

“The quality I’m going to be losing is going to be more than most years, the quantity a little bit less.”

Livingston recently triggered the option of a one-year contract extension for Nouble, but Martindale expects the club to cash in on the 27-year-old English forward in the summer window.

“The English recruitment doesn’t really kick in until later in the summer,” said the manager when asked about Nouble’s situation.

“I don’t think he’ll be here beyond the summer but I think he’ll be back here for pre-season and there’s a good chance he might be starting the league games in August.

“But I wouldn’t expect him to be here beyond that.”

Dani Carvajal insists Real Madrid have nothing to fear heading to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final next week.

The tie is delicately poised at 1-1 after a pulsating draw in the first meeting between the sides at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Vinicius Junior fired holders Real into the lead with a stunning strike in the first half but Kevin De Bruyne levelled with an equally brilliant effort in the second period.

Real right-back Carvajal said: “They have world-class players, they move the ball very well, they’re tactically very well worked – but I don’t think we saw a City side that are superior to Madrid.

“The team goes home knowing that we played well and that if we get things right, if we take our chances in Manchester, we have a chance of going through.

“We go there with nothing to fear. We have to go there to win, to play our game, and the team believes in it.”

City dominated early on at the Bernabeu but it was Real that took the lead against the run of play when Vinicius lashed home from 25 yards on 36 minutes.

From then on the hosts did their best to disrupt City’s flow by employing some rough tactics.

Carvajal particularly pushed things to the limit and was involved in a running battle with Jack Grealish. At one point he barged the England midfielder into the advertising hoardings and then fell to the ground theatrically when Grealish reacted angrily.

“It’s a semi-final, everyone is playing to the limit, every challenge is a war,” the Spain international said.

City drew level on 67 minutes, during a period when Real had been dominating, when De Bruyne connected with a fierce drive from a similar range to Vinicius.

The draw was the least the Premier League leaders deserved but Real did have a gripe over the equaliser, with suggestions the ball may have gone out of play in the build-up.

Real manager Carlo Ancelotti was booked for his protestations as De Bruyne celebrated.

Carvajal said: “In general I think the referee (Portugal’s Artur Dias) was good, he controlled it pretty well. It’s complicated to referee a Champions League semi-final.

“We have to congratulate him for that but if the ball did go out then that’s an error that could cost us the tie.”

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