Hugo Palmer describes Hackman as “the fastest two-year-old I’ve ever had anything to do with” as he eyes up a tilt at Sandown’s National Stakes with his Chester winner.
Success on the Roodee is a given for the tenant of Michael Owen’s Manor House Stables and having hit the crossbar with the fittingly named Balon D’Or in the Lily Agnes, it was Hackman who got Palmer and the former England international Owen on the scoresheet at Chester’s May Festival with a taking display over five furlongs.
Having advertised his blistering speed on that occasion, his handler will now keep the precocious son of Mehmas at five furlongs for his next start, with stablemate Balon D’Or potentially moving up in trip for the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom on June 2 despite also holding an entry for Sandown on Thursday.
Palmer explained: “The initial feeling with Balon D’Or was to go to the National Stakes and we still might. But the speed Hackman showed and the knowledge that Balon D’Or really is ready for the step up to six furlongs, we might just wait a week for the Woodcote with Balon D’Or and then run Hackman in the National.
“It’s a stiff five and he has always showed so much speed my initial worry would be will he get the five furlongs? But he got five furlongs in ground that was very soft at Chester, so you would hope he would stay. He’s the fastest two-year-old I’ve ever had anything to do with.”
Royal Ascot is on the agenda for both Hackman and Balon D’Or and Palmer is hoping both talented youngsters can get their tickets to the summer showpiece stamped via their next assignments.
He continued: “It’s the same for every speedy early-season two-year-old but I would be hopeful that if Hackman could win the National we would head to the Norfolk and if not we would probably go to the Windsor Castle.
“Similarly with Balon D’Or, if he won the Woodcote, the Coventry would very much be on the radar for him, but he also has the Windsor Castle as an option as well.
“I hope they will very much be involved at Ascot but we will see – they have to step forward and they have to perform on their next starts.
“It is all very jolly saying we’ll go to Royal Ascot, but the also-rans enclosure is a very boring and lonely place at Royal Ascot so we have to go there thinking we can be competitive. There is nothing more dreary than waking up on the Tuesday of Royal Ascot excited about your chances and realising you are 100-1.”
Westover will be given the chance to erase his Epsom demons when he returns to the Surrey Downs for the Coronation Cup.
Ralph Beckett’s charge was somewhat an unlucky loser in the Derby 12 months ago when seeing his passage up the home straight blocked as Sir Michael Stoute’s Desert Crown was charging towards the winning post.
Westover had to settle for third on that occasion, but did get a Classic in the bag when romping to victory in the Irish equivalent at the Curragh on his next start.
Although disappointing in the King George, the Juddmonte-owned Frankel colt ran an encouraging race on unsuitable ground in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and then made a fine reappearance when bumping into the imperious Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
That Meydan second was the near-perfect way to kick off Westover’s four-year-old campaign and his trainer is now looking forward to “physically a more mature horse” returning to Epsom on June 2.
“We are not really going back because we feel we have unfinished business, it is more so that Epsom clearly suited him last year,” said Beckett.
“He handled the track really well for a big horse. It is more the fact I’m looking forward to taking him back there as much as anything else.
“As long as we are in the right place with him then I will be happy. I think inevitably he is physically a more mature horse this year and you can see that in him.
“I think in the long term going to Dubai will make a difference. We will look back at it in helping make him the horse that he is.
“His work has always been good but it has never been stunning. I would be fairly relaxed about what happens at home now.
“It is important that he reaches his ceiling on the track. Whether he has I’m not entirely sure.
“You would hope that he would be a better horse this year because of his size but he has already run to a pretty high level. In that sense it is about maintaining that progression.”
Following the Coronation Cup, the Kimpton Downs handler is eyeing further middle-distance riches and is even toying with the idea of a drop back to 10 furlongs for Sandown’s Coral-Eclipse – where Westover could lock horns once again with his Derby conqueror Desert Crown.
“What I would really like to do, if he were to win the Coronation Cup, would be to drop him back to 10 furlongs for the Eclipse,” continued Beckett.
“He likes Sandown. He won his maiden around there as a two year old and the Classic Trial last year.
“I think the track really suits him. I’d be keen to go back to a mile and a quarter there as it would really play to his strengths.
“It would probably be the only time we go a mile and a quarter this year, but that would depend on whether he won or not at Epsom as he would need to win realistically to go to the Eclipse.”
Defending Suncorp Super Netball League champions West Coast Fever rebounded by last weekend’s loss with a record-breaking performance against the Queensland Firebirds on Sunday.
Having lost to New South Wales Swifts by a single goal last week, and three of their last four to slip to third in the league table, the Fever responded by crushing the Firebirds 97-63 at the RAC Arena. The 97 goals scored was the highest number of goals scored in a single match in the league.
Led by Jhaniele Fowler’s 52 goals from 56 attempts and Sasha Glasgow’s perfect 15 of 15, the Fever led by 10 (27-17) at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 20 at half time after outscoring Queensland 23-13 in the second.
The Firebirds managed to rally in the third quarter in which they were outscored 21-18 but the Fever put their foot back down on their necks in the final quarter 26-15 to win by a massive 34 goals.
Donnell Wallam led the scoring for the Firebirds with 37 goals from 40 attempts.
Fowler scored her 500th goal of the season and ended the match with a tally of 552, 75 more than Wallam.
The Fever’s seventh win of the season saw them maintain third place in the league standings despite Adelaide Thunderbirds falling to a massive 21-point loss to Melbourne Vixens on Saturday.
The league leaders suffered only their second loss of the season 60-39 due mainly to outstanding defensive play by the Vixen’s mid-court.
Shamera Sterling had a strong start for the Thunderbirds, with a rebound, two intercepts, and a deflection in a formidable first term. Her performance spurred the Thunderbirds to a three-point lead (14-11) over the Vixens as the first quarter came to a close.
However, the Vixens defense were relentless. Emily Mannix had an impressive display with five intercepts, four deflections as the Vixens stamped their authority on the encounter.
Mwai Kumwenda (21/22) and Kiera Austin (23/30) led the scoring for the Vixens while Eleanor Cardwell scored 21 of 24 and Georgie Horjus scored eight goals for the Thunderbirds.
In another lop-sided match on Saturday, Romelda Aiken-George scored 26 from 32 attempts, Helen Housby 14 from 17 and Sophie Fawns 17 from 22 as the New South Wales Swifts swamped Collingwood Magpies 85-56 at the Ken Rosewall Arena despite Shimona Nelson’s 35 goals from just 37 attempts.
It was the Swifts’ largest margin of victory this season.
Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year’s French Open, the PA news agency understands.
The second grand slam of the year begins next week, but after struggling to find his best form on clay in recent weeks, the Scot will prioritise a busy grass-court schedule in the build-up to Wimbledon.
Murray was beaten in the first round of the Italian Open and earlier this week made another early exit on clay after losing to Stan Wawrinka at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux.
The 36-year-old is understood to still be considering which tournaments to target and they may include Surbiton from June 4-11 and then Queen’s from June 19-25. Wimbledon is scheduled to start on July 3.
Murray had struggled for his best form on clay after proving he was physically in condition to take on the world’s best players with some marathon matches at the Australian Open at the start of the year.
The former world number one, bidding to revive his career after major hip surgery in 2018, came through two five-set victories over Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis before losing to Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.
Murray beat Tommy Paul in the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence at the start of this month – his first title in nearly four years – after first-round exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid.
But that was followed by his disappointments in the Italian Open in Rome and another Challenger event in Bordeaux.
Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year’s French Open, the PA news agency understands.
The second grand slam of the year begins next week, but after struggling to find his best form on clay recently, the Scot will prioritise a busy grass-court schedule in the build-up to Wimbledon.
Murray was beaten in the first round of the Italian Open and earlier this week made another early exit on clay after losing to Stan Wawrinka at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux.
Zandre Roye enters Sunday’s play in the Jamaica Golf Association's National Amateur Golf Championship with a three-stroke lead following a second round score of 72 for an overall score of 143.
Roye, who opened the championship on Friday at the Caymanas Golf Club in St Catherine with a 71 leads William Knibbs who shot a 72 after an opening round of 74.
Dr. Mark Newnham occupied the third spot after posting scores of 78 and 72 for an overall total of 152, nine strokes off the lead.
The defending champion Oshae Haye was 18 strokes behind the leader after a rough first round of nine over par 81 and eight over par 80 in the second round for a combined total of 161.
In the Men Super Senior Category, Robert Chin was the sole leader with scores of 80 and 78 for 158 overall. He sits four strokes ahead of his brother and former Jamaica Golf Association president Peter Chin, who has an overall score of 162 on the back of 85 in round one and 77 on Saturday.
Radcliff Knibbs and Dorrel Allen were joint third on 163 each.
Sunday starts with 7:00 am tee time.
The top three golfers - Roye, Knibbs and Dr. Newnham will tee off at 9:20 am.
A change of scenery was all the magic required to turn Wise Eagle from a 0-65 handicapper into an Ascot Gold Cup contender.
Trained by Adam Nicol and owned by six friends in the Seahouses Syndicate, the six-year-old has progressed through the ranks since being bought for 7,000 guineas at the 2020 Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale, improving by 40lb.
He has won 11 races since finishing runner-up on his stable debut as a 66-1 chance in Catterick juvenile hurdle and his latest run, when second to Coltrane in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot, has connections dreaming of a fairytale return to the Berkshire track.
Former jockey Nicol, who has just eight horses in his Northumberland yard, insists there was no magic formula for the improvement.
“He has won 11 for us, but when he ran at Yarmouth for Tom Clover, I think he had blinkers. He was going everywhere bar forward and he just looked like he was hating life.
“Tom said when we bought him he wasn’t enjoying Newmarket and a change of scenery would help and get him on the beach.
“We got him here and we didn’t do anything. Didn’t check blood, didn’t even scope him. We just wormed him and then started riding him out.
“What we did do was give him plenty of turn-out. Every day, he gets a minimum of an hour every day, maybe more.
“I feel like even if you give them half an hour, they come in and switch off, because they have been ridden out, had their pick of grass and then they sleep and rest.
“Another thing we don’t do is gallop this horse a lot. We do a lot of steady work. I just think he enjoys it.
“I’m not really putting him under too much pressure. He comes alive at the races and gets that spring in his step. He certainly didn’t look out of place in the Sagaro Stakes, walking around the paddock he looked fantastic. He is a horse enjoying himself.”
Wise Eagle’s victories included the Queen’s Cup at Musselburgh on his seasonal debut and that form was further boosted when Metier, to whom he was conceding 4lb, won the Chester Cup.
“I got some buzz out of the Musselburgh race, beating the likes of Harry Fry and Paul Nicholls in the Queen’s Cup,” said Nicol, a relatively fresh face in the training ranks aged just 33 and who enjoyed memorable days in the saddle with top-class mare Lady Buttons.
Having finished four and three-quarter lengths behind Coltrane in the Sagaro, Nicol hopes the additional half-mile at the Royal meeting will help the son of Free Eagle.
“Some people say he looked like he was only just getting home at Ascot, but you have one turn of foot with this horse.
“Push the button once and he will go for you – he has a hell of a turn of foot. But once he’s used that, he’s done enough and he’ll not come again for you.
“The Sagaro got a bit tactical. I would prefer 10 or 12 runners, where they go a nice, even gallop, which I’m hoping they usually do in a Gold Cup, and then just slot in. Danny (Tudhope) knows him inside out.
“I’m glad we ran him there. We know he handles the track and it was a case of running him in that to know if we were punching a bit, if he was good enough for that level. And I think he is. He definitely deserves a crack.
“I know the owners and Andrew Balding will be going there thinking Coltrane has a great chance, as Wise Eagle has never beaten him, but plenty of horses have reversed the form.
“We’ve already beaten Trueshan and it is an open race.”
Though there was an option of heading to York and then Goodwood, the Wise Eagle’s owners have decided to take their chance at the showpiece meeting instead.
Nicol explained: “There is a mile-and-five Listed race at York. I thought there was a good chance of him winning that and York wouldn’t take as much out of him, and then we’d go to the Goodwood Cup.
“But the lads felt that you don’t forgo perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime chance of even placing in the Gold Cup, plus the prize-money is fantastic.
“I do think that the level he is running at, should he go and run a blinder again in the Gold Cup, I think maybe abroad there are winnable races. They are not going to be any better than the Gold Cup or the Sagaro, so we will think about that.”
Nicol is still pinching himself about the horse who has come from humble beginnings to be a flagship for his burgeoning yard and he hopes the journey will continue a while yet.
“This lad cost 7,000 guineas. We went down to Tattersalls during Covid, there was nobody really there,” he said.
“In normal circumstances, he would have been at least 15 or 20 grand. He was a winner over a mile, he was only three, not badly bred – and I just think, because of Covid, we were lucky to get him.
“His first win for us was in a jumpers’ bumper, and we have gone from running in a 0-65 at Catterick to running in the Ascot Gold Cup. It doesn’t happen very often, does it?
“It’s almost as good a story as the Dream Alliance film. Everyone likes the underdog to run well and we go there with no pressure.
“The owners want to have a day out. Half of them haven’t had a horse before. They are first-time owners.
“I think they think the game’s easy; buy a horse and make money. They haven’t had to pay a bill yet – the prize-money has paid for it all.”
All that is needed is a Hollywood-style ending, as was the case when unheralded chaser Dream Alliance rose from being reared on an allotment in South Wales to winning the Welsh National.
“Having a chance to have a horse good enough to run and be competitive doesn’t come along often,” added Nicol.
“We have one bullet to have a go – and it’s a good one – so we’ll have a good crack.”
Matthew Tkachuk played the role of hero again, scoring 1:51 into overtime to lift the Florida Panthers to a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final.
Less than two days after scoring the winner in an epic four-overtime thriller, Tkachuk roofed a feed from Sam Reinhart past Antti Raanta on the power play for his third OT goal in the playoffs.
Aleksander Barkov had a highlight-reel goal for Florida, which heads home for Game 3 on Monday having swept both games in Carolina.
The Panthers are halfway to reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996, which also marks their last appearance in the East final.
The eighth-seeded Panthers won their eighth straight road game in the playoffs and remained perfect in six overtime games this postseason.
Jalen Chatfield scored Carolina's only goal early in the first period. The Hurricanes had won their first three overtime games this postseason before dropping two straight in this series.
While Sergei Bobrovsky continued his stellar playoffs with 37 saves and improved to 9-2, Carolina decided to switch to Raanta in net after Frederik Andersen's heavy workload in Game 1. Raanta, who started the first five games of the postseason, stopped 24 of 26 shots.
Charlie Appleby is full of hope Military Order can record what would be a notable family double in the Betfred Derby.
The Lingfield Derby Trial victor is a full-brother to 2021 Epsom hero Adayar, being by Frankel out of Anna Salai.
Adayar also went to Lingfield before Epsom, although he had to settle for the runner-up spot there to Third Realm.
As a result he was a 16-1 winner of the blue riband, while in contrast Military Order is set to go there as favourite and will be the only runner for Moulton Paddocks.
Appleby – who first won the Derby with Masar in 2018 – said: “I’ve only left Military Order in the race on the back of his win in the Lingfield Derby Trial which I was very pleased with.
“He has come out of that race well and it is all systems go hopefully into a Derby now. His preparations have been faultless to date and he ticks a lot of boxes as they say.
“At the end of the day you have to say his profile is most similar to Adayar given they are brothers.
“Although Adayar wasn’t a black-type winner going into the Derby, he had been placed in the Classic Trial at Sandown Park and the Lingfield Derby Trial.
“It was a completely different ball game with Masar, who was a Group winner at two and three even before he went into the Derby so I couldn’t put them in the same sort of profile.
“As respects to Military Order and his brother I would say he is marginally in front of him and he is a worthy favourite on what we have seen to date.”
The Lingfield race was staged on the all-weather rather than turf due to ground conditions, but Appleby feels that should not distract from his winning effort.
He went on: “Everyone is allowed an opinion at the end of the day and some people will say it was only an all-weather win at Lingfield.
“What I loved about it, and the most important part that I took out of the race, was when William (Buick) made that manoeuvre, for a mile-and-a-half horse, and a horse of his stature, he did it very effortlessly.
“A lot of horses can get tangled around Lingfield whether it be on the turf or the all-weather coming down that hill into that turn. They can sometimes need time to find their legs and he did it very quickly and smoothly.
“I do genuinely feel he has still got that potential to find more improvement over the mile and a half and he is going in there as one of the least exposed horses at the top of the market.
“You can never have enough horses in the Derby as Aidan (O’Brien) has proved down the years.
“We have been lucky enough to have a couple of runners in the Derby when Masar won and we had three runners in the race when Adayar won.
“It is one of those unique races that you have to go there with the right horse. If you haven’t got the right horse it is pointless really turning up.
“It is a fantastic race but one you have to be good enough to turn up in as if you aren’t you can become lost in it all very quickly.”
Jamal Murray dominated the first half and Nikola Jokic came alive in the fourth quarter as the Denver Nuggets moved within one win of a sweep with a 119-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
Murray scored 30 of his 37 points in the first half and Jokic shook off a slow start with 15 of his 24 in the fourth quarter to give Denver a 3-0 lead in the series.
The top-seeded Nuggets can complete the sweep in Game 4 on Monday and secure the franchise's first-ever NBA Finals appearance.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17 points, Bruce Brown had 15 and Michael Porter Jr. tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets, who trailed by one before outscoring the Lakers 26-14 over the final 7 1/2 minutes.
Anthony Davis had 28 points and 18 rebounds and LeBron James and Austin Reaves each added 23 points, but it wasn't enough to prevent Los Angeles from its first three-game losing streak since early February.
The Lakers, who had a nine-game home win streak snapped, are faced with trying to become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 playoff series deficit.
Jeff Green, Brown and Murray hit consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 13-0 run by the Nuggets that turned a 94-93 deficit into a 106-94 lead with less than five minutes remaining.
The Lakers responded with the next four points, but Jokic sank two free throws and hit a 3-pointer and Murray made a layup to push the advantage to 113-101 with 2:47 to go.
James made three 3-pointers after starting the series 0 for 13 from long range.
Brooks Koepka vowed there would be no repeat of his Masters mistakes as he looked to emulate Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus by claiming a third US PGA Championship title.
Koepka held a one-shot lead over Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland heading into the final round at Oak Hill, six weeks after enjoying double that advantage following 54 holes of the year’s first major.
The four-time major winner carded a closing 75 at Augusta National to finish second to Jon Rahm, but looks primed to claim his first major since the 2019 US PGA at Bethpage.
Asked what were the main lessons he had learned from Augusta, the former world number one said: “To just never think the way I thought going into the final round. I think that was a big thing for me.
“I won’t do it again the rest of my career. I promise I won’t show up like that on Sunday.
“I was just told that I think only Tiger and Jack have won three (US PGA titles), so that would be pretty special to be in a list or category with them.”
Four major champions were within five shots of Koepka’s lead, with fellow LIV player Bryson DeChambeau three behind on three under and Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler both two under.
Rory McIlroy, who is a member of Oak Hill, was another stroke back on one under.
Quote of the day
“I love when the fans are on you, cheering for you, or you know, giving you crap if you screw up” – Koepka had no problem with the raucous crowds in upstate New York.
Shot of the day
Arguably the luckiest shot of the day at least, Scottie Scheffler saw his second shot on the seventh hole skip through Allen’s Creek and on to dry land.
Round of the day
Brooks Koepka carded a second consecutive 66 to take a one-shot lead into the final round.
Statistic of the day
Good news for everyone within four shots of Koepka’s lead, although recent evidence suggests all is not lost for the likes of Rory McIlroy either.
Easiest hole
The short par-four 14th again played as the easiest hole, yielding 30 birdies and just three bogeys for an average of 3.645.
Toughest hole
There was not a single birdie recorded on the 485-yard ninth hole, with 33 players making bogey and four making a double bogey for a scoring average of 4.539.
Weather forecast
Mostly sunny skies and breezy conditions return for the final round with highs warming into the low 70s. A west to northwest wind of 10-15mph, gusting to 20mph, will help with the drying and make it feel cooler at times as well.
Key tee times (all BST)
1850 Justin Suh, Tommy Fleetwood
1900 Rory McIlroy, Michael Block
1910 Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler
1920 Corey Conners, Bryson DeChambeau
1930 Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland
Katie Taylor is looking towards a rematch with Chantelle Cameron in autumn after losing her first ever fight on Saturday night in Dublin.
Cameron, who is yet to lose a fight, defended her undisputed light-welterweight title with the 10-round fight scored a 95-95 draw, and 96-94, 96-94 in favour of Cameron.
A disappointed Katie Taylor told DAZN after the bout that she has already set her sights on the rematch.
“I’m not sure [if it was a close fight] I’d have to look back it at,” she said.
“Congratulations to Chantelle and thank you for this opportunity. I’m looking forward to the rematch.
“I wasn’t surprised how fast she was. I expected everything that came my way but I just came up short tonight. I look forward to next time facing her.
“I knew it was a close fight, every round was close but this is boxing.”
Cameron told DAZN after the fight that she wants more belts.
She said: “I was petrified. I’ve seen results go the other way in the past. It was a close fight and Katie is a great boxer, pound-for-pound the best.
“My strength is putting the pressure on. I don’t mind getting hit so my corner let me off the leash.
“I beat McCaskill at 147 last fight and now I’ve just beat another undisputed champion. I’m sick of keeping my belts, I want to go for more belts.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn said on DAZN that there will be a second fight.
“I want to congratulate Katie and Chantelle for showing us what boxing is all about,” he said.
“It was a fight that could have gone either way but I think the result was right.
“There is a rematch clause and we want to do it again in the autumn. There’s only one thing on Katie’s mind and that is a rematch.”
Brooks Koepka admits it would be “pretty special” to emulate Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus by claiming a third US PGA Championship title.
Koepka will take a one-shot lead over Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland into the final round at Oak Hill, six weeks after enjoying double that advantage following 54 holes of the Masters.
The four-time major winner carded a closing 75 at Augusta National to finish second to Jon Rahm, but looks primed to claim his first major since the 2019 US PGA at Bethpage.
“It would mean a lot,” Koepka said after a second consecutive 66. “I think a major championship would mean a lot to anybody.
“I was just told that I think only Tiger and Jack have won three, so that would be pretty special to be in a list or category with them. Just got to go out and go play good tomorrow.”
Koepka believes he “choked” in the Masters but has pledged it will be a different story at Oak Hill.
Asked what were the main lessons he had learned from Augusta, the former world number one added: “To just never think the way I thought going into the final round. I think that was a big thing for me.
“I won’t do it again the rest of my career. I promise I won’t show up like that tomorrow (Sunday).”
Conners had led the way on seven under par after covering his first 15 holes in two under par, only to find sand off the tee on the 16th and then embed his second shot into the face of the bunker.
“I didn’t make great contact there,” Conners admitted. “The ball was below my feet and didn’t quite adjust for that. Wish I could have that one back.
“It was an unfortunate situation and a poor shot.
“If I could have dropped it on the side closest to the fairway I might have had a better stance there, but it was pretty clear once we took a look that it was going to be closer to the hole and had to drop no closer to the hole.
“I put myself in a difficult spot there, but you’ve just got to follow the rules.”
Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy face an uphill battle to end their lengthy major droughts after a rain-soaked third round of the 105th US PGA Championship.
Ten years on from winning the US Open at Merion, Rose carded a third round of 69 at Oak Hill to finish two under par, four shots behind leader Brooks Koepka.
McIlroy, who won the last of his major titles in the 2014 US PGA at next year’s venue Valhalla, also shot 69 to trail fellow four-time major winner Koepka by five after the American fired a second consecutive 66.
Canada’s Corey Conners had led on seven under par after recording two birdies and 13 pars in his first 15 holes, only to find sand off the tee on the 16th and then drill his second shot into the face of the bunker.
That led to a double bogey six and with Viktor Hovland dropping a shot on the 18th to also finish five under, Koepka enjoyed the outright 54-hole lead for the second consecutive major.
Koepka felt he “choked” away the Masters last month having been four ahead of eventual winner Jon Rahm when play was suspended due to bad weather in the third round.
However, that lead was immediately halved when play resumed, Koepka returning to Augusta National to miss a par putt on the seventh as playing partner Rahm birdied the same hole.
Koepka still led by two shots after three rounds but shot a closing 75 to Rahm’s 69.
Bryson DeChambeau, who played alongside Koepka at Oak Hill on Saturday and was roundly booed on the first tee, returned a 70 to lie three shots off the lead.
McIlroy followed two early birdies with three bogeys in the space of four holes from the sixth, but rallied to cover the back nine in 33 to keep Koepka in his sights.
The 34-year-old has struggled with his long game all week and revealed on Thursday he was also battling an unspecified illness.
“I’d obviously like to be a couple of shots closer to the lead,” the world number three said.
“But I think with how I’ve felt this week, if you had have told me on Thursday night that I’d be going into Sunday in the top five and with a realistic chance to win this golf tournament, I would have taken it.”
Club professional Michael Block continued to enjoy a brilliant week as the 46-year-old head professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in California carded his third consecutive 70 to remain level par.
Tommy Fleetwood is a shot behind following a third round of 68 and will hope to call on the memories of his record-equalling final round of 63 in the 2018 US Open as he bids to claim a maiden major title.
“It would be the low round of the day if somebody did do it,” Fleetwood said with a smile when asked by the PA news agency if a 63 was possible at Oak Hill.
“Who knows? Didn’t think it was on at Shinnecock but it happened there and it’s obviously something that happens very rarely.
“But I think you just have to go out and hit your shots and play well and see what score you can get. I played really, really well today in tough conditions and actually gave myself a bunch of chances on the front nine.
“You saw guys going low on the back nine yesterday. Any golf course there’s chances out there if things are going your way and you hole some putts.
“We’ll see what Sunday brings, but always nice to have good memories of being able to go low on a major Sunday in your memory bank and who knows? Start off hot and we’ll see.”
World number two Scottie Scheffler will begin the final round four shots off the lead after struggling to a 73 on Saturday.
Chantelle Cameron defeated Katie Taylor by majority decision to successfully defend her undisputed light-welterweight crown.
A closely fought contest between the two unbeaten fighters was taken to the last bell where Cameron’s hand was raised as Taylor suffered her first career defeat in professional boxing.
A slow start in the first ended with a Cameron onslaught and it spilled into the second before Taylor landed a clean straight right punch through the guard of Cameron and after a close third round, Taylor started to look the more tired of the pair once the bell signalled the end of the fourth.
Cameron’s beat down with the body shots started to take its toll on Taylor, and the English fighter seemed undeterred from Taylor’s shots.
An uppercut from Cameron put her in the driving seat of the eighth before Taylor came back with a rally of shots towards the end of the round as both fighters started to dig deep for victory.
A blockbuster 10th round commenced as the pair traded large hooks, Cameron connecting with yet another uppercut before a desperate Taylor responded with more combinations but after the bell rung, it was the Northampton born fighter who had her hand raised, with the judges scoring 95-95 draw, and 96-94, 96-94 in favour of Cameron.
Undisputed light-welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron told DAZN: “I was petrified. I’ve seen results go the other way in the past. It was a close fight and Katie is a great boxer, pound-for-pound the best.
“My strength is putting the pressure on. I don’t mind getting hit so my corner let me off the leash.
“She’s so fast and tough. She’s one of the greatest boxers there is.
“I beat McCaskill at 147 last fight and now I’ve just beat another undisputed champion. I’m sick of keeping my belts, I want to go for more belts.
“Unbelievable atmosphere. It’s a shame they weren’t backing me but Katie has a great following. I put my belts up against the pound-for-pound best so I’ve clearly got some guts.”
Following the result, Taylor already had her eyes set on a rematch.
She told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I was expecting a gruelling fight and that’s what it was. I obviously came up short. I always love a challenge and I’m looking forward to the rematch.
“This isn’t how I wanted the homecoming to go but I’m grateful that this event could sell out in a couple of minutes.”
Elena Rybakina was crowned WTA Italian Open champion after Anhelina Kalininia retired in the second set of the final through injury in Rome.
Kalininia started in tremendous fashion as she broke Rybakina following several deuce rallies.
But the Kazakh started to show her quality and hit back with a break of her own in the sixth game before breaking again in the 10th game to claim the opening set.
Rybakina started the second set with a convincing hold as Kalininia took a seat to speak to her doctor and after a very swift consultation, the players shook hands to give the 2022 Wimbledon champion her biggest title on clay which will also see her climb to fourth in the WTA rankings on Monday.
It was the second time in the tournament that Rybakina had won after her opponent retired after Iga Swiatek was forced to retire in the quarter-finals.
After victory, Rybakina said courtside: “I want to wish Kalininia a speedy recovery because she is a really good friend of mine and I am really happy for all of her results. She did a good job and hopefully can recover for the French Open.
“A big thanks to the crowd and everyone who stayed and watched till the end. It was not easy for us but not easy for you with all the rain today so thank you so much for the support.”
Kalininia said: “I’m really sorry I couldn’t play. I was trying to do my best but of course this is sport and I want to congratulate Elena for not only this title but everything you have done this year starting from Wimbledon, it’s really inspiring and hopefully I can get to your level one day. Best of luck for the season, stay healthy and reach your goals.”
Holger Rune will fight for the chance to win his second ATP Masters 1000 title when he meets Daniil Medvedev for the Italian Open title after he came from behind to beat Casper Ruud.
Making his debut in Rome, the Dane was a set down and also came from a break down to get the better of fourth seed Ruud 6-7(2) 6-4 6-2 after previously knocking out world number one Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Medvedev sunk Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 7-5 to reach his maiden ATP Masters 1000 clay-court championship match despite the game being twice affected by rain, with the match starting around 4:30pm local time and finishing more than five hours later.
The pair will clash in the final on Sunday afternoon.
Tommy Fleetwood will take inspiration from previous final-round heroics after playing his way into contention for the 105th US PGA Championship.
Fleetwood defied miserable conditions at Oak Hill to card a third round of 68 and set the early clubhouse target of one over par.
The Ryder Cup star was six shots off the lead when he signed his card, but can call on the memories of his record-equalling final round of 63 in the 2018 US Open as he bids to claim a maiden major title.
“It would be the low round of the day if somebody did do it,” Fleetwood said with a smile when asked by the PA news agency if a 63 was possible at Oak Hill.
“Who knows? Didn’t think it was on at Shinnecock but it happened there and it’s obviously something that happens very rarely.
“But I think you just have to go out and hit your shots and play well and see what score you can get. I played really, really well today in tough conditions and actually gave myself a bunch of chances on the front nine.
“You saw guys going low on the back nine yesterday. Any golf course there’s chances out there if things are going your way and you hole some putts.
“We’ll see what Sunday brings, but always nice to have good memories of being able to go low on a major Sunday in your memory bank and who knows? Start off hot and we’ll see.”
Fleetwood’s entire round was played in persistent rain but as conditions eased for the later starters, Canada’s Corey Conners led the way on five under after starting his third round with seven straight pars.
Conners led by one from Norway’s Viktor Hovland, with Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka a shot further back. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry were another two strokes back after 12 holes.
Earlier in the day, Jordan Spieth admitted his wrist injury had cost him a number of shots after carding a third round of 71 to lie six over.
Spieth, who needs to win the US PGA to complete a career grand slam, was a doubt for the year’s second major after withdrawing from last week’s PGA Tour event due to “severe pain” in his left wrist.
“I’ve been doing a lot of recovery [on the wrist] every day since I injured it,” Spieth said.
“But on course there’s been a couple of scenarios where I bailed out of a couple shots that if it weren’t a factor I wouldn’t have, and unfortunately those shots did affect my score.
“I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case here but it’s only been a couple of times.
“My normal swings, it’s not an issue. It’s just when you’ve got to really flick under a flop shot or a bunker shot – I had that today where I just don’t have the confidence in it not making it worse, so I just bail a little bit.
“I probably cost myself a few shots on that. But coming in here I kind of figured that might be the case.
“It’s nothing major, but it’s significant enough that I would have liked to have had two or three weeks off before this event just to feel like I got prepared.”
England’s Tyrrell Hatton had defied the conditions to card an impressive 69, a round compiled alongside 2021 winner Phil Mickelson, who had made the cut for the 100th time in his major championship career.
Mickelson is the fourth player to achieve that feat after Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson and also tied the record for the most cuts made in the US PGA, joining Nicklaus and Ray Floyd on 27.
The six-time major winner may have wished he had not made the weekend however, carding a birdie-free 75 which left him on 10 over par.
The New York Yankees have decided to cut ties with struggling outfielder Aaron Hicks.
The Yankees designated Hicks for assignment on Saturday before their game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Through 28 games this season, Hicks is slashing just .188/.263/.261 with one home run, two doubles and five RBIS.
Among the 315 major league hitters with at least 75 plate appearances, Hicks' .524 OPS ranks 299th.
It is a costly decision for the Yankees, as Hicks' contract runs through 2025 and the team will be forced to eat nearly $30million remaining on the seven-year, $70m contract he signed in 2019.
The sides agreed to that deal after Hicks enjoyed a career year in 2018, when he hit 27 homers and drove in 79.
In almost four-and-a-half seasons since then, however, the 33-year-old Hicks has managed just 31 home runs while batting .218.
In a corresponding move Saturday, the Yankees selected the contract of outfielder Greg Allen from the minors.
The 30-year-old Allen was acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox on Friday and is beginning his second stint with the Yankees after appearing in 15 games for them in 2021.
Leo Cullen spoke of Leinster’s “devastation” as they were beaten 27-26 by La Rochelle in Saturday’s Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium.
The Irish province led 23-7 on the half hour mark after making a sensational start but they were unable to sustain the pace and the holders took charge after the interval to repeat the outcome of last season’s final.
Replacement prop Georges Henri Colombe scored the match-winning try in the 72nd minute to leave Leinster distraught in front of a home crowd in Dublin, mourning their third successive loss in a European final.
“Devastation is probably the word,” Cullen told BT Sport.
“The occasion, the amazing atmosphere in the crowd, both sets of supporters and two sets of players going full at it – everything you want in a final which goes down to one point. Unfortunately we’re the losers.
“We started the game really well. We could have been further in front. I thought we gave up a couple of softish tries. In the second-half although we had the lead we struggled to get out of that end of the field.
“La Rochelle got over in the end and you’ve got give them a huge amount of credit. Bitterly disappointing.
“It was two really good teams going at it and it was always going to go down to little moments.
“We were so close and at the end we just lacked a little bit of composure. It’s an agonising defeat. All the players were here in front of their friends and family, so it’s hard one.
“It’s painful when you reach this point and you know it means so much to everybody. We just haven’t quite been good enough to finish the job.”
La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara revealed that during his half-time talk he reminded his players of Leinster’s recent record in Champions Cup finals, including last season when the rivals clashed in Marseille.
“It’s fantastic. It’s an incredibly special day at Lansdowne Road, a very special ground. It was a very difficult task that got even more difficult at 17-0!” O’Gara said.
“There was a bit of me going at half-time ‘is my speech going to be about playing for pride or do we have a chance’? 23-14 felt like a great half-time result for us.
“One of the staff reminded me we were minus eight in Marseille and today we were minus nine, so we built a little story about that to get the boys pumping.
“We had the internal energy and we had a great grip on the second-half. We won the hard way which is very, very pleasing.
“Unfortunately for the opponents, they haven’t got over the line in a long, long time, so that was always going to play.
“Of course it is (a psychological thing for Leinster) but it’s not respectful for me to go there. I was a coach grasping at straws trying to give his team hope at half-time, you have to tap into that.”
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