Conference tournament wins for upstarts Georgetown and Oregon State on Saturday would shrink the bubble by two teams.
Elsewhere, Connor McDavid became the first player to top 50 points this season, while three netminders posted shutouts on Friday night. (Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports)
Round 3 of THE PLAYERS Championship begins Saturday from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Lee Westwood leads by one with Matthew Fitzpatrick, Chris Kirk, Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau and more close behind. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) Every Shot Live: Live streaming of every shot hit at THE PLAYERS Championship will get underway Thursday morning from TPC Sawgrass. Nearly 100 cameras will capture roughly 31,000 strokes taken over approximately 430 rounds played. It will be available free through PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold on Thursday. See schedule below. PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 6:40 a.m.-8 p.m. (Every Shot Live). Saturday, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 7:50 a.m.-8 p.m. (Every Shot Live). Sunday, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 7:50 a.m.-6 p.m. (Every Shot Live) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa Phil Mickelson, Charles Howell III Jon Rahm, Dylan Frittelli Bryson DeChambeau, Charley Hoffman MUST READS Round 2 review: THE PLAYERS Championship A predictably unpredictable PLAYERS DeChambeau, Rahm lurk at THE PLAYERS McCarthy’s ace fuels rise up leaderboard at THE PLAYERS By the numbers: No. 17 at THE PLAYERS Championship Win probabilities: THE PLAYERS Championship ‘Every Shot Live’ returns 20-year anniversary of Tiger’s ‘Better Than Most’ putt Inside THE PLAYERS’ greatest comeback Five things to remember from the 2019 PLAYERS CALL OF THE DAY
Edmonton center Connor McDavid continued to dominate on Friday against the Senators while Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov earned his first career hat trick.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Defending PLAYERS champion Rory McIlroy has sensationally admitted that a stint chasing after Bryson DeChambeau swing speeds contributed to his failure to make the cut at TPC Sawgrass. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Inside THE PLAYERS’ greatest comeback | 20-year anniversary of ‘Better Than Most’ Rounds of 79-75 left the two-time FedExCup champion a distant 10 shots off making the weekend - a big surprise - but yet not near as surprising as his reasoning. When asked about the most frustrating aspects of his title defense, McIlroy paused for some time before speaking his mind. "Probably the swing issues and where it all stems from, probably like October last year, doing a little bit of speed training, started getting sucked into that stuff, swing got flat, long, and too rotational," McIlroy stated. "Obviously I added some speed and am hitting the ball longer, but what that did to my swing as a whole probably wasn’t a good thing, so I’m sort of fighting to get back out of that. That’s what I’m frustrated with." McIlroy was already one of the longest players on the PGA TOUR, but after seeing a bulked up DeChambeau dominate at the U.S. Open, the Northern Irishman used his brief off-season to try to keep up. "After Winged Foot I had a few weeks before we went to the West Coast and I started to try to hit the ball a bit harder, hit a lot of drivers, get a bit more speed, and I felt like that was sort of the infancy of where these swing problems have come from. So it’s just a matter of trying to get back out of it," McIlroy added. "I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t anything to do with what Bryson did at the U.S. Open. I think a lot of people saw that and were like, whoa, if this is the way they’re going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps. It really helps." McIlroy knows the readjustment will take a concerted effort - but first he was looking forward to the small silver lining of getting a weekend rest after playing four straight tournaments. "It’ll take a bit of time. Like with anything, the slightest change in your swing is going to feel uncomfortable for a while. It’s not like it’s that far away," he said. "I'm looking forward to a break. It’s funny, I used to think four weeks in a row was nothing, and then I feel like I’m getting old because by the fourth week I’m like, a little achy, a couple things are hurting, so I’m looking forward to getting home." McIlroy wasn't the only star player who will miss the cut. Xander Schauffele ended his TOUR-best streak of consecutive made cuts at 23, dating to the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open while Viktor Hovland, who was ranked second with 22, missed his first since the 2020 Honda Classic. Former PLAYERS champions Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson are also out of the running for another title while Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay won't be claiming a first.
Joel Embiid hyperextended his left knee after a dunk in Friday’s win over the Wizards. He’s set to have an MRI when the team returns to Philadelphia.
Anthony Davis has been cleared to enter the next phase of his rehab and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the Lakers said Friday.
Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham had 20 of his 25 points in the second half, leading the Cowboys past top seed Baylor and into Saturday’s Big 12 tournament final.
Washington’s head coach reveals part of his experience in dealing with Dwayne Haskins’ inconsistent work ethic.
The Packers and Preston Smith created the rare pay cut that looks like a win for both the team and player.
