Golf-McIlroy says US Open tie for seventh a ‘big step’

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SAM BURNS RALLIES, WINS CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE IN PLAYOFF It’s comeback season on the PGA TOUR. A week after Justin Thomas’ seven-stroke Sunday rally to win the PGA Championship, Sam Burns overcame a seven-stroke deficit in the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge and defeated Scottie Scheffler with a 38-foot birdie from the back fringe on the first playoff hole. Playing eight groups ahead of the final twosome, Burns carded a closing 5-under 65 in increasingly windy conditions at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, posting 9-under total. At the time, five players were on the course at 10-under, but the venerable Colonial layout held firm during the final two hours, and Burns’ position steadily improved and was eventually enough to force overtime with the 54-hole leader Scheffler. The LSU alum secured his third PGA TOUR title of the season and fourth overall, his winning moment reminiscent of a playoff birdie from a similar length at the Valspar Championship in March. Burns moves to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings, trailing only Scheffler – albeit by more than 1,000 points, as the longtime Dallas resident has four wins and now two runner-up finishes this season. “Just proud of the way we finished,” said Burns, who earned 500 FedExCup points for his victory. “I mean, to make that putt is just icing on the cake.” MOVING ON UP TO MUIRFIELD Reigning FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay returns to defend his title at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, while seven of the top 10 players on the Official World Golf Ranking are all set to tee it up at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Collin Morikawa lost in a playoff to Cantlay a year ago and is back with hopes of earning the trophy. THE PLAYERS champion Cam Smith, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Jordan Spieth are the other top-10 players in the field in Ohio. After a hearty renovation effort at Muirfield Village through 2020 and into 2021, the team at Jack Nicklaus’ signature course says this year there will be a “little fire” back in the course, with green speeds back up to their traditional Memorial tournament zip. The renovation saw irrigation work done, bunkers rebuilt, the reconstruction of greens, resurfaced tee boxes and length added. The winner will receive 550 FedExCup points. VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “This one means a little bit more… Not often a major championship is played in New England, so to qualify for this one in Massachusetts – where I’m from and where a lot of my family still lives… This is special. U.S. Open here we come!” – Scott Stallings on Twitter after qualifying for the U.S. Open via 36-hole Final Qualifying last Monday. BY THE NUMBERS 3 – Wins for Steven Alker this season on PGA TOUR Champions after winning the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday. 3 – Playoff holes it took Harry Hall to beat Nick Hardy at the Korn Ferry Tour’s NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank. 4 – The next installment of Capital One’s The Match will feature four of the NFL’s most popular quarterbacks. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will team up to face Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen at 6:30 p.m. ET on June 1 from Wynn Las Vegas. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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Here are the full times for the first and second rounds of The Open at Royal St. George’s.

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