Watch: Aaron Rodgers sinks clutch birdie putt to win ‘The Match’

HAMILTON, Ontario — Rory McIlroy shot a bogey-free 6-under 64 on Saturday to move into a share of the lead after three rounds at the RBC Canadian Open. Seeking his second victory of the season, McIlroy surged into a tie with Webb Simpson (67) and Matt Kuchar (69) at 13-under 197. Adam Hadwin, seeking to become the first Canadian winner of the event since 1954, was one shot back after a 67. Shane Lowry (66) and Brandt Snedeker (69) were also 12 under. McIlroy won THE PLAYERS Championship in March but has not seriously contended since. A victory would be his fifth in a national open, following the U.S. Open (2011), Australian Open (2013), British Open (2014) and Irish Open (2016). His round was tied for the lowest of the day at Hamilton Golf and Country Club with Jonathan Byrd, who was tied for ninth at 8 under. Kuchar, who shared the lead after two rounds, is seeking his career-best third victory of the season.

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NEW ORLEANS – Scottie Scheffler says wearing the Green Jacket hasn’t gotten him out of any chores at home and that his incredible run of four wins in six starts, including his Masters triumph two weeks ago, still hasn’t sunk in. The world No. 1 returns to PGA TOUR competition at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this week, partnering with fellow Texan Ryan Palmer in the team event while looking to continue his sensational purple patch of form. Since claiming his maiden TOUR win at the WM Phoenix Open in February, Scheffler has added the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, World Golf Championships–Dell Technologies Match Play and the Masters. Not since Jason Day’s similar run in 2015 where he claimed the RBC Canadian Open, PGA Championship and two FedExCup Playoff events has a player dominated with four wins in such a short stretch. After a week off at home with family, Scheffler is back and ready to ride the wave some more. While he admits to having a bit of fun at wife Meredith’s expense, the 25-year-old is adamant he will remain the humble man he has always tried to be. There will be no viral videos of chaos or wild celebrations with the coveted clothing he picked up just over a week ago. “When my wife asks me to do stuff at home, sometimes I’ll grab it out of the closet and look at her, ‘Huh, really?’ It hasn’t worked yet,” Scheffler joked about his time with the Green Jacket. “I’ve just had some fun with it at home. I haven’t really done anything special. I haven’t taken it out of the house … I want to do a good job of representing Augusta National, and I have to bring it back at the end of next year. Since I’m almost the representation of the Green Jacket outside of the club, I’m treating it with respect. I’m not going to do anything crazy with it.” Scheffler revealed he’d been contacted by former President George W. Bush via mail and was also chuffed to get love from former Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott amongst hundreds of congratulatory messages. It all still feels like a dream. “I wouldn’t say it’s really sunk in,” he said. “I’ve had a good stretch recently, but I took a little bit of time at home last week to just relax. I was a bit drained. So I did not do much last week at all. I just chilled at home. “To have someone like President Bush reach out just to congratulate me is pretty special … Michael Phelps posted me in one of his stories, and then Zeke from the Cowboys sent me a message. Michael Phelps is just insane. The guy is one of the greatest athletes ever. For him to reach out and post something about me or whatever is pretty cool. “Those are probably kind of the only moments I’ve had where I kind of sit and reflect on what’s happened the past month and a half, two months. Just getting some messages like that from people I’ve looked up to for so long is really special.” In Palmer, Scheffler has a proven performer at TPC Louisiana. The veteran teamed up with Jon Rahm to win the tournament in 2019. Justin Thomas was one to poke a little fun at Palmer, who has now boasted Jordan Spieth, Rahm and Scheffler as partners in New Orleans. “The joke became he had to win twice. After he won twice, we firmed it up. You’ve got to be a multiple winner for me to come to you,” Palmer laughed about getting his newest top-ranked star partner. “The thing that really sealed it was (that) I sent a picture of me and Jon with the trophy, but I imposed his face on it.” In reality, Palmer has been a guy all three stars wanted to play with. “I’ve known Ryan since he’s been working with Randy Smith,” Scheffler said. “We have the same coach at home. We work out together in the off-season. Same trainer and we play a lot of games at home. So, it was a pretty seamless decision. We’ll have some fun. “This is his 19th year on TOUR. It’s not like my older brother I brought in off the street. Ryan is one of the best ball strikers out here. Nineteen years on TOUR, and that speaks for itself. Four wins? Yeah, the guy’s got the resume.”

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BETHESDA, Md. – Francesco Molinari remembered the pain of missing last year’s TOUR Championship by a shot when the best he could muster at the BMW Championship was a T12 finish. It ultimately left him 37th in the FedExCup – a decent season for sure – but not the standard the Italian wanted. As one of a handful of players who splits his time playing both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour, Molinari vowed to himself he’d do better this year. He’d make it to Atlanta. But while a win at the BMW PGA Championship and a runner up a week later in his native Italian Open set him up nicely in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, Molinari found himself languishing in 123rd place in the FedExCup at the beginning of this week. In his 12 starts on the PGA TOUR his best result was a T16 at the Wells Fargo Championship. So when faced with a choice of the lucrative Rolex Series French Open – which could further his cause making a third Ryder Cup team – or the Quicken Loans National this week Molinari remembered his FedExCup Playoff pain from last season and chose to fly to Washington D.C. It proved a masterstroke. Rounds of 67-65-65 set the 35-year-old up with a share of the 54-hole lead at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Then he put the hammer down on Sunday with a blistering 8-under 62. Having opened up a three-shot lead at the turn Molinari went eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie to open the back nine and obliterate the field. He won by eight shots. “I came here obviously because I was right on the bubble in the FedExCup and I wanted to gain a better position, so I guess job done,â€� he smiled as he moved to 42nd on the list. “It was (a big risk), but the risk on the other side was I was 123rd on the FedExCup. When you play two tours, you need to balance the two things. “It wasn’t an easy decision, I thought until the last minute whether to go to France or to come here but seems like it was the right choice in the end.â€� While Molinari has five European Tour wins, it was his first PGA TOUR triumph. Of course one of his wins is the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions but it came in 2010 before the event was granted PGA TOUR status. The technicality irked the Italian a little but becoming the first player from his native land to win on U.S. soil since Toney Penna in 1945 was certainly some decent solace. “When everyone was saying I never won on the PGA TOUR, I felt like saying, well, technically, it was pretty much a PGA TOUR tournament. But it’s just a formality, and I think it’s different anyway to win on U.S. soil,â€� Molinari said. “That was obviously in China and it’s more international. It’s just a different kind of event. So this win feels special. “It’s amazing to win a tournament hosted by Tiger. He is probably the greatest ever to play the game and I grew up as a teenager watching him on TV dominating golf tournaments. “It’s even more special to win in this style and to get his congratulations on the last green was a very proud moment for me.â€� Molinari will stay in the USA and play in a few weeks at the John Deere Classic before heading back to Scotland for The Open Championship at Carnoustie.

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