Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
McIlroy loses the lead in first round at the BMW PGA Championship
VIRGINIA WATER, England | Rory McIlroy lost the club head on his 9-iron and then lost a chance to take the first-round lead by going out of bounds on the last hole in an eventful 5-under 67 at the BMW PGA Championship on Thursday.
The No. 3-ranked McIlroy was two strokes off the lead held by No. 363-ranked Matthew Baldwin in the flagship event on the European tour, having bounced back well from the pain of being denied victory at his home Irish Open last week.
McIlroy had already produced a rare back-handed putt next to a water hazard to help salvage a par at No. 8 by the time he overcame a bizarre incident on the par-5 No. 12, which saw the head of his 9-iron detach from the shaft and fly down the fairway after McIlroy took his second shot.
The Northern Irishman said he didn’t even see the ball reach the green and settle inside 7 feet from the pin to set up one of his seven birdies.
“It was a bit of a weird feeling,” McIlroy said. “Obviously you’re expecting the weight of the club to just pull through and there was nothing there.”
McIlroy got the 9-iron fixed and had it back in the bag by the 16th hole, ahead of two par 5s that complete the West Course at Wentworth. He made par at No. 17 despite hooking his drive into the trees but dropped a shot at the last when he hit his second shot to the right of the green and into the trees, the ball eventually reaching a pathway that was OB.
A bogey dropped McIlroy out of a share of the lead at the time with Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard (66), who won the British Masters this month for his first European tour title.
Baldwin was among the afternoon starters and went one better than Norgaard, with a tap-in birdie at No. 18 completing a bogey-free 65.
A tie for 12th at the Czech Masters last month and a tie for 18th at the British Masters was a return to form for the unheralded Baldwin after four straight missed cuts across June and July.
“It was lovely,” the Englishman said. “I feel like my game is pretty strong for a while, and to actually put it into a performance is nice.”
Thomas Detry, also playing in the afternoon, shot 66 to share second place with Norgaard.
McIlroy was playing four days after a runner-up finish at the Irish Open to Rasmus Hojgaard, who closed with three straight birdies to beat the local hero on Sunday.
“The nice thing about disappointments is that if you have something in this next week, it’s nice to keep busy and keep your mind focused on something else,” the 35-year-old McIlroy said.
McIlroy was in a tie for fourth in a large group that contained fellow Ryder Cup players Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre, 2021 champion Billy Horschel as well as Victor Perez of France, who also bogeyed No. 18 — after hitting his second into the water in front of the green — to drop out of the lead.
Arch Manning to get first start for Longhorns as Ewers continues recovery
AUSTIN, Texas | No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning. He was one of the highest-rated recruits in the country coming out of high school after the 2022 season.
“Arch is more than capable,” of being the Texas starter, Sarkisian said. “I don’t think he has to focus on leading right now. I think he needs to focus on knowing what he’s supposed to do and do it at a high level.”
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
“We feel like Quinn has made great strides … (but) I’m looking forward to his future as a player and also the future of this season for us, the longevity, and getting him one more week healthier for the long term, is good for us as we’re getting ready for SEC play,” Sarkisian said.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries. Sarkisian insisted he will return as the starter when he is ready.
“He’s in really good spirits,” Sarkisian said of Ewers. “All the goals that we had for him coming into this season are still there for him. I think we have a national championship caliber team and he’s the quarterback of that team. We still have that in front of us to go do that.
“With some of the games we have coming up down the road, this guy’s going to be in New York for the Heisman, whether he wins it or not. He has the ability to be a top five NFL draft pick. … Saturday, him not playing in this game, is not going to impact those three things and the goals we set for him and he’s working toward.”
Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to seven-year deal worth nearly $60M
DETROIT | The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
Lions coach Dan Campbell is selling his house to seek more privacy
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. | Lions coach Dan Campbell is selling his suburban Detroit home to get more privacy.
“There’s plenty of space, it’s on two acres, the home is beautiful,” Campbell told Crain’s Detroit Business. “It’s just that people figured out where we lived when we lost.”
He didn’t elaborate, but Bloomfield Township police said “harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.”
“We hope that everyone, including fans, will respect the privacy of individuals and their families,” police said.
Campbell and wife Holly listed the 7,800-square-foot house in Bloomfield Hills for $4.5 million this week. A deal was pending within 24 hours, Crain’s reported.
Campbell was hired by the Lions in 2021. After a 3-13-1 record that season, the team has become one of the best in the NFL, reaching the NFC championship game last January.
Campbell’s home was built in 2013 for Igor Larionov, a Hockey Hall of Fame member who played for the Detroit Red Wings.
The likely buyers are “huge” Lions fans, said Ashley Crain, who is representing Campbell and the buyers in the sale.
Browns’ Mike Hall Jr. has charge reduced in domestic violence case
CLEVELAND | Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. pleaded no contest in court Thursday to a domestic violence charge, and remains away from the team.
Hall was arrested on Aug. 13 following an alleged altercation with his fiancee at the home they share in Avon, Ohio. The couple argued over finances and she accused him of threatening her with a gun.
The 21-year-old Hall, a second-round pick from Ohio State, had the charge reduced to disorderly conduct in Avon Lake Municipal Court. Hall also received a 30-day suspended jail sentence, $250 fine and was put on probation for two years.
Hall remains on the commissioner’s exempt list, based on the initial charge. The NFL is reviewing his case for possible punishment.
“We have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review of the personal conduct policy,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an e-mail. “There’s no change in his status.”
Hall has missed Cleveland’s first two games. The Browns host the New York Giants on Sunday.
—From AP reports
