Rory McIlroy was pipped to the BMW Championship title in St Louis by Wyndham Clark after his final-round fightback fell short.

The back-to-back Masters champion started the final round five shots behind overnight leader Clark but was level after 15 holes.

But while McIlroy bogeyed the 17th, Clark maintained his composure to birdie the 16th, 17th and 18th holes to wrest back control and finish the tournament on 17 under par.

The two-time US Open champion ended the tournament three shots clear of Patrick Cantlay, who edged McIlroy for second.

It moves Clark up to third in the FedExCup Rankings after he won his third PGA Tour title of the season.

McIlroy had multiple chances to take the lead outright but he was not able to get a putt to drop before ultimately making a bogey six on hole 17 to end his challenge.

“A big improvement on last week,” McIlroy said on Sky Sports Golf. “I don’t think I can be too disappointed, I’m probably not playing well enough to be disappointed I didn’t win.

“I had my chances on the back nine. I started to hit some good shots. I hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in.

“Wyndham stepped up when he needed to. The birdie on 16 was huge. The way he played the last three holes, he showed a lot of character there.”

McIlroy birdied the opening hole at Bellerive Country Club, while Clark three-putted to bogey the 415-yard par four.

McIlroy dropped shots at the fourth and seventh but responded with back-to-back birdies before the turn.

Another gain at the 11th put him in a tie for the lead, but he could not get a birdie putt to drop on the next five holes before he found sand twice on the 17th to end his challenge.

Clark was three over for the day heading to the 16th tee, but a 16-foot putt on that hole earned him his first birdie and he followed it by sinking efforts from 13 and 17 feet on the next two greens to get over the line in style.

Cantlay’s closing 68 saw him finish a shot ahead of McIlroy, with fellow Americans Gary Woodland, Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup in a tie for fourth on 12 under, and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre finishing in a tie for seventh after a brilliant closing 65.

Michael Carrick’s side have been linked with a move for Newcastle United full-back Lewis Hall in the summer transfer window

Newcastle United boss Matthias Jaissle laughed off suggestions of Manchester United signing Lewis Hall. Reds icon Peter Schmeichel told the German head coach that United were looking to sign the left-back amid ongoing transfer speculation about his future at St. James’ Park.

The 21-year-old is one of the brightest prospects in English football and considered to be among the best left-backs in the Premier League. It came as a huge surprise when the Newcastle defender was omitted from the England World Cup squad this summer.

Which added further fuel onto the fire, with some reports claiming Hall was unhappy at St. James’ Park. Michael Carrick’s side are in the market for a new left-back and understood to be admirers of Hall.

However, having already lost Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, it’s highly unlikely Newcastle would sell Hall this summer, with just days left of the window.

Schmeichel was on punditry duties for ViaPlay’s coverage of Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday and said: “We’re [Man United] after your left-back.”

Jaissle misunderstood the comment at first, before saying: “No chance! No chance!” The German could not have been any clearer – Hall is not for sale.

Carrick’s side are looking to bolster the left-back position in their squad, but now look as though they’ll have to find other alternatives.

Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde is one of the names being linked with a move to Old Trafford, and was left out of their squad to face Elche on Sunday night.

Barca boss Hansi Flick explained that omission and said: “I spoke with Alejandro Balde today and said to him that I think you’re not here 109%, so it’s best that you stay at home and clear your mind. We will talk again tomorrow.”

Mick Price harbours doubts about Buggsy’s current standing in the top tier of three-year-old sprinters, but the colt will be afforded the chance to prove his credentials following a first-up victory on Saturday.

The son of Harry Angel demonstrated superior resilience to outpoint his rivals in the $150,000 Chef’s Hat Handicap (1000m) at Sandown.

Despite the race not carrying Black Type status, it included the competitive Sydney visitor Incognito. Price concedes that Buggsy must elevate his game to be competitive with the elite of his age group, but feels the colt has earned the opportunity.

“Obviously he’s been Stakes-placed when he was on the way down and now you’ve got all these nice races in front of him and he is a colt,” Price declared. “You’ve got to go that way; Poseidon, Danehill, Coolmore.”

“I’m not saying he’s going to be good enough, because we are on a soft track and it’s off-Stakes form, but that’s the way he’s got to go.”

Price, who trains in partnership with Michael Kent Jnr, has a reliable barometer for sprinting three-year-olds in Guest House, the winner of last season’s Golden Slipper.

After being headed in the final furlong, Buggsy ($3.20 fav) dug deep to score by a short-head from Jacaranda ($11), with the fast-finishing Calamari Ring ($13) a half-neck back in third. Observers noted the favourite’s strong response to secure the win.

Saturday’s event was Buggsy’s first start since his third-place finish in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes (1200m) on April 11. His prior outing was a debut win over 1000m at the same venue.

Jockey Craig Williams, who guided Buggsy to his maiden victory, reunited with the colt on Saturday. Williams indicated that Buggsy still has aspects of his racing to mature, offering hope for future improvement.

“He’s still thinking about other things, but when he turns into a racehorse it’s great,” Williams commented. “He’s got nice ability and he’s got very good determination.”

Buggsy’s victory was the middle leg of a treble for Williams across the opening six races. He also completed a running double aboard the Clayton Douglas-trained Final Moment, having earlier partnered Nearco Frod to its fourth consecutive win in a 2400m staying race.

With Buggsy’s promising win, the racing betting markets will be keenly watched, and Australian betting sites are expected to offer competitive odds for his next challenge.

Jaja Santiago (second from left) adds a lot of ceiling to Creamline’s front line. —PVL IMAGES

VICTORIAS, Negros Occidental—Jaja Santiago-Minowa is determined to make the most of her limited time with Creamline when the PVL Invitationals fires off next week at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“The Invitational will be different because we’ll be facing teams from Vietnam and Thailand,” Minowa said in Filipino. “The On Tour has been good preparation for us because we still have a lot of adjustments to make.”

Minowa, a Filipino-born Japanese citizen, made her PVL comeback after five years and showed flashes of her dominant form in her Cremaline debut, helping the team to a 25-21, 25-16, 25-21 sweep of Galeries Tower in the PVL On Tour on Saturday night at the Victorias City Coliseum.

The 6-foot-5 middle blocker, who last played in the PVL under a bubble setup and won the title with Chery Tiggo in 2021 in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, enjoyed her comeback in Negros.

She also admitted missing the kind of support Ilonggos showered her with after the game.

More importantly, Minowa reacquainted herself with the PVL style of play in time for the Invitationals, where Creamline will face defending champion PLDT, Nxled and Farm Fresh, as well as guest teams Thailand’s EST Cola and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.

“We’re not perfect, and there are still many things we need to polish. We’ll do our very best in the invitational. The schedule will be tight, so hopefully everyone can recover well every day and every game,” said Minowa, who scored six points on 13 attack attempts.

The former league MVP, who will fly to the United States to see action in League One Volleyball with the San Francisco Signal in January, vowed to leave everything on the floor in her lone conference with the Cool Smashers, who are raring to regain the Invitationals title after their grand slam in 2024.

“We’ve experienced something similar before during the first PVL [pro conference], when we had games back-to-back. The important thing is figuring out how to recover after the first game, the second game and the games that follow. The skills are already there, but managing the fatigue and knowing how to maximize your recovery time is the challenge because you have another game the next day,” Minowa said.

“We’re also trying to strengthen our connection as a team and support one another. Volleyball isn’t an individual sport. We have to work together and help each other, and we’ll do our very best in the invitational.”

Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses seeks to maximize the height advantage and experience of the Japan SV.League import, who won a championship and was named Best Blocker twice in the Japanese league.

“Jaja’s [skill] is already there. We only need to work on how she fits into our system, especially the tempo of our game,” Meneses said in Filipino.

“Of course, we’re excited because it’s Jaja Santiago. But what we really want is to build better chemistry within the team, especially with the invitational coming up. That’s the most important thing because the team already has the skills. With Jaja, it can make things easier for us, but only time will tell.”

Meneses is aware of the high expectations that come with a tall international player joining his 11-time champion team. And they are ready to embrace them.

“Now that Jaja is with us, we’re not going to take her presence for granted. We’ll continue working hard. Creamline is supportive of Jaja, and Jaja is also supporting Creamline—that’s really our goal,” he said.

Barcelona captain Raphinha faced the media after scoring twice in an impressive 5-0 win for Hansi Flick’s side against Elche on Sunday night.

The Spanish champions opened up their campaign in style, with Raphinha opening the scoring from the penalty spot and then producing a Spiderman celebration – leading many to think about Julian Alvarez.

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Raphinha was quizzed on his celebration after the game but insisted it was for his son and not the Atletico forward.

“The Spiderman? It’s for my son , and he asked me to make it because he really likes it now,” he said after the game.

After seeing Barcelona win 5-0, Raphinha was also asked if Barcelona really need a No. 9 and answered: “This is up to the president, Deco, and the manager. We’ll do whatever he says with determination. We have the ability to play in any position.”

Barcelona are still believed to be keen to sign a new striker before the transfer window closes.

Yet Flick’s side showed on Sunday that goalscoring is not a problem with the likes of Raphinha, Karim Adeyemi, Anthony Gordon, Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal around.

The Super Weekend 1 of the BGMI Masters Series (BGMS) Season 5 concluded on August 23, 2026. The top eight teams have advanced to the Super Weekend 2. Team Tamilas secured first place in the overall standings with 267 points and two Chicken Dinners in the first weekend. The squad showed its gameplay consistency across the three days of the stage and ended up in the prime spot.

Wyld Fangs came second with 229 points and one Chicken Dinner. The Sensei-led squad saw an average start to the first weekend but managed to improve its gameplay in the last 12 games and jumped to the second rank on the scoreboard. Team Soul also had a fantastic run, as the Nakul-led lineup ranked third with 227 points, including 113 kills.

Overall standings of BGMS S5 Super Weekend 1

1. Team Tamilas – 268 points
2. Wyld Fangs – 229 points
3. Team Soul – 227 points
4. Nebula Esports – 218 points
5. Elite Nova – 200 points
6. Myth Official – 197 points
7. Team Outrage – 189 points
8. GodLike Esports – 185 points
9. Apex Gaming – 181 points
10. Gladiators Esports – 176 points
11. Orangutan – 174 points
12. Reckoning Esports – 173 points
13. Genesis Esports – 166 points
14. Rapid Chaos – 156 points
15. Zero Ark – 150 points
16. Epigrotive Gaming – 124 points

Nebula Esports, led by Aadi, ended up in fourth place with 218 points at the end of the BGMS Super Weekend 1. The team faltered a bit on Day 3.

Elite Nova came fifth with 200 points and two Chicken Dinners. Myth Esports secured the sixth position with 197 points despite winning four Chicken Dinners. Team Outrage, led by Omega, came seventh with 189 points, including 98 eliminations.

GodLike saw a nice start to the BGMS Super Weekend 1 but stumbled subsequently. Still, the Manya-led lineup improved its performance and secured 185 points by the time the phase ended. These eight teams have advanced to the Super Weekend 2.

Team Apex Gaming, led by Jelly, ended up in ninth place with 181 points and two Chicken Dinners. The team struggled on the last day and failed to qualify for the next Super Weekend from this stage. Gladiators Esports was inconsistent, as it finished 10th with 176 points and three Chicken Dinners.

Orangutan and Reckoning were 11th and 12th with 174 and 173 points, respectively. Genesis ranked 13th with 166 points. Rapid Chaos came 14th with 156 points. Zero Ark and Epigrotive were in the bottom two spots with 150 and 124 points, respectively, when the BGMS Super Weekend 1 ended.