Following a level-par opening round, Northern Irishman McIlroy will begin the third round tied ninth after he improved to four under.

McIlroy remained even as he reached the back nine but birdied four of the next seven holes to post 68 and climb up the leaderboard.

World number one Scottie Scheffler appeared set to match his opening round 70 but the American slipped to three under after bogeying the 18th.

Tommy Fleetwood rallied with three birdies on the back nine to get back to one over par and inside the weekend cut-off.

Berger has suffered a run of injuries, including a back issue which sidelined him for 18 months and fractured a finger at the BMW Championship in August last year.

He put himself on course for a long-awaited victory – and the £3m top prize – after a clean run on the back nine included three birdies to strengthen his position.

“I actually feel like I played better [today], the course was a little tougher,” Berger said.

“I’m looking forward to the next couple of days and seeing the challenge they bring.”

Oleksandr Usyk may be forced to relinquish another world title, potentially allowing two heavyweight veterans to collide for his IBF strap.

The Ukrainian became a three-time, two-division undisputed champion after securing a fifth-round stoppage victory in his rematch with Daniel Dubois last July.

Since then, Usyk has vacated his WBO title, enabling Fabio Wardley to be elevated from ‘interim’ to full world champion, while keeping hold of his WBC, IBF and WBA belts.

It was then announced last month that the 39-year-old will face Rico Verhoeven, a decorated kickboxer, at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza on May 23.

Originally, the WBC declared it would not sanction their contest, given that Verhoeven’s only professional boxing contest – a second-round stoppage victory over Janos Finfera, whose then-record was 0-5 – had arrived in 2014.

The sanctioning body, however, has since given Usyk the green light to defend his green and gold strap against the kickboxing star, while the IBF and WBA are yet to confirm their stance on the matter.

As far as Usyk’s IBF title is concerned, though, Wasserman and Misfits Boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland believes it should be contested by Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder, who are gearing up to lock horns at London’s O2 Arena.

With Chisora being the organisation’s leading heavyweight contender, Sauerland has told Sky Sports that he will be lobbying for a vacant IBF title clash on April 4.

“Oleksandr Usyk has not had one single mandatory defence of the IBF IBF urged to strip Usyk and put heavyweight title on the line for upcoming fight in his reign as heavyweight champion.

“Given Chisora’s position at the very top of the heavyweight rankings right now, and Wilder’s position as well, and given the high-profile nature of the fight, it would be an amazing addition for them to be able to fight for the belt.

“That’s the politics of boxing. We will be speaking to the IBF to see whether there is something that can resolve the situation and we will be lobbying for such a move.”

While Chisora, indeed, is the highest-ranked heavyweight contender with the sanctioning body, an IBF elimination bout will nonetheless take place between Frank Sanchez and Richard Torrez Jr on March 28.

The winner of that contest could then have a stronger claim to be ordered as mandatory challenger to Usyk, should the masterful southpaw still be in possession of his red and gold strap.

This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings have plenty of roster decisions they need to work through. The most imperative is figuring out the quarterback situation. Beyond that, though, several critical aspects of the team will be scrutinized.

Outside of the quarterback position, the running back room and its depth could be the Vikings’ greatest cause for concern on offense. Maybe that transitions to the tight end room if T.J. Hockenson doesn’t restructure his current deal. It’s also possible that wide receiver depth is seen as questionable with Jalen Nailor headed to free agency.

Path Opens in the Vikings’ Wide Receiver Rotation

The Minnesota Vikings will have both of their top wide receivers, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, back. Are they ready to let 2025 third-round pick Tai Felton settle in, though?

Last season, Felton played in all 17 games, but the rookie logged just 46 total offensive snaps. He played heavily on special teams, but contributed only three catches (on three targets) for 25 yards. There is a serious level of uncertainty regarding his development and readiness for the next step.

The third wide receiver role is wide open after the departure of Nailor. Felton is the straightforward answer as to how the position should be filled, but that comes down to Kevin O’Connell’s belief in where he currently stands.

A decade ago, the Vikings had another former Maryland wide receiver they were breaking in. Stefon Diggs, who the New England Patriots just released, was a fifth-round pick in 2015. He played in just 13 games as a rookie, but started nine and had 720 yards with four touchdowns.

Both Diggs and Felton have similar size and body chemistry. However, Diggs was vaulted into a prominent role much more quickly. It would be the best-case scenario for Minnesota to see Felton blossom into that sort of talent. Of course, they could also do without the headache that Diggs became synonymous with.

If Felton isn’t ready, though, then the franchise will need to explore options in free agency or that draft. Jefferson and Addison may be among the best in the league. Having nothing behind them is a problem, though.

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Ted Schwerzler is a Minneapolis based blogger that covers the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. Sharing thoughts constantly on Twitter, … More about Ted Schwerzler

Against Wolves, the old guard did the job for Slot with Salah, Robertson and Jones sending Liverpool to victory.

The criticism and spotlight on Salah this season only intensified when he accused the club of “throwing me under the bus” in an explosive interview in December.

He left soon after for the Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt losing to Senegal in the semi-final in January, and the forward now has four goals in 11 games since his return.

Yet the 33-year-old has been nowhere near the levels he set last season, when he scored 34 goals in all competitions as Liverpool won their second Premier League title.

It was a lacklustre first half at Molineux from the forward before he added Liverpool‘s second – although such was the quality of Robertson’s cross he could not miss.

There does appear to have been a truce between Salah and the club, although every goal could be his last for them after a decorated Anfield career.

It was also a rare Robertson strike, in a rare start this season, with the 31-year-old close to leaving for Tottenham in January.

But the Scotland international showed his reliability – along with Jones, who continues to do the same.

Both the midfielder’s goals this season have come in the last two rounds of the FA Cup, having scored in the fourth-round win over Brighton as well.

At 25 Jones is far from old, but he has 215 appearances for Liverpool and the academy graduate has been dependable and valuable for both Klopp and Slot amid big money buys.

It means youngster Rio Ngumoha has the perfect place and perfect players to learn from after the 17-year-old made the fourth start of his young career.

“It’s special when you are 17 years old if you are able to impact it with some very good one-v-one situations,” said Slot. “That also makes him special, there are not many players in the modern game who do that.

“He also did better than three days ago because he kept the ball more. Three days ago he also had impact and today he was even better.

“It was a nice moment to use all his energy for the attacking part.”

The winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois could be in line for an immediate unification showdown, depending on whether Oleksandr Usyk keeps hold of his WBA title.

Wardley will make the first defence of his WBO title on May 9, taking on former IBF champion Dubois at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.

The 31-year-old was elevated from ‘interim’ to full world champion following his 11th-round finish over Joseph Parker in October, with Usyk having vacated his WBO heavyweight strap.

Quite unexpectedly, it has since been announced that the Ukrainian will face kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven on May 23, defending his WBC title at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza.

But while the WBC has confirmed its stance on the matter, it is yet to be announced whether Usyk will also be defending his IBF and WBA titles.

The division’s WBA ‘regular’ champion, meanwhile, is Murat Gassiev, who claimed his secondary strap with a sixth-round stoppage victory over Kubrat Pulev in December.

Despite previously losing a comprehensive points decision to Usyk at 200lbs, back in 2018, Gassiev has now reinvented himself as a solid heavyweight contender.

But rather than setting his sights on a rematch with the former three-time, two-division undisputed champion, the 32-year-old is instead targeting the winner of Wardley-Dubois.

Speaking with Sky Sports, Gassiev’s co-promoter, Al Siesta, believes this unification match could materialise if the WBA elevates his client to full world champion – either by stripping Usyk of the title or making him ‘champion in recess’.

“It is a similar situation to the WBO, who stripped Usyk when he decided not to face [mandatory challenger] Fabio Wardley.

“This allowed the division to progress and now we see a great fight with Wardley and Dubois in May – an amazing fight that we will be keeping a very close eye on.

“To face the winner in the UK would be a dream for Murat and I believe, whoever the winner is, would make for a blockbuster bout for Murat in the future.

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“If the WBA title is not at stake for Usyk against Verhoeven, then it only makes logical sense to strip him of his title or make him a ‘champion in recess’. This would allow Murat to be elevated to ‘super’ champion.”

The winner of Wardley-Dubois would likely be made a sizable favourite against Gassiev, whose heavyweight campaign has not yet set the world alight.

Wales captain Dewi Lake says a win is just around the corner after an encouraging display in the 27-17 Six Nations defeat by Ireland in Dublin.

Wales’ losing Six Nations streak has now stretched to 15 matches, with the previous victory in the tournament coming against Italy in March 2023.

But this Dublin defeat was the finest performance in the Steve Tandy era so far, as Wales fell just short again.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said Wales were “tremendous and Ireland had been involved in a proper, dogged Test match”.

This performance follows the narrow 26-23 home loss to Scotland two weeks ago, with Wales facing Italy on the final weekend in Cardiff next Saturday.

Wales will bid to avoid the wooden spoon for the third successive Six Nations and try to claim a tournament win for the first time in almost 1,100 days.

“The win is coming, I can feel it, it is just around the corner,” said Lake.

Nigeria has not given up hope of returning to the race for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko.

Dikko said the country is still waiting for an official decision from FIFA over a complaint linked to Nigeria’s World Cup qualification hopes.

Earlier this week, many fans believed the Super Eagles’ chances were over after FIFA released information about the upcoming intercontinental playoffs. In the announcement, the Democratic Republic of Congo appeared among the six teams expected to compete for the final two places at the tournament.

The development made many observers think Nigeria’s protest had already been rejected.

However, Dikko explained that the appearance of DR Congo in the list does not mean a final decision has been made.

He said Nigeria is still expecting FIFA’s official ruling and urged supporters to remain patient.

“As far as we know, FIFA has not yet announced its decision. We are watching the situation closely,” Dikko said.

“The fact that DR Congo appears on the list of teams for the playoff does not mean the case has been decided. Once FIFA releases its verdict, the situation may change.”

He also explained that in sensitive matters like this, FIFA normally communicates its decision directly to the parties involved before making it public.

According to him, Nigeria remains confident that the case will be resolved fairly.

Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the World Cup were damaged in November after the Super Eagles lost to DR Congo in a tense playoff match decided by penalties.

After the match, the Nigeria Football Federation submitted a complaint to FIFA, claiming that DR Congo used players who were not eligible for the game.

If FIFA rules in Nigeria’s favour, the result of the match could be reviewed and Nigeria may get another chance to compete for a place at the tournament.

For now, six countries are expected to compete in the intercontinental playoff tournament scheduled to take place in Mexico later this month.

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles are preparing for international friendly matches during the March break as they continue their preparations while waiting for FIFA’s final decision.