Sports
George McNeill moves ahead by 2 in U.S. Senior Open debut
George McNeill watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the 2026 James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Florida. In his first year of eligibility at the U.S. Senior Open, George McNeill shot a 4-under-par 66 to take the 36-hole lead on Friday at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio.
McNeill posted the low round of the championship thus far and separated from the pack by birdieing two of his final four holes. At 6-under 134, he has earned a two-stroke lead over Irishman Padraig Harrington, who’s chasing his third U.S. Senior Open title in five years.
Harrington, like McNeill, improved on his first-round score by two shots with a 3-under 67. The defending champion will play in the final pairing with first-timer McNeill on Saturday.
“I don’t think I’m going to try to do anything different than I normally would at a tournament,” McNeill said.
McNeill turned 50 last October and hasn’t won in his first season on the PGA Tour Champions. He won twice on the PGA Tour, with his latest victory in 2012, and he openly acknowledged that his record at USGA championships isn’t the best either.
“My best (U.S. Open) finish, I think, was Oakmont in 2007. I think I finished — I made the cut on the number, and I think I finished last of the guys that made the cut,” McNeill said. “So nothing too exciting. All the other championships, I believe I missed the cut.
“Never really had a good feel for U.S. Opens. I don’t know if age is helping me. This Senior Open is obviously I’m doing OK so far.”
McNeill started his round on the back nine and birdied Nos. 12, 13, and 17. His only bogey came at the par-4 third, dropping him to 4 under. But a two-putt birdie at the par-5 sixth put him back ahead of Harrington again, and he drained a long birdie putt at the par-3 ninth to extend his lead.
Harrington’s round of four birdies and one bogey was enough to keep him near the top of the leaderboard. The World Golf Hall of Famer has been around the block enough to know what championship golf can throw at him.
“Look, as I said, I’d like to play well on the weekend, but if I don’t play well, I’m going to try to win this tournament another way. It’s just one of those things that with experience I know things don’t go your way at times when you’re leading, and things can feel like bad breaks,” Harrington said. “It doesn’t mean I have any perfect ability to deal with it. I’ve certainly seen all these situations. So I won’t be surprised by anything, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m going to handle it that well either.”
Stewart Cink and South Korea’s Charlie Wi were tied for the first-round lead. After posting identical even-par 70s Friday, they are tied for third at 3 under along with Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (68).
Cink won the first two majors of the season, the Senior PGA Championship and the Regions Tradition. He was 3 over for his round before birdieing Nos. 6, 7 and 9 to get back to even for the day.
“It was really not just the last hole, but I made significant putts on my last four holes. So that definitely helps the confidence,” Cink said. “Just seeing the ball go in the hole is huge in this game. I salvaged an OK round today when it was really pretty rough all around … Dug myself a little hole, but the last four were — it was really good to salvage those.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Courage transfer M Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea
May 8, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; North Carolina Courage midfielder Manaka Matsukubo (34) controls the ball against the Orlando Pride in the second half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images The North Carolina Courage transferred 2025 NWSL Midfielder of the Year Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea FC on Friday.
The 21-year-old Japan international signed a five-year contract with the English club, which competes in the Women’s Super League.
“I’m so excited to be joining Chelsea, a club with a lot of history,” Matsukubo said in a Chelsea press release. “As a small child, I followed Chelsea because it is a club everyone in the world knows about.
“The club has a strong history of winning trophies and has done so well at the top of the game, so I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, and I want to help continue this club’s tradition of winning trophies for years to come.”
Matsukubo joined the Courage on loan in 2023. She tallied 19 goals and 10 assists in 58 matches with North Carolina, including 11 goals last season and five goals through nine matches in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees place Carlos Rodon on IL, reinstate Trent Grisham, Ryan McMahon
Jun 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) takes the ball to relieve pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images The New York Yankees returned center fielder Trent Grisham and third baseman Ryan McMahon to their active roster prior to Friday’s home game against the Minnesota Twins.
To make room for them on the 26-man roster, left-handed starting pitcher Carlos Rodon was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation and utility man Oswaldo Cabrera was sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Grisham, 29, has not played since June 12 due to a hamstring strain and was on the 10-day IL. The Yankees’ frequent leadoff hitter has posted a .232/.341/.406 slash line with eight home runs, 35 RBIs and six stolen bases in 66 games this season.
McMahon, 31, has not been in the Yankees’ lineup since June 21 due to ear and throat issues and was on the 10-day IL. An All-Star in 2024 with the Colorado Rockies, McMahon has delivered a .210 batting average, eight homers and 23 RBIs in 69 games this year.
Rodon, a three-time All-Star including in 2025, hits the injured list after one of his best starts of the year. The 33-year-old surrendered one hit and no earned runs over five innings on Sunday at Boston. In nine starts this season, Rodon has fashioned a 4-2 record and 3.30 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 26 walks over 46 1/3 innings. He began the season on the IL following offseason elbow surgery and later injured his hamstring in March before making his season debut on May 10.
He was slated to start Saturday against the Twins.
Cabrera, 27, appeared in three games while McMahon was sidelined. He went 0-for-9 with two sacrifice bunts in his 11 plate appearances.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Williams sisters to play doubles Saturday at Wimbledon
Jul 6, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) hug at the net after their match on day seven of The Championships Wimbledon at the AELTC. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images Serena and Venus Williams will play their Wimbledon first-round doubles match on Saturday after organizers gave Serena time to recover from a knee injury.
The sisters, who won the grass-court Grand Slam doubles title six times (most recently in 2016), take on Argentina’s Solana Sierra and Colombia’s Camila Osorio at the All England Club.
Playing her first singles match in nearly four years on Tuesday, the 44-year-old Serena tweaked her knee in the first set of a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Australia’s Maya Joint.
Tournament director Jamie Baker told the Associated Press the first-round doubles match was pushed back to give Serena “as much time” as possible to recover. All other first-round matches in the Ladies’ Doubles draw were contested Thursday and Friday.
“We want her to play if she … possibly can,” Baker said Friday.
Venus, 46, and Serena last played doubles at the 2022 U.S. Open, losing in the first round to Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.
The winner of Saturday’s match will face ninth-seeded Ellen Perez of Australia and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the second round.
–Field Level Media
Courage transfer M Manaka Matsukubo to Chelsea
Yankees place Carlos Rodon on IL, reinstate Trent Grisham, Ryan McMahon
