Sports
Rory McIlroy in familiar — and winning — territory at Quail Hollow
May 18, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Rory McIlroy tees off on the 14th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Few places on earth must feel more comfortable to Rory McIlroy than Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.
And with Scottie Scheffler taking the week off, the Northern Irishman is favored to win the Truist Championship for a record fifth time when the signature event field tees off Thursday.
“I really feel like this tournament … got my career going, especially on the PGA Tour,” McIlroy said this week. “Getting my first win on Tour in 2010. Then it’s been a pretty fruitful place since then.”
McIlroy prevailed at the tournament at Quail Hollow, previously called the Wells Fargo Championship and the Quail Hollow Championship, in 2010, 2015, 2021 and 2024. Sepp Straka is the defending champion this week, but the Austrian won the 2025 Truist at Philadelphia Cricket Club, a one-year relocation as Quail Hollow hosted the PGA Championship instead.
It’s the final week before players head to Aronimink Golf Club for the PGA, and while Scheffler is preparing for the second major of the year at home, most of the rest of the top 10 in the world are in Charlotte. McIlroy is hungry to add to his six major titles after repeating as Masters champion earlier this spring.
“I’ve spoke about this a lot, I felt like winning the Grand Slam (in 2025) was like this — was going to be this life-changing thing and in some ways it was, but in other ways I had to remember like, ‘No, I still have a lot of my career left and I want to keep playing and keep competing,'” McIlroy said.
“I’m excited for the road ahead. I’m excited for this week, I’m excited for Aronimink next week.”
While McIlroy has shown top form this season, there may be no hotter players in the sport than the duo of Matt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young.
Fitzpatrick has won three of his past four starts and two straight at the RBC Heritage and Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the latter a team event he played with his brother Alex. The Englishman could become the first player to win three PGA Tour starts in a row since Dustin Johnson in 2017.
Young won The Players Championship in March and doubled his win total for the year at last week’s Cadillac Championship, also a signature event.
“For me at the moment, I think it’s just trying to maintain the same approach each week,” Young said, noting how he took three weeks off between The Players and the Masters. “… I feel like I just picked up where I left off after The Players in terms of mindset and physically I had had time to practice at home. I think it’s a good thing to learn for me that, you know, I can take a couple weeks off and just come back and keep beating the same process.”
Golfers are trading in Trump National Doral’s “Blue Monster” for Quail Hollow’s “Green Mile,” a brutally challenging three-hole finish with two long par-4s and a precarious par-3 17th with water surrounding more than half the green.
“I think with the weather we had last year for the PGA the greens were a little bit softer, the rough was a little bit higher,” Fitzpatrick said. “This week it’s actually the opposite. The greens seem to be very, very firm and the rough’s a little shorter, which is nice. Yeah, I’m really kind of shocked at how firm the greens are right now and that’s definitely going to make it a great test.”
Seventy-two golfers will play in the no-cut, $20 million event. If the winner is not already qualified for the PGA Championship, he will be added to next week’s field.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tigers' Framber Valdez suspended for beaning Trevor Story
Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, on May 5, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan, with players and coaches from the Tigers and Red Sox on the field after a hit-by-pitch from Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez. Detroit Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez received a six-game suspension and an undisclosed fine Wednesday for intentionally throwing at Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story on Tuesday night.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch also received a fine and a one-game suspension, which he will serve in Wednesday night’s series finale against the visiting Red Sox. Bench coach George Lombard will fill in as manager.
Both benches emptied in the fourth inning after Story got plunked by a fastball from Valdez, earning the pitcher an ejection following the worst start of his career.
Valdez allowed a career-high 10 runs (seven earned) on nine hits, including three homers, in three-plus innings, taking the loss in the 10-3 setback.
Valdez, 32, is 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA through eight starts in his first season with Detroit, which signed him to a three-year, $115 million deal in February.
A two-time All-Star with Houston (2022, 2023), Valdez is 83-54 with a 3.41 ERA in 196 career games (174 starts) with the Astros (2018-25) and Tigers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
'Everything hurts': Michelle Wie West making first LPGA start in 3 years
Michelle Wie West watches a practice round of the 2025 Masters. Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Serving as tournament host is not what’s making Michelle Wie West nervous at this week’s Mizuho Americas Open in West Caldwell, N.J.
Wie West, 36, will tee it up in an LPGA Tour event for the first time since stepping away from competition after missing the cut at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open. She joked Wednesday that she “knew a few people” who could help her secure a spot into this week’s field, as Wie West prepares to play in next month’s U.S. Women’s Open.
After three years away from competition, Wie West was asked if the mental or physical side of the game is the most difficult to prepare for this week.
“Definitely mental. I don’t know physical. I feel pretty old right now and everything hurts. But I would say mental for sure,” Wie West said. “I get hit with moments of being nervous and I freeze up.
“To be fair, I feel like I have a lot of really good clarity on the feeling of being nervous and whatnot. But kind of getting back into the mode of playing there is really only a few things I do when I get nervous. I need to just not do them. That’s easier said than done.
“Yeah, it’s all difficult.”
A little more than a year after playing in her last LPGA Tour event, Wie West gave birth to her second child. She has spent much of the time since in various endeavors, including using events like the Mizuho Americas Open to mentor youth athletes.
The itch to compete and grow the game of golf also remains. In addition to the two upcoming events, Wie West is one of 14 women who have signed on to compete in the upcoming WTGL, the tech-infused indoor golf league co-owned by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
“I think any platform that can give LPGA players a sounding board and opportunity to showcase their talent, personalities, I think TGL is perfect for that,” Wie West said. “I think we’re going to reach new audiences hopefully.
“With the innovation and technology, I think it’s a perfect place to showcase everyone’s talents.”
Nelly Korda is the most prominent name yet to commit to the WTGL. However, like the world’s top-ranked player, Wie West hopes the league will grow to see PGA and LPGA Tour players compete together.
“From day one I got very excited about the aspect of playing co-ed matches. I think that would be really exciting,” she said. “I think these players, LPGA players, have such amazing personalities.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andy Pages (3 HRs, 6 RBIs) powers Dodgers in rout of Astros
May 6, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages (44) is congratulated by left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) after hitting a two run home run against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Andy Pages’ career-best three home runs and six RBIs carried the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers to a 12-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
Los Angeles starter Tyler Glasnow left after an inning with low back pain. Jack Dreyer (2-1) earned the win by throwing two scoreless frames. Six relievers combined to hurl eight innings of one-run, four-hit ball.
Shohei Ohtani posted two hits, two runs and an RBI for the Dodgers, who won their third game in four tries and took the three-game set.
Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. (2-3) lasted just 2 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on four hits, striking out four and walking three. In relief, Jason Alexander yielded five runs on nine hits across 4 1/3 frames, striking out a pair and walking five.
Houston opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as Brice Matthews connected on his fourth homer of the year,a drive to left on Glasnow’s third pitch of the game.
After Kyle Tucker doubled and Dalton Rushing singled in the second, McCullers’ wild pitch evened the score.
Glasnow was then replaced by Dreyer after trying to pitch in the second.
Alex Freeland walked and Ohtani doubled to begin the third, before two more wild pitches from McCullers gave the Dodgers a 3-1 edge.
Following walks to Freddie Freeman and Tucker, Pages belted his sixth homer of the year to left to extend the lead to 6-1 and chase McCullers.
Freeman’s double in the fourth off Alexander pushed the margin to six.
Muncy laced a one-out single in the fifth before Pages hit his second homer, another shot to left, to give the Dodgers an 9-1 advantage. Later in the inning, Ohtani lined an RBI single.
Freeland’s single extended the lead to 11-1 in the seventh.
Against Blake Treinen, Zach Cole singled to cut the Astros’ deficit to nine.
First baseman Cesar Salazar pitched the ninth for Houston, allowing Pages’ third homer, a shot to left.
–Field Level Media
Tigers' Framber Valdez suspended for beaning Trevor Story
'Everything hurts': Michelle Wie West making first LPGA start in 3 years
