AP-Tournament-Scorecard

Rory McIlroy is a footnote in World Golf Championships history for hitting the final shot of the series. It was a 6-footer for par at the Dell Match Play, and it was only for third place. The WGCs have run their course. Match Play isn't on the schedule for 2024. The other two quietly went away after 2021. The WGC in Shanghai is still up in the air but is unlikely to be played. AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson asks, is that bad? Not necessarily, he says. That's because the PGA Tour's new schedule is loaded with tournaments that look like a modern version of WGCs.

Two people with knowledge of the situation tell The Associated Press a group led by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales has submitted a fully financed bid for the NFL's Washington Commanders. The Harris/Rales group, which includes basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, is one of multiple bidders involved in the sale process. Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos are also in the running. Dan Snyder and his wife Tanya hired a firm in November to explore selling part or all of the team. League owners are participating in their annual meeting in Arizona this week. They would need to approve any sale before it becomes official.

The latest PGA Tour memo offers a few more details about the 2024 schedule and why it will be important for some to play in the fall. For those players who finish outside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup, they can keep accumulating points to get one of the 10 spots available in the eight $20 million designated events. There's also a spot in the Masters for anyone who wins. The Masters will be shown on CBS for the 68th straight year. CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus says LIV golfers will be treated just like every other golfer.

Bryant Gumbel will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards on May 22 in New York. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences made the announcement on Tuesday. Gumbel’s career has spanned more than 50 years on NBC, CBS and HBO. He has hosted “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” on HBO since 1995. It has received 36 Sports Emmys.

Russian athletes have been given conditions by the International Olympic Committee that could lead to their return to international sports events. However the IOC says its advice to governing bodies of Olympic sports do not include the 2024 Paris Games. Though the IOC gave guidance rather than orders to Olympic sports, it still defies repeated calls by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to exclude all Russian athletes and teams while his country is being occupied and attacked.  The IOC says athletes from Russia and its military ally Belarus should be excluded if they have actively supported the war in Ukraine.

The Texas Open is the last chance for a player to earn a spot in the Masters. Among those trying to get to Augusta National are PGA Tour rookie Taylor Montgomery and Rickie Fowler. Ten players in the Texas Open field already are eligible. The defending champion is J.J. Spaun. He earned his trip to the Masters last year. Now he needs to win again. The LPGA Tour typically holds its first major of the year this week. Now it's playing in the Los Angeles area as its opening major has moved to Houston in late April. LIV Golf is playing in Orlando.

Jurgen Klinsmann is still waiting for his first win as head coach of South Korea after Uruguay triumphed 2-1 in a friendly played at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Sebastian Coates and Matias Vecino scored for Uruguay while Hwang In-beom netted for the Koreans. Former Germany and U.S. coach Klinsmann was appointed last month and his first match in charge was a 2-2 home draw with Colombia last Friday. Just four days after defeating Ecuador 3-1 in Sydney, Australia lost to the same opposition 2-1 in another friendly in Melbourne. Japan was also beaten 2-1 by Colombia in Osaka

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was missing for Sweden in its match against Azerbaijan in European Championship qualifying because of injury. Sweden coach Janne Andersson didn’t disclose the precise nature of Ibrahimovic’s problem when confirming the AC Milan striker’s absence ahead of the game. Ibrahimovic made his first national team appearance in a year in the 3-0 loss to Belgium on Friday. Ibrahimovic has recently returned to fitness after nearly eight months out with a knee injury. Milan plays Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on April 12.

Several prospects from the NBA Academy in Africa are playing in the new season of the Basketball Africa League. The league was created by the NBA in partnership with FIBA to help grow the sport in Africa and is now in its third season. It’s a Champions League-style competition for African club teams. They added a twist last season with each of the 12 teams being assigned an academy prospect. The “BAL Elevate” program is also in place this campaign. The young players have to earn minutes on rosters full of veterans. It’s another opportunity for the prospects prove themselves.

Peru's foreign ministry says goalkeeper Pedro Gallese has been released without charges after an altercation with Spanish police officers in front of the hotel in Madrid where the national team is staying. The Orlando City player was taken to a police station for interrogation after a brawl broke out between police officers and players who were watching Peruvian fans chanting outside the hotel on Monday night. Peru will play Morocco in a friendly at Metropolitano Stadium on Tuesday. Madrid government official Mercedes González says there will be an investigation to find out whether excessive force was used by the police officers.

Jordan Miller entered the transfer portal two years ago and wasn't immediately on Miami's radar. That is, until a guy who the Hurricanes know as ''Clutch' called. Clutch's real name is Gary Collins and he coached Miller during his AAU years. He called Miami assistant Bill Courtney and predicted Miller would be a breakout star. Fast forward two years. Clutch was right and Miller and the Hurricanes are headed to the Final Four in large part because of his perfect shooting performance against Texas in the Elite Eight.

The Springfield Symphony Hall lists a capacity of 2,611. This is going to be a problem when the basketball world heads to western Massachusetts on August 12. Act surprised on Saturday when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announces its class of enshrinees for 2023. Among the finalists: Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich. It’s widely assumed that they’ll enter the Hall this summer, in what will be a most star-studded event. And the ticket will be hot. More than 2,611 people will want to go to this. Probably more than 261,111 people will want to go to this.

More than 300 fencers including nine medalists from the last Olympics in Tokyo have signed an open letter urging the sport’s governing body and the International Olympic Committee not to allow Russian fencers to compete while the war in Ukraine continues. The International Fencing Federation voted this month to allow fencers from Russia and its ally Belarus to return to international competitions as qualifying for next year’s Olympics in Paris ramps up. The fencers who signed the letter say the FIE is “not fulfilling its duty of care” to its athletes and especially to Ukrainian fencers.

Shohei Ohtani watch is on. Not Ohtani’s home runs or strikeouts or any of his magnificent numbers from the field. Nothing like that. It’s all about how much his next contract will be worth. Ohtani is among a group of players going into their final season before they are eligible for free agency. There is still time for signatures and press conferences before opening day, but history shows a new contract becomes less likely once the real games begin. The list of impending free agents also includes Aaron Nola, Matt Chapman, Teoscar Hernández, Ian Happ and Julio Urías.