Rory McIlroy shot an 8-under 62 to take an early one-stroke lead on the opening day of the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. The No. 2-ranked player in the world, fighting off a sinus bug, started on the back nine at TPC River Highlands and shot a bogey-free round. That included a 47-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh that helped him move past Xander Schauffele and Martin Laird, who each shot 63. Schauffele hit all 18 greens in regulation for the first time in his career, despite showing up late at the practice range because he thought his 7:35 a.m. tee time was at 7:50.

Commissioner Jay Monahan says the PGA Tour is in an arms race it can't win with LIV Golf when the weapon is Saudi-funded money. His response is to boost prize money in eight elite events and rely on his players' loyalty and sense of purpose. The new schedule has at least an extra $50 million in prize money. Monahan offers a streamlined schedule for top players that goes from January to August. Also planned are three international events during the fall for only the top performers. He spoke just as LIV Golf officially announced Brooks Koepka was the latest to sign.

This week's Travelers Championship will feature six of the  world’s top 15 ranked players, including No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy. McIlroy, who won the Canadian Open two weeks ago and then tied for fifth in the U.S. Open, is playing in his fourth straight event.  He’s hoping to keep up the momentum that has seen him rise to his highest ranking since July, 2020. Scheffler is playing for a third consecutive week and fourth in the last five. The Masters champion has nine top-10 finishes in 19 starts, including major runner-up showings in Brookline and in May at Colonial.

The Associated Press has learned Brooks Koepka is the latest PGA Tour player to sign on with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is looking to reshape its fall series and limit who makes the postseason. Koepka gives LIV another big name because of his four majors. He's also the first player who originally denounced the idea of guaranteed money and limited fields. Koepka told the AP in March 2020 that he has a hard time thinking golf should be about 48 players. Koepka is still listed in the field this week at the Travelers Championship.

Nearly an hour after playing her final regular-season game in New York, Sue Bird was still soaking in the moment. The WNBA’s all-time assist leader was on the court signing autographs and taking photos with the 100 or so family and friends who had come to Barclays Center to see her play in her hometown one last time. Bird had announced Thursday in Connecticut that this would be her final season playing in the WNBA. The first stop on her retirement tour was fittingly New York. She’ll have one more game in Connecticut, where she starred in college, next month. While she still has a bunch of road games left this season, none will come close to the emotion of playing in New York.

At least 19 states have passed laws or adopted rules that either bar or limit participation in sports by transgender athletes. It has become a polarizing political issue even though only a fraction of America’s 8.5 million high school and college athletes are believed to be transgender athletes. Title IX was a landmark law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in programs that receive federal funding. As the 50th anniversary of Title IX approaches, The Associated Press provides an overview of the debate.

Growing up in Vermont, Keegan Bradley dreamed he might find out what it felt like to be Larry Bird or Carlton Fisk or Tom Brady, or any of those Boston sports greats whose posters plaster bedroom walls across New England. On Saturday at the U.S. Open, Bradley got the full treatment. A cascading chorus of “Kee-gan, Kee-gan, Kee-gan” greeted the 36-year-old local favorite as he strode up the 18th fairway at The Country Club. He was on the way to making par and wrapping up a round of 1-under 69 that left him at 2 under for the tournament, just two shots off the lead.

Justin Thomas wanted to honor the spirit of the game. His reward was a chunky wedge from a bad lie and a big fat bogey on the scorecard. The PGA champion’s drive on the fourth hole at The Country Club on Saturday came to rest awkwardly beside a drain in the fairway. Thomas asked for a ruling, but confessed to the official that the drain didn’t interfere with his swing. That honesty cost him a chance at relief. Thomas had to reach over the drain and bend down to make contact for a shot into a bunker short of the green.

DeWanna Bonner scored 15 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter, Jonquel Jones had 17 points and 14 rebounds and the Connecticut Sun beat the Seattle Storm 82-71. Jewell Loyd hit a 3-pointer that cut Seattle’s deficit to 71-68 with 3:58 to play but Bonner converted a three-point play, made a layup and, after Alyssa Thomas score give the Sun a 10-point lead with 2:01 left, made a reverse layup to make it 80-68. Bonner finished with 10 rebounds — giving her 2,501 in her career — four assists and three steals. Bonner, in her 13th WNBA season, became the sixth player in league history to record at least 5,000 points, 2,500 rebounds and 900 assists. Breanna Stewart led Seattle with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The storm clouds never arrived at the U.S. Open. Only the stars did. Collin Morikawa leads the way in his quest for a third straight year winning a major. He had a 66 to match the low score this week at The Country Club. That gave him a share of the lead with Joel Dahmen, a popular everyman on the PGA Tour. In the group one shot behind is defending U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy. Another shot back is Masters champ Scottie Scheffler. Morikawa, Rahm and Scheffler have won four of the last nine majors.

Big wave surfer Ian Walsh and snowboarder Elena Hight anticipate the ride of their lives when they sail with the crew of 11th Hour Racing in the Newport Bermuda Race this weekend. It will be more than just a celebrity ride-along for Walsh and Hight during the 635-nautical mile jaunt. They will be helping the other crew sail the 60-foot Mālama. The race will give 11th Hour Racing another chance to test its new boat in preparation for the 2022-23 Ocean Race that starts this fall.

Jon Rahm began his U.S. Open title defense with a 69, a solid score Thursday at The Country Club that ended with a par and a birdie. His final two holes had a little more excitement that numbers alone can reveal. He hit two tee shots on the 17th hole and was told the first one was found before he hit a third. He made par. He hit his drive on the 18th under the TV compound only for some kids to run off with the ball. He eventually made a birdie from the free drop and shot 69.

Seattle Storm star and five-time Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird says the 2022 season will be her last playing in the WNBA. The 41-year-old considered retirement after last season before returning for a 19th season as a player. She missed two seasons because of injuries. As for the timing of her retirement, she says "you just know when you know.” Bird is a four-time WNBA champion, 12-time All-Star and the oldest player in the league. The former No. 1 draft pick has spent her entire WNBA career with the Storm. Her announcement came a day before Seattle’s game at Connecticut, the state where she was a collegiate star and national player of the year. The Storm close out their road trip on Sunday in New York, about 30 miles from where she grew up.