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[ad_1] ROCHESTER: Top-ranked Jon Rahm seeks his second consecutive major title, Rory McIlroy wants his first major victory since 2014 and Jordan Spieth just hopes to play when the PGA Championship tees off on Thursday. A field of 156 players, 16 of them from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League, chase the Wanamaker Trophy at Oak Hill, where discipline and patience will be as vital as any club. "Discipline is going to be a huge factor this week," McIlroy said. "You've got to keep it out of those fairway bunkers. "If someone can keep their discipline and not start firing at those pins and know that middles of the greens is a pretty good leave on most holes, I think that's (key)." Oak Hill offers tricky pin locations with thick rough and shifting tee box areas to make every challenge unique. "Discipline is a really good way to describe what one needs this week," Rahm said. "It's challenging, but it's one of those where if...

[ad_1] GLASGOW: Rory McIlroy said he was prepared to take on the elements as well as the rest of the field after establishing a narrow lead at the halfway stage of the Scottish Open on Friday. The Northern Irishman added a second round of 66 to his opening 64 at the Renaissance Club to be 10 under par, a shot ahead of his Ryder Cup team-mate Tyrrell Hatton and South Korea's Tom Kim. It was another encouraging display by the 34-year-old McIlroy, who will return next week to the scene of his only British Open triumph at Hoylake in 2014 – the last of his four major wins. Friday's round meant that for the fifth time in his PGA Tour career – the event is co-sanctioned with the DP World (European) Tour – McIlroy has started a tournament with two scores of 66 or better. Four of those previous occasions led to three tournament wins, including his British Open success of nine years ago. "I hit the ball really well tee to green, gave myself a ton of looks (at birdie),...

[ad_1] GLASGOW: Rory McIlroy said he was prepared to take on the elements as well as the rest of the field after establishing a narrow lead at the halfway stage of the Scottish Open on Friday. The Northern Irishman added a second round of 66 to his opening 64 at the Renaissance Club to be 10 under par, a shot ahead of his Ryder Cup team-mate Tyrrell Hatton and South Korea's Tom Kim. It was another encouraging display by the 34-year-old McIlroy, who will return next week to the scene of his only British Open triumph at Hoylake in 2014 – the last of his four major wins. Friday's round meant that for the fifth time in his PGA Tour career – the event is co-sanctioned with the DP World (European) Tour – McIlroy has started a tournament with two scores of 66 or better. Four of those previous occasions led to three tournament wins, including his British Open success of nine years ago. "I hit the ball really well tee to green, gave myself a ton of looks (at birdie),...

[ad_1] LONDON: Rory McIlroy has said he would retire before joining the breakaway LIV Golf tour after it emerged he had been offered a franchise in the Saudi-backed project. A US Senate sub-committee met on Tuesday to investigate a proposed merger between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund that ended a legal battle between the tours following LIV's launch. Documents from the hearing showed that as well as being offered franchises, Tiger Woods and McIlroy would play in 10 LIV events had they agreed to sign up. "If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on earth, I would retire," said McIlroy, after his six under par first round at the Scottish Open on Thursday. "That's how I feel about it. I would play the majors, but I'd be pretty comfortable." A number of leading players who remained loyal to the PGA Tour have been critical of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan for the lack of information they were given prior to the signi...