How, not what, McIlroy does, makes him golf’s successor to Ballesteros | Ewan Murray

Levels of greatness need not always be defined by numbers. Nick Faldo’s six majors to Rory McIlroy’s five prior to events at Augusta National on Sunday gave the Englishman the edge in the eyes of many in respect of Europe’s finest ever golfer. That McIlroy had already won the career grand slam of majors, therefore passing every test his sport has to offer, meant he was more worthy of the crown. Those who want to add Harry Vardon and a bygone age to the conversation should check the Jersey man’s scoring for his septet of major wins.It is the nature of McIlroy’s achievement that sets him apart

‘Disgraceful’: anger as World Aquatics allows Russia to compete under flag again

Swimming has agreed to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete without restrictions under their own flag and anthem for the first time since 2022, prompting joy in Russia and outrage in Ukraine.The decision by World Aquatics, which also oversees diving and water polo, adds further momentum to Russia’s bid to be allowed back for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 following judo’s decision to do the same last year.However, the news was greeted with disbelief by Ukrainian athletes, with the skeleton star Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from competition after wearing his “helmet of remembrance” during training at the Winter Olympics, telling the Guardian it was “unacceptable and disgraceful”.“World Aquatics claims it can keep the conflict away from pools and competition venues,” he said. “But of course, this does not apply to Ukrainian sports facilities and pools, which are constantly being struck by Russian missiles

Key gambling reform campaigner calls for pause to controversial affordability checks

Dr James Noyes, one of the key early advocates of affordability checks for online gamblers, has joined calls for Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, to instruct the Gambling Commission to pause the implementation of checks “until there has been adequate evaluation and scrutiny” of a pilot scheme to assess how checks might work in practice.Noyes’s intervention in the long-running debate over affordability checks comes in an open letter sent to Nandy on Monday. It echoes similar calls for a halt to the process by many senior figures in the racing industry, which fears a disproportionate effect on racing bettors with the potential to cost the industry tens of millions of pounds in income if punters refuse to supply financial information to gambling operators and switch to the black market instead.Noyes says in his letter that while affordability checks were “a worthy idea in principle” when first proposed in 2020, his call for checks was made on the basis “a gambling ombudsman would be created to ensure proper treatment of consumer redress and rights”, “checks would be non-intrusive” and “while preventing serious cases of harm from happening, they would not impede the majority of gamblers from engaging in a lawful activity which involves inherent risk, economic agency and their own money”.Noyes, a senior fellow of the Social Market Foundation (SMF) thinktank, argued for the introduction of affordability checks in their reports published in 2020 and 2021 and a number of his proposals were included in a government white paper on gambling reform, which was published in April 2023

Rory McIlroy hails his parents after second Masters triumph

In a sport filled with pushy parents the McIlroys do things differently: Rory McIlroy had to push his parents to attend the scene of his greatest triumph.Rosie and Gerry McIlroy feared their presence might jinx their son’s defence of the Masters, so they planned to steer clear of Augusta National.They partly attributed his victory at the course last year – a dramatic moment in golfing history that secured a career grand slam – to their absence, which avoided distracting him, and planned to do the same last week.Instead, the world’s No 2 persuaded them to travel from Northern Ireland to the US to witness what turned out to be another rollercoaster victory, climaxing in emotional family celebrations.“They weren’t here last year to celebrate with us, and surprisingly I had to convince them to come this year, because they thought the reason I won was because they weren’t here

WNBA draft 2026 predictions: Will Azzi Fudd or a Spanish prodigy go No 1 overall?

For the past three years, the No 1 pick has been a foregone conclusion: Aliyah Boston in 2023, Caitlin Clark in 2024, Paige Bueckers in 2025. This year has much less certainty. Will the Dallas Wings go for a big or a guard? How did UConn’s exit and UCLA’s triumph affect the stock of their stars? It’s a toss-up, but I’ll go with Awa Fam. She’s only 19, but her athleticism and pick-and-roll game will make her a strong complement to Bueckers in Dallas. EBAwa Fam

History beckons for I Am Maximus as Red Rum’s record comes in to view | Greg Wood

Relentless drama, no significant injuries to any of the 34 runners and a winner who inked himself on to the exclusive list of Aintree legends with the possibility of better to come next year. Saturday’s Grand National produced everything racing could realistically hope for and more, and if I Am Maximus can stay sound and return to Aintree in 2027 for a fourth run in the race, it promises to be one of the highlights of the sporting year.There was a 45-year wait for the next dual Grand National winner after Red Rum’s second success in 1974. Now, seven years after Tiger Roll’s second victory, I Am Maximus is only the third horse since the mid 1930s to register win number two, and the first since the peerless “Rummy” to win in nonconsecutive years. Having also finished a close second in 2025, he is arguably already second only to Red Rum in the list of all-time Aintree greats