The PGA Tour returns today for the first time in three months and the Charles Schwab Challenge has brought out the big guns. Ireland's Graeme McDowell tees off at 1.34pm (Irish time), Shane Lowry begins his round at 2.18pm, while world number one Rory McIlroy tees off at 7.06pm. Ahead of his return at Colonial Country Club in Texas, McIlroy says playing without spectators will "be a little eerie" but necessary: "I feel like my game is pretty sharp. Nothing can compare to getting out there and playing under tournament conditions but, as far as I'm concerned, I'm as sharp as I can be coming in."

Spanish soccer returned from its Covid-19 hiatus last night as Rayo Vallecano beat Albacete 1-0 in bizarre circumstances - the teams completed the second half of a match that first kicked off six months ago but was suspended due to offensive chanting. Spain's top-flight La Liga resumes tonight with the derby between Sevilla and Real Betis. Irish clubs are expected to have the FAI's latest proposals to get the Airtricty League restarted put before them on Thursday morning. Emmet Malone explains that "a somewhat greater sense of optimism seems to exist that a deal might be possible given the general easing of restrictions in wider society and the growing sense that games might not, after all, have to be played behind entirely closed doors or at neutral venues."

Thinking outside the box is key in bringing competitive action back for athletes and fans explains Sonia O'Sullivan. In her weekly column she details how racing has been made possible again at Oslo's Impossible Games: "Taking place this Thursday evening, staged across Norway, Kenya and France, with only 13 events and less than 50 athletes, but with several record attempts, it's certainly an interesting twist on the new normal". Dave Hannigan's America at Large column pays tribute to Dublin-born boxing coach Tom O'Shea who left a huge mark on his adopted city of Chicago: "High school English teacher by trade, trainer by vocation, yet so much more than both those things. His passing during the pandemic, at 80, was mourned in all corners of his adopted city where generations of fistic prospects passed through his hands. Some made it to the Olympics, others, like Jesus Chavez, sampled professional glory. All were bettered by the experience."

Meanwhile heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have reached financial agreement on a two-fight deal expected to take place next year with Saudi Arabia expected to host the event. The deal firmly places Irishman Daniel Kinahan, who Fury publicly thanked on Instagram, among the sport's most influential figures. Kinahan's involvement in the top levels of organised crime has been accepted as fact by an Irish court, despite the 42-year-old's lack of previous convictions. Cork footballer Orlagh Farmer has been named Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the month, and former Irish rugby head coach Joe Schmidt has suggested a "biennial" north versus south Test match to decide the number one team on the planet.