Pádraig Harrington rolled back the years and raced out of the blocks at the US PGA Championship yesterday, with an opening round of 71 leaving him four shots off the lead at Kiawah Island. Canada's Corey Conners is the leader - he is two strokes clear at the top of the leaderboard following an impressive effort of 67 on a tough day of scoring in south Carolina. Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland are among those lurking on three under par, however it was a familiar story for Rory McIlroy who made another slow start in a Major championship. The 32-year-old made three birdies and six bogeys in a rollercoaster round, signing for a disappointing 75 and leaving himself with plenty to do in today's second round. Shane Lowry meanwhile was left to rue some bad luck on the 17th - his ball plugging in the sand - as he opened with a one over par effort of 73. Today Harrington tees off at 12.49pm as he looks to continue his early momentum, with Lowry off at 1.44pm and McIlroy among the later starters at 6.58pm (all Irish time). You can follow all of the second round action via our liveblog, which will be up and running from around midday.
Earlier this week Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Amad Diallo made headlines after they carried a Palestinian flag around the Old Trafford pitch following their side's final home game of the season against Fulham. This followed Leicester City's Wesley Fofana and Hamza Choudhury doing the same following their FA Cup final win over Chelsea at Wembley. And in his column this morning, Johnny Watterson has suggested the show of support for Palestine reflects a shift within footballers and football itself: "But the goalposts have moved and continue to do so. For every note of irresponsible arrogance, every shot of a millionaire footballer spilling from a night club into a Lamborghini, there is a Rashford using his name, image and money to embarrass a government into extending free school meals to children."
Elsewhere this morning Seán Moran has looked at eir Sport's announcement it will stop broadcasting at the end of the year - which will mean one less platform hosting the GAA. However he believes this doesn't mean panic stations for the association: "The GAA remains sanguine that the departure of Eir Sports won't impact on the market for its media rights, worth more than €15 million a year under the current deal." And he suggests the changing face in how sport is consumed by supporters is a reason behind this: "Traditional television rights are the centrepiece of the single most lucrative element, but are these days confined to Ireland and the UK. You'd be hard put to catch football and hurling on television anywhere else in the globe, but the success of GAAGO, the streaming service venture between RTÉ and Croke Park which is now seven-years-old, is a reminder that technology is changing everything in this, as in other, sectors."
La Rochelle take on Toulouse in the Champions Cup final at Twickenham tomorrow (kick-off 4.45pm), with Ronan O'Gara's side looking to be crowned champions of Europe for the first time. And ahead of the match, Gerry Thornley has spoken to David Hickey - the former Dublin footballer who became a son of Stade Rochelais when he joined them in 1980. A three-time All-Ireland winner with the Dubs, Hickey will be behind La Rochelle on Saturday but admits to having a soft spot for Toulouse: "Toulouse were always a superior club in that they never resorted to violence, almost uniquely. Our own boys were rough enough but if you played down in Toulon, Carcassone or Aurillac, it could be frightening."
And former Donegal boss Jim McGuinness has held talks with Dundalk FC sporting director Jim Magilton about the vacant manager's job at Oriel Park. Gavin Cummiskey reports.
