Late last night we found out three of the four USA wild card picks for this month's Ryder Cup - Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. United States captain Jim Furyk didn't throw any curveball into the equation, and Tony Finau is considered the one most likely to be the fourth and final name added to the team following this week's BMW Championship in Philadelphia. Philip Reid has provided a detailed player by player guide to the 11 Team USA selections thus far.
Ireland will be without James McClean for their opening Nations League fixture against Wales on Thursday (and the friendly against Poland) after undergoing surgery on his wrist. Emmet Malone explains how Ryan Giggs, ahead of his first competitive games since he was appointed as Wales manager, appears to be enjoying one of international management's greatest ever cases of beginner's luck.
Hats off to Dublin – they're a country mile better than the rest. In his column this morning Darragh Ó Sé explains how Dublin are more than deserving of their four in a row: "The glaring difference between the teams on Sunday. When the pace got ratcheted up, Tyrone's cracks started to appear." Tomorrow night the first episode of TG4's Underdogs gets underway - Irish Times journalist Eamon Donoghue is one of the players involved and his first Underdogs diary entry gives an insight into episode one.
Serena Williams has defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-4 6-3 to set up a US Open semi-final against Latvian Anastasija Sevastova. She says painful memories of recent semi-final exits will keep her focused on what would be a record-equalling 24th grand slam singles title. Rafael Nadal recovered from a first-set bagel to defeat Dominic Thiem in another late-night classic in New York. Twenty-four hours after Roger Federer lost to John Millman, his old rival avoided following him out of the tournament, but only just.
Former Irish fullback Geordan Murphy will have his first match in his new role as Leicester Tigers coach - or as "interim coach" as he'd put it - this weekend. Murphy steps up to replace Matt O'Connor, who was sacked on Monday evening. "That's fantastic but to do it at the expense of a good friend and somebody who has mentored me as a coach and as a player is a very bitter pill to swallow. Very, very mixed emotions . . ."
Meanwhile Nicolas Roche is now the sole Irish rider remaining in the Vuelta a España, with Dan Martin a non-starter on Tuesday's 10th stage. Martin's wife Jess was due to have twins next month but is far ahead of schedule, leading to Martin leaving the race to be there to assist her at the birth. Roche placed 62nd and remains 35th overall, 13 minutes 57 seconds behind the overall leader Simon Yates.
