12/05/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | MAY 12, 2026 28 R ORY MCILROY and Scottie Scheffler, who together have won four of the past five major titles, have impressed each other with their mental focus and golfing skills. As world No. 1 Scheffler and sec ond-ranked McIlroy prepared to face a world-class field at Aronimink in the 108th PGA Championship starting Thursday, they examined each other’s most formidable strengths. Scheffler captured last year’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and British Open at Royal Portrush while McIlroy took the green jacket at the Masters last month and last year. McIlroy finds Scheffler’s focus and consistency among his greatest weap ons. “He has played consistently excel lent golf for I would say ever since he got his first win back at the start of 2022, and he hasn’t really dropped off since then,” McIlroy said. “It has been four years of really excellent, consistent golf. You look at his game, and you would have said a RCB win thriller RASIKH SALAM scrambled two runs off the final delivery from Raj Bawa as Royal Challengers Bengaluru returned to winning ways on Sunday with a nervy two-wicket defeat of Mumbai Indians. Naman Dhir top-scored with 47 as Mumbai clawed their way to 166 7 but a blazing half-century by Krunal Pandya set Bengaluru on their way at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. Victory for the defending champions and current leaders Bengaluru eliminated Mumbai from the race for the playoffs as well as Lucknow Super Giants who were beaten by Chennai Super Kings earlier in the day. “It’s a crucial two points for us. If we’d lost that one, we would have been under pressure,” said swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar whose 4-23 earned him the player of the match award. Patel sets up Chennai victory URVIL PATEL smashed a record-equalling half-century but it was impact player Prashant Veer who steered Chennai Super Kings over the line to a five-wicket win over Lucknow SuperGiants in the IPL on Sunday. Veer was dropped twice in the 19th over, bowled by Avesh Khan, but struck 18 not out from 12 balls, hitting two successive sixes off Aiden Markram to see Chennai to 208-5 and victory with four balls to spare at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. However, Patel was the star turn in the Chennai innings as he equalled Yashasvi Jaiswal’s record for the fastest half-century in the IPL. Patel needed just 13 balls to reach his first 50 in the competition, going on to top-score with 65 from 23 balls with eight sixes. He added 81 for the second wicket with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad who made 42 from 28 balls. “I just wanted to bat according to the situation and hit the ball,” said the 27-year old Patel. “Ruturaj said the wicket was slow and to be ready for it. “I tried to maintain a stable base and then hit.” It was Chennai’s third win in a row - sixth in 11 matches overall - as they climbed to fifth in the table, still in contention for a top-four playoff spot. For Lucknow, it was an eighth loss in 11 games. INSIDE EDGE

Focus and longevity Scheffler-McIlroy rivalry sparks mutual admiration

Scottie before the Masters and even in the practice round, his mental approach to not just the game, but a round of golf – it’s like he picks the course apart,” Scott said. “He’s so good, so controlled with his shots. “I was watching him even practic ing and chipping, where he chipped from, it’s very strategic. “It seemed like he had all his bases covered. It’s his approach, it’s so smart, really.” McIlroy’s willingness to open him self to the world earned Scott’s appre ciation. “There are so many great things about Rory,” Scott said. “Rory tells us a lot more about himself and his golf, and I think the fact that he has put himself out there, to be vulnerable with his game over the last couple years, is what impresses me about him. “The way he’s able to take his lumps but he also gets some big highs as well. He’s so talented, so the ceiling of his golf is really high, but I think that’s gutsy to do that.” – AFP “It’s always my dream, not goal but dream, to win a major,” Jeeno said. “I don’t want to put anything on my shoulders right now. I’ll just play golf. “Whether I win a major or not, I think I’ve done enough.” Jeeno captured her ninth career LPGA title and second of the year after taking the LPGA Thailand title in February. That made her the fourth multi-time LPGA winner this sea son after top-ranked American Nelly Korda, South Korean Kim Hyo-joo and Australian Hannah Green. Jeeno’s friend Yin, 23, fired a 69 to finish second on 279, one stroke ahead of Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Americans Alison Lee and Jenny Bae, who matched her low round of the year with a 66. Yin, also a runner-up at the Chevron Championship in her prior start, reached all 18 greens in regulation but missed a chance for her sixth LPGA crown and first since the 2024 Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur. “You need to leave yourself an uphill pull on these greens and I didn’t do that on the back nine,” the 20-year-old Yin said. “My game is quite on spot. I just need to make less three putts.” – AFP

Scheffler said. “Rory is one of those guys that checks the box each week. He’s a guy I always see in the gym, the practice facility. “Players will have a greater appre ciation when you see somebody like Rory who has had success over so many years. When you look at when he won his first major championship to now it has been 15 years. “That’s pretty difficult to do, so for him to still be at the top of the game for this long is quite impressive.” Australian Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner making his 100th career major start, finds both stars impressive in different ways while say ing, “These guys are both playing at a high level.” “I played 18 holes at Augusta with WORLD NO. 2 Jeeno Thitikul fired a three-under par 69 to hold off China’s Yin Ruoning and win her second consecutive LPGA Mizuho Americas Open title by four strokes yesterday. The 23-year-old from Thailand made four birdies and a bogey to finish 72 holes on 13-under 275 at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey. “It means the world. It means a lot to me,” Jeeno said. “I called my coach earlier in a practice round and everything went out of my head, which really helped.” Long-time Jeeno coach Kris Assawapimonporn’s advice was to not push so hard and let go of her worries. “Give the credit to him,”she said.

ple ways as well. “When you look at just his game, his ability to drive the ball is the best I’ve seen, not only with his speed but how accurate he is as well,” Scheffler said of McIlroy. “He’s able to take out certain things on some golf courses that not many players can do. “He does it in a way where he hits a lot of fairways as well.” Scheffler also admires how long McIlroy, who won his first major at the 2011 US Open, has played at a top level. “Another thing is his longevity. Hard to have an understanding of

few years ago that the putting was a weakness, but you wouldn’t say that now. “And you look at all the other aspects of his game and you don’t see a weakness, from a physical stand point, from a mental standpoint.” Scheffler has runner-up finishes in his past three starts but has shaken off weak efforts quickly, McIlroy noted. “He seems like he has a good mind set of last week’s done, I’ll move on to this week,” McIlroy said. “Forget about whatever happened. He operates in the present so well, and that’s one of his super strengths.” M c I l r o y impresses Scheffler in multi

what it takes to remain at the top for as long as he has,”

Jeeno defends title at Mizuho Americas Open

“Sometimes you don’t try to fix things to be perfect. It helped me a lot to stay in my bubble, focus on what I can do. “What I have to think about is my rhythm, what I can control.” Jeeno will try to

Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand plays her shot during the 2026 Mizuho Americas Open at Mountain Ridge Country Club yesterday. – AFPPIC

capture her first major title at the US Women’s Open next month at Riviera.

Prizmic proves win over Djokovic was no fluke

DINO PRIZMIC followed up knocking out Novak Djokovic from the Italian Open by beating France’s Ugo Humbert 6-1, 7-5 yesterday to reach the last 16 in Rome. Prizmic had to qualify for the main draw but the Croatian player looks like he could be a contender after another brilliant display of power and precision on clay. The 20-year-old raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set, which he closed out in just 28 minutes against a shellshocked Humbert, who was seeded 31st. Such was Prizmic’s dominance in the first set that he could even afford to try a trick shot between his legs and give up a point in game six.

over Alexander Blockx, 6-1, 6-4 on centre court where the threat of rain looms large. Zverev will face Italy’s Luciano Darderi, who beat Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the fourth round. Home hope Lorenzo Musetti will face clay court specialist Casper Ruud in the last 16 after winning a tough match with Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (9-7), 6-4. Naomi Osaka will face three-time Rome champion Iga Swiatek in the last 16 of the women’s tournament after easily seeing off Diana Schnaider 6-1, 6-2. Swiatek swept aside Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0 in just over an hour. – AFP

Humbert battled back in the second set but after he gave up his serve for the third time in game 11 Prizmic closed out on his second match point. After his superb performance on the Pietrangeli court Prizmic will face 13th seed Karen Khachanov in the next round. “I just want to play my game and to be myself on the court and we will see,” Prizmic later told reporters. “Maybe for me the goal is to be top 30 at the end of the year but I just want to stay healthy and to play as much as I can.” Alexander Zverev kept up his bid for a third title at the Foro Italico with a straight-sets win