NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — Aaron Rai has become the first English-born player in more than a century to capture the PGA Championship. Rai, who dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver until he turned to golf, was three shots behind and approaching the turn at Aronimink Golf Club when he delivered a performance worthy of a major champion. He made a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth during a stretch when he one-putted seven straight greens. Then he holed a birdie putt of some 70 feet across the 17th green for the clincher. The 31-year-old Rai is the first player of Indian heritage to win a major. He closed with a 5-under 65.
DETROIT (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each added 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 125-94 on Sunday night in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers ousted the East’s top seed and will face the third-seeded New York Knicks. Game 1 of that series tips off Tuesday in New York. Evan Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2018 and the ninth time in team history.
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — Rory McIlroy’s frustrating final round at the PGA Championship boiled over with an angry exchange with a fan after a “U-S-A!” shout from the gallery at Aronimink Golf Club. The costly errant shot out of heavy rough at the 16th hole derailed McIlroy’s come-from-behind bid Sunday, and he appeared to respond to the shout by using an expletive while telling the fan to “shut up.” The exchange summarized the two-time PGA and six-time major winner’s confounding final round. He was not alone, as Jon Rahm, Cam Smith and Xander Schauffele had their chances and failed to catch Aaron Rai.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — He’s the best player on the best team. And the voters say he’s the best player in the league, too. Again. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder — the reigning NBA champion and the team with the best record this year — won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player on Sunday for the second consecutive year. He becomes the 18th player to win at least two MVP awards and the 14th to win them in back-to-back fashion.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — This is not a one-of-a-kind matchup in the Western Conference finals. And it’s not the NBA Finals, either. It may just seem that way. In one corner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, winners of 64 games this season. In the other corner, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, winners of 62 games this season — and four wins against the Thunder. That’s the West finals matchup, with Game 1 on Monday in Oklahoma City.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Alex Palou had his best qualifying attempt on his final four-lap run Sunday and took his second career Indianapolis 500 pole with an average speed of 232.248 mph. He’s the first defending champion to claim the No. 1 starting spot since 2010. Palou also is the only starter on this year’s traditional 33-car starting grid with a qualifying average topping 232 mph. Alexander Rossi will start a career-best second after going 231.990. He’ll start between Palou and Team Penske driver David Malukas on the front row. Malukas went 231.877. Felix Rosenqvist was in position to become Indy’s first pole-winner from Sweden after he posted the fastest averages in the first two rounds of qualifying. But he finished the final round of qualifying at 231.375 and will start fourth.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Josef Newgarden found some solace in his inexplicable qualifying run. At least he has a better starting position in this year’s Indianapolis 500 than last year. Kyle Kirkwood endured a much rougher day. His car was slow, his team was shut out of Indy’s 12-car pole shootout, making it even less likely he can cut into Alex Palou’s 27-point lead during next Sunday’s race. Yes, it was an abysmal afternoon for the two American drivers and others on a challenging day that had the hottest air temperatures of the week, soaring track temps and some of the windiest qualifying conditions Kirkwood could remember at the Brickyard’s 2.5-mile oval. Newgarden qualified 24th and Kirkwood will start 26th.
STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Madison Keys has withdrawn from a French Open warmup tournament due to a left thigh injury. The 19th-ranked American was set to play at the Internationaux de Strasbourg this week, where she won the title in 2024. Keys says Monday she has decided to withdraw to focus on getting healthy for Roland Garros. The French Open starts on May 24 in Paris. Keys reached the semifinals at the clay-court Grand Slam in 2018. She retired from the final of the Trophee Clarins while leading Diane Parry 6-3, 3-3 on Sunday.
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Denny Hamlin avoided trouble by starting from the pole for what turned out to be a caution-plagued event and outdueled Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe for his second victory in the NASCAR All-Star Race. Hamlin led the final 30 laps at Dover Motor Speedway, which became the sixth track to hold the exhibition event in the Cup Series. His No. 11 Toyota finished 0.887 seconds ahead of Briscoe’s No. 19 to earn the $1 million prize. It’s the third consecutive win on the 1-mile oval for Hamlin, who won points races at the Monster Mile in 2024 and ’25.
ROME (AP) — Jannik Sinner is the first Italian man to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago. The top-ranked Sinner’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Casper Ruud in the final on the red clay of the Foro Italico on Sunday also made him only the second man after Novak Djokovic to win all nine Masters 1000 events. With his only real rival Carlos Alcaraz currently sidelined due to a right wrist injury seemingly nobody can beat Sinner. Sinner extended his winning streak to 29 matches. And he’s now 17-0 on clay this year entering the French Open. Roland Garros starts next Sunday.
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 6 Miami 3
Final Atlanta 8 Boston 1
Final Cleveland 10 Cincinnati 3
Final Baltimore 7 Washington 3
Final N.Y. Mets 7 N.Y. Yankees 6
Final Kansas City 2 St. Louis 0
Final Minnesota 5 Milwaukee 4
Final Chicago White Sox 9 Chicago Cubs 8
Final L.A. Dodgers 10 L.A. Angels 1
Final San Francisco 10 Athletics 1
Final San Diego 8 Seattle 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 4 Detroit 1
Final Texas 8 Houston 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 6 Pittsburgh 0
Final Arizona 8 Colorado 6
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Cleveland 125 Detroit 94