It may have happened in the early hours of this morning but it's been a scintillating start to the US Open at Pebble Beach with virtually all of the biggest names in golf moving themselves into position after day one. Rory McIlroy was among the early starters on the California coastline and he fired a three under par 68 – his first round in the 60s at a US Open since 2015 – to sit inside the top-10 heading into Friday. However, the man to catch is Justin Rose. The 2013 champion put together a round which included five birdies and an eagle on the way to a six under par 65 to lead by one from Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Louis Oosthuizen and Aaron Wise. Back at two under is Brooks Koepka who, after six holes, looked like he was going to run away with yet another Major before faltering while Tiger Woods also shot under par with a round of 70. For Graeme McDowell it was a brilliant return to the scene of his US Open triumph nine years ago as he opened with a bogey-free 69 but it was a day to forget for Shane Lowry. Rose, Woods and Koepka are among the early starters today and you can follow all of the action on our liveblog from 3.30pm.
Moving on to GAA and Jackie Tyrrell writes in his column this morning that this weekend's round-robin hurling fixtures have a bit of a World War II feel to them with battle being waged on two fronts – Eastern (Leinster) and Southern (Munster). Wexford v Kilkenny is perhaps the pick of the bunch this weekend and Tyrrell writes that "anytime I went there, I always felt like a young lad robbing an orchard, looking over your shoulder waiting for a farmer to chase you out the gate with a pocketful of apples. You never felt comfortable, you were always on edge."
In rugby Diageo yesterday confirmed that they will end their sponsorship of London Irish over the signing of Paddy Jackson. In a statement to The Irish Times, Diageo said: "We have met with the club to express our concerns. Their recent decision is not consistent with our values and so we have ended our sponsorship." Meanwhile, in Argentina, Ireland under-20s walking wounded march on towards a fifth to eighth place semi-final against England this weekend despite thr growing injury toll raising concerns about player welfare, as writes John O'Sullivan.
In soccer, Maurizio Sarri is all set to make the switch from Chelsea to Juventus after the clubs last night agreed a deal in principle. It is understood that the terms of the deal will see Juve pay around £2.5 million to secure the 60-year-old's services for the new season, with another £2.5m due in bonuses should he lead them to a ninth successive Scudetto or the Champions League.
Finally to Canada and history was made overnight as the Toronto Raptors silenced the Oracle Arena in Oakland to beat the Golden State Warriors and claim their first ever NBA Championship title.
