PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Lee Westwood will have familiar company in the final group Sunday at TPC Sawgrass.

He’s set up for another duel with Bryson DeChambeau.

After battling last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Westwood and DeChambeau will again face off Sunday in The Players Championship. Westwood will begin the final day at 13-under 203, two clear of DeChambeau. Last week, Westwood held a one-stroke advantage over DeChambeau after 54 holes but eventually lost by one.

“It’s like Round 2, the rematch,” Westwood said. “I’m going to really enjoy tomorrow. I enjoyed last Sunday, and I’m going to enjoy this Sunday.”

Adam Scott and Vijay Singh (2006-07) were the only other players in the ShotLink era who played in the final group in consecutive stroke-play events.

DeChambeau was asked the last time he was paired with the same player in consecutive weeks.

“Junior golf,” he said, laughing.

“Fortunately for me last week I was able to get the job done,” DeChambeau said, “and I think tomorrow is going to be an incredible battle.”

It’s the only two times that DeChambeau and Westwood have been paired together on the PGA Tour. DeChambeau shot 71 last week to Westwood’s 73.

“I guess neither of us will treat it any differently,” Westwood said. “I suppose if you sat Bryson down here and you asked him which golf course would suit him more, he’d probably say Bay Hill. You can open your shoulders a little bit more around Bay Hill than you can around here. This place is a little bit more strategic. But credit to Bryson – you wouldn’t associate this golf course with his style of play, and he’s up there. It shows he can adapt his game.”

DeChambeau was similarly complimentary of Westwood, who turns 48 next month.

“Mr. Consistency,” DeChambeau said. “His driving is impeccable, his iron play is impeccable, and he makes putts when he needs to. ... That’s what it takes to win golf tournaments.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Paul Casey was asked to describe his relationship with TPC Sawgrass – complicated, contrived, pained?

“Keep going,” he said with a smile following a third-round 67 that lifted him into a tie for fifth place and one round away from his best showing ever in the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

In a dozen starts at The Players Championship, the Englishman has missed the cut or withdrawn eight times and he has just a single top-10 finish, in 2004 when he made his first start on the Stadium Course.

“[TPC Sawgrass architect Pete Dye] can be incredibly infuriating with his designs, and one of his things was always to kind of scare, intimidate the players on the tee,” Casey said. “It can be scary and intimidating at times and yet quite generous once you get up there. I find it beautiful, great architecture, but I've had a pained relationship with it at times.”

Saturday’s round was a microcosm of his history at TPC Sawgrass. Casey eagled the par-5 second hole and added three birdies before the turn but struggled with three bogeys through his first five holes of the second nine before capping his day with a birdie at the 18^th hole.

“Cracking front nine, wasn't it?” he said. “And then messed things up a little bit on the back nine, but that's the way this golf course is. You're always on the hairy edge of disaster.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Rory McIlroy surprised some on Friday when he explained his recent struggles were the byproduct of his pursuit of more speed and Bryson DeChambeau’s recent distance gains.

“I'd be lying if I said it wasn't anything to do with what Bryson did at the U.S. Open,” said McIlroy, following rounds of 79-75 at The Players. “I think a lot of people saw that and were like, whoa, if this is the way they're going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps. It really helps.”

Following a third-round 67 that left him alone in second place at TPC Sawgrass, DeChambeau was asked his reaction to McIlroy’s comments.

“I appreciate it, first off,” he said. “I wasn't trying to influence anybody. I was just trying to play my own game and hit it as far as I possibly could. And I knew there was going to be an effect.”

McIlroy said he started speed training in October and that led to his swing becoming too long and flat and his recent inconsistencies off the tee.

“I knew that there would be some people that would try and some people it would potentially not work for them and some people it may help them,” DeChambeau said. “I do appreciate Rory's comments, it's kind of a sentiment almost and something that keeps me going every day.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Adam Scott drowned his shot at history.

After throwing darts into TPC Sawgrass’ 17^th hole each of the first three rounds of The Players Championship, Scott took dead aim once again Sunday – and came up short.

On the 133-yarder, Scott’s tee shot just missed the front portion of the green and found the water, leading to a double-bogey 5. Scott was looking to become just the third player in tournament history to birdie the 17^th in each of the four rounds, joining Paul Azinger (1987) and Kyle Stanley (2017).

Scott’s total proximity to the hole over the first three rounds was 5 feet, 9 inches – the best through 54 holes in ShotLink history (since 2003). The previous best was Retief Goosen’s 15-foot, 1-inch total.

The best over four rounds is Kevin Chappell, who during the 2016 event had a cumulative distance of 21 feet, 11 inches.

Sergio Aguero scored his first Premier League goal in 14 months as Manchester City pulled 17 points clear of the chasing field with a 3-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

The match marked the return of Aguero to Pep Guardiola's starting lineup for just the fifth time across all competitions this season, with the Argentine dealing with injuries for much of the season and having not scored in the league since a Jan. 21, 2020 goal against Sheffield United.

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Despite looking like the inferior side on paper and in the table, the hosts, who have kept clean sheets in five of their last nine matches, kept Man City off the scoresheet in the first half and went to the break still on level terms.

John Stones put Man City in front just after half-time, redirecting a whipped in free kick from Joao Cancelo with a fine first-time shot to make it 1-0.

Gabriel Jesus doubled the lead for the Premier League leaders 10 minutes later when he picked up a deflected clearance, rounded Fulham keeper Alphonse Areola and buried a shot into the back of the net.

Aguero then scored from the penalty spot, sending his kick just wide of a diving Areola and putting the result well out of reach for Fulham.

The result leaves Man City on 71 points from 30 matches, miles ahead of second-placed Man United, while Fulham remain firmly in a relegation battle in 18th place on 26 points.

Home manager Scott Parker would have been delighted with the way his team managed City in the first half, restricting Guardiola's side to half chances.

But they self-destructed in the second half, culpable in all three of City goals.

"We tried to take the game to the best team in Europe and this division. I thought we did do that. We conceded silly goals in the second half," Parker said.

"I asked the team to be brave and show a way about us to try and assert ourselves on Man City. For large parts they did very well but it was some silly goals, really."

Iran head coach Dragan Skocic and Mehdi Taremi, one of the nation's highest-profile players, have questioned the decision to hold the country's World Cup qualifiers in Bahrain when play resumes in June.

The Iranians were informed by the Asian Football Confederation last week that the Gulf state will host the remaining matches in Group C of the second round of the competition, which also features Iraq, Cambodia and Hong Kong.

Porto striker Taremi accused the AFC of anti-Iran bias in a post on social media and questioned why Bahrain was given the hosting rights at a time when temperatures can hit 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit).

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"I am wondering when these biased AFC decisions against Iranian football will come to an end," the striker posted on Twitter.

"Bahrain's heat and a whole host of other reasons are making me wonder, why there? I am still thinking why these decisions do not come to an end. We have suffered our whole lives, this is just another one."

Head coach Skocic, appointed in February 2020 to replace Marc Wilmots, also took to social media to query the decision, saying it was not made in the best interests of all the participants.

"In the session which was held to talk about the postponement of the matches, Bahrain's representative, without any introduction, talked about hosting the remaining matches and it was the thing that surprised me the most," the Croatian wrote in a post on Instagram.

"In my opinion, the AFC should have found a solution that equally benefits everyone -- not one team -- and made a decision according to the spirit of sport.

"But in the end, all the teams have to face us and we will undoubtedly have a strong presence and surpass this situation."

The AFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iraq lead the standings with Bahrain in second, while Iran, who have qualified for the last two World Cups, are in third, five points behind the leaders with a game in hand.

Only the group winners of each of the eight groups in the second round of Asian qualifying are guaranteed to advance to the next phase of the competition.

Matches are due to be played from May 31 until June 15 after the COVID-19 pandemic saw all of Asia's World Cup qualifiers postponed during 2020.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has said defensive duo Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are "unlikely" to be fit for this summer's European Championship.

The two players suffered long-term knee injuries which ruled them out of the majority of the campaign and, despite Liverpool initially coping as they battled to retain their Premier League crown, they are on a run of six consecutive defeats at Anfield.

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Van Dijk was expected to captain Netherlands in their first major tournament since the 2014 World Cup while Gomez was in contention to start in central defence for England, but Klopp has cast doubt on their availability of both players.

"That's not my decision," Klopp told a news conference ahead of Monday's game with Wolverhampton Wanderers, when asked if the pair playing in the Euros would benefit Liverpool.

"But, to be honest, the information I have in the moment [is] it will be unlikely. So, not that I don't let them go because I don't want to have to do that anyway, but it's because of the extent of the injury. We all hope that they will be ready to start the preseason with us. That's what we hope.

"And, by the way, with Joel [Matip] it's pretty much the same, he's just not qualified for the Euros but it's with him the same.

"These are really serious injuries. And it's not about now that we talk [about] which competition they can play. As far as I know, and I'm always open for positive surprises, now they all of a sudden show up in team training - but nobody told me that.

"The two of them look in the moment better than Joel looks because he's still in his [what] looks like skiing boots. But he is here as well. Joe is not running, Virgil is already running, but this is really a tough one.

"We are completely over the moon when they are ready to train with us for the start of preseason. About the Euros, I didn't think about it.

"I don't know when you would have to be back that you are able to play the Euros. The week before? The day when the Euros start? I don't know. That's it. I understand maybe the need of that but we cannot make this decision and we will not.

"It's just about when they will be fit, they will be fit. That's how it is."

The Ahmedabad pitch for the third Test, a day-nighter where India and England played out a two-day game, has been given an "average" rating by the ICC.

The pitch drew a lot of criticism, especially from former England players, for becoming a turner almost from the beginning. Axar Patel, the India left-arm spinner, came on as early as in the seventh over of the first day, and spinners picked up 28 of the 30 wickets to fall - Patel got 11, R Ashwin picked up seven, and even Joe Root returned a five-for in India's first innings.

The match finished in just 140.2 overs - England were bowled out for 112 and 81, while India scored 145 before chasing down 49 without losing any wickets. It was the shortest completed Test since 1935. The win gave India a 2-1 lead in the four-match series, which they built on in the final game to close out a 3-1 victory and a spot in the World Test Championship final.

India captain Virat Kohli had called the pitch "very good" after the game, which finished 98 minutes before the scheduled end on the second day, but admitted it was the most "bizarre" Test he had played in his career.

"[It was] a very good pitch to bat on - especially in the first innings - and it felt like the ball was coming on nicely with the odd-ball turning," Kohli had said after the game. "It was just, I would say, below-par batting from both teams. Our bowlers were much more effective and that's why we got the result."

But, commenting on Channel 4, Alastair Cook said Kohli "defended the wicket almost as if it's a BCCI thing" and Andrew Strauss agreed with his former opening partner, saying, "To say the pitch has no fault to play, I totally agree with Cooky - Kohli's looking after the groundsmen there to a certain degree."

Former Indian cricketers were not as critical, with Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentating on Star Sports, calling the pitch "challenging" for batsmen.

The pitch for the second Test of the series, which was played in Chennai and ended on the fourth day when India sealed a 317-run win, also earned an "average" rating, while the pitch for the series opener, also in Chennai, was rated "very good", and the pitch for the last game, in Ahmedabad, was "good".

Pitches and outfields are rated by the ICC match referees, which, in this case, was former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath.

Toss India won the toss and chose to bowl vs England

India have responded to their crushing defeat in Friday's opening T20I by turning to the Mumbai Indians for reinforcements, with the two batting stars of last year's IPL triumph being handed their India debuts.

Ishan Kishan will open the batting in place of Shikhar Dhawan and in the continued absence of his Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma, who is being rested for the first two games, while Suryakumar Yadav has been included to shore up the middle order in place of the star of the recent Test series, Axar Patel, who misses out.

The pair played major roles in the Mumbai Indians' fifth IPL title back in November last year, and step into an Indian batting line-up that struggled to make headway against an aggressive England attack in an eight-wicket defeat in the opening fixture.

In 13 innings in the UAE at the last IPL, Kishan finished as the Mumbai Indians' leading run-scorer, with 516 runs at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 145.76, and was also the tournament's leading six-hitter with 30. Yadav, meanwhile, made 480 runs in 15 innings (average 40.00, strike rate 145.01), with a consistently flamboyant approach to his batting at the top of the order.

Neither will be in action straightaway, however, after Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bowl first on a surface that he anticipates may once again be a touch up and-down, and with the dew factor in the second innings likely to hamper the fielding side.

"As much as we want to try things, we want to get a result as well," Kohli said at the toss. "These guys [the two debutants] are ready, they've done so well in the IPL against world-class bowlers already. That's the advantage of dealing with youth: You don't really need to say much to them, just unleash them on the field and back them."

England have made one enforced change of their own, with Mark Wood "not pulling up well" according to his captain, Eoin Morgan, after a thrillingly display in the opening game in which his average speed was in excess of 91mph. Wood was later confirmed by the England management to have sustained a bruised left heel.

Tom Curran has been included in Wood's place - which offers Morgan a very different style of seam bowler. Curran's strength tends to come at the death, which may have an impact on how he shuffles his resources in the earlier part of the innings. Adil Rashid, still England's solitary spinner, was particularly impressive with the new ball in the first match, removing Kohli for a duck, but may be required to play more of a traditional mid-innings role.

"We want to be as flexible as possible," Morgan said. "When you play away from home, you need to have as many options as possible.

"Statistically there is an advantage in chasing in T20 cricket. There is a bit of dew that comes in here, but it comes very early on. I don't think it'll be a massively high-scoring game, but a good contest. Great experience for us playing in India before the World Cup."

India: 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Washington Sundar, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

England: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Eoin Morgan (capt), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Tom Curran, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Adil Rashid