PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida March 3 (Reuters) – Rory McIlroy took a big step towards gaining the number one spot in the world rankings, grabbing a two stroke lead ahead of Sunday’s final round of the Honda Classic.

The Northern Irishman shot a four-under par 66 in windy conditions on Saturday, recovering from successive bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes to produce three birdies on the back nine with some of his characteristically confident golf.

“It was another very solid day out there,” he said. “I’m very happy, obviously, with the position I’m in and I just need to try and keep doing the same things tomorrow.”

McIlroy, who can take over the top spot from Englishman Luke Donald only with a victory, finished with a birdie on the 18th hole, coming out of sand a little too strongly and then draining a 12-foot putt from the opposite fringe.

The 22-year-old from Holywood stands at 11-under par for the tournament and has a great chance of getting to the pinnacle of the global rankings for the first time.

“I have to really stay in the present, stay in the moment and not think about everything else that could happen, whether it be going to number one or winning my first tournament (here),” he said. “I’ve just got to go out there and try to put a good number on the board.”

But McIlory conceded it would be tough to keep his mind free of the prospect of being number one.

By Simon Evans

(Reuters) – The National Football League’s (NFL) “bounty” scandal spread on Saturday with media reports that Washington Redskins players also had a cash scheme to reward individuals who injured opponents and forced them to leave games.

The reports followed Friday’s announcement by the NFL that an investigation into the New Orleans Saints defense over the past three years had found an illegal “bounty” fund was operated by then defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Williams was defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins between 2004 and 2007 and the Washington Post said four players had described the informal system to the newspaper.

The payments, raised from players’ own funds not team bonuses, included rewards for “kill shots” where the injured player was taken out of the game, the Post said.

The Redskins declined to comment on the reports.

However, Joe Gibbs, head coach of the Redskins at the time, told the Post he was unaware of the practice.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (Reuters) -

Britain’s Justin Rose and American journeyman Tom Gillis moved into a share of the lead in Friday’s third round at the Honda Classic where ideal scoring conditions saw the course record smashed by three strokes.

American Gillis, 43, fired six birdies during mostly wind-free morning hours for a six-under-par 64 that was good enough for a tie of the course record until compatriot Brian Harman’s outstanding round.

“I’ve never lead out here after two days but I kind of wanted to do that this week – I don’t know why,” said Gillis, who described himself as the prototypical journeyman.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself but I feel like we are going to start knocking on the door. That’s how I feel.”

Rose, who started on the 10th hole, would have had the outright lead if not for bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes that left him with a four-under 66.

“For the most part I am really happy with my game. I hit a lot of quality iron shots and the difference is I just made a few of those mid-range putts to get me up towards the lead,” said Rose. “I’ve been playing nicely all year and feeling very comfortable with things and just been waiting for something to happen.”

By Simon Evans

(Reuters) – New Orleans Saints players were involved in an illegal “bounty” system that rewarded individuals for injuring opponents, the National Football League (NFL) said on Friday.

The league said an investigation into the past three NFL seasons revealed between 22 and 27 Saints defensive players, as well as at least one assistant coach, maintained the program.

“This improper ‘Pay for Performance’ program included ‘bounty’ payments to players for inflicting injuries on opposing players that would result in them being removed from a game,” the NFL said in a statement.

“The findings – corroborated by multiple independent sources – have been presented to (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell, who will determine the appropriate discipline for the violation.”

Discipline could include fines, suspensions and forfeiture of draft choices.

According to the report, the program was administered by then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with the knowledge of other defensive coaches. It said players put money into a pool and received payment from it based on their play.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (Reuters) – Tiger Woods birdied his final two holes to avoid an early exit from the Honda Classic on Friday while journeyman Tom Gillis stormed into the early clubhouse lead with a bogey-free second round.

American Gillis fired six birdies during largely wind-free morning hours for a six-under 64 that was good enough for a tie of the PGA National course record until compatriot Brian Harman smashed it with a nine-under 61 that left him two shots back.

Former world number one Woods, playing in the $1.02 million (643,573 pounds) event for the first time as a professional, flirted with the cut but ended strong for a two-under 68 and one-under total of 139.

The cut is projected to fall at one-over 141.

Neither Woods, nor playing partner Lee Westwood (69), the world number two, could take advantage of benign early conditions.

“It was a little bit of a fight today, probably the worst I have hit the ball in months but I managed to score,” said Woods, whose mother and son were in attendance.

The 14-times major winner, who double-bogeyed the fifth, produced putts when he needed them the most, draining a six-footer on the eighth and a 12-footer on the ninth, his final hole, to put himself safely inside the cutline.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (Reuters) – Davis Love III had a hole-in-one and tied the course record as he took a two-shot lead in Thursday’s first round of the Honda Classic while Rory McIlroy made a positive start in his bid to grab the world number one ranking.

Former world number one Tiger Woods was tied in 68th place after struggling to a one-over par 71 while his playing partner, world number two Lee Westwood, was even-par.

Love took advantage of more benign conditions in the morning with a six-under-par 64, including a hole-in-one on the 195-yard par-three fifth with a five iron.

“That was a big boost but you’re lucky when they go in,” said Love. “And then to hit a good drive at the next hole, have a birdie putt and then birdie three in a row that was a really good start to the first nine.”

McIlroy, who can only claim the No. 1 ranking from Britain’s Luke Donald with a win this week, made a positive start with a four-under-par 66 after mixing five birdies with a bogey on the eighth hole, the only blemish on his scorecard.

“I felt like I played very nicely,” the 22-year-old Northern Irishman said. “Only made that one mistake on the eighth green with a three putt, but apart from that I was very happy with how it went.”

The U.S. Open champion said he was not going to be distracted by thinking about the rankings.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (Reuters) – Tiger Woods said he is happier with his putting despite shooting a one-over-par 71 that left him seven shots off the pace after Thursday’s first round of the Honda Classic at the PGA National.

After his disappointing work on the greens at last week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Woods vowed to fix his problems on the green and while he said he was satisfied with his progress he was clearly still not yet his old self.

“I hit a lot of pure putts today, they rolled over a lot of edges. They just didn’t quite go in,” said Woods, who went to the practice green to work on his putting with coach Sean Foley after his round.

“But I wasn’t disappointed with my lines. A couple of bad reads out there. The grain kind of snagged it harder or less than I expected but overall I hit the ball very good with my putts.”

Woods, playing in the $1.02 million Honda Classic for the first time as a professional, had four bogeys, three birdies and took 34 putts in his round.

That left him in a tie for 68th and well off the pace set by Davis Love III, who equaled the course record with a six-under 64 that included a hole-in-one on the 195-yard par-three fifth.

Former world number one Woods drained a 19-foot putt on his opening hole for a birdie but that was the only time he made a putt over 10 feet.

March 1 (Reuters) – Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle has been left out of their preliminary squad for the limited overs series against Australia in the Caribbean as the Jamaican’s row with the regional cricket board rumbles on.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) plans to meet Jamaica’s Prime Minister to discuss the damaging dispute which has resulted in strong criticism from fans, media and politicians in the Caribbean island over the treatment of Gayle.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on Thursday named a 30-man squad to attend fitness testing ahead of the series which begins on March 16 in St. Vincent with the first of five one-day internationals.

The squad, made up of 17 contracted players and 13 others “under consideration for selection”, will train in Barbados ahead of the series.

Gayle has not played for West Indies since the 2011 World Cup following a public spat with the board.

Initially the dispute centred on Gayle’s commitments to Twenty20 cricket, including the lucrative Indian Premier League, but he was later asked to apologise for an interview in which he was critical of the board and coach Ottis Gibson.

Jamaica was surprisingly not selected as a venue for the three-test series against Australia despite traditionally being home to major test games.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (Reuters) – Rory McIlroy made a positive start in his bid to take the world number one ranking from Luke Donald by shooting a four-under-par 66 in the first round of the Honda Classic on Thursday.

The Northern Irishman, who can claim the No. 1 ranking with a win this week, took advantage of ideal conditions by carding five birdies with a bogey on the eighth hole the only blemish on his scorecard.

American Davis Love III had the clubhouse lead with after tying the course record with a six-under-par 64 that included a hole-in-one on the 195-yard par-three fifth with a five iron.

“That was a big boost but you’re lucky when they go in,” said Love III. “And then to hit a good drive at the next hole, have a birdie putt and then birdie three in a row that was a really good start to the first nine.”

England’s Justin Rose was tied with McIlroy after recovering from a double-bogey on the second with an eagle on the third and three consecutive birdies from the fifth.

Tiger Woods and world number two Lee Westwood were playing together in the later groups but without Britain’s Ian Poulter who pulled out early on Thursday with illness.

U.S. open champion McIlroy was pleased with his round and also hopeful that his rivals would have trickier conditions to deal with later in the day.

MIAMI, Feb 29 (Reuters) – Jose Nestor Pekerman’s reign as Colombia coach got off to an impressive start with a 2-0 win over Mexico in a friendly international on Wednesday.

Colombia played some sparkling, attacking soccer at times as they comfortably beat the CONCACAF champions in front of a lively 51,000 crowd at the home ground of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Colombia grabbed the lead in the 37th minute when a low shot by Dorlan Pabon was pushed out by Mexico keeper Guillermo Ochoa and Radamel Falcao pounced to slot home.

Mexico’s Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez had a chance just before the interval but was forced wide and the main threat for ‘El Tri’ had few other opportunities.

The impressive Juan Guillermo Cuadrado went close after the restart with a fierce shot after a fine solo run but it was not long before Colombia doubled their advantage.

James Rodriguez fed Pablo Armero, who burst down the left flank and then delivered a pinpoint low cross for Cuadrado to slide in at the back post to make it 2-0 in the 60th minute.

From then on Colombia, playing with real fluency and pace, enjoyed plenty of midfield possession while Mexico laboured to try and get back into the game.