up at the 3rd, graeme mcdowell looking for birdie. par for mcdowell remains one under for the day, two under for the championship and back overi to s

graeme mcdowell, who is from port rush. and northern ireland's potentially most successful ever golfer, rory mcilroy. having the open back in this country isa having the open back in this country is a massive thing for golf. it'll bea is a massive thing for golf. it'll be a massive thing for the country. sport has an unbelievable ability to bring people together. we all know at times this country needs that and this has the ability to do that. we will talk more about rory mcavoy ina we will talk more about rory mcavoy in a moment, but let me bring in andrew murray, a former european tour winner. a huge amount of pressure on rory mcavoy this week. yes, i think there is an amount of pressure on him, there is bound to be. there is pressure on him wherever but especially here. he holds the course record. a number of yea rs holds the course record. a number of years ago he shot a 61 around these links, which is unbelievable, when he was about 19. great anticipation. the whole thing around the northern irish major championships t

ram mcdowell, another major winner —— graeme mcdowell. his brother is still a greenkeeper here and he will command a bigger audience as well. of course, perhaps northern ireland's most famous author of all, perhaps their finest ever, rory mcilroy. he hopes to add another major to his trophy cabinet. it is a huge sense of excitement, sense of anticipation around portrush. the championship gets under way at 635 local time tomorrow morning. darren clarke with the honour of hitting the first shot of the championship. iam the first shot of the championship. i am determined this week to enjoy the best i can. whether i do or don't play well, it is a huge thing for ulcers. —— golfers. iam don't play well, it is a huge thing for ulcers. —— golfers. i am going to enjoy it as much as i possibly can. nigeria have claimed third place at the africa cup of nations in egypt. they beat tunisia 1—0 in the bronze medal play—off in cairo, to claim their best finish in the competition since they won it in 2013. john bennett reports. and eighth afr

graeme mcdowell, who is from port rush. and northern ireland's potentially most successful ever golfer, rory mcilroy. having the open back in this country isa having the open back in this country is a massive thing for golf. it'll bea is a massive thing for golf. it'll be a massive thing for the country. sport has an unbelievable ability to bring people together. we all know at times this country needs that and this has the ability to do that. we will talk more about rory mcavoy ina we will talk more about rory mcavoy in a moment, but let me bring in andrew murray, a former european tour winner. a huge amount of pressure on rory mcavoy this

as well as northern irishman graeme mcdowell. he is from portrush. lots of spectators following him down. none of those challenging the top of the leaderboard. they don't go out until this afternoon. shane lowry with a share of the lead, withj.b. holmes, the american, but poised behind them, tommy fleetwood and lee westwood. as big namesjust behind them, the likes of brooks koepka and jordan spieth. very congested at the top of the leaderboard. it could be a really intriguing weekend. what are the conditions like on the course and how might the leaders fear? beautiful blue skies but don't be fooled. conditions are very tricky indeed. these are the trickiest conditions of the tournament so far. very windy out on the course, particularly on the more exposed holes. very blustery, very windy. that is why we are not going to see as a low scoring as yesterday. rory mcilroy going around in 6—under. but thankfully for the spectators, we are expecting it to stay dry, so that is something to be thankful for. in liverpool, australia are closing in on another

lots of british interest, graeme mcdowell is out on the course at the moment. he's from portrush and his brother is still one of the green keepers. huge support for him as there will be for shane lowry who leads the way going into this third day. we are in foran going into this third day. we are in for an intriguing afternoon of golf. england will aim to reach their first netball world cup final today — they face four—time winners new zealand in this afternoon's semi final. kate grey is in liverpool for us. we've just been treated to a spectacular first semifinal which saw australia narrowly beating south africa by two goals which means the defending champions are into the final. now it's the turn of england versus new zealand. england have been faultless in the tournament so far, six wins from six. they significantly, their win against south africa which boosted their confidence. new zealand will be their toughest match so far, they are very experienced, they've been in the last five world cup finals and will be desperate to do it again. at england have th

we have seen graeme mcdowell coming in, he has not challenged the leaders back to the scenes that greeted him as he walks down the 18th where quite astonishing. he looks very moved, he is from portrush, his brother is a green keeper here. it meant so much for him to be here. he looked visibly moved, visibly shocked by the size of the crowds. the sound of the crowd as he went up the 18th. i could only imagine what it is going to be like if it shane lowry still has that lead coming down the 18th, we could be in for something very special indeed. geraint thomas has boosted his hopes of retaining his tour de france title following the fifteenth stage. the briton started the day more than two minutes behind the yellow jersey of frenchman julian alaphilippe, but surged away from him a mile from the finish. compatriot simon yates the reiging vuelta espana champion was further ahead and won the stage, but isn't in contention for the overall race. thomas finished seventh with alaphilippe 11th. his lead now cut to just over a minute and a half. there was an impressive performance by britain's dina

another factor is the success of local golfers, darren clarke, roy mcavoy, graeme mcdowell. with officials estimating the value to the local economy is more than £80 million it will feel like eve ryo ne £80 million it will feel like everyone is a winner. england will get through to the semifinals of the netball world cup this afternoon — if they can beat trinidad. tracey neville's side, the commonwealth champions, have won every game so far in their home world cup, including beating the world number two team jamaica. kate grey is in liverpool. england are doing everything right at this tournament so far with four wins from four matches to date are trippy and they face trinidad and tobago. if they win they will pretty much confirm their place in the semifinals on saturday and if that is the case then they will face some very tough opposition. summing the matches go the way we have today england will been in that semifinal. trinidad should not cause them many problems, dare rank ten in the world versus england ranked number three england had a brilliant tournament so engla

as well as northern irishman graeme mcdowell.

mcdowell. and finally, what a week it's been for cori gauff. after knocking venus williams out of wimbledon, the 15—year—old got to meet another one of her heroes in roger federer on wednesday. the women's tennis association posted this on twitter — with the caption ‘yeah we got that on camera...the moment greatness meets future greatness' and then after that she duly beat magdalena rybarikova to move into the third round. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me tulsen tollett and the rest of the team that is your thursday sport briefing that is indeed. once described as ‘the most important and original scientific thinker in the world', james lovelock is still a hugely influential environmental thinker — and he's about to celebrate his 100th birthday. in the 1960's he was a campaigning eco—pioneer, today he's a firm advocate of nuclear power. the bbc‘s mishal husain has been to meet him at his home on the south coast of england

as for those out in the course of ready, just a couple to mention, graeme mcdowell has been passed as in the last few minutes. a huge reception from him. he is from here in portrush. and francesco molinari, the reigning champion. he has not had a happy time of it so far, but he has four underfor his round and he is enjoying things a rather more this morning. it is going to be an intriguing afternoon of golf. it certainly will be. give a much indeed. england play south africa, in the bronze medal match, at the netball world cup. it‘s after losing to new zealand, by the finest of margins. let‘s head to liverpool now, where reporter kate grey is there. england hoping to salvage something of their world cup run. how will they run be remembered in this tournament? this team the england roses did not come... to any bronze medal. they will play south africa this afternoon, at 2:30pm. they need to find any firm that they had at this tournament throughout their time here in liverpool. before their time here in liverpool. before the semifinal, when they were unbeaten for six out of six matc

it's really his home golf course, along with graeme mcdowell and darren clark. each of them calls royal portrush, really, their home course the tournament sold out in a matter of days, which is the first time that's ever happened. the sense of excitement is just off the charts >> if one of those three men you just mentioned is in contention on sunday, the collar is going to get a little tight. >> well, yeah. >> not that it wouldn't otherwise. >> my collar is usually loose. >> yours is usually unbuttoned, i know >> it'll be difficult for me to remain objective, shall we say it's very difficult not to be a cheerleader when someone from the province might be in contention >> so let's talk about the who the favorites are. obviously tiger won the masters. he has not played much since then >> no. >> do you think he's match fit to come in and contend >> i think he'll be match fit, yeah but he's not typically a great bad weather player it wouldn't surprise me, being from there, if we get some weather. you get some days at royal portrush where the seagulls walk to work.

it was lovely to see padraig harrington, a former major winner himself, and graeme mcdowell waiting for shane lowry just off the 18th graeme mcdowell waiting for shane lowryjust off the 18th green to congratulate him, and so many of his fellow professionals have said congratulations. and not in that glib fashion, but really heartfelt delight at somebody like shane winning this open championship, because everybody knows, in the conditions we saw at royal portrush, particularly yesterday, how big an achievement that is. shane is a very popular player, you know, he is a happy—go—lucky, very popular player, you know, he is a happy-go-lucky, very jovial popular player, you know, he is a happy—go—lucky, veryjovial guy, very popular amongst his peers and, you know, in golf in ireland, it is a very close—knit thing here, we all drew up playing amateur championships and tournaments here, and everybody knows everybody else, and everybody knows everybody else, and it was really nice to see padraig there and graeme and quite a number of other guys who had stayed on to wish him well at the

>> we're all watching it graeme mcdowell there, minus 2 exciting few days in northern ireland.app. first time the tournament's been there since '51. all of the coverage on the golf channel here on nbc, i'm watching it on my app. big weekend for the golf fans. >> we know where to find you, in your man cave. >> guys, i want to introduce you to some friends i'm about to meet sarah lane and ronny from columbia, south carolina, there you are, hi, guys, how are you >> we're wonderful. >> you're from south carolina, there's someone you wanted to see. >> we want to see craig. we have things for him. >> craig, come on over. >> they came from columbia and they brought you presents. >> we came from meryl's inlet. >> oh, i'm excited. >> we have peaches >> oh, i love peaches. >> we have grits from the ferry. and i have a poem for you. >> can you read the poem >> i can recite it. >> great >> we love you in columbia, we love you in nyc -- now i forgot. you've made the palmetto state as proud as we can be. we'd love to say hello and take a selfie too because we have to start each morning with a da

graeme mcdowell, who is from portrush, on two under so going along very nicely. thank you. there‘s full commentary of the open on radio 5 live throughout the day. you can watch the best of the action in the highlights show tonight on bbc two from 8 o‘clock. and england have taken an early wicket in what is a must—win test match in the women‘s ashes this morning in taunton. nicole bolton gone for 6 — bowled by katherine brunt. england are 6 points to nil down to holders australia after losing all three of the one day internationals. australia won the toss and elected to bat. they‘re currently 71 for one. england‘s world cup—winning coach, trevor bayliss, will take charge of sunrisers hyderabad in the indian premier league in 2020. he‘ll step down from the england job when his contract expires after this summer‘s home ashes series. italian champions juventus have completed deal for dutch centre—back matthijs de ligt from ajax. juve have paid an initialfee of £678 million for a player who helped ajax reach last season‘s champions league semi—finals.

another northern irishman, another major winner as well, graeme mcdowell went through under but instead of an eight on the first, he finished with a seven on the last to end up on two over par. however at the top of the leaderboard, shane lowry is their leading on four under par thanks to that made upshaw during the day which started with darren clarke, 630 in the morning, anotherformer open darren clarke, 630 in the morning, another former open champion for northern ireland. he actually lives at portrush i would imagine if he was in his back garden, he might see that wonderful tee shot that opened things up and he had a good day as well today. walking up the 18th green, everyone shouting and roaring, last time we did that was 2011. it was fabulous. it is not just me, it is everyone. i think to see how much support we have, to see all the people come out here, they have put their arms around us as well, fabulous. here are how things currently look. shane lowry still leading by a shot after his 67 today. a whole gaggle on three under par. including the likes of robert mcintyre and alex n

graeme mcdowell is a local lad, from port rush, and he grew up with golf. there was a doubt that graham might not qualify for the open, but we saw him talking today, he has qualified. we‘re hoping that one of the local lads will win, but you never know. one thing, i‘m not a golfer myself, i‘m learning a lot and i was learning about the golf terms, the holes that are here in portrush. one is called calamity jane, another is called purgatory. a lease on —— i will leave that one for you. i‘m going to talk to annabel to fend for abates, but i need you to stay there because i will thank you at the end! we are talking about the rhs tatton flower show, but today special for a special reason? it is a special reason, i'm sitting in the sunshine garden, and how ironic, it's started to rain! i understand how don is feeling in portrush! this is the sunshine garden, it is in memory of a very special woman, diane oxbridge. she was our great friend and colleague and weather presenter on northwestern night for many years, and she passed away earlier this year f