LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Rory McIlroy is making this PGA Championship feel like 2000 all over again at Valhalla. Back then, it was Tiger Woods who was making the game look easy as he started to pile up majors. Now its McIlroy, the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland who produced superior shots with his long game and made all the right putts Friday for a 4-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead over Jason Day and Jim Furyk. Catch third round coverage of the PGA Championship on TSN, Saturday at 11am et/8am pt. You can also see Par 3 and marquee group coverage on TSN.ca. "When Im playing like this, its obviously very enjoyable," McIlroy said. "I cant wait to get back out on the course again tomorrow and do the same thing all over again." For Woods, such feelings are becoming distant memories. He missed two short putts early — one for birdie, one for bogey — and looked as if he should never have tried to play the final major of the year with a sore back. Two birdies on his last three holes only kept it from being worse. Woods shot another 74 and missed the cut in a major for the fourth time. "I tried as hard as I could," Woods said. "Thats about all I got." Oddly enough, McIlroy opened with the exact same scores (66-67) as Woods did 14 years ago at Valhalla, when he barely outlasted Bob May in a playoff for his third straight major of the season on his way to an unprecedented sweep of golfs biggest events. McIlroy, who was at 9-under 133, isnt nearly at that stage. And his competition going into the weekend is a little more experienced. Furyk, a former U.S. Open champion who was runner-up last year at the PGA, got up-and-down from behind the green on the par-5 18th for birdie and a 68. Moments earlier, Day capped off the best round of a soggy day with a birdie on the 18th for a 65. Day has three runner-up finishes in the majors. Right behind were Ryan Palmer (70) and Rickie Fowler (66), a runner-up in the last two majors. Even so, McIlroy is dangerous when he gets in the lead, especially at a major. He learned his lesson at Augusta National in 2011 when he tried to protect a four-shot lead and wound up shooting 80. He bounced back for an eight-shot win at the U.S. Open, won the PGA Championship by a record eight shots a year later and only last month went wire-to-wire to win the third leg of the career Grand Slam at the British Open. "My mindset has stayed the same since that day at Augusta," McIlroy said. "If Im two ahead going into the weekend here, Im going to try to get three ahead. And if Im three ahead, Im going to try to get four ahead. ... Im just going to try to keep the pedal down and get as many ahead as possible." He didnt take his first lead until the par-5 18th hole, the midway point of his round. McIlroy blasted his driver and couldnt quite see where it went against a cloudy sky. "Is it good?" he asked caddie. "Beautiful," was all J.P. Fitzgerald said. McIlroy hit 4-iron to the front of the green, and his eagle putt rammed into the back of the cup as if it had nowhere else to go. It was a moment where the No. 1 player in the world looked as if he had just seized control of the PGA Championship. Except it wasnt that easy. In sloppy conditions, McIlroy took bogey on the tough par-4 second hole, and then had to scramble for four straight pars. But on the par-5 seventh, after another big tee shot on the left side of the fairway, he hit a 5-wood over the water to 8 feet, a shot that reminded everyone why hes the class of golf. That was one of the few putts he missed — he still made birdie — and McIlroy finished with a 15-foot birdie on the final hole. "When he hits the driver that straight and that long, and the short game is incredible, its very difficult to beat him," U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer said. "His iron shots, they are very solid. He doesnt miss many golf shots. So you just have to respect it a lot, how good he plays. Theres nothing wrong with his game." Fowler saw it during the final round at Royal Liverpool last month. He knows what kind of work is left for the guys chasing him. It can be done. But they might need some help from McIlroy. "Hes the best player in the world right now," Fowler said. "And I would say a lot of that is his confidence right now with the way hes driving the ball. If he continues to drive it, hes going to continue to be in contention at a lot of golf tournaments and win a lot of times." Maybe. But the final major is only at the halfway mark. Day has been battling injuries to his wrist ever since winning the Match Play Championship, and he was pleasantly surprised to be in the hunt at another major. He is explosive, much like McIlroy, minus the experience of winning. The Australian showed that on the final holes with a wedge to 6 feet on the 450-yard 17th hole, and a nifty up-and-down over a bunker on the 18th. "Im clearly not the favourite," Day said. "Its going to be tough to beat him. But then again, theres a lot of great golfers behind us that are in form, as well." Woods had a one-shot lead over Scott Dunlap going into the weekend at Valhalla in 2000. Of the dozen players behind him that year, only Davis Love III had won a major. This leaderboard is more compelling. It even includes Phil Mickelson, who made eagle on the last hole for a 67 and was three shots behind. It just doesnt include Woods, who ended a sixth consecutive season without winning a major. And lately, he hasnt even been close. Manny Trillo Cubs Jersey . - Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has signed with WME-IMG, saying the sports management powerhouse will help maximize the value of my brand. Robel Garcia Jersey .Stanton suffered fractures in his face and other injuries when he was hit by a pitch Sept. 11. The Marlins are confident hell fully recover and be ready for spring training, and they hope to reach a long-term agreement with him. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1910t-koji-uehara-jersey-cubs.html. As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature. Nicholas Castellanos Jersey .ca. Mr. Fraser, It looks like Martin Brodeur is coming back to play for the Blues. I was wondering if you have any great stories or fond memories of your time on the ice with Brodeur - in the NHL, or maybe even the Olympics. Ben Zobrist Jersey . -- Conner Bleackley got it done in regulation time and in the shootout. LOS ANGELES -- SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- In a story April 28 about responses to racist comments attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, The Associated Press misidentified a lawmaker who denounced the statements. Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, spoke out against the comments, not Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown, D-San Bernardino. The NAACP has decided against honouring Donald Sterling with a lifetime achievement award from its Los Angeles chapter after the Clippers owner allegedly made racist comments in a recorded conversation. Donations made by Sterling, who has owned the team since 1981, will be returned, Leon Jenkins, president of the Los Angeles NAACP, said at a news conference Monday. Jenkins would not say how much money was involved. "There is a personal, economic and social price that Mr. Sterling must pay for his attempt to turn back the clock on race relations," he said. Sterling, 80, had been scheduled to receive the honour on May 15 as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the Los Angeles branch of the nations oldest civil rights organization. He had been chosen to receive the award because of his long history of donating to minority charities and giving game tickets to inner city children, Jenkins said. The NAACP has honoured Sterling several times in the past. The Donald T. Sterling Charitable Foundation gave $5,000 to the NAACPs Los Angeles chapter in 2010, according to tax records, and Sterling was listed as his foundations only contributor. There were no records of further NAACP contributions in 2011 or 2012, the latest years for which records were available. Sterlings purported comments have overshadowed the NBAs opening playoff round and prompted an NBA investigation. The league is planning a Tuesday news conference to discusss the probe.dddddddddddd There has been no official confirmation that it is Sterling on the recording, portions of which were released over the weekend by TMZ and Deadspin. Sterling "is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings," according to a statement from team president Andy Roeser on Saturday. Neither Sterling nor his representatives have since commented on the controversy. Jenkins, of the NAACP, was asked how detrimental he considered Sterlings alleged remarks. "On a scale of one to 10? Eleven," he said. "It goes back to a segregation system and a time that nobody in America is proud of." Members of the state Legislatures black caucus joined those denouncing Sterling. Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, said lawmakers should not ignore the countrys history of discrimination. "Once again we are reminded of the ugliness and sometimes what appears to be the pervasive permanence of hatred," Weber said while speaking in support of a resolution declaring Holocaust Remembrance Week. "So I want to simply challenge us as we go forward to not think that, Yes, we see the past, but recognize the past has a profound impact on the present. And if we are not conscious (of it), it will direct our future." Assemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Compton and secretary of the black caucus, blasted Sterling and compared him to a "slave master" looking down at his African-American players. "Its an utter embarrassment," Hall said in an interview after the floor session, "not just to the NBA, but also to all the individuals who believe that at some point, in California at least, we have risen above that, and we obviously havent." ' ' '