There are lucky bounces, and then there are lucky bounces like the one Sungjae Im got Friday at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

After catching his tee shot at the 223-yard, par-3 seventh hole a little heavy, Im looked destined for a trip to the drop zone. But Im's ball hit the water guarding the front of the green hard, took a big bounce and splashed to some 23 feet.

Im two-putted for par and later finished with a 1-over 72.

We all know balls can skip on water, but Im's ball was coming in hot at much more downward trajectory. (Maybe Bryson DeChambeau will be able to explain those physics on Saturday.)

Even without the scientific explanation, Im's bounce was, as they say in Mexico, "increible!"

February 22: T20 World Cup - New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Perth

Our XI: Suzie Bates, Katey Martin, Sophie Devine, Chamari Atapattu, Dilani Manodara, Shashikala Siriwardene, Leigh Kasperek, Lea Tahuhu, Amelia Kerr, Udeshika Prabodhani, Jess Kerr

Captain: Sophie Devine

The New Zealand skipper as captain is a good choice as she offers a lot with both bat and ball. Among all New Zealand women to have played over ten games in the format, Devine has the highest strike rate (128.02) with the bat, and in her last four T20Is, has scored a mind-boggling 297 runs and also picked up four wickets.

Vice-captain: Chamari Atapattu

You cannot leave Atapattu out of an XI for a game involving Sri Lanka for sure. Easily the country's best batters, she will be the key to Sri Lanka's progress. We saw a glimpse of what she is capable of with bat and ball against England in the warm-up game - 3 for 21 and a 50-ball 78* in the same game signals form, and intent.

Hot Picks

Suzie Bates: Bates, the highest run-getter in the format (3195), is another automatic choice. Since 2017, Bates averages 44.5 and strikes at 123.46, both significantly higher than her career stats, and she scored a 47-ball 78 in the warm-up against Thailand just the other day.

Leigh Kasperek: The offspinner has an astonishing strike rate of 12.8 in the format, which means she picks up a wicket every two overs or so. Kasperek is also her team's most successful spinner in T20Is (60 wickets) and you do not want to leave her out against a team with a wobbly middle-order.

Lea Tahuhu: The bowling spearhead of the New Zealand side, Tahuhu might not have picked up as many wickets as she would have liked in the last few games but her ability to strike early makes her a must-have.

Value Picks

Udeshika Prabodhani: The left-arm medium pacer swings the ball early on and uses her cutters well later in the game. She has an economy of 5.26 in T20Is, thanks to the tricks up her sleeve.

Amelia Kerr: Legspinners are always an asset, and the more experienced Kerr has been a successful one for a while now. For a wristspinner, she has an outstanding economy of 5.85 and is definitely a wicket-taker as well. She also proved her mettle with the bat against Thailand in the warm-up fixture, scoring a 40-ball 54.

Point to note

• The average first-innings score in the last four T20s at the WACA is 148 and the team batting first has won on three of those occasions [Stats from before the game between Thailand and West Indies].

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. -- Paul George and Patrick Beverley practiced in full for the LA Clippers on Thursday and Friday but will not play on Saturday against the Sacramento Kings.

George injured his left hamstring for a third time this season last Thursday in the first half of a loss at Boston, and afterward head coach Doc Rivers said the injury was a cause for concern. The hamstring injury has kept George out of 10 games already this season, including nine straight in January. Beverley, who did participate in the All-Star Weekend skills challenge, will miss his fifth straight game with a groin injury.

Despite both guards being ruled out for Saturday, George and Beverley surprisingly practiced for two straight days, including a full, lengthy practice on Friday.

Rivers said entering the break that the Clippers had to get healthy and remain at full strength for a period to establish some chemistry before entering the postseason. However, Rivers has made it clear his priority is to have his team healthy in the postseason.

Injuries to several players including Kawhi Leonard, who is not playing in both games of back-to-back sets due to a knee issue, have forced the Clippers to adjust all season. Rivers has had a full roster available for only four games this season as the Clippers, along with Detroit and Golden State, used an NBA-high 27 different starting lineups entering the All-Star break.

The Clippers also have to incorporate recent additions Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson into the mix. Jackson is slated to make his Clippers debut on Saturday after being bought out of his contract with Detroit.

"Listen, I'd take one [game] right now," Rivers said of having his entire roster healthy and available. "Really. It's game to game, but even if we can't have healthy games, let's have healthy practices. I talked to about four or five coaches over the break. That was their big thing.

"People make a big deal about load management -- what they're missing is the load management of practice. It's one thing that they can't play in a game, but when you can't play in a game or practice, that hurts. That was our first half of the year. ... I'm just hoping ... like today, everybody practiced. If tomorrow everyone doesn't play, not the best. But at least we got a practice in."

LAS VEGAS – Johnny Sauter earned his eighth career Cometic Gasket Pole Award during NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series qualifying Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Sauter topped the 35 trucks that turned laps in time trials with a clip of 30.365 seconds (177.836 mph) in the No. 13 Tenda Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing.

The 2016 Truck Series champion’s last pole before Friday evening was at Texas Motor Speedway in November of 2018, 27 races ago.

“Another pole for me, I can’t even remember the last time I had a pole. I think Ben Herr was still racing,” Sauter quipped. “I’m proud of everybody at ThorSport on our Tenda Ford. This thing ripped. It was super fast right off the truck this morning and you just know (when it’s that good). I think our long-run speed was really, really good too.That’s what everyone’s telling me, at least. I didn’t really investigate it myself too much.

“We’ve just got good stuff this year. I feel really comfortable where we’re at as far as the 13 team and ThorSport as an organization,” Sauter added. “I think if we do everything right tonight, we’ve got a good shot at it.”

Sheldon Creed will join Sauter on the front row for Friday night’s Strat 200, with a time of 30.398 seconds (177.643 mph) in the No. 2 Chevy.com/Trench Shoring Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing.

It’s the second front-row start of Creed’s Truck Series career.

“We’ve had speed from the beginning of practice. It just wasn’t driving really well, so I was kind of hard on the guys,” Creed noted. “During practice, we made changes and pretty much ran two laps at a time and just try to get it to drive good. I feel like we’re pretty trimmed out, so we’re fast by ourselves. It has to handle good. That’s the name of the game in traffic.

“We’ll just get through our stages and be at the front at the end.”

All-time Truck Series wins leader Kyle Busch and his teenaged protege, Christian Eckes, will share the second row of the grid. Ty Majeski filled out the top five for Niece Motorsports.

Defending Las Vegas Truck Series winner Austin Hill, Tyler Ankrum, rookie Raphael Lessard, Daytona winner Grant Enfinger and 2018 series champion Brett Moffitt completed the top 10.

With 35 trucks on the grounds for 32 starting spots, Bayley Currey, Jennifer Jo Cobb and Korbin Forrister failed to qualify.

The Strat 200 is scheduled for a 9 p.m. ET start time, live on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

To view the full starting lineup, advance to the next page.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Cody Eakin is going home to Winnipeg.

The Jets acquired the Winnipeg-born center from the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2021.

If Winnipeg qualifies for the playoffs this year or re-signs Eakin to a new contract by July 5, the Jets instead will transfer their 2021 third-round pick to the Golden Knights. Eakin is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The 28-year-old Eakin had four goals and six assists in 41 games with Vegas this season. He has 102 goals and 130 assists in 578 career NHL games with Washington, Dallas and Vegas.

The Jets also assigned forward Andrei Chibisov to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

After weeks of speculation, the Premier Golf League has begun to lift the veil.

On the same day that the PGL’s verified Twitter account surfaced online, an hour-and-a-half interview with the league’s CEO, London financier Andrew Gardiner, was released by the Rick Shiels Golf Show Podcast.

“A true test of the best,” said Gardiner, the current director of Barclays Capital, who's vision sees the PGL one day sitting at the top of the golf-competition pyramid.

Gardiner offered many details of the world-tour concept, some of which have already been reported. The league, which is aimed to launch in January 2022, will feature 48 players competing among 12 four-person teams (similar to the Formula One racing circuit) in 18 no-cut, 54-hole tournaments with purses of $10 million each. The events will be played in four continents: 10 in the U.S., four in Asia (including one in the Middle East), three in Europe and one in Australia.

The season will run from January to August and will not conflict with the four major championships. As for how the PGL would coexist with longstanding tours such as the PGA Tour and European Tour, Gardiner hopes to “achieve collaboration.”

“We want as many people to watch this sport as possible because we believe that there is a connection between the number of people who will watch [golf] and the number of people who will actually play it. … This is in the best interest of the game,” Gardiner said.

Gardiner added that the PGL, which he noted “has a lot [of financial backing],” has built relationships with many people in the game, from funders to broadcasters to players. But he declined to talk about specific conversations, including talks with Tiger Woods and other stars deemed vital to the league’s existence.

“This only happens if everybody wants it to happen, and that includes the best players in the world,” Gardiner said.

Since news of the upstart circuit first broke last month, many players have spoken out about the PGL. Phil Mickelson, who played with Gardiner in a pro-am at the Saudi International, said he was “intrigued” by the idea and added recently, “I’m going to guess by The Players I’m going to have a pretty good opinion.”

Woods last week confirmed that he had likewise been approached, but he failed to elaborate, adding, “We're looking into it.”

Other players have been more direct. Charley Hoffman said that while as an independent contractor he’d have to think about it, especially with high stakes involved, he didn't know if he "would like to be owned by some Saudi money over there.” (Gardiner said the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is involved.)

Bubba Watson took a firmer stance: “It doesn't matter to me, I'm playing on the PGA Tour.”

But the real perceived gut punch to the PGL's hopes came from the mouth of world No. 1 Rory McIlroy.

“The more I've thought about it, the more I don't like it,” Rory McIlroy said this week in Mexico City. “The one thing as a professional golfer in my position that I value is the fact that I have autonomy and freedom over everything that I do. If you go and play this other golf league, you're not going to have that choice.”

Gardiner called McIlroy’s comments “very interesting,” but didn’t appear overly concerned despite stressing the PGL’s need for support from the best players in the world.

“It brought to mind the Mark Twain quote, ‘Rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated,’ as if this were some fatal wound,” he told Golf Digest in another interview.

In addition to player involvement, there are other unknowns surrounding the PGL. Gardiner wouldn't disclose potential host venues, though he did bring up the possibility for bids while adding that he prefers some consistency with the tour stops. He also couldn't confirm whether or not PGL events would receive world-ranking points – he reasoned they would – or if women's events would be added, though Gardiner said he'd be "delighted" to have that as part of future plans.

Gardiner did, however, offer up these further details: shotgun starts for each of the first two rounds; no dress codes sans for potential team uniforms and colors; a draft system, transfer window and promotion and relegation similar to professional soccer; and a “team principal” concept where team captains, playing or non-playing, would select two individuals from their team to count each day, similar to how college golf coaches select lineups.

And then there’s the playoff concept. After 17 events, an individual champion will be crowned and the teams will be seeded for the 18th and final event. Top seeds would get byes and get to choose their second-round opponents. Gardiner didn’t fully explain, but it’s reasonable to expect some sort of bracket, head-to-head format that leads to one world team champion.

Indeed, the curtain has started to rise. As for what else lies behind it, that remains to be seen.

“This could be forgotten in a few weeks' time,” Gardiner said, “or this 30 years from now could be looked back upon as the change that was good from the game and made it stronger.”

For the second consecutive year Tiger Woods will skip what essentially is his hometown event next week when the PGA Tour travels to South Florida for the Honda Classic.

Woods, who lives in Jupiter Island about 15 miles from PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, said following last week’s Genesis Invitational that he would take some time off before he started training again, presumably in time to play the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he’s won eight times.

Woods skipped the Honda Classic last year, citing the new schedule and the relocation of The Players back to March. He also withdrew from last year's API because of a neck strain.

If Woods follows a similar schedule this year, he would have just two more starts, Players and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, before the year’s first major at Augusta National, where he is the defending champion. If he returns to Arnie's Place and keeps the same pre-Masters schedule, that would mean three events in four weeks with one week off before Augusta.

Next week’s event at PGA National will include world No. 2 Brooks Koepka, as well as Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland.

MEXICO CITY – Midway through the opening round at the WGC-Mexico Championship, it appeared that this was not going to be Erik van Rooyen’s week.

The South African was 3 over through nine holes when his replacement caddie, his trainer who stepped in when his normal caddie was too sick to work, offered some encouragement.

“He said, 'Just see your line and chip it in.' He's a gamer, I guess,” said van Rooyen, who chipped in for eagle at the par-4 first hole to set the stage for a back-nine 31 and a 1-under 70.

The momentum continued on Friday at Club de Golf Chapultepec with back-to-back birdies to start his day and a bogey-free 62 to tie the course record and move into second place, just a shot behind Bryson DeChambeau.

His solid play is particularly well-timed, with van Rooyen celebrating his 30th birthday on Friday.

“The first thing I told my wife this morning, man, I feel really old. But I guess I'm still quite young, and what a way to kick off the 30th and shoot 9 under,” he smiled. “A little bit of a gift to myself.”

Van Rooyen is also vying for a spot in next month’s Players Championship. He’s currently 52nd in the world ranking and needs to crack the top 50 by March 4.

MEXICO CITY – Momentum was squarely on Justin Thomas’ side following four consecutive birdies just before the turn on Day 2 at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

But what happened next mildly surprised the fourth-ranked player in the world.

With a 5-wood, Thomas’ 316-yard tee shot at the par-4 first landed 34 feet from the hole, and he charged his eagle attempt into the cup prompting a “wow” response.

Although Thomas’ momentum stalled following the eagle, he finished with a 66 and was tied for third place when he walked off the course, just two shots off the lead.

“I wasn't surprised. I knew it was going to go 6-8 feet past because it kind of all slopes away,” he said. “I hit a good putt, I just hit it harder than the speed I had envisioned in my head, but that happens sometimes.”

The round continued Thomas’ stellar play at Club de Golf Chapultepec, where he’s finished tied for fifth (2017), second (’18 when he lost a playoff) and ninth (’19). In total, he’s 45 under par at the event, with 10 of 14 rounds in the 60s.

“I feel like my wedges are a strength of my game, and it's a lot of wedges. I mean, you have a wedge on pretty much every hole except for a couple holes,” he said. “I feel like I'm driving it well enough where I can be aggressive off the tee and try and take advantage.”