Masters champion Rory McIlroy took another step toward emerging out of the doldrums with two big shots at the end of his round Saturday that led to a 4-under 66 and gave him a share of the lead with Chris Gotterup in the Scottish Open.

McIlroy kept in range of Gotterup on another gorgeous day of sunshine along the Firth of Forth and then came into everyone’s view in the middle of the back nine at The Renaissance Club.

Following a 15-foot birdie on the par-3 14th, his shot from a greenside pot bunker hit the pin for a tap-in par to keep his momentum. McIlroy was in trouble again on the par-5 16th; in just a horrible lie he could advance it only some 70 yards. With the wind at his back and wispy grass beneath the golf ball, he hit sand wedge from 173 yards to 10 feet for birdie.

Gainer and Ruffels are battling to be major winners >> Golf wasn’t the first love of Cara Gainer or Gabriela Ruffels, who grew up wanting to be professional tennis players and came close to making it.

Now they’re in sight of becoming an unlikely major winner in their adopted sport.

Gainer, a No. 129-ranked Englishwoman, and Ruffels, a 71st-ranked Australian, will be in the final group at the Evian Championship on Sunday after powering through the field in the third round of the fourth major of the year in women’s golf.

MLB

Judge becomes fastest to 350 homers >> Aaron Judge became the fastest player to hit 350 home runs, reaching the mark with a two-run drive for the New York Yankees in the ninth inning off the Chicago Cubs’ Brad Keller.

Judge hit his 35th home run of the season, a two-run drive that pulled New York to 5-2.

Soccer

Bayer Leverkusen signs US midfielder Tillman >> Bayer Leverkusen has moved to replace Florian Wirtz by signing United States international Malik Tillman from PSV Eindhoven for a club-record fee.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder signed a contract through June 2030, the Bundesliga club said.

Kicker magazine reported Leverkusen was paying PSV a fixed sum of 35 million euros ($41 million) for the player, making him the club’s most expensive incoming transfer.

Cycling

Milan wins Stage 8 in a sprint finish >> Italian rider Jonathan Milan timed his attack perfectly to win the eighth stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish.

Milan overtook Australian Kaden Groves on his left and held off Belgian rider Wout van Aert to beat him by about half a bike length. Milan won Olympic gold with Italy in team pursuit at the 2021 Tokyo Games and this was his first Tour stage win to go with four on the Giro d’Italia.

Motor sports

BATTLE TO THE FINISH AT LAGUNA SECA >> Ducati rider Josh Herrin took the checkered flag in the Superbike class Saturday during an action-packed day of MotoAmerica racing in Monterey, besting Yamaha teammates Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne. Just 0.367 seconds separated the top two riders, with Herrin finishing the 20-lap race in 28 minutes, 20.403 seconds.

Points leader and pole sitter Cameron Beaubier, the all-time Superbike race winner at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, went down on the Andretti Hairpin in a pitched battle with Herrin. Beaubier would climb his way through the grid, netting a sixth-place finish.

Points leader Kyle Wyman (Harley-Davidson) posted a dominating victory in the popular Mission King of the Baggers class ahead of S&S Indian rider Loris Baz. Petaluma’s Tyler O’Hara, Baz’s teammate, finished ninth. Alessandro Di Mario (Aprilia) continued his reign in the SC-Project Twins Cup. Blake Davis (Yamaha) took home the Race 1 victory in Motovation Supersport and James Rispoli (Harley-Davidson) came out on top of the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship.

ZILISCH HOLDS OFF HARD-CHARGING SVG >> SONOMA — Connor Zilisch kept his JR Motorsports teammate Shane van Gisbergen at bay during the final laps of Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway to earn his fourth win overall.

Grabbing the top spot during a yellow flag after Stage 2, Zilisch refused to relinquish it, even as van Gisbergen ramped up the aggression. The Kiwi driver delivered several nudges in the last couple of laps and launched a bold bid to pass in the hairpin leading into the final straight, but Zilisch pulled away for the victory.

Zilisch halted van Gisbergen’s string of three back-to-back road course successes in national series competition, a run that featured a Cup Series triumph in Mexico City followed by a clean sweep of the Chicago events.

Pole winner William Sawalich crossed the line in third, marking his strongest showing yet in the Xfinity Series. Nick Sanchez, who celebrated a win at EchoPark Speedway just two weeks earlier, secured fourth, while Cup Series standout Riley Herbst took fifth. The rest of the top 10 included Justin Allgaier, Taylor Gray, Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith and Sheldon Creed.