Sam Darnold has inspired confidence in his coach and teammates throughout this career-changing season. With the Vikings facing another late deficit, they had no doubt he’d deliver.

Darnold connected with a well-covered Justin Jefferson with 3:51 left for his third touchdown pass of the game, and Minnesota outlasted Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 on Sunday to keep pace with Detroit for the top spot in the NFC.

After the Seahawks took the lead on Smith’s third TD pass, Darnold led a 30-second drive that was aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty. He stepped up in a collapsing pocket and launched a deep ball that Jefferson hauled in just short of the goal line with two defenders closing in.

“There wasn’t really one guy — and I know I’m not speaking just for myself — (who didn’t think) we’re going to go down and we’re going to get a touchdown,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.

“And I think the level of confidence that that group has in their quarterback and the level of confidence the quarterback has in the 10 guys in the huddle is significant. And that’s how you’re able to go do that in that moment on the road at this place where you can’t hear yourself think.”

Golf superstar Tiger Woods was thrilled by son Charlie’s first hole-in-one, but Team Langer got the better of the Woods duo in a playoff for the PNC Championship family golf event crown on Sunday.

The ace by 15-year-old Charlie Woods at the 176-yard, par-three fourth hole at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando briefly lifted the duo into the solo lead in the 36-hole two-player scramble event.

The youngster watched his seven-iron shot as far as he could, but it took the cheers from the crowd to let him know it had landed some six feet from the pin and rolled into the cup.

A beaming Tiger Woods gave his son a hard hug, then a playful shove in celebration.

“It was a perfect seven-iron, so just kind of hit it,” Charlie Woods told Golf Channel as he walked toward the fourth green. “It was awesome! I didn’t think it went in.”

The elder Woods called it “an unbelievable moment”.

“That two-hole stretch, that was his first eagle he ever made out there on three, and then his first hole-in-one,” the 15-time major champion said.

After grabbing a share of the overnight lead with a first-round 59, the Woods duo combined for a 57 on Sunday and a record-setting 36-hole score of 28-under.

Tiger Woods reacts with son Charlie Woods after Charlie’s hole-in-one at the PNC Championship

But two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer and his son Jason, who were in the three-way tie for the lead to start the day, posted the same score.

At the first playoff hole, Bernhard Langer curled in an eagle putt to seal the duo’s second straight victory in the 20-team event.

Langer has now won six PNC titles – four with Jason and two with son Stefan.

Despite the tournament’s laid-back atmosphere, there were plenty of fireworks on Sunday.

Paddy Harrington, son of three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, also had a hole-in-one, saying his ace at the par-three eighth was the first of his life.

“I’ve never been as excited,” Padraig Harrington said. “I’ve never hit a shot that I’ve been as excited.”

The event was a chance for Tiger Woods, who turns 49 on December 30, to get a taste of some friendly competition for the first time since he missed the cut at the British Open at Royal Troon.

Woods, whose 82 US PGA Tour titles are tied with Sam Snead for most in history, has said he has a long way to go to be ready to return to elite tournament play after undergoing a sixth back surgery in September.

He also continues to deal with lower leg injuries suffered in a 2021 car crash, but was able to walk rather than use a cart for both rounds in Orlando, where the rules would have allowed it.

“I did a few things here and there,” Woods said, but added that for him the week “is all about family”.

“This is about bonding and it’s about having a great time, and we did that,” said Woods, whose daughter Sam caddied for him.

Marko Arnautovic and Kristjan Asllani scored in the first half as Inter Milan progressed to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia after claiming a 2-0 victory over Udinese at a rainy San Siro on Thursday.

A heavily rotated Inter side dominated proceedings and opened the scoring on the half-hour mark when Udinese gave the ball away in midfield and Mehdi Taremi’s through-ball found Arnautovic who finished low into the net.

The Austrian, who has had limited playing time this season, had earned Inter a penalty in the opening stages for a handball by an opposing defender that was later overturned after a VAR review.

“Asllani and I are among those who are on the bench a lot and to have a chance is a joy, then who scores is not important, the important thing was to win and go to the quarters,” Arnautovic, 35, told reporters.

“The whole team has always given me the motivation to give everything for Inter. It hasn’t been an easy period in recent weeks, but I have a contract with Inter, I want to give everything for this team, because they all know that I love it.”

The hosts doubled their lead just before halftime when Asllani scored directly from a corner kick, after a lengthy delay due to a medical emergency in the stands.

In Johannesburg, these soccer players are preparing for the biggest game of their lives.

Play had been halted for some six minutes before applause rang out from fans when the person being treated by medical staff was taken away on a stretcher.

In the second half, Inter sought to inflict more damage, and Taremi hit the woodwork with their best chance.

Lautaro Martinez, Inter’s top scorer last season, came on after an hour but also failed to find the net, extending a goal drought that has lasted more than a month.

Udinese looked toothless and had just one attempt on target in the game that saw striker Alexis Sanchez make his first start for the club since his return in the summer after 13 years.

Nine-time Coppa winners Inter will host Lazio in the next round in February.