Off the wire

GOLF

Gribble, Bryan lead Cody Gribble and Wesley Bryan returned to PGA National on Thursday under far different circumstances. They are rookies on the PGA Tour, not trying to get through the grind of Web. com Tour qualifying. And they both shot 6- under 64 to share the lead at the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. On a perfect day for scoring, they were one stroke ahead of two- time major champion Martin Kaymer and Anirban Lahiri of India. Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter were in a large group at 66. More than half the field was at par or better. David Lingmerth ( Arkansas Razorbacks) had an evenpar 70. Ken Duke ( Arkadelphia, Henderson State) shot a 4- over 74.

Pair tops in Thailand Ariya Jutanugarn and Amy Yang both shot 6- under 66 in the first round Thursday to take a share of the lead at the LPGA Thailand. Jutanugarn, ranked second in the world, had six birdies while Yang, the 2015 champion, had seven birdies and a bogey at the Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course. Ryann O’Toole, Sei Young Kim, Minjee Lee and Shanshan Feng were a stroke behind the leaders. Stacy Lewis ( Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 3- under 69 and is tied for 12th. Top- ranked Lydia Ko ( 70) had five birdies and three bogeys, while former No. 1 Inbee Park shot a 72 in her first action since winning the Olympic gold medal last year. Gaby Lopez ( Razorbacks) had a 3- over 75.

Peterson ahead by 2 American golfer Paul Peterson birdied four of his last five holes to shoot a bogey- free 9- under 62 Thursday before play was suspended because of a waterlogged course in the first round of the Joburg Open in Johannesburg. Peterson holds a two- shot lead over English players Aaron Rai and Paul Waring. Nearly half of the 210- man field was still out on the course when heavy rain arrived, forcing an early end to play. The East Course will be used for the full field after the cut. South African players have won seven of the 10 editions of the tournament. Jbe Kruger is the best- placed South African after a 65 on the West Course.

TENNIS

Querrey to quarters Defending champion Sam Querrey reached the Delray Beach Open quarterfinals by hitting 13 aces and winning 24 of 25 firstserve points in a 6- 2, 6- 3 victory over Jared Donaldson on Thursday. Querrey, ranked 35th and seeded No. 4, saved both break points he faced and took exactly an hour to beat his 20- year- old opponent in an all- American match at the hard- court tournament in Delray Beach, Fla. Querrey next will face the winner of the match Thursday night between 2009 U. S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who is seeded No. 7, and 79thranked Damir Dzumhur. In other action, Donald Young followed up his upset of No. 2 seed Ivo Karlovic by coming back to eliminate 19- year- old Taylor Fritz 4- 6, 6- 3, 6- 4 and get to the quarterfinals. Young, ranked 69th, had his left knee checked by a trainer after only five games and wound up dropping that set. But Young managed to turn the match around despite finishing with 12 double- faults and facing 15 break points ( he saved 13). He now meets Belgium’s Steve Darcis, a 6- 3, 7- 5 winner against Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Wozniacki moves up Caroline Wozniacki reached her sixth career Dubai Tennis Championships semifinals when she defeated Catherine “Cici” Bellis 6- 3, 6- 2 on Thursday. The American started the match confidently, jumping out to 3- 1, but couldn’t sustain the momentum. In a fight strictly from the baseline, Wozniacki won the next nine games to lead 6- 3, 4- 0. She will play Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the semifinals. The 35th- ranked Sevastova reached her first semifinal of the season via a 6- 4, 7- 5 victory over Wang Qiang of China. Seventh- seeded Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine improved her career record against Lauren Davis to 4- 0 after defeating the American 6- 0, 6- 4 in the quarterfinals. Svitolina will play either top- seeded Angelique Kerber or Ana Konjuh of Croatia. Monfils, Tsonga advance Top- seeded Gael Monfils and No. 2 Jo- Wilfried Tsonga won in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals of the Open 13 in Marseille, France, on Thursday. Monfils beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6- 1, 6- 4 in less than an hour, and the Frenchman next faces countryman Richard Gasquet, who is seeded sixth. Tsonga downed Illya Marchenko of Ukraine 6- 3, 6- 3. Tsonga had nine aces and saved six break points, breaking his opponent’s serve three times. Tsonga faces Gilles Simon in another allFrench last- eight match. Russian Daniil Medvedev advanced after beating Germany’s Jan- Lennard Struff 6- 3, 3- 6, 7- 6 ( 3), and will face fourth- seeded Lucas Pouille of France in the quarters. Qualifier Norbert Gombos of Slovakia won against Nicolas Mahut 7- 5, 3- 6, 7- 6 ( 5) and plays defending champion Nick Kyrgios of Australia today.

BASKETBALL

Bosh takes TV job In the clearest signal to date that Chris Bosh will not attempt to resume his NBA career this season, TNT announced Thursday that the Miami Heat power forward will serve as a studio analyst for five consecutive Mondays starting next week. The timing of Bosh’s commitment is the strongest indication that Bosh does not plan to return to the court this season, and possibly is seeking other career avenues going forward. Bosh’s studio commitment precludes the possibility of Bosh appearing in 25 games this season ( regular season and playoffs). That is significant because if the Heat, as expected, apply to remove Bosh’s salary- cap hit going forward, his salary would revert to the Heat if he hits that 25- game threshold in any of the remaining three seasons on his contract. Bosh has been away from the Heat since failing his preseason physical, after missing the second half of the previous two seasons due to blood clots. The Heat are expected to move forward with their case for such cap relief during the same time frame that Bosh will be working on Turner’s Monday doubleheader broadcasts. The Heat have contended that Bosh’s condition makes it unsafe for him to resume his NBA career. Bosh has been mum on the subject since failing his preseason physical and posting a series of videos questioning the Heat’s motives.

FOOTBALL

Cowboys in Hall game The Dallas Cowboys can officially set their plans for the week- long Hall of Fame party honoring owner Jerry Jones. The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Thursday that the Cowboys will play the Arizona Cardinals in the annual Hall of Fame Game, set for Aug. 3 at the new Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game will be played two days before Jones will be officially inducted as a member of the Class of 2017 on Aug. 5. It also means that the Cowboys have an earlier than normal start to training camp, not just because they are playing in the Hall of Fame game, but also because the game has been moved from the traditional Sunday slot, one day after the induction ceremony to Thursday, two days before. Teams generally start training camp two weeks before the first preseason game. It’s the Cowboys’ sixth all- time appearance in the Hall of Fame Game, including 1968, 1979, 1999, 2010 and 2013. The past two times coincided with the inductions of Emmitt Smith and Larry Allen, respectively.

Charges added A judge’s ruling is increasing the possible penalty that three former Penn State administrators could face if convicted of crimes for how they responded to the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. Judge John Boccabella on Thursday granted a request by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office to add a related conspiracy count to the charges of endangering the welfare of children. Prosecutors said each felony count carries up to 7 years in prison and a $ 15,000 fine. Jury selection is scheduled for March 20 in the case of former university president Graham Spanier, former vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley. They have recently sought permission from the judge for an appeal. If the judge agrees, that could delay the trial.