U.S. foursomes grab early advantage in Presidents Cup.
GOLF U.S. wins opener
The Americans won the opening session of the Presidents Cup on Thursday for the sixth consecutive time by taking the opening three matches and rallying for a halve in the final one. Phil Mickelson missed an 8-foot par putt on the par-3 18th at Liberty National in Jersey City, N.J., or the U.S. lead could be even greater. The Americans still managed to build a 3½1½ lead Thursday after a tough, windy day of foursomes. The lone bright spot for the International team was Louis Oosthuizen and
Branden Grace, who improved to 5-0 as partners in the Presidents Cup. Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed were formidable, too, as
were Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar. The Americans have a 9-11 lead in these matches, their lone loss in 1998.
Pair shares lead
Canadian Brooke Henderson and Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England shot 7-under 65 on Thursday to share the lead in the LPGA Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open, leaving home star Lydia Ko five strokes back. The pair led by one stroke over Amy Boulden of Wales and Belen Mozo of Spain, with American Brittany Lincicome and Beatriz Recari of Spain another stroke back after 67s. Henderson and Ewart Shadoff both took advantage of easier morning conditions before the winds picked up on the newly established Windross Farm course east of Auckland. Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) and
Emily Tubert (Razorbacks) each shot a 2-under 70.
Saunders shoots 59
Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, shot a 12-under 59 on his home course Thursday in the first round of the Web.com Tour Championship at Atlantic Beach, Fla. Saunders closed with six consecutive birdies at Atlantic Beach Country Club — the Jacksonville-area club where he has a membership — for the seventh sub60 round in Web.com Tour history. Saunders had 13 birdies and a bogey. Opening on the 10th hole, he birdied the first three holes, added a birdie on 14, bogeyed the par-3 15th and birdied 15 and 18 to make the turn in 5 under. He birdied No. 2 and Nos. 4-9 for a 7-under 28 on his final nine. Fellow Atlantic Beach member Steve Wheatcroft and
Matt Atkins (Henderson State) were tied for second at 62, and Tyler Duncan and Ben Silverman shot 63. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) shot 66.
Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) had a 67. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had a 68. Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) shot 69. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) was even at 71. Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) had a 72.
Duo out front
George Coetzee and Tyrrell Hatton shot 7-under 63s to lead the British Masters on Thursday at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, while Rory McIlroy needed the help of a spectator to stay on track in his first round. Coetzee followed up top-10 finishes at his last two events by rolling in six birdies and making an eagle at the par-5 sixth hole to set a clubhouse target at Close House Golf Club. Hatton joined Coetzee atop the leaderboard by making birdies on five of the last seven holes, including one from 15 feet at the par-3 18th. Finnish golfers Mikko Ilonen and
Mikko Korhonen were in a fiveway share of third place on 6 under, along with Alvaro Quiros, Chris
Hanson and Rikard Karlberg.
McIlroy, who was a late entry after failing to qualify for the Tour Championship on the U.S. PGA Tour, shot 67 but only after a spectator found his ball inside the five-minute time limit following a wild drive on No. 17, his eighth hole. The No. 6-ranked McIlroy produced a superb recovery from thick rough to the elevated green and went on to save par, before making three birdies on the front nine. Masters champion Sergio Garcia bogeyed the 18th for a level-par round of 70.
David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Pep Angles (Central Arkansas) each shot a 2-under 68.
FOOTBALL Protests discussed
NFL Commissioner Roger
Goodell held a round-table meeting with roughly 25 owners, league executives and players on Tuesday night to discuss the national anthem demonstrations. New York Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas said the summit at the league’s headquarters in New York lasted roughly two hours and was attended by several of the NFL’s most prominent owners, including John
Mara of the Giants, Robert Kraft of the Patriots and Art Rooney
II of the Steelers. NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent also attended along with eight players from five teams. Casillas said the group talked about what to do to move forward and how to approach the “whole kneeling situation. It was a whole bunch of opinions shared. There was nothing we decided we’re going to do collectively. I think it was a very conducive meeting.” NFL spokesman Brian
McCarthy said that “while the conversations will remain private, they were very informative and instructive.”
BASKETBALL James rolls ankle
Dwyane Wade walked in. LeBron James limped off. The celebrated reunion of the close friends didn’t get off to a roaring start. James turned his left ankle during practice Wednesday night, his first workout with Wade, who signed with the Cavaliers to chase another championship with his close friend. A Cavaliers spokesman said James had X-rays that were negative. The three-time NBA champion didn’t practice Thursday so he could undergo treatment. He’s expected to be day to day. The severity of James’ injury is not known.
Porzingis’ knee sore
The New York Knicks’ hopes of a smooth training camp after trading away Carmelo Anthony took a hit Thursday afternoon when Kristaps Porzingis, the team’s burgeoning star, left practice early with a sore right knee. Knicks Coach
Jeff Hornacek played down the severity of the injury, saying that he was not sure which knee it was and that he did not know whether the injury would sideline the 7-foot3, 240-pound Porzingis for long. “I think that his knee got a little sore there,” Hornacek said. “So we wanted to stop him from running at that point.” The injury comes after a long summer for Porzingis, 22. He played in seven games for the Latvian national team during the European championships this month, so Hornacek and the Knicks have tried to keep his workload light so far, just as they have done for Willy Hernangomez, who played for Spain in the same tournament. Hornacek said he did not believe that Porzingis’ knee soreness was related to his time with the national team. Porzingis did not speak to reporters.
New NBA rules
NBA owners passed rules Thursday designed to prevent healthy players from sitting out games, and teams from losing games on purpose to improve their draft position. Under the new draft lottery rules, the teams with the three worst records will all have 14 percent odds to land the No. 1 pick when the changes are implemented with the 2019 draft. The team with the worst record previously had 25 percent odds to win the lottery and could fall to the No. 4 spot in the draft. Now that team can tumble all the way to fifth. The lottery changes were to discourage tanking, the practice of losing games on purpose in an effort to improve draft odds. The Philadelphia 76ers relied on the tactic heavily in recent years. Also, the Board of Governors voted to allow Commissioner Adam Silver to fine teams that violate the league’s new guidelines about resting players. Teams can’t sit healthy players for high-profile, nationally televised games, and fines can be at least $100,000.
OLYMPICS
Arrest warrant issued
A Russian court has ruled that doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov should be arrested if he returns to his home country. The ruling could lead Russia to request the former Moscow anti-doping laboratory director’s extradition from the United States, where he fled in January 2016. Yunona Tsaryova, a spokesman for the Basmanny district court in Moscow, told The Associated Press the court issued an order for Rodchenkov’s arrest last week. The decision was not immediately made public and was first reported Thursday by Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Rodchenkov said he was ordered by government officials to cover up drug use by leading Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and other major sports events. His testimony sparked wide-ranging investigations by the World Anti-Doping Agency and International Olympic Committee.