Off the wire
GOLF
Back 9 holes foil Romo Tony Romo settled down after a nervous start, only to come undone on the back nine in his PGA Tour debut. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback played a four-hole stretch in a 5 over on the back nine that led to a 5-over 77 in the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship at Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. He was 14 shots behind Brice Garnett, who had a 63 to lead by one shot. Romo, who now works as an NFL analyst for CBS Sports, received a sponsor’s exemption to the tournament. He is playing as an amateur. Romo played with Denny McCarthy, who was among those at 66, and
Dru Love. The son of Davis Love III shot a 73. Jonathan Byrd was in a large group at 66, while former Puerto Rico Open winner George
McNeill was among those at 67.
Davies 10 over at Classic Laura Davies had a nightmare round just days after contending for a title at age 54, and Caroline
Hedwall, Jackie Stoelting and Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at the Kia Classic at Carlsbad, Calif. Davies shot a 10-over 82 on Thursday at rainy Aviara Golf Club — four days after tying for second behind Inbee Park in the Founders Cup, and five days after shooting a 9-under 63 in the Phoenix event. Fighting Achilles tendon and calf problems in her left leg, Davies opened double bogey-bogey-par-bogey. She bogeyed Nos. 9, 10 and 12, had another double on 15 and bogeyed 16. The 82 was the World Golf Hall of Famer’s highest score on tour since also shooting 82 in the 2013 Marathon Classic. On Monday, she jumped 208 spots to No. 155 in the world. Hedwall, Stoelting and Hee Young Park opened at 6-under 66 in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week at Mission Hills.
TENNIS
Halep struggles, wins
Top-ranked Simona Halep of Romania struggled to post a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 second-round victory over French lucky loser Oceane Dodin at the Miami Open on Thursday. In the first career meeting between the players, Halep allowed the 98thranked Dodin to break her serve on six of seven opportunities she presented in the match, which lasted more than two hours. Halep broke Dodin’s serve for the seventh time at 4-4 in the third set before closing it out. Also Thursday, former No. 1 Angelique Kerber of Germany advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Johanna Larsson of Sweden.
FOOTBALL
Vols to pay Currie $2.5M
Tennessee has agreed to pay former athletic director John Currie $2.5 million as part of a settlement reached less than four months after he was suspended in the middle of a football coaching search. Currie already had received nearly $280,000 since being placed on paid leave in December. School officials announced Thursday that Currie will get an additional $2.2 million no later than April 1. Tennessee Chancellor Beverly Davenport announced on Dec. 1 she was suspending Currie while seeing if the school could fire him for cause. Currie had been on the job only eight months and was looking for a new football coach at the time, a process that caused embarrassment for the university when a deal to sign Greg Schiano fell apart amid public backlash. Phillip Fulmer replaced Currie as athletic director. The buyout terms of Currie’s contract said he’d be owed $5.5 million if he was fired without cause.
WR Thompson to Dallas Free agent wide receiver Deonte Thompson has signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Thompson joined the Cowboys on Thursday, one day after veteran linebacker Joe Thomas agreed to a two-year deal and was their first acquisition since NFL free agency opened last week. In six NFL seasons, Thompson has played 53 games for Baltimore, Buffalo and Chicago. The 6-foot receiver has 77 catches for 1,032 yards and 4 touchdowns, and 82 kickoff returns for a 24.8 yard average. Thompson was cut after 11 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown in five games last season with Chicago. He signed a week later with the Bills, and had 27 catches for 430 yards and 1 touchdown in 11 games.
Gore goes to Dolphins
A person familiar with the negotiations said Thursday that NFL active rushing leader Frank Gore has agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins. The person confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal won’t be final until Gore passes a physical. The durable Gore would provide depth at running back behind Kenyan Drake, who became a starter last year and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Gore, who turns 35 next month, grew up in South Florida and played for the Miami Hurricanes. He has rushed for 14,026 yards in his NFL career, including 961 last year for the Indianapolis Colts, and ranks fifth on the all-time list. Gore also played for the San Francisco 49ers and has started every game since 2011.
BASEBALL
Montero injured
Mets right-hander Rafael Montero probably will miss the season after tearing a ligament in his pitching elbow. New York said Thursday that the 27-year-old has a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament and will likely need Tommy John surgery. Montero was 5-11 with a 5.52 ERA in 18 starts and 16 relief appearances last year. He gave up 13 runs — 9 earned — and 12 hits in 9 innings during spring training. He has a salary of $558,025 in the majors and will be eligible for salary arbitration next winter.
HORSE RACING
Jockey Flores dies
A renowned jockey who was among the best in Pennsylvania history has died of injuries suffered in a racing accident. Parx Racing said in a statement that Jose Flores died Thursday. He was 56. Flores was racing Monday at Parx Racing, a track in the Philadephia suburb of Bensalem, when his horse went down and Flores was thrown off. The jockey won 4,650 races in a career that spanned more than three decades. He was the top career earner at Parx, formerly known as Philadelphia Park. The Equibase thoroughbred database says Flores’ mounts earned $64 million in nearly 29,000 career starts. Parx called Flores an “outstanding jockey” and expressed condolences to his family.