Tony Finau takes three-stroke advantage at HSBC Champions.
GOLF Finau ahead by 3
Tony Finau overcame a bad break that led to double bogey for a 5-under 67 to build a three-shot lead over Masters champion Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood and defending champion
Justin Rose in the
HSBC Champions at Shanghai. Finau was stunned when his approach to the
11th hole at Sheshan International hit a sprinkler cap in front of the green, bounced high and went over the green and into the hazard. That led to double bogey. Finau birdied three of his last five holes to restore the margin to three shots. He was at 11-under 133. Reed shot 72 by twice making par after hitting into the water on par 5s. Rose had a two-putt birdie on the closing hole for a 67. Xander Schauffele (71) was four shots behind.
Xiong, Champ lead
Norman Xiong shot a 5-under 67 on Friday on another damp, chilly day at the Country Club of Jackson for a share of the second-round lead with Cameron Champ at the Sanderson Farms Championship at Jackson, Miss. Xiong, 19 — who made his first cut in seven career starts — is trying to become the second-youngest winner on tour since 1932. He matched Champ at 9 under for the tournament. Xiong made a 55-foot putt from the fringe for eagle on No. 11. Champ, who was the firstround leader after shooting a 65, had a two-shot lead over Xiong until ending Friday’s round with two consecutive bogeys. He finished with a 70. Shawn Stefani and Jonathan Byrd were one shot back. Hudson Swafford, Seth Reeves, Scott Stallings, D.J. Trahan and Chad Ramey were two shots back.
Hsu out front
Wei-Ling Hsu rode the support of her home crowd to shoot a 5-under 67 and take a one-stroke lead Friday after two rounds of the LPGA Taiwan Championship at Taoyuan, Taiwan. Hsu had a tworound total of 9-under 135 at the Ta Shee Golf and Country Club, one ahead of first-round leader Jodi
Ewart Shadoff, who shot 71 Friday. Former No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko was the big mover with a round-of-the day 66 to move into third place and within two strokes of the lead. Ko had five birdies on her front nine, then stalled somewhat on the back nine until an approach to 1 foot on the par-4 17th resulted in a birdie.
TENNIS Federer tops Simon
Roger Federer was pushed hard to beat Gilles Simon 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors quarterfinals on Friday. Top-seeded Federer clinched after more than 21/2 hours, breaking Simon’s serve when the 32nd-ranked Frenchman sent a backhand long from the baseline. Federer puffed out his cheeks in a gesture of relief when taking the applause from his hometown crowd in Basel, where he seeks a ninth career title. In the first set won by Federer, Simon failed to hold serve at 5-3 up and held a setpoint chance before the tiebreaker. Federer next plays the winner of Friday’s late match between fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and seventh-seeded Daniil Medvedev. Earlier, second-seeded Alexander Zverev beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5, 6-3.
Osaka retires injured
U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka finished her debut appearance at the WTA Finals on Friday with an injury and an 0-3 record. Osaka was trailing Kiki Bertens 6-3 when she retired from the match with an upper left leg injury. Bertens was awarded a straightset victory and has advanced to the semifinals. Osaka, the only woman from Japan to win a Grand Slam title, went off court to receive treatment on the injury after the eighth game while trailing 5-3. She lost her serve at love in the ninth game and then decided to stop. Bertens qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals when No. 1 Simona Halep withdrew from the tournament with a lower back injury. Sloane Stephens also advanced to the semifinals, improving to 3-0 by beating Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-3. Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova reached the semifinals from the other group Thursday. Bertens will now face Svitolina while Stephens will take on Pliskova.
HOCKEY Former NHL president dies
Former NHL President John Ziegler Jr. has died at 84. The NHL confirmed Ziegler’s death in a statement by Commissioner
Gary Bettman. Ziegler was living in Florida. The cause of death was not immediately known. Ziegler oversaw the league’s merger with the World Hockey Association and was eventually ousted following the NHL’s first labor disruption during his 15-year tenure. Ziegler was the NHL’s fourth president, succeeding
Clarence Campbell in 1977. Two years later, the NHL merged with the WHA by adding four teams from the upstart league, including the Edmonton Oilers. Bettman lauded Ziegler for helping the NHL become an international league by increasing the number of European players and opening the door for Russians to compete in North America.
FOOTBALL Texans’ Fuller out
Texans receiver Will Fuller has a torn knee ligament and will miss the rest of the season. He was injured during the fourth quarter of Houston’s victory over Miami on Thursday night. He became entangled with a defender and tumbled to the ground. Coach Bill O’Brien said Friday he doesn’t know when Fuller will have surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Fuller had a season-high 124 yards receiving with a 73-yard touchdown on Thursday before the injury. He had 503 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns in 7 games this season. The third-year player was a first-round pick in 2016.
MOTOR SPORTS Wickens confirms paralysis
IndyCar driver Robert Wickens is paralyzed from the waist down from injuries suffered in an August crash at Pocono Raceway. Wickens has been updating his rehabilitation progress on social media and posted a video Thursday of his “first slide transfer as a paraplegic” that showed him moving from a table to his wheelchair. His videos had shown for the past month that he is working daily to move his legs again. His Thursday post was the first time he publicly confirmed his paralysis. The 29-year-old Canadian crashed at Pocono on Aug. 19 and suffered a number of injuries, including a thoracic spinal fracture, spinal cord injury, neck fracture, fractures to both legs and a pulmonary contusion.
GYMNASTICS Funds fraudulently obtained
Michigan State University’s interim president said about half of $1.1 million distributed for counseling victims of former sports doctor Larry Nassar has gone to people trying to defraud the school. John Engler said Friday that the $10 million Healing Assistance Fund is “deeply troubled” and is not expected to distribute any more money for three to four months. Payments stopped this summer after its administrator flagged the fraudulent claim issue. Engler said several people are under investigation and the school has terminated a vendor’s contract. Michigan State’s police chief has said none of the fraudulent claims were made by anyone who filed complaints against Nassar. Nassar worked for Michigan State and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. He is imprisoned for molesting athletes and possessing child pornography.