Torres looking to end rookie year in style
Aiming to stylishly cap a rookie season that Hurricane Maria almost denied her, Maria Torres shared the first-round lead on 6 under at the final women’s golf major Thursday in France.
Torres, the first Puerto Rican player to get an LPGA Tour card, went birdie-birdie-eagle from the 13th to 15th holes in a 65 that tied her atop the Evian Champion- ship leaderboard with Carlota Ciganda of Spain.
The 184th-ranked Torres was on her home island when the hurricane struck. In the aftermath, the University of Florida graduate struggled to register for the second part of tour qualifying school. Finally, at Daytona Beach in December, Torres won a three-way playoff to claim the last tour card available.
European Tour: Ashun Wu of China shot a bogeyfree 64 to take the lead on 7 under after the opening round of the KLM Open at the Hague, Netherlands. Englishman Chris Wood started early in benign conditions and carded a 65.
ODDS AND ENDS
MLB: New York Mets captain David Wright will return for the team’s final homestand, making what will probably be his last appearance as a big leaguer. The Mets said they plan to activate Wright on Sept. 25 and the 35-year-old is scheduled to start at third base on the penultimate day of the regular season against Miami in what would be his first major league game since May 2016. Wright has had a litany of neck, back and shoulder injuries.
Cycling: Jelle Wallays won the Spanish Vuelta’s flat 18th stage, while Simon Yates held on to the overall lead ahead of two decisive days in the Pyrenees. Wallays produced a long breakaway attack before edging out Sven Erik Bystrom and world champion Peter Sagan to win the 186-kilometer leg in just under four hours.
Tennis: Grand Slam tournaments will continue to seed 32 players. The Grand Slam Board announced it has given up on an earlier-stated intention to revert to 16 seeds in 2019.
College football: No. 3 Georgia moved up the kickoff time of Saturday’s game against Middle Tennessee to noon from 7:15 p.m. because of Hurricane Florence.