Lee’s 62 gives him lead
Danny Lee felt like he could make everything Friday, and for the longest time he did.
Already at 10-under par through 13 holes, Lee started thinking about a sub-60 round when he hit a downhill birdie putt too hard and wound up three-putting for bogey. Four pars later, he had to settle for a 9-under 62 and a one-shot lead among early starters in the Mayakoba Classic in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.
“Definitely, it was in my head, 59 or 58,” Lee said. “I never shot that score out on the PGA Tour before, so I really wanted to make that happen. On 14, I had a 3% downhill, less than 15-footer for birdie. Just one of those days I felt like I can make anything.”
Lee had a one-shot lead over Adam Long and Brendon Todd, who resurrected his career two weeks ago with a win in the Bermuda Championship.
The first round started a day late because of heavy rains — more than 9 inches since Monday — that left El Camaleon flooded and forced a washout Thursday. The second round was scheduled for Saturday, and because of limited daylight in November, the tournament will not end until Monday.
Auto racing: Rain canceled NASCAR Cup qualifying and the lineup for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at HomesteadMiami Speedway was set by owner points with Denny Hamlin starting from the pole position. ... Stewart-Haas Racing is replacing Daniel Suarez in the Cup Series next year with Cole Custer, a 21-year-old prospect racing Saturday for the Xfinity championship on finale weekend.
Baseball: The Pirates agreed to hire Ben Cherington as their general manager, a person familiar with the decision told AP. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. Cherington, 45, will replace Neal Huntington, who was hired in September 2007 and fired in October.
College basketball: The NCAA placed Seton Hall on probation for three years, took away a scholarship for the 2020-21 academic year and limited recruiting in each of the next two seasons as part of a negotiated resolution of a transfer tampering case started in 2016. Under terms of the agreement announced Friday, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard was given a two-game suspension he has already served. Seton Hall, which is currently ranked No. 12 and dropped a 76-73 decision to No. 3 Michigan State on Thursday night, remains eligible for the NCAA Tournament. ... Georgia Tech formally appealed sanctions levied by the NCAA against its program. Georgia Tech is appealing a ban on postseason play this season, as well as scholarship reductions and limits on official visits.
Soccer: Sergino Dest set up a goal in the second minute of his American competitive debut, Gyasi Zardes scored twice and the U.S. beat Canada 4-1 in a CONCACAF Nations League match in Orlando, Fla. ... Finland’s national soccer team qualified for a major tournament for the first time after defeating Liechtenstein 3-0 in Helsinki to secure a place in next year’s European Championship.