Lee holds lead at British
Mirim Lee followed her opening 10-under 62 with a 71 yesterday in the Women’s British Open, leaving her a stroke ahead entering the weekend at tree-lined Woburn Golf Club in Woburn, England.
A day after matching the tournament record and falling a stroke short of the major championship mark, the 25-year-old South Korean player had three birdies and two bogeys to reach 11-under 133.
Lee had two front-nine birdies, bogeyed the par-4 13th, birdied the par5 15th and bogeyed the par-3 17th on the Marquess Course, the hilly, forest layout that is a big change from the seaside links that dominate the tournament rotation.
Three weeks ago at the U.S. Women’s Open, Lee opened with a 64, then followed with rounds of 74, 76 and 73 to tie for 11th. The two-time LPGA Tour winner missed the cut in the ANA Inspiration to start the major year, and tied for fourth in the KPMG Women’s PGA.
Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and China’s Shanshan Feng were tied for second. Jutanugarn had a 69. Feng shot 68.
South Korea’s Ha Na Jang (67) and 46-year-old Scot Catriona Matthew (65) were 9 under.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko was tied for 56th at even par after a 70. She’s coming off a victory two weeks ago in Ohio, her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the year.
Second-ranked Brooke Henderson was tied for 47th at 1 under after a 72.
NASCAR: Truex grabs pole
Martin Truex Jr. has one of his four career Sprint Cup wins at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. He added his 10th career pole yesterday.
Truex extended Toyota’s recent romp, and turned a lap of 179.244 mph to win the pole. He and Carl Edwards made it a 1-2 Toyota front row. Edwards just missed the top spot for Joe Gibbs Racing with a lap of 178.873 and he thought his No. 19 Toyota might have had enough to best Truex.
It’s a really neat time to be driving a Toyota for Joe Gibbs,” Edwards said. “Hopefully, we can keep this rolling.”
Toyota has 10 wins this season and nine in the last 15 races, highlighted by consecutive wins by JGR drivers
Matt Kenseth at New Hampshire and Kyle Busch last weekend at the Brickyard.
Truex won his third pole of the season in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota and the 10th of his career. His win this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway might have been the most dominant performance by any Toyota driver in a race in years. Paul Menard, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman completed the top five. Six-time Pocono winner Jeff Gordon qualified in his second race driving for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Misc.: Bettman to rule
The co-owner suing the Nashville Predators will have to plead his case against the franchise’s ownership before NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after a judge refused his bid to keep his lawsuit in a Tennessee court. Former Predators chairman David
Freeman and Commodore Trust sued Predators Holdings LLC and current team chairman Tom Cigarran on June 23 seeking $250 million in damages for his original 48 percent stake in the team being diluted.
Freeman has been involved in other NHL arbitration cases over the past year but argued in the lawsuit that Bettman cannot be impartial because of his obligation to protect the league. . . .
A Russian official in charge of overseeing the 2018 World Cup says he is “concerned” about a dispute at a stadium in St. Petersburg which threatens to disrupt preparations.
The St. Petersburg city government is trying to replace the main contractor for its already-delayed 68,000seat arena, prompting speculation in Russian media that the resulting disruption could force organizers to move next year’s Confederations Cup from the city.
The stadium is officially slated by the city government to be completed in December, six months before the Confederations Cup begins. . . . Florida named former coach Steve
Spurrier an ambassador and consultant for the school’s athletic department. Spurrier stepped down as South Carolina’s coach last season, but stopped short of saying he planned to retire. The Gators renamed their football field after Spurrier, calling it Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. . . . Former New York Giants player
Luke Petitgout was sentenced to one year of probation after pleading guilty to an assault on his estranged wife. He also sentenced him to anger management and to three years of probation on separate drug charges. Petitgout spent eight seasons with the Giants and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.