Baylor grads right at home

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Robert Streb birdied his last two holes on the Plantation Course at Sea Island Golf Club and matched his career low with a 9-under-par 63 on Friday, giving the 33-year-old from Oklahoma a two-shot lead over Colombia’s Camilo Villegas halfway through the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic. Villegas, who shared the first- round lead, had an even better finish than Streb to stay in range going into the weekend, closing with an eagle for a 66. The final two rounds move to the Seaside Course, which Joel Dahmen lit up Friday for a 9-under 61 that took him from outside the cut line to just outside the top 10. The past four winners at the RSM Classic had the 36-hole lead, and Streb was at 14-under 128 at the only tournament he has won on the PGA Tour, doing so in 2014 when the event on the Georgia coast was known as the McGladrey Classic. Bronson Burgoon and Patton Kizzire were tied for third at 11 under after playing the Plantation in the second round and shooting a 63 and a 66, respectively. Baylor School graduate Harris English (66 Plantation) — like Kizzire, he lives on Sea Island — and Kyle Stanley (65 Plantation) were tied for fifth at 10 under. It’s also a home match for Baylor grad Keith Mitchell (66 Plantation), who lives in St. Simons and was part of the crowd tied for 11th at 7 under. Sixty- five players made the cut at 3- under 139, but Baylor alum Luke List followed his Plantation 74 with a Seaside 72 to miss it.

TENNIS

› LONDON — Novak Djokovic ensured the world’s top four players reached the semifinals of the ATP Finals for the first time since 2004 by eliminating Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Friday. The topranked Djokovic will face No. 3 Dominic Thiem today as he goes for a record-tying sixth title — but first since 2015 — at the season-ending tournament. No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who will take on No. 4 Daniil Medvedev in the second semifinal, is trying for the 10th time to win his first ATP Finals crown. Medvedev warmed up by blowing away Diego Schwartzman, 6-3, 6-3, late Friday in the empty O2 Arena, topping their group with three wins in six sets. Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open champion, is in the semifinals for the ninth time. Thiem, this year’s U.S. Open champion, won a thirdset tiebreaker to beat Djokovic in group play at last year’s ATP Finals. Nadal, who last month won his 13th French Open title, has a 3-0 record against Medvedev, but the last two matches were battles: Nadal won their 2019 U.S. Open final in five sets and came from 5-1 down in the last set of their ATP Finals group match a year ago.

BASKETBALL

› TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors will start the 2020-21 NBA season in Tampa, Florida, because of travel restrictions by the Canadian government stemming from the pandemic. The Raptors had been looking at other sites for several weeks — including Sunrise, Florida, the home of the NHL’s Florida Panthers — but with training camp less than two weeks away and the season set to tip off Dec. 22, the Raptors were pressed to make a final decision. Instead, they will play home games at another NHL venue: Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the reigning Stanley Cup champions. An official familiar with the Canadian government’s decision told The Associated Press there is too much COVID-19 circulating in the United States to allow for cross-border travel that is not essential. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity and not authorized to talk publicly about the matter, said there’s a chance the decision could be reviewed next year. The NBA and the Raptors, the league’s lone Canadian team, needed an exemption to a requirement that anyone entering Canada for nonessential reasons must isolate for 14 days.