Simpson, Fitzpatrick lead at relocated WGC tourney
Webb Simpson ran off three straight late birdies for a share of the lead Thursday in the Workday Championship. Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau ran up some big numbers.
Simpson matched Matthew Fitzpatrick with a 6-under 66 at The Concession in the World Golf Championships event moved from Mexico to Florida because of COVID-19 circumstances.
Simpson birdied the par-4 15th and 16th and par-5 17th. The 2012 U.S. Open champion won twice last season and has seven PGA Tour victories.
Fitzpatrick had a bogey-free round. The Englishman has six European Tour titles.
The top-ranked Johnson had two double bogeys in a 77. DeChambeau and Bubba Watson also shot 77, with DeChambeau making a triple bogey on the par-4 16th.
Brooks Koepka was a stroke out of the lead at 67 with Billy Horschel, Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner. Koepka won the Phoenix Open this month for his eighth PGA Tour title. GAINEY SHOOTS 65, LEADS
PGA TOUR’S PUERTO RICO OPEN >> Tommy Gainey birdied five of the last seven holes at breezy Grand Reserve for a 7-under 65 and the first-round lead in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande.
Gainey, the 45-year-old from South Carolina who won his lone PGA Tour title in 2012, had a one-stroke lead over local favorite Rafael Campos, Robert Garrigus, Taylor Pendrith, Lee Hodges, Greg Chalmers,
Fabian Gomez and Brandon Wu.
SORENSTAM RETURNS WITH A LOT MORE STRESS AND FEWER BIRDIES >> Annika Sorenstam doesn’t remember golf being this difficult.
She still managed plenty of smiles when the most dominant player of her era played her first LPGA Tour event in more than 12 years. With one birdie and one bad hole, Sorenstam had a 3-over 75 in the LPGA Gainbridge on her home course at Lake Nona.
Sorenstam was 10 shots behind another Lake Nona member, Lydia Ko, who opened with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot lead.
Baseball
INDIANS AIM FOR 10,000 FANS AT APRIL GAMES >> Cleveland plans to have 10,000 fans inside Progressive Field for home games in April. The team announced Thursday they’re hosting 30% percent of capacity at their downtown ballpark.
The AL team has been working with the Cleveland Clinic on health and safety protocols.
College football
TEXAS REGENTS APPROVE SARKISIAN $34.2 MILLION CONTRACT >> University of Texas System regents approved a six-year, $34.2 million guaranteed contract for new football coach Steve Sarkisian.
The regents also approved more than $21 million in guaranteed contracts for Sarkisian’s staff. Three of his top assistants got three-year guaranteed contracts worth more than $1 million annually. The highest-paid in that group will be defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski at $1.7 million per year.