Kirk takes 2-shot lead into final round at Honda

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. » Chris Kirk’s last win on the PGA Tour was nearly eight years ago. He’s put himself in a position to change that at the Honda Classic.

Kirk battled his way to a 4-under round of 66 on Saturday, putting him at 13-under 197 for the week and giving him a two-shot lead over Eric Cole (66) through three rounds at PGA National.

His last win on tour was at Colonial in 2015 — 180 tournaments ago. He’s a four-time winner on tour, played in the Presidents Cup in 2015, and has been waiting to hoist a trophy again since.

Cole stayed in the mix with his second consecutive round of 66.

Medvedev beats Murray

DOHA, QATAR » Daniil Medvedev won the Qatar Open on debut when he defeated Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4 in a final matchup of former No. 1s.

Medvedev converted fast starts in each set. He reached 4-1 in the first and 3-1 in the second. Murray fought back but Medvedev stifled him and earned his 17th singles title.

Rain washes out NASCAR

FONTANA, CALIF. » NASCAR canceled practice and qualifying sessions for the weekend races at Fontana because of ongoing heavy rains.

Both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series drivers will race without practice on the track east of Los Angeles, with the starting orders determined by the metric used to set the qualifying order.

Christopher Bell will be on the pole for Sunday’s Cup race, with Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. joining him on the front row.

Rookie Vongtaveelap four up

PATTAYA, THAILAND » Thai rookie Natthakritta Vongtaveelap shot a bogeyfree 64 to grab a four-stroke lead over fellow countrywoman Atthaya Thitikul after round three of the US$1.7 million LPGA Thailand on Saturday.

Vongtaveelap, 20, began with an eagle and went on to notch six birdies, including three in a row from the 16th, to finish on 20-under-par-196 in front of thousands of jubilant home fans at the Siam Country Club.

Vongtaveelap will try to become the first player to win on her LPGA Tour debut since Japanese Hinako Shibuno at the 2019 Women’s British Open.

No 1 Swiatek upset

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES » Topranked Iga Swiatek was upset by Barbora Krejcikova 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Championships.

Krejcikova closed the tournament by beating the top three players in the WTA rankings: No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, then Swiatek. No. 8 Daria Kasaktina was also overcome in the second round.

The Czech is the fifth woman in the Open era to beat the world’s top three

at the same event.

Gooch, Uihlein share LIV lead

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO » Talor Gooch made a 4-foot birdie putt on his final hole to tie Peter Uihlein for the lead in a LIV Golf season debut at Mayakoba that looks to be an Oklahoma State alumni reunion.

Uihlein was in the lead for most of Saturday at El Camaleon until a bogeybirdie-bogey finish led to a 5-under 66. Gooch played bogey-free, ending his round with an approach to short range on the par-4 first hole.

They were teammates at Oklahoma State — Uihlein was a junior having won the U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay when Gooch was a freshman.

Panthalassa wins Saudi Cup

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA » Panthalassa led all the way to win the $20 million Saudi Cup by three-quarters of a length, relegating trainer Bob Baffert’s horse, Country Grammer, to second place for the second straight year.

Japan nearly swept the first four places until Country Grammer rallied late on the outside under Frankie Dettori.

Sent off at 15-1 odds, Panthalassa ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.79 under Yutaka Yoshida. The 6-year-old overcame starting from the No. 1 post. He switched from grass, where he had run 23 of his first 24 races, to dirt for the Saudi Cup.

Taiba, the 8-5 favorite also trained by Baffert, finished eighth in the field of 13.