Bathroom break slows Harrington, who still leads

FRISCO, TEXAS » Padraig Harrington was in perfect position in the 16th fairway, with a great chance to set the 54hole scoring record for a comfortable lead at the Senior PGA Championship on Saturday.

Then the 51-year-old Irishman had to go to the bathroom.

Paddy found the port-a-potty, had trouble with the door, rushed to his next shot and ended up in a native area that led to a double-bogey.

“As we are on the Champions tour, I had the longest pee ever,” Harrington said. “And then I kind of rushed down the fairway and hit my shot. I just wasn’t focused, I wasn’t into it and I hit a bad shot in the hazard. That’s my excuse. That’s got to be original, I would assume.”

Well, at least he still has the lead in what will be a tight final-round matchup of opposing Ryder Cup captains from 2021.

Steve Stricker, the hottest PGA Tour Champions player by far and leader of the U.S. rout over Harrington’s crew at Whistling Straits, is one shot back after matching Harrington’s tournament-best, 8-under 64 from the opening round.

Harrington’s lead on the back nine was briefly as big as six shots. Instead, he settled for a second consecutive 68 and was at 16-under 200.

Verstappen takes pole

MONACO » Defending Formula One champion Max Verstappen produced a superb final lap to take pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday and deny Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso his first pole in 11 years.

Verstappen called his first pole at Monaco “very lovely” but there was nothing to cheer for his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez as last year’s race winner crashed early in qualifying.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon surprisingly led near the end of the session before the 41-year-old Alonso moved back to the top as he chased a first pole since the German GP in 2012, when he was with Ferrari.

Ex-Duke teammates set for semi

NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEV. » Former Duke and Solheim Cup teammates Celine Boutier and Leona Maguire remained undefeated at Shadow Creek to set up a semifinal match in the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play.

The third-seeded Boutier, from France, edged Ayaka Furue of Japan 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals. The seventh-seeded Maguire, from Ireland, held off American Lindsey Weaver-Wright 3 and 2.

In the other semifinal Sunday morning, Linn Grant of Sweden will face Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand. Grant beat Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland 3 and 1, and Anannarukarn edged Carlota Ciganda of Spain 3 and 2.

Schnek, Hall tied

FORT WORTH, TEXAS » PGA Tour rookie Harry Hall intended to slip on his Vegas Golden Knights jersey while playing Colonial’s par-3 13th hole. That plan changed after falling out of the lead because of consecutive double bogeys.

It was only after finishing the third round back in a share of the lead, with Adam Schenk at 10-under 200, that the Englishman who lives in Las Vegas after playing at UNLV pulled on the jersey. His favorite NHL team was playing the local Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.

Hall’s final putt in a round of 2-over 72 was a 10-foot par at No. 18 after he chipped from the fringe out of an awkward stance that had his heels hanging over the lip of a bunker. That followed a 10-foot birdie at the 383-yard 17th.

Redemption for Roglic

MONTE LUSSARI, ITALY » Primož Roglic all but secured the Giro d’Italia title on Saturday by overtaking leader Geraint Thomas on the penultimate stage despite having a mechanical problem on the mountain time trial.

Roglic started the stage 26 seconds behind Thomas — who was trying to become the oldest Giro champion in history — but finished the route 40 seconds quicker than the British cyclist after the demanding climb of the Monte Lussari.

That saw Roglic move into the leader’s pink jersey, 14 seconds ahead of Thomas going into the race’s mainly ceremonial final stage.

Roglic was cheered on all the way by thousands of fans from just across the border to his native Slovenia.

Pereira has hot finish

STERLING, VA. » Mito Pereira of Chile made five birdies over his last seven holes for a 5-under 67 on Saturday, giving him a one-shot lead over Harold Varner III at LIV Golf DC.

Pereira finished with two birdies at Trump National. He was as hot at the end of his round as Varner was cold. Varner, who had the 18-hole lead, had two bogeys with no birdies on the back nine to fall out of the lead with a 72.

Henrik Stenson had a 67 and was two shots behind, tied for third with Kevin Na (69).

Seattle wins Memorial Cup openers

KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA » Kyle Crnkovic had a hat trick and the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds opened Memorial Cup play Saturday with a 6-3 victory over the Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough Petes.

Lucas Ciona, Nolan Allan and Jordan Gustafson also scored for Seattle, and Thomas Milic made 23 saves.

Seattle will return to action Monday night against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Quebec Remparts, an 8-3 winner over the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday night in tournament opener.

Flyers prospect J.R. Avon, Owen Beck and Avery Hayes scored for the Petes.