Aegon Classic:
Roger Federer defeated Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6 (5) to advance to the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, for the 11th time. Federer will bid for his 92nd career title in what will be his 140th final against the fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev, who rallied to beat Richard Gasquet 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Marin Cilic and Feliciano Lopez recovered from having their serves broken for the first time this week, returning to the final of the Queen’s grass-court tournament in London. Cilic, the 2012 Queen’s champion, ended Gilles Muller’s seven-match winning run on grass with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory in the first semifinal. Lopez then beat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in a hard-fought contest that was delayed mid-match by heavy rain.
Queen’s:
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat Lucie Safarova in a semifinal in Birmingham, England, when Safarova retired down 6-1, 1-0. In today’s final, Kvitova will play Ashleigh Barty, an Australian who was impressive in containing former French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Jordan Spieth continues to play just a little better than anyone else at the Travelers Championship.
The 23-year-old Texan closed with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 4-under 66 on Saturday, giving him a one-stroke lead for the third straight round at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.
After predicting earlier that it would take a score of 16 under to win, the twotime major champion took a 12-under 198 total into the final round.
Boo Weekley was second after a 65. The 43-year-old, playing just in front of Spieth, birdied five of the last eight holes, basking in the chants of “Boooo! Boooo!” from the gallery.
Spieth bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14 but matched Weekley with three birdies on the final four holes, capping it with the final shot of the round from below the hole.
“It’s in the shadow,” Spieth said. “I’m looking to hit the putt at the right speed. If it goes in, great, if it doesn’t, so be it, tap it in. With a few feet to go it was going to have a chance and it curled right in the middle. That was a loud roar, and those are really fun to experience.”
Weekley is looking for his fourth tour title and first since 2013. The colorful Floridian said he’s been dealing with personal issues but declined to elaborate. His had a season-best tie for 37th at the Puerto Rico Open in March and has made just eight cuts in 21 events.
Spieth is looking for his 10th tour win and second this season after a victory in February at Pebble Beach.
Weekley acknowledged that makes for an odd final pairing today.
“He loves to fish, so we’ve got a little in common there,” Weekley said. “So we can talk about that.”
Daniel Berger, looking for his second victory of the month, was three strokes back after a 66. C.T. Pan (64), David Lingmerth (65) and Paul Casey (66) were 8 under.
Berger had just one bogey, at the 17th, but came back with the last of his five birdies on the final hole. He won in Memphis two weeks ago.
Rory McIlroy remained at even par. He’s been trying to find his short game this week and decided to switch Saturday from the putter he began using at the U.S. Open.
The change didn’t seem to help. His first putt Saturday, a birdie attempt from 12 feet, went 3 feet past the hole and he needed 33 putts during his round of 70. He was even par overall.
Sergio Garcia carded a 5-under 67 to join Richard Bland in a share of the lead in the third round of the BMW International Open.
Garcia, playing his first event in Europe since his Masters win, and Bland, of England, settled at 13 under overall going into today’s final round on Munich’s Eichenried course. One stroke behind them was former joint leader Joakim Lagergren (69).
European Tour: LPGA Tour:
So Yeon Ryu shot a course-record 10-under 61 in the NW Arkansas Championship to take a five-stroke lead into the final round at Rogers, Ark.
Ryu, the third-ranked South Korean who won the ANA Inspiration in April for her second major title, reached 16 under to break the tournament 36-hole record by two strokes.
She had her lowest score on the LPGA Tour and matched her professional best set in the 2012 Australian Ladies Masters.
Local favorite Stacy Lewis and Moriya Jutanugarn were tied for second. They each shot 65.
Champions Tour:
Paul Broadhurst shot a 3-under 69 to maintain a two-stroke lead in the American Family Insurance Open at Madison, Wis. Broadhurst followed birdies on the par-5 16th and par-3 17th with a bogey on the par-4 18th to finish at 12-under 132.
Lee Janzen and Scott Verplank were tied for second. They each shot 66.
Tournament host Steve Stricker had a 69 to join Fred Couples (68) and Gene Sauers (66) at 9 under.