News+Notes: Spieth tied for lead heading into Texas Open’s final round,
SAN ANTONIO » Jordan Spieth shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to move into a tie for the lead heading into the final round of the Valero Texas Open.
Spieth and Englishman Matt Wallace are at 12 under after each player birdied their final two holes of the day. Wallace also posted a 67, and Charley Hoffman is alone in third at 10 under after shooting a 65.
Hoffman was seven shots back after a bogey at No. 4, but he finished up with six birdies and sank a five-foot eagle putt at the 14th. He won here five years ago.
Three consecutive bogeys early on the back nine sent second-round leader Cameron Tringale to a 1-over 73 that put him at 8 under for the tournament. India’s Anirban Lahiri is at 7 under after a 69.
Tom Hoge finished with five birdies and moved up 26 spots on the leaderboard with a third-round 66. He is in a group of four players at 6 under that includes Lucas Glover (70), Gary Woodland (67) and Matt Kuchar (70). TAVATANAKIT HAS FIVESHOT LEAD » Patty Tavatanakit opened a fivestroke lead on another hot and windy afternoon at the ANA Inspiration, all but crushing her challengers’ hopes with a striking combination of power and touch.
A stroke ahead after each of the first two rounds at Mission Hills, the 21-yearold Thai player shot a 5-under 67 in 100-degree heat to reach 14-under 202 in the first major championship of the year.
Baseball
ANGELS’ PITCHER BUTTREY UNEXPECTEDLY RETIRES » Los Angeles Angels reliever Ty Buttrey has retired from baseball, saying he’s lost his affection for the game.
The right-hander was one of the key pieces of the Angels’ bullpen the past three seasons, but he struggled with control problems during spring training and was optioned to the team’s alternate training site.
His 115 appearances from 2018-20 were fourth on the team among pitchers, and he was 8-11 with a 4.30 ERA.
Basketball
USA BASKETBALL PICKS HILL AS COLANGELO’S REPLACEMENT » USA Basketball said that Grant Hill will be the replacement for Jerry Colangelo as its men’s national team managing director following the Tokyo Olympics.
Hill won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. at the 1996 Atlanta Games and was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 after an NBA career that spanned 19 seasons and saw him make seven All
Star teams.
He also was a two-time national champion at Duke, plus played on five USA Basketball national teams that went a combined 26-1.
Colangelo has been planning to retire after the Tokyo Games, which were delayed one year to this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. HORNETS’ HAYWARD OUT AT LEAST 4 WEEKS » Gordon Hayward will miss at least a month after spraining his right foot during the Charlotte Hornets’ win Friday night over the Indiana Pacers.
The team said in a statement that Hayward will be reevaluated in roughly four weeks. He was injured when he stepped on Myles Turner’s foot while driving to the basket in the second quarter and immediately crumpled.
The 31-year-old forward is averaging 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in his first season with the Hornets on a $128 million, four-year deal.
Tennis
NO. 1 BARTY REPEATS AS MIAMI CHAMP » No. 1-ranked Ash Barty won her second successive Miami Open championship by beating No. 8-seeded Bianca Andreescu, who was injured when she fell and retired trailing in the second set.
Andreescu, crying and shaking her head, conceded while behind 6-3, 4-0.
She stumbled and went sprawling two games earlier when she turned her foot awkwardly while hitting a forehand. During the ensuing changeover, a trainer taped her foot, but she played only five more points before retiring.
Soccer
CITY RUNNING AWAY WITH TITLE » Without all the injuries, perhaps Liverpool would not be surrendering the Premier League title so easily to Manchester City.
Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Arsenal was a reminder of the quality that saw the champions still leading the standings in December before imploding. Now it is City 17 points in front of Manchester United after winning 2-0 at Leicester.