Off the wire

GOLF Thompson out front

Lexi Thompson shot a 64 on Saturday on the Blythefield layout reduced to a par of 69 because of flooding, giving her a one-stroke lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic at Grand Rapids, Mich. The fifth hole was played as a par 3 instead of a par 5 because of the flooding from overnight rain. Coming off a playoff loss to Ariya Jutanugarn last week in Canada, Thompson had six birdies and a bogey to reach 15-under 196. Brooke Henderson, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a 67 to drop into a tie for second with Lee-Anne Pace (61), Sung Hyun Park (62) and Jenny Shin (63). Hyo Joo Kim (65) was 12 under, and Lydia Ko (64), Michelle Wie (64), Moriya Jutanugarn (67) and Carlota Ciganda (68) followed at 11 under. The top-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn’s younger sister, was 9 under after a 64. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) is 10 under after a 66.

Wise leads by 6

Aaron Wise shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday at the Web.com Air Capital Classic in Wichita, Kan., giving him a three-round total of 19-under 191 and a 6-stroke lead over nearest competitor Beau Hossler. Jin Park (64) is 12 under. Bobby Wyatt (66), Kyoung-Hoon Lee (69) and Seth Reeves (68) were tied at 11 under. Matt Atkins (Henderson State) had an even-par 70 and is tied for 15th at 8 under. Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) are each 7 under. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) is 5 under and Zack Fischer (Little Rock) is 4 under. Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) and Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) are both even going into today’s final round.

TENNIS Pouille advances

Lucas Pouille will play Feliciano Lopez in the final of the Stuttgart Open. Pouille, the No. 4 seed, defeated fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-6 (5), 7-5, and Lopez prevailed 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-5 over the sixth-seeded Mischa Zverev of Germany in the other semifinal on Saturday. Lopez, who upset the third-seeded Tomas Berdych on Friday, will play his first

final of the season as he bids for his sixth career title. Pouille, who was given a wild card to play at the grasscourt tournament, will be going for his second title of the season and his third overall.

HORSE RACING Gun Runner romps

Gun Runner, racing for the first time since running second to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup in March, went wire-to-wire Saturday to win the Grade I Stephen F. Foster Handicap by 7 lengths at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Gun Runner ($3), who won the Razorback Handicap in February at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, was ridden by Florent Geroux and trained by Steve Asmussen. Gun Runner ran the 11/8-mile race in 1:47.56. In

other graded stakes on the card, McCraken ($2.40), unraced since an eighth-place finish in the May 6 Kentucky Derby, scored a 2¼-length victory in the Grade III $100,000 Matt Winn Stakes with jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the 11/16-mile race. Kasaqui ($8.40), ridden by James Graham, won the Grade II $200,000 Wise Dan by 2¾ lengths over Chocolate Ride at 1 1/16 mile on the turf. Even-money favorite Forever Unbridled ($4.20) won the 11/8-mile Grade II $200,000 Fleur De Lis Handicap for older fillies and mares in 1:49.94. Forever Unbridled won the 2016 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

SOCCER

Russia beats New Zealand

Host nation Russia beat New Zealand 2-0 on Saturday in St. Petersburg to open the Confederations Cup. Russian President Vladimir Putin was on hand in the new $750 million stadium in his home town to see forward Fyodor Smolov’s 69th minute goal add to an own goal by New Zealand defender Michael Boxall in the 31st. Russia’s victory eases the pressure on winning its second game, against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in Moscow on Wednesday. The European champion opens its Group A program today against Mexico in Kazan.

SAILING

Kiwis win 2 Cup races

Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand survived two heartstopping moments to win the first two races of the 35th America’s Cup against Jimmy Spithill and two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA on the Great Sound at Hamilton, Bermuda, on Saturday. Although they won twice, by 30 seconds and 1 minute, 28 seconds, the Kiwis lead just 1-0. Oracle won a bonus point for winning the qualifiers, but it was actually a negative point for the Kiwis. That means they need to win eight races to spirit the Auld Mug back to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, where it resided from 1995 until 2003. Oracle needs to win seven to keep the silver trophy in the hands of American software billionaire Larry Ellison. For a few dramatic minutes, it looked like Spithill was going to salvage a split of Saturday’s races. The American-backed crew benefited from a wind shift sailing upwind on leg five in Race 2 and made up a huge deficit, pulling right behind the Kiwis sailing through the gate mark. But its 50-foot catamaran came off its foils during a bad gybe and buried its bows in the water, allowing the Kiwis to speed back ahead and open a lead of about 300 yards.

FOOTBALL Ex-Bengals player in court

A former Cincinnati Bengals football player has pleaded no contest to assault and indecent exposure. Jerome Schaffer, 26, of Morgan Township, Ohio, entered the pleas to the misdemeanors Thursday in a Butler County court.