Off the wire

Fowler leads Phoenix

Rickie Fowler birdied the last three holes Saturday to take the lead in the Phoenix Open at Scottsdale, Ariz. Fowler shot a 4-under 67 to reach 14 under with a round left at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course. Former Arizona State players Jon Rahm and Chez Reavie were a stroke back along with Bryson DeChambeau. Phil Mickelson, another former Sun Devils star, was two shots behind. Justin Thomas birdied the first six holes, then had to fight to shoot even par after a back-nine meltdown. He had a bogey-triple bogey-double bogey stretch that left him eight strokes back. Austin Cook (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 68 and is 6 under going into today’s final round.

Westwood in contention

Lee Westwood couldn’t emulate his second-round 62 but did enough Saturday to stay in contention at the Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur after shooting a 70 to trail the leaders by three strokes. The Englishman managed only three birdies in comparison to his mammoth 11 on Friday. Jorge Campillo of Spain and Dylan Frittelli of South Africa are the joint leaders after both shot 66s for 15 under overall at the European Tour event. Henrik Stenson (73) and defending champion Fabrizio Zanotti (75) trail the leaders by 11 shots. It was a day of low scores, with six golfers — including Campillo — firing an eagle on the par-5 first hole. Khalin Joshi of India and Berry Henson of the United States trail the leaders by one shot after matching 65s. Overnight leaders Phachara Khongwatmai (70) and Nino Bertasio (70) are 13 under.

Axley in front by 2

Eric Axley shot a 5-under 65 on Saturday to lead the Web.com Tour’s Panama Championship by two strokes with an 8-under 202. Edward Loar is alone in second place at 6 under and Ryan Yip is alone in third at 5 under. Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Scott Harrington and Josh Teater are tied for fourth at 4 under. Taylor Moore (Arkansas Razorbacks) is 3 over and Patrick Sullivan (Maumelle, UALR) is 6 over.

IOC to review 15 cases

The International Olympic Committee

said it will review the cases of 15 Russian athletes ahead of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in light of a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. IOC spokesman Mark Adamswinning said Saturday: “Those 15 names will be given to the invitation review panel.” Adams said “our decision will come before the games start [on Friday].” The CAS ruling on Thursday overturned the doping bans on 28 Russian athletes, citing insufficient evidence. Russia said it wants to send 15 of the 28 to Pyeongchang, including gold medal-

skeleton slider Alexander Tretiakov and cross-country ski gold medalist Alexander Legkov. The IOC invitation review panel is chaired by former French sports minister Valerie Fourneyron.

Two win arbitration

Houston closer Ken Giles and Tampa Bay shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria have won their salary arbitration cases and Toronto closer Roberto Osuna has lost. The decisions Saturday left players with a 5-2 record this year. There are 18 players scheduled for hearings in the next two weeks. Giles got a raise from $555,100 to $4.6 million — $400,000 more than Houston’s offer. This was the first time he was eligible for arbitration. Giles went 34 for 38 on save chances last season and was 1-3 with a 2.30 ERA. He struggled as the Astros won their first championship, posting an 11.74 ERA in the postseason and 27.00 ERA in a pair of World Series appearances. Hechavarria, who made $4.35 million last year, was awarded $5.9 million, instead of the $5.35 million offered by the Rays. Osuna, also eligible for arbitration for the first time, will make $5.3 million after asking for $5.8 million. He made $552,400 last year.

U.S. into quarterfinals

The United States advanced to the Davis Cup quarterfinals after beating Serbia for the first time thanks to a four-set doubles victory on Saturday. The U.S. ran into Novak Djokovic in the previous losses, but without him Serbia was eliminated 3-0 and a day early in Nis. Switzerland, without Roger Federer, suffered the same fate in Astana, where host Kazakhstan won 3-0 after a nearly 3 1/2-hour doubles. Timur Khabibulin and Aleksandr Nedovyesov, playing their second Davis Cup doubles, defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler and Luca Margaroli 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3, and await Croatia or Canada in April. U.S. pair Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson beat Serbia team Nikola Milojevic and Miljan Zekic 6-7 (3), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 to cap singles victories by Sam Querrey and John Isner. The Americans will have a home quarterfinal against Belgium or Hungary. Belgium, the 2017 finalist which was 2-0 up on Hungary after Friday, failed to clinch the tie in Liege when Ruben Bemelmans and Joris de Loore lost to Attila Balazs and Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 4-6, 7-5. David Goffin, 22-3 in cup singles, is favored to clinch the tie in the first reverse singles today against Fucsovics. Defending champion France moved 2-1 ahead of the Netherlands in Alobertville after two-time major winners Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut came through against Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2).