Off the wire

GOLF Sharma leads by 2

Shubhankar Sharma wanted to enjoy himself in his first appearance at a World Golf Championship. Nothing was more fun than closing with three consecutive birdies for a 5-under 66 and a two-shot lead Friday in the Mexico Championship. Sharma hit a 3-wood on his opening tee shot to 2 feet for a tap-in eagle, overcame consecutive three-putt bogeys and was flawless the rest of the way at Chapultepec Golf Club in Mexico City. He was at 11-under 131, two shots ahead of Masters champion Sergio Garcia (65), Xander Schauffele (68) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (67). Defending champion Dustin Johnson is back in the picture after holing a wedge for eagle on his way to a 66. He was four shots behind.

Kang ahead by 4

Danielle Kang shot an 8-under 64 to take a four-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Women’s World Championship in Singapore on Friday. Kang, who won last year’s Women’s PGA Championship, had eight birdies to equal the course record at the Sentosa Golf Club and lead the LPGA tournament at 12-under 132 after her second consecutive bogey-free round. Nelly Korda, whose sister Jessica won the LPGA Tour event in Thailand last week, had a 66 to tie for second with fellow American Alex Marina (67). Minjee Lee (66), Cristie Kerr (67) and Chella Choi (69) were a further stroke back at 7 under. Overnight leader Jennifer Song stumbled with a 75, including a quadruple bogey, and Michelle Wie also lost ground with a 73.

Dunlap, Tolles on top

Scott Dunlap and Tommy Tolles topped the Cologuard Classic leaderboard at 8-under 65, with Steve Stricker a stroke back Friday in a bid for his first PGA Tour Champions title. Dunlap closed his bogey-free round on Omni Tucson National’s Catalina Course with birdies on par-5 eighth and par-4 ninth. Tolles, playing in the last group off the first tee, birdied the par-4 18th for a share of the lead. He also had a bogey-free day. Stricker played the four par 5s in 5 under, with an eagle on the second and three birdies. University of Illinois Coach Mike Small matched Stricker at 66. Gene Sauers opened with a 67, and Bernhard Langer, Billy Mayfair and Woody Austin shot 68. Defending champion Tom Lehman, playing alongside Stricker, had a 71. Glen Day (Little Rock) shot even-par 73. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) was last in the 78-player field with an 80. He had one birdie, six bogeys and a double bogey on the par-5 15th.

Coetzee leads Tshwane

George Coetzee shot a second-round 64 on the course he grew up playing on to lead the Tshwane Open at Pretoria, South Africa, by one at the midway mark on Friday. Coetzee made six birdies on a rampant back nine and seven overall to go to 11 under overall, jump six places up the leaderboard, and move ahead of Felipe Aguilar (67) and Mikko Korhonen (64). Coetzee, a native of Pretoria, is seeking a fourth European Tour title and his second at the Tshwane Open after winning in 2015. He put himself in a strong position with four consecutive birdies over Nos. 12-15 and two more on 17 and 18 in his 7-under round. Chile’s Aguilar had an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys. Like Coetzee, Finland’s Korhonen also finished strong with five birdies in his last seven. Aguilar and Korhonen were 10 under. There’s a group of four players three shots behind them. Danny Willett, the 2016 U.S. Masters champion, improved his chances with a second-round, 3-under 68 to go to 4 under and ensure he made the cut.

Woods sets schedule

Tiger Woods will return to the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the first time since 2013, when he won the last of his record eight titles at Bay Hill Club and Lodge. Woods also will tee it up next week at the Valspar Championship in the Tampa area as the 14-time major champion prepares for next month’s Masters. Woods’ announcement, made Friday on his Twitter account, is the most recent sign the 42-year-old’s latest return from injury is progressing better than many of his previous attempts. Woods’ legendary career appeared to be in jeopardy last April following his fourth back surgery in the span of three years. But his body now is strong and his golf generally has been solid during three starts this season. Woods’ return has been a boon for professional golf. The Farmer’s Insurance Open at Torrey Pines increased its ticket sales by more than 40 percent. Last week’s ratings for the Honda Classic were the highest since 2013, the last year Woods reached No. 1 in the world rankings and won five times.

TENNIS Cuevas advances

Three-time defending champion Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay beat Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer 6-2, 6-7 (13), 7-6 (7) on Friday to reach the Brazil Open semifinals at Sao Paulo. The third-seeded Cuevas will face second-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy in the clay-court event. Fognini beat Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 6-2. Argentina’s Horacio Zeballo also advanced, beating Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4. In the late quarterfinal, top-seeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain faced Chile’s Nicolas Jarry.

Pouille in final

Lucas Pouille made it to his third ATP final in four weeks after overcoming Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) in the Dubai Championships semifinals on Friday. Pouille, who won in Montpellier and lost in the final of Marseille in the past three weeks, will take on third-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, who ended the dream run of Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri 6-3, 6-4.

Del Potro in semis

Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Dominic Thiem 6-2, 7-6 (7) late Thursday night to qualify for the semifinals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco where he will play against German Alexander Zverev. Zverev got a 6-4, 6-1 victory over American Ryan Harrison. Kevin Anderson, from South Africa, will play against American Jared Donaldson in the other semifinal. Del Potro now has a 4-0 record over Thiem. Donaldson needed only 53 minutes to beat Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-1. Anderson had a 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over Hyeon Chung, from South Korea.

Nadal to miss U.S.

Rafael Nadal will miss the upcoming Indian Wells and Miami tournaments because of a lingering right hip injury. Nadal made the announcement Friday on Facebook. He withdrew from the Mexico Open before his first match on Wednesday, saying he needed more time to recover. He wrote Friday that “the injury I suffered in Acapulco before starting the tournament is the same area as the one suffered in Melbourne.” The second-ranked Spanish star hasn’t played since retiring in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in late January. Last year, Nadal lost to Roger Federer in the fourth round at Indian Wells and in the final at Miami.

BASEBALL Wood tears ACL

Detroit left-hander Travis Wood (Bryant) has a torn left ACL and medial meniscus in his left knee. Wood twisted the knee while starting a rundown in the second inning of his spring training debut Thursday and fell to the ground clutching his knee. Detroit said Friday its training staff is evaluating surgical options. The 31-yearold, who pitched in three games of the 2016 World Series for the Chicago Cubs, agreed to a minor league contract with the Tigers. He was held out of the early exhibition games because of an injury to his right index finger, sustained during a hunting accident. Wood was 4-7 with a 6.80 ERA last year in 14 starts and 25 relief appearances for San Diego and Kansas City.

Wilson strikes out

Russell Wilson struck out in his first spring training at-bat with the New York Yankees. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback pinch hit for AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge in the fifth inning against Atlanta on Friday and swung past a 2-2 pitch from left-hander Max Fried. A former minor league infielder, Wilson is spending this week working out with the Yankees, who acquired him from Texas last month and wanted to observe his leadership skills. He wants to soak up the attitude of a franchise with a record 27 World Series titles. Wilson, 29, led the Seahawks to the 2014 Super Bowl championship.