Off the wire

GOLF Koepka shares lead

One swing changed everything for Brooks Koepka and sent him into a share of the lead at The Northern Trust at Paramus, N.J. Koepka swung as hard as he could with a 3-wood from just under 310 yards and reached the 631-yard 13th hole in two. He made eagle, closed with three consecutive birdies and had a 6-under 65. That gave the U.S. Open and PGA champion a share of the lead with Jamie Lovemark. Adam Scott had the low round of the tournament with a 64 and was one shot behind, followed by Dustin Johnson, who had another 67. Johnson was two shots back despite making two triple bogeys this week. Tiger Woods was 10 shots behind after three-putting the 18th green for a 71. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) and Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) are tied at even-par 142. Cook shot 74 and Landry 69 on Friday.

Streb one ahead

Robert Streb took the second-round lead in the Web.com Tour Finals-opening Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship at Columbus, Ohio, making an eagle in a 3-under 68 on Friday at Ohio State University’s Scarlett Course. Streb eagled the par-5 fourth — his 13th hole — on the gusty day. He was at 9-under 133, a stroke ahead of Kramer Hickok (68) and two in front of Wes Roach (66), Matt Jones (68), Denny McCarthy (69) and Sam Burns (67). Six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan was 5 under after a 68. Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton also was 5 under, shooting 69. Sungjae Im, the Portland winner and Web.com regular-season money champion, had a 69 to get to 1 under. Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a second consecutive 69 and is tied for 18th at 4 under. Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) had a 74 and is 1 under after two rounds. David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) and Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) did not make the cut.

Daly drops with 75

Gavin Green boosted his chances of becoming the first Malaysian to win on the European Tour after claiming a one-shot lead following the second round of the Czech Masters on Friday, while John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) followed his opening 64 with a poor 3-over 75. Five bogeys in his round meant that former British Open and U.S. PGA Championship winner Daly, 52, slipped to a tie for 36th place at 5-under 139 after he had started the day with a share of the lead with Green, Callum Tarren and Thomas Pieters. Green took first place outright after seven birdies, one bogey and a double bogey gave him a 4-under 68 and a one-stroke advantage over Jeff Winther of Denmark, who also returned a 68 at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague. Sharing third position on 134, two shots off the pace, were Pieters (70), Padraig Harrington (68), Andrea Pavan (69) and Tapio Pulkkanen (69). Pep Angles (Central Arkansas) shot a 1-over 73 and is 4 under after two rounds.

TENNIS Sabalenka advances

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus upset fifth-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Friday in the semifinals of the Connecticut Open in New Haven, the final WTA tuneup before the U.S. Open. An aggressive Sabalenka took the first set by breaking Goerges at love in the 10th game. The German, who was the lone remaining seed in the tournament, broke to open the second set and won her first nine service points in taking a 4-2 lead. But Sabalenka broke back to make it 4-4 and the two players traded breaks at the end to send the set to a tiebreaker. Goerges won the first three points, before Sabalenka came storming back. Sabalenka, 10- 2 on North American hard courts this season, will be looking for her first WTA tournament victory today against either qualifier Monica Puig or Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.

BASEBALL Colon on 10-day DL

Texas Rangers pitcher Bartolo Colon has been put on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained lower back. Colon, 45, is 7-11 with a 5.45 ERA. The Rangers made the move before Friday night’s game at San Francisco. Colon was scratched from a start last Sunday against the Angels because of back stiffness. The right-hander pitched Monday at Oakland and was tagged for 7 runs and 10 hits in 5 innings. Colon had won two starts in a row after losing five consecutive. Earlier this month, Colon became the winningest pitcher born in Latin America in major league history. The Dominican Republic native posted his 246th victory, passing Nicaraguan Dennis Martinez.

Knebel demoted

The Milwaukee Brewers demoted ex-closer and 2017 All-Star Corey Knebel to Class AAA Colorado Springs on Friday to work on his mechanics. It’s been a dramatic fall this season for Knebel, who until late July was Milwaukee’s closer.