Woods takes it easy going into FedEx Cup
Tiger Woods is plenty rested going into the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Woods stopped hitting full shots on the back nine of Liberty National in Jersey City, N. J., in his proam round for The Northern Trust, a precautionary move during a year in which he repeatedly has said he can’t always predict how his back is going to feel.
“Just feeling stiff, being smart about it,” Woods said. “As I said to you guys all year, this is how it is. Some days I’m stiffer than others.”
Woods, 43, is willing to accept that a back that has gone through four surgeries in the past five years. He also looked back to the spring, when he took an extra week off in March, and then chipped and putted when he arrived at Augusta National for nine holes. And by the end of the week, he was the Masters champion.
The Northern Trust begins the FedEx Cup playoffs, starting with two tournaments with $ 9.25 million purses, ending at the Tour Championship outside of Atlanta for the top 30 players competing for the $ 15 million prize.
Tennis
Top- seeded Rafael Nadal opened his Rogers Cup title defense in Montreal, beating England’s Daniel Evans, 7- 6 ( 6), 6- 4, in a secondround match delayed by rain three times. After rain delays of 6 and 30 minutes, Nadal fought off two set points in the first- set tiebreaker. The 33- year- old Spanish star is a four- time Rogers Cup champion.
• Wimbledon champion Simona Halep of Romania beat American qualifier Jennifer Brady, 4- 6, 7- 5, 7- 6 ( 5), in the second round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Third- ranked Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic also advanced, beating American qualifier Alison Riske of Peters Township, 6- 4, 6- 7 ( 4), 6- 2.
College football
Clemson’s national championship program was flagged for eight secondary NCAA violations in a period from July 2018 through this past June. Clemson said none of the violations were considered major and all issues about the penalties are resolved.
• Standardized injury reports will not be implemented in college football this season after the NCAA explored the possibility in response to the rise of legalized sports betting.
Women’s basketball
Allie Quigley scored 22 points and Jantel Lavender added 20 as the host Chicago Sky ( 13- 9) beat the New York Liberty
( 8- 14), 101- 92, in the WNBA. Chicago only made one field goal in the final three minutes, but secured it by making 16 of 18 free- throw attempts in the span.
Olympics
Four- time World Series champion Joe Girardi will manage Team USA at an Olympic qualifying tournament in November, hoping to guide the squad to a spot at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
Cycling
Thousands of screaming fans held a victory party for Tour de France champion Egan Bernal in his Colombian hometown of Zipaquira, celebrating the first Latin American to win cycling’s most prestigious race.
Soccer
Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers have filed court documents after a judge’s decision not to dismiss or keep completely secret a lawsuit by a Nevada woman who accuses the Portuguese star of raping her in 2009.