Mickelson will not defend his PGA title
PhilMickelson withdrew Friday from the PGA Championship, electing to extend his hiatus from golf following hisi ncendiary comments abouta Saudi-funded rival league he supports and the PGATour he accused of greed.
Mickelson made history in the PGA a year ago when he won at Kiawah Island, S.C., at age50, making him the oldest championin 161 years of the majors.
Hehas not played since Feb.6 at the Saudi International and has been out of public view.
More golf
Ryan Palmer, a Dallas native, and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, shot a 10-under62 and were tied at 15 under with Sebastian Munoz and40-year-old tour rookie David Skinns for the secondround lead at the Byron Nelson Classic in McKinney, Texas.
•Steve Stricker shot a 4-under68 to maintain a twostroke lead over Scott McCarronand Padraig Harrington inthe second round of the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala., the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors.
•Ukrainian amateur Lev Grin berg became the second youngest player to make a cut onthe European tour at the Soudal Open in Antwerp, Belgium.At 14 years, 6 months, Grinber gadded a secondround2-under 69 to his opening70 in his tour debut on his homecourse, Rinkven International.
•Minjee Lee flirted with posting the best round of the year on the LPGA Tour before settling for a 9-under 63 and tooka three-shot lead halfway throughthe second round in the$3 million Cognizant Founders Cup in Clifton, N.J.
Pro football
Free-agent wide receiver Jarvis Landry, a five-time Pro Bowler, is joining the New Orleans Saints.
•The girlfriend of Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy asked a judge to dismiss a misdemeanor case against him stemming from a dispute between them that saw Jeudy arrested on Thursday.
College
Bill Sheridan resigned as Wisconsin’ s inside linebackers coach while the NCAA investigates him for potential rules violations during his tenure as Air Force’s defensiveline coach. Wisconsin hired Sheridan Feb. 22 after he had spent two years at Air Force.
• Florida officially signed graduate transfer and St. Bonaventure guard Kyle Lofton, a potentially huge addition for new coach Todd Golden.
•Two-time Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year Osun Osunniyi announced he’s transferring to Iowa State.The 6-foot-10 Osunniyi averaged11.3 points and 7.5 rebounds and ranked eighth nationally with 2.94 blocks. Hehas one season of eligibility.
• The Notre Dame baseball team beat Pitt, 8-3 ,in Notre Dame, Ind. Pitt catcher Tatem Levins went 3 for 5 with a double and a triple He scored a run and drove in another in the loss.
• Robert Morris softball won two games in the Horizon League tournament hosted by Youngstown State. The Colonials beat Cleveland State, 5-2; in the second game, they topped Northern Kentucky, 2-1. The championship is 10 a.m. Sunday.
Auto racing
Will Power used the final lap of qualifying to move past five drivers and take the pole for the IndyCar Grand Prix Saturday in Indianapolis.
Tennis
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic brought the Foro Italico crowd to its feet with several memorable points in a 7-5, 7-6 (1)win over Felix AugerAliassimeto reach the Italian Open semifinals in Rome.
•If there were any lingering questions about who is the new dominant force in women’s tennis, Iga Swiatek put that to rest with a 7-6 (2), 6-0 victory over 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu to reach the Italian Open semifinals and extend her winning streak to 26 matches.
Baseball
The Washington Wild Things opened their season with a convincing 11-0 win over the New York Boulders in Washington. Shortstop Mick Ward was 4 for 5 with 4 RBI. Starter Rob Whalen went five scoreless innings in the win.