Ace gives Brehm share of early Valspar lead
Ryan Brehm turned a good round into a memorable one Thursday, making a hole-inone on the par-3 17th hole at Innisbrook for a 5-under 66 that led to a three-way share of the lead at the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla.
Stephan Jaeger also had a 66, while Adam Schenk joined them with the low score in the afternoon on the Copperhead course.
Jordan Spieth, back at Innisbrook for the first time in five years, had a bogey-free round and was particularly sharp with the putter, making birdie putts of 60 feet and 30 feet on his way to a 67. Also at 67 were former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and Maverick McNealy.
Brehm’s ace came with a 6iron from 196 yards. He then closed with a par. It was his 11th time in the 60s in 43 rounds on the PGA Tour this season.
This is the first lead for Brehm since he won the Puerto Rico Open last year in his final start to try to keep a PGA Tour card. It also comes in a season in which he’s made just three cuts.
More golf
David Ravetto and Kristian Krogh Johannessen carded 5-under 67s at a windy St. Francis Links course to share the clubhouse lead in the first round of the SDC Championship in St. Francis Bay, South Africa.
Tennis
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek
breezed past Sorana Cirstea, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Next up for Swiatek is No. 10 seed Elena Rybakina, who outlasted Karolina Muchova, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4. In the men’s draw, No. 5 Daniil Medvedev won his 18th consecutive match, defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 6-3, 7-5. He will face Frances Tiafoe in one semifinal.
College football
Former Georgia star defensive lineman Jalen Carter resolved the traffic charges he received as a result of his involvement in the fatal car crash that took the lives of a teammate and a program recruiting staffer in January. Carter entered pleas of no contest to charges of racing and reckless driving. He was sentenced to 12 months probation, a $1,000 fine and 80 hours of community service. He also must complete a state-approved defensive driving course.
Soccer
The Women’s World Cup is getting an increase in prize money of more than 300% for this year’s tournament, seeing a bump to $152 million. That amount covers prize money, team preparation and payments to players’ clubs.
Winter sports
Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami won the women’s World Cup super-G in Soldeu, Andorra. American Mikaela Shiffrin finished an uncharacteristic 14th in a discipline that is one of her specialties. Gut-Behrami had a near-flawless run on the Aliga course to win the last super-G of the season and overtake Italian rival Elena Curtoni in the standings.