Korda six back in bid for record
Zhang shoots 63 to lead LPGA event
Nelly Korda is going to have some work to do to win a record sixth consecutive LPGA Tour title, especially the way Rose Zhang is playing.
Korda shot a relatively mistake-free 3-under 69 early in the first round of the Cognizant Founders Cup Thursday in Clifton, N.Y., but then could only watch as the 20year-old Zhang tied the tournament record with a 63 in the afternoon to take the lead.
In her winning streak, Korda has never trailed by more than eight strokes after the opening round. She is six back in this one with a slew of players ahead of her heading into the second round.
Korda’s five -tournament streak is tied with Nany Lopez and Annika Sorenstam for longest in LPGA history.
Zhang needed only 25 putts in posting the best professional round of her career.
More golf
Xander Schauffele shot 64 to take the early lead in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa are in a group three shots back.
• Padraig Harrington and Chris DiMarco shared the lead at the Regions Tradition — the Champions Tour’s first major of the season — when the already rain-delayed first round was suspended in
Birmingham, Ala. Harrington and DiMarco were 7 under through 13 holes. Four players were at 5 under in partial rounds: Steve Flesch through 16 holes and Vijay Singh, Rod Pampling and Y.E. Yang after 11.
Pro football
The New York Giants signed wide receiver Allen Robinson to a free-agent contract with the hope he can help boost the team’s struggling offense. Robinson was released by the Steelers earlier in the offseason after catching 34 passes for 280 yards this past season.
• Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Jimmy Johnson, a three-time All-Pro and member of the All-Decade Team of the 1970s, died after a lengthy illness. He was 86. Johnson played his entire 16year pro career with San Francisco.
Hockey
Susanna Tapani scored in overtime and Aerin Frankel made 53 saves as Boston beat Montreal in Game 1 of a PWHL playoff series in Laval, Quebec.
Pro basketball
The Phoenix Suns fired coach Frank Vogel after one disappointing season in which the team went 49-33 and was swept in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
• The Charlotte Hornets named Charles Lee, a top assistant with the Boston Celtics, as their new head coach. The Hornets finished this season 21-61 and have not made the postseason since 2016.
• Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley was suspended by the NBA for four games without pay to begin next season for his actions during and after the final game of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers. Beverly was seen throwing a ball at a fan during the incident.
Colleges
A month after the NCAA changed its rules to allow all athletes to be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer — as long as they meet academic requirements — it approved a waiver that will allow men’s and women’s basketball programs to pay for unlimited official recruiting
visits. The move is designed to help teams deal with roster depletion caused by transfers.
Tennis
Rafael Nadal rallied from a set down to defeat qualifier Zizou Bergs, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a first-round match at the Italian Open in Rome. Nadal was playing only his 10th match this year after missing nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery. On the women’s side, Naomi Osaka beat 19th-seeded Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2, and Angelique Kerber ousted 17thseeded Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-0.
Soccer
Just 14, Cavan Sullivan signed with the Philadelphia Union of MLS. Sullivan had been a member of the team’s academy and was signed to a Homegrown contract. Sullivan is considered one of the best young American players and has already proved himself on an international stage.