Hoffman leads Palmer Invitational
In only his fourth appearance in the Arnold Palmer Invitational over the past decade, Charley Hoffman made seven birdies for a 6-under-par 66 and a two-round total of 10-under 134 that gave him a one-shot lead over Emiliano Grillo (68) of Argentina in Orlando.
Matt Fitzpatrick of England had four birdies on the back nine for a 69 and was two shots behind.
Sam Saunders, the grandson of Palmer, shot his second straight 74 and missed the cut by one shot in the first Arnold Palmer Invitational since the death of the beloved tournament host in September.
Saunders played with Rory McIlroy, who had another mixed bag and shot 71 to finish at 1-over 145. Defending champion Jason Day shot 71 and was at 3-under 141.
Michelle Wie shot a 5-under 67 on another hot and lowscoring day at Desert Ridge to enter the weekend a stroke behind leaders Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn at the LPGA Tour’s Bank of Hope Founders Cup in Phoenix.
Lewis and Jutanugarn each followed an opening 64 with a 67 to reach 13 under in the tournament, which broke the tour record for the lowest 36-hole cut at 5 under.
Fred Couples shot an 8-under 65 in the Tucson Conquistadores Classic, leaving playing partner Steve Stricker two strokes back in his PGA Tour Champions debut. Tennis: Roger Federer got an unexpected day off at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (Riverside County) after Nick Kyrgios withdrew from their quarterfinal because of what he suspected was food poisoning.
Federer next faces 17th-seeded Jack Sock, who defeated world No. 4 Kei Nishikori 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 for the biggest singles victory of his career.
No. 14 Elena Vesnina advanced to the women’s final with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 28thseeded Kristina Mladenovic. In the other semifinal, No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated No. 3 Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2). Football: Geno Smith reportedly is switching teams in the Jersey Meadowlands. The quarterback agreed to terms with the New York Giants, pending passing a physical. Smith will be a backup to Eli Manning with the Giants.
Also Friday, the Giants signed defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul to a four-year contract.
The Seattle Seahawks are bringing back two free agents, agreeing to terms with tight end Luke Willson (undisclosed) and cornerback DeShawn Shead (one year, $1.5 million).
Motor sports: Joey Logano claimed the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway with a late fast lap. Ryan Blaney qualified second to give Ford the top two spots to start Sunday’s race.