U.S. running away with it after 2 days
AUTO RACING: Martin Truex Jr. turned a lap of 160.664 mph in qualifying to win the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Dover International Speedway. Truex will try to win his sixth race of the season. Kyle Busch will start second.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Louisville named assistant David Padgett as the interim replacement for coach Rick Pitino in the wake of a federal investigation into corruption in recruiting. Pitino was placed on unpaid administrative leave. Padgett declined to comment on how he couldn’t have known what was going on . ... A woman who reported being punched and shoved by former Kansas player Carlton Bragg pleaded guilty to battering him. Saleeha Soofi, 19, was sentenced to six months of probation . ... The Paradise Jam was moved to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., because of hurricane damage in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The eight-team tournament is set for Nov. 17-19.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Memphis dismissed DB Shaun Rupert after police said he used a handgun to steal two watches, an Xbox and a laptop.
GOLF: Tyrrell Hatton shot a 5-under 65 to lead by three strokes after two rounds of the British Masters at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England . ... Sam Saunders followed his opening 59 with a 66 to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend in the Web.com Tour Championship at Atlantic Beach ... Spain’s Belen Mozo shot an 8-under 64, including a hole-in-one, to take a five-stroke lead after two rounds of the New Zealand Women’s Open in Auckland.
NBA: PG Russell Westbrook signed a contract extension to remain with the Thunder. ESPN reported it would be for five years and $205 million. Westbrook averaged a triple-double last season and was the MVP and scoring champion . ... Hawks G Dennis Schroder was charged with battery after a fight at a late-night restaurant near Atlanta . ... The Cavaliers’ LeBron James missed his second straight practice with a sprained left ankle.
SOCCER: Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero broke a rib in a car accident and is expected to be out for up to a month . ... Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said midfielder Paul Pogba would be a “long-term” absentee because of a hamstring injury . ... England midfielder Dele Alli was banned for one international match for making an obscene gesture in a World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.
ALSO: The Senators agreed to two-year, $9.5 million extension with G Craig Anderson. ... Ashleigh Barty beat French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-0 and will play Caroline Garcia in the final of the Wuhan Open in China . ... Former marathon world record-holder Paul Tergat was elected head of the Kenyan Olympic committee . ... Ludmila Belousova, a twotime Olympic champion in pairs figure skating, died in Moscow at 81.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Phil Mickelson rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to cap off another big day for the Americans and set a record for the largest lead after two sessions in Presidents Cup history.
Another day like this and that’s what the International team will be — history.
Mickelson and Kisner never led against Jason Day and Marc Leishman until the par-3 18th hole Friday at Liberty National. Mickelson poured in his birdie putt, and Leishman missed his from about the same range.
About the only thing that went wrong was the celebration. Mickelson, who on Thursday cropped himself out of a selfie with the last three U.S. presidents, missed a move in the “Three Amigos” dance with Kisner.
“I’m clearly the worst selfie taker. I’m the worst ‘Three Amigos’ dancer. But I can putt,” Mickelson said.
Mickelson, who has played in all 12 Presidents Cups, has 24 match victories to tie the record set by Tiger Woods in eight appearances. Woods was looking on in his role as an assistant to U.S. captain Steve Stricker.
And that’s about all the International team could do.
Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Hadwin were 2 up with four holes to play against Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed and had to settle for a halve. Even that felt like a small victory for the International team because Spieth had birdie putts on the final two holes that narrowly missed.
Justin Thomas, already with a big year behind him as a major champion and the FedEx Cup champion, teamed with Rickie Fowler for another easy victory. They have trailed only one hole in their two matches, and they became the first partnership to beat Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace.
The shortest match of the day belonged to a pair of American rookies, Kevin Chappell and Charley Hoffman, who sat out the foursomes matches in the opening session. They were 3 up after four holes against Charl Schwartzel and Anirban Lahiri and never let up in a 6-and-5 victory.
Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, close friends and the last two U.S. Open champions, took their first lead on the par-3 10th with Koepka’s birdie, and Johnson showed rare emotion on his final two birdies in a 3-and-2 victory over Adam Scott and Jhonattan Vegas.
Just like the opening session, the matches looked as though they could go either way until the back nine. At one point, the International team led in three matches, only for all of them to turn.
With an 8-2 lead, the Americans have a mathematical chance to clinch on Saturday, which features four matches of foursomes in the morning and four matches of fourballs in the afternoon.