Paul Casey shoots 62 to take 4-shot lead in Travelers

AUTO RACING: Kyle Larson won the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race on his home track by turning a lap at 94.597 mph at Sonoma Raceway in California. Martin Truex Jr. will start second, followed by Chase Elliott and Jamie McMurray . ... Defending IndyCar series champion Josef Newgarden won the pole for the race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Newgarden edged Team Penske teammate Will Power by 0.05 seconds.

GOLF: Former Arkansas standout Gaby Lopez takes a one-shot lead into the second round of the LPGA Tour’s NW Arkansas Championship . ... Lucas Bjerregaard shot a 5-under 67 to equal the week’s lowest round for a six-way share of the lead after the third round of the BMW International Open in Pulheim, Germany. He shares the lead with Martin Kaymer, Maximilian Kieffer, Chris Paisley, Aaron Rai and Scott Hend.

NBA: F Carmelo Anthony, 34, decided to bypass a chance to become a free agent and plans to take the $28 million he is due next season to return to the Thunder.

NHL: The Hurricanes acquired D Dougie Hamilton as part of a five-player trade with the Flames at the draft. The Hurricanes got Hamilton, W Micheal Ferland and prospect Adam Fox from the Flames for C Elias Lindholm and D Noah Hanifin. The 25-year-old Hamilton has 220 points in 423 regular-season games . ... After five years back home in Russia, Ilya Kovalchuk is ready to resume his Stanley Cup chase. The high-scoring forward agreed to a threeyear, $18.75 million deal with the Kings.

TENNIS: Defending champion Roger Federer will play 21-year-old Borna Coric in the Gerry Weber Open final in Halle, Germany, as he chases his 99th career singles title. Federer beat qualifier Denis Kudla 7-6 (1), 7-5. Coric advanced when fourth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut retired injured after slipping in their semifinal . ... Novak Djokovic advanced to his first ATP tour final in almost a year by defeating Jeremy Chardy at Queen’s Club in London. Djokovic will face Marin Cilic in the final after Cilic defeated Nick Kyrgios . ... Former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo will become the first woman to captain France’s Davis Cup men’s team when she replaces Yannick Noah next season.

TRACK AND FIELD: Shelby Houlihan stormed past Jenny Simpson to win the women’s 1,500 meters at the USATF national outdoor championships in Des Moines, Iowa. World record-holder Keni Harrison took the women’s 100 hurdles in 12.46, and Kahmari Houston won the men’s 400 in 44.58 seconds.

CROMWELL, Conn. Paul Casey has come close each of the three previous times he has played in Connecticut. He has a great chance to break through Sunday in the Travelers Championship.

Casey shot an 8-under 62 on Saturday to take a fourstroke lead into the final round.

Casey, whose win at Valspar in Florida in March was his first PGA Tour title in nine years, called the bogey-free round at TPC River Highlands his best of the year.

The Englishman had six birdies and an eagle — at the signature par-4 15th hole — where he hit his tee shot onto the green and then sank a 23-foot putt. He broke out of the pack hitting all 18 greens and has a streak of 23 straight heading into Sunday. He was at 16-under 194.

“It was clinical,” he said. “I did everything I wanted to do. I can’t do any more than that.”

Casey was second here during his first visit in 2015, came in 17th a year later and had a fifth-place finish in Cromwell a year ago.

“I love this golf course,” he said.

Russell Henley was 12 under after a 67, and J.B. Holmes (65), Anirban Lahiri (65) and third-round leader Brain Harman (69) were 11 under.

“I think I can shoot a low number on this course,” Henley said. “You’ve got to make the putts. I’m definitely hitting it well enough, and if I can get a couple putts to fall, that would be good. But I can’t control what (Casey) is doing. I can just try to keep playing solid.”

Jason Day shot 66, and Bubba Watson 67, leaving them 10 under. Watson came from six back to the 2010 event and beat Casey in a playoff in 2015.

Watson would join Billy Casper as the only players to win this tournament more than twice. Casper won his fourth Connecticut title in 1973.

“I’m hoping the weather is real sunny when I’m teeing off and as soon as I putt out it gets windy and a little bit of rain and gives me a better shot at it,” he said.

Morning rain and drizzle throughout the day kept the greens soft, but nobody was able to stay with Casey.

The shot of the day came from James Hahn, who aced the 154-yard 11th hole. Hahn’s tee shot went over the greenside bunker on the right front of the hole, struck the bottom of the flag pole and went into the hole, which required some repair work to the front lip after taking the hit.

“Sorry, not sorry,” joked Hahn, who said this was the sixth or seventh ace of his lifetime, but the first on Tour.

U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka shot a 69 to get to 4 under. Koepka said he plans to go right at every pin today, then take time off from golf before the British Open.

“I’m going to try to shoot 60,” he said. “You’re so far back, you’ve got to kind of make a move and if you shoot 10 (under), you never know what can happen.

It was a bit round, quite Rory McIlroy.

His opening tee shot was delayed when a squirrel camped right in front of him in the tee box. McIlroy finally got the shot off, hitting it wide right and into the rough en route to a bogey.

McIlroy had an eagle at 15, but three-putted 18 for a bogey and a 69. He was tied for 15th place at 8 under.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth was 3 under after a 71. He opened 63-73. of a squirrely literally for

Wearing a green shirt in a nod to Mexico’s soccer team, Esteban Toledo birdied four of the last six holes Saturday for a 6-under 66 and the lead in Madison, Wis.

Five strokes behind tournament host Steve Stricker after an opening 69 in rain Friday at University Ridge, the 55-year-old Mexican player had six birdies in a bogey-free round to reach 9-under 135.

“I wear this shirt three days ago and I wash it myself last night so I can wear green today,” Toledo said. “It worked. I wish I can wear this tomorrow, but tomorrow I’m coming in black and white.”

In Russia on Saturday in the World Cup, Mexico beat South Korea 2-1 to improve to 2-0 and close in on a spot in the round of 16. Toledo won the last of his four PGA Tour Champions titles in 2016.

“Made a lot of putts, got up-and-down a few times, hit the ball in the fairway pretty much all day long,” Toledo said. “When I looked at the leaderboard on the last hole, I didn’t know I was tied for first. I was shocked a little bit. But you know what, it’s a lot of guys right next to it, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Defending champion Fred Couples (67), David Toms (66), Kent Jones (67) and Billy Mayfair (68) were a stroke back.

“I’m surprised that someone isn’t 11 or 12 under, but the greens picked up a lot of pace today,” Couples said. “I think maybe the scoring was a little easier yesterday because we got to clean the ball in the fairways, but it’s not easy out there.”

Bernhard Langer (69) was 8 under with Madison player Jerry Kelly (69), Scott McCarron (67), Mark Calcavecchia (68), Paul Goydos (68), Joey Sindelar (68), Glen Day (69) and Brad Bryant (72).

“The conditions haven’t been that easy,” Kelly said. “The pins are in some spots where you can’t spin it and you have to hit them firm out of these kind of soft fairways, otherwise you could chunk it. It’s not that easy even though the course is gettable. There’s just a few things going on out there to keep the scoring from going too low like it normally does.”

Stricker followed his opening 64 with a 74, ending his Champions underpar streak at 30 rounds — the fourth-longest streak in tour history.

In a nine-hole celebrity foursome match, Brett Favre and Andy North beat Derek Jeter and Lee Trevino, 4 under to 3-under.