Day in contention at Houston Open
Winless in 2 1⁄ years and fighting
2 lingering back and neck problems, Jason Day, playing alongside Phil Mickelson, shot a 2-under 68 on Friday in the Houston Open to pull within two strokes of second-round leader Sam Burns at difficult Memorial Park.
The Australian watched the 50-year-old Michel son hit into the water twice enroute to an 8 on the par-3 ninth, then hole out from 193 yards for eagle on the par-4 18th. Lefty missed the cut, following an opening 76 with a 73.
“He kind of left himself in some pretty tough positions and you're just struggling the whole day,” Day said. “It's one of those courses where you've just got to be patient and try to get your birdies when you can.”
Day had three birdies and a bogey. Burns birdied all three par-5 holes in a bogey-free 65 to reach 7 under.
■ Paul Goydos and Brandt Jobe each shot 7-under 64 in calm, overcast conditions to share the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwa b Cup Championship in Phoenix. ... The 32-player field for the third round of the Cyprus Show down will be determined on Saturday after play was suspended because of darkness on the second day of the European Tour event. Jamie Donaldson, the 2014 Ryder Cup star who held the 54-hole lead at the Cyprus Open on the same course lastweek, was the leading scorer on Friday on 12 under par with three holes to play.
Baseball: GM Brodie Van Wagenen and many of his top aides left the Mets less than an hour after hedge fund manager Steve Cohen announced he completed his $2.4 billion purchase of the team. Special assistant to the general manager Omar Minaya, assistant general managers Allard Baird and Adam Guttridge and executive director of player development Jared Banner also departed.
Horse racing: Trainer Todd Pletcher earned his 5,000th career victory at Aqueduct. Microsecond scored a threequarter length victory in the seventh race. He was ridden by Kendrick Carmouche and is owned by Mike Repole. Pletcher didn’t saddle his landmark winner; he was in Lexington, Ky., for the Breeders’ Cup.
NFL: Aaron Rodgers threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns and the Packers (6-2) overwhelmed the depleted 49ers (4-5) 34-17 on Thursday night. ... The Seahawks will be without their top two RBs for the second straight week. Chris Carson (foot) and Carlos Hyde (hamstring) were ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Bills. ... An unidentified Dolphins assistant coach tested positive for coronavirus and was quarantined, and WR Lynn Bowden Jr. went on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but the team plannedto playSunday’s game a gainst the Cardinals as scheduled. ... Jets QB Sam Darnold practiced for the first time this week, but isn’t yet sure if his sore shoulder will allow him to play Monday night against the Patriots. Darnold took a hard shot to his right arm against the Chiefs last Sunday.
Tennis: Rafael Nadal rallied to beat Spanish countryman Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 and reach the Paris Masters semifinals. The top-seeded Spaniard next plays Alexander Zverev, who beat Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 7-6 (1).