Park builds 2-shot lead in LPGA season opener

Landry, Scheffler break away at American Express

Andrew Landry and Scottie Scheffler broke away Saturday at The American Express. Landry shot a 7-under 65 at PGA West's Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course to join Scheffler atop the leaderboard at 21-under 195, four strokes ahead of third-place Rickie Fowler. Scheffler had a 66 on the adjacent Stadium Course, also the site of the final round Sunday. “It's a tough course. It's a good track,” Scheffler said. “If you're not on your game, you can really struggle. There's a lot of trouble out there, so you've got to hit a lot of quality shots to keep the ball in play. Good test.” Fowler, tied with Scheffler for the second-round lead, overcame two front-nine bogeys to shoot 70 at the Stadium Course. At the event for the first time in six years, he played the Pete Dye-designed course for the time Saturday after only taking a quick scouting drive early in the week. “I was actually surprised by the green speed early on,” Fowler said. “They were a bit slower than what I've seen the last two days, so adjusting to that, really didn't have anything go in early on until the ninth hole. But I thought I did a good job of hanging around, not getting too far behind.” Ryan Moore and Chase Seiffert were five strokes back at 16 under. Moore had a 67 at the Stadium, and Seiffert shot 67 on the Nicklaus layout. Tournament host Phil Mickelson missed the cut by six strokes. The 49-year-old Hall of Famer finished three rounds at 3 under. He eagled the par-5 16th on Saturday in a 71. Landry lost a playoff to Jon Rahm two years ago at PGA West. The 32-yearold Texan has found something in the desert after missing the cuts in seven of eight starts this season. “It's been a heck of a week so far with my ball-striking,” Landy said. “Just kind of one day's ball-striking, the next day's putting and putting's just been here all week. So, we'll just keep riding it out and see what happens tomorrow.” The 2018 Texas Open winner closed with a 12-foot par save on the par-4 ninth after bogeying the par-3 eighth. He birdied six of his first eight holes. Scheffler got a break on his final hole, escaping with par on the par-4 18th after his drive bounced out of the rocks along the left-side water and into the fairway. “I was just trying to hit a little draw 3-wood — and I drew it a lot,” Scheffler said. “I'm not sure if it would have crossed up there, so it was a great break bouncing off the rocks like that. I guess you take them where you can get them.” The 23-year-old former University of Texas star is in his first season on the PGA Tour after winning twice and topping the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and overall points lists. “I think winning is pretty similar at all levels of the game, and I feel like I've gone a good job of closing tournaments out, especially last year on the Korn Ferry Tour,” Scheffler said. “So, looking back on that experience should definitely help. It should be a fun day.”

Inbee Park finally made a bogey, but she still finished with a 4-under 67 Saturday and a two-shot lead over Sei Young Kim heading into the final round of the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. Park, a 19-time winner on the LPGA Tour, hadn't made a bogey since November's season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. But she finally dropped a shot when she three-putted the difficult 211-yard par-3 18th. To that point, she'd been precise and consistent and had a decent day with the putter. She hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and made five birdies. Three consecutive birdies starting at the par4 13th built her lead to three shots. “Well, it's always disappointing to finish with a bogey ... So I think I'll just go ahead and make some birdies tomorrow,” Park said. Closest to Park is Kim, whose three victories in 2019 included the lucrative CME Group Tour Championship. Kim made five birdies in a wild second nine and shot 67. Nasa Hataoka shot 68 and will begin Sunday three shots behind the leader. With 10 victories, Kim widely is regarded as the most talented player on tour who has yet to win a major. After a sloppy bogey at the 13th hole, she bounced back by reeling off birdies on her next four holes. At the par-5 17th, she hit a 3-wood from 209 yards into the wind that finished 10 feet right of the hole, and narrowly missed the eagle attempt.

No. 11 Louisville 79, No. 3 Duke 73

Freshman David Johnson had a season-high 19 points and Louisville hung on down the stretch to beat Duke on Saturday night in a key matchup in the Atlantic Coast Conference's regular-season title chase. Malik Williams added two free throws with 16 seconds left and followed immediately with a transition dunk off a turnover. The Cardinals (15-3, 6-1 ACC) won despite league-leading scorer Jordan Nwora finishing with just six points on 3-for-12 shooting. Louisville shot 48% for the game, leading by as many as 15 in the first half and 10 at halftime. Freshman Cassius Stanley had season highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils (15-3, 5-2). Freshman big man Vernon Carey Jr. finishing with just 12 points after sitting a long stretch of the second half with four fouls.

No. 2 Baylor 75, Oklahoma State 68

seven of the game for Kansas. Dotson made a long 3-pointer with 2:49 to play, then closed out the victory with four straight free throws in the final 39 seconds. Udoka Azubuike scored 17 points for Kansas (14-3, 4-1 Big 12), which closed the game with a 12-3 run. Jericho Sims scored 20 points for the Longhorns (12-5, 2-3).

No. 8 Oregon 64, Washington 61 (OT)

Payton Pritchard hit his sixth 3-pointer of the game with 3.4 seconds left in overtime, lifting Oregon to the victory. The Ducks (15-4, 4-2 Pac-12) avoided being swept on their trip north by rallying from a 48-32 deficit with 10:22 remaining in the second half. Pritchard finished with 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Chandler Lawson added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Ducks. Isaiah Stewart led Washington (12-7, 2-4) with 25 points and 19 rebounds.

No. 9 Florida State 83, Miami 79 (OT)

atop the American Athletic Conference standings. Tyson Etienne had a team-high 10 points for Wichita State (15-3, 3-2 American).

No. 17 Maryland 57, Purdue 50

Jalen Smith had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Maryland remained unbeaten at home. Freshman Donta Scott scored 13 points for the Terrapins (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten). Nojel Eastern scored 14 points for the Boilermakers (10-8, 3-4).

No. 18 Seton Hall 82, St. John's 79

Myles Powell scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half, and Seton Hall extended its winning streak to eight games. Quincy McKnight added 20 points and 7-foot-2 Romaro Gill had 14 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks for the Pirates (14-4, 6-0 Big East). Mustapha Heron scored 18 for the Red Storm (12-7, 1-5).

Arizona 75, No. 20 Colorado 54