LEISHMAN FOLLOWS 1ST-ROUND 62 WITH 64 FOR 3-STROKE LEAD
ILL.» Marc Leishman has LAKE FOREST, a short memory when it comes to golf, which helped him at the BMW Championship.
He forgot all about that 62 in the opening round.
He was nearly just as good Friday with a 7-under-par 64 to open a three-shot lead over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler going into the weekend at Conway Farms.
“I really took that as a challenge today, to not take it for granted that you’re just going to make birdies,” Leishman said. “You still have to earn every birdie. I think when you do get ahead of yourself, that’s when bad stuff can happen.”
• Park Sung-hyun took full advantage of a remarkable reprieve when the Evian Championship finally got going on Friday.
The South Korean was six over after five holes when bad weather at Evian-les-Bains, France, forced the abandonment of the first round on Thursday. Tournament officials subsequently decided all scores should be erased and for the event — the final major of the year — to be restarted, as a 54-hole competition.
Park fared much better the second time around as she carded seven birdies and an eagle to take a twoshot lead with an 8-under 63.
• Steve Flesch and Jerry Smith each shot 7-under 64 to share the firstround lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship.
• Tyler Duncan shot a 7-under 64 to take the lead in the Albertsons Boise Open, the second of four Web.com Tour Finals events that will determine 25 PGA Tour cards.
Nuggets hire assistant coach.
David Adelman was hired as the Nuggets’ assistant coach, the team announced.
Adelman joins Michael Malone’s staff after serving as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic last year. He was also an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves for three seasons. He spent five years total with Minnesota, and coached its summer league team three seasons.
The Nuggets also announced the promotion of Tommy Balecetis to director of basketball strategy and analytics. He’s entering his fifth season in the Nuggets’ front office, previously serving as manager of basketball analytics.
Allen signs with Pelicans.
The Pelicans signed free-agent guard Tony Allen.
Allen brings a reputation for defense dating back to when he helped the Boston Celtics win the 2008 NBA title. He has been named to the NBA all-defensive first team three times, most recently in 2015.
Allen has spent the past seven seasons with Memphis, mostly in a starting role. Last season, Allen averaged 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals.
Busch takes seventh pole of year.
Kyle Busch earned the top pole position for the seventh time this year for Sunday’s Tales of the Turtles 400 after posting the best time in the final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.
It’s the seventh pole of the 2017 season for Busch. He’ll be joined by Denny Hamlin on the front row for the first race of the Cup Championship Playoffs. Current points leader Martin Truex Jr. (third) and Kevin Harvick (fourth) will start on the second row.
Mega middleweight bout coming.
VEGAS» Gennady Golovkin and LAS
Canelo Alvarez meet Saturday night in Las Vegas for a middleweight showdown in a scheduled 12-round fight that will pay both men millions and make one of them the undisputed top 160-pounder in the world.
“It’s a true fight,” Golovkin said. “You can go back home or go to the hospital. It’s dangerous. Everyone understands that.”