Hero World Challenge set for wild finish
Tony Finau had never seen Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas until the pro-am at the Hero World Challenge, and one aspect of the course caught his eye immediately.
“When I’m playing well, I feel like I can score on any golf course, especially a course that has five par 5s,” Finau said.
He made birdie on four of them Saturday, leading him to a 5-under 67 that gave him a share of the lead with Henrik Stenson and Jon Rahm and set up a wide-open conclusion that could feature more than half the 18-man field.
The tournament host is not among them.
Tiger Woods took three shots from just off the green at the par-5 third hole chipping is tough on everyone at Albany for a double bogey and a ragged start that never got much better until a few late birdies salvaged a 72. He was in last place, 11 shots out of the lead.
“It’s definitely not alarming, for sure,” said Woods, in his first 72-hole event since winning the Tour Championship. “I just haven’t played clean.”
Stenson and Rahm each had a 3-under 69 to join Finau at 13-under 203.
Gary Woodland had a 67 and is only two shots behind. Rickie Fowler also had a 67, and suddenly the defending champion is back in the mix at three shots behind.
Boxing
WILDER KEEPS HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE, FIGHTS FURY TO SPLIT DRAW >> Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fought to a split draw, with Wilder retaining his WBC heavyweight title after knocking down his British challenger twice at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Wilder (40-0-1) floored Fury (270-1) in the ninth and 12th rounds, yet Fury clearly outboxed Wilder for large portions of the remainder of their entertaining showdown.
Judge Robert Tapper scored the fight 114-110 for Fury, while Alejandro Rochin favored Wilder 115-111. Judge Phil Edwards and The Associated
Press both scored it a 113-113 draw, with Wilder’s knockdowns compensating for Fury’s superior technique.
Soccer
RIVER PLATE REJECTS MOVING COPA
LIBERTADORES FINAL TO MADRID >> Plans to complete the violence-delayed Copa Libertadores final in Madrid were thrown into disarray when River Plate refused to accept the fixture against Boca Juniors being moved from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“Spectators are now denied unjustifiably the possibility of witnessing the spectacle,” River said in a statement, highlighting the cost for fans.
River was already angered it was fined $400,000 and ordered to play the next two CONMEBOL games behind closed doors after its fans attacked the Boca Junior team bus heading into its Buenos Aires stadium for the meeting of Argentina’s fiercest soccer rivals last Saturday.
CONMEBOL made an aborted attempt to play the second leg of the final the following day and decided on Thursday it had to be staged instead on Dec. 9 in Spain at Real Madrid’s stadium for security reasons.
“Argentine football as a whole and the Argentine Football Association cannot and should not allow a handful of violent ones to impede the development of the superclasico in our country,” River said.
USMNT REPORTEDLY HIRES NEW COACH
>> Gregg Berhalter will be named manager of the United States men’s national team, according to ESPN and Yahoo Sports reports, with an announcement to come today. The former head coach of Columbus Crew SC has agreed to a multiyear contract that will run through the end of the 2022 World Cup cycle. The U.S. Soccer board was told of general manager Earnie Stewart’s recommendation Saturday and voted to approve Berhalter’s hiring.
Berhalter, 45, takes over a program that has been without a full-time manager since October 2017, when Bruce Arena resigned in the aftermath of the team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Since then, Dave Sarachan has managed the U.S. men on a caretaker basis, with Arena’s longtime assistant going 3-5-4 while giving international debuts to 22 players.
Winter sports
AUSTRIA’S SCHMIDHOFER WINS SECOND STRAIGHT DOWNHILL >> Two days ago, Austrian racer Nicole Schmidhofer had no World Cup wins. Now, she can’t lose. Schmidhofer captured a second straight downhill with an even faster run. She finished in 1 minute, 47.68 seconds to hold off teammate Cornelia Huetter by 0.44 seconds at Lake Louise, Alberta. Michelle Gisin of Switzerland was third, 0.47 seconds back, while two-time overall World Cup winner Mikaela Shiffrin wound up fourth.
FRANZ NABS FIRST SUPER-G WIN >> Max Franz of Austria conquered the snow and fog for his first World Cup superG victory in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Franz finished in 1 minute, 1.91 seconds, holding off Mauro Caviezel of Switzerland by 0.33 seconds. There was a three-way tie for third among Norwegian teammates Aksel Lund Svindal and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Italy’s Dominik Paris.
Baseball
PIRATES ACQUIRE A’S MINOR LEAGUER >> The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired minor league right-hander Wilkin Ramos from Oakland as the player to be named from the last month’s trade of right-hander Tanner Anderson to the A’s.