World No. 1 closing in on U.S. Women's Open leaders
Jin Young Ko never seems to stress. Nor does she let up.
The world's No. 1 player vaulted into contention for a third major championship Friday, playing the final five holes in 3 under to pull within three shots of second-round leaders Minjee Lee and Mina Harigae at the U.S. Women's Open.
Harigae and Lee were at 9-under 133 after 36 holes at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, N.C. Lee shot a 5-under 66, and Harigae had a 69.
Three-time major champion Anna Nordqvist and Hye-Jin Choi, who shot a 64 to come within shot of matching the lowest round in the event's 77-year history, were 7 under. Nordqvist had a 68.
Ko was tied for fifth at 6 under with amateur Ingrid Lindblad. Ko shot 67, and Lindblad followed up her event amateur-record 65 Thursday with a 71.
Among the notables who won't be playing on the weekend include 10-time major champion Annika Sorenstam and 2014 champion Michelle Wie West.
Wie West, who shot 73-74, plans to play in the 2023 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach before retiring.
SMITH KEEPS ONE-SHOT LEAD >> Cameron Smith believes he is playing the best golf of his life, and it shows. He is in the lead at The Memorial, a tournament in which the Australian doesn't have a great history.
Smith elicited one of the loudest cheers at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, when he holed out with a chip from beyond the green on the par-3 12th that carried him to a 3-under 69.
He kept his one-shot lead over Denny McCarthy and K.H. Lee the rest of the day by doing what Smith does best. He holed a 15-foot putt for par on the next hole and twice made 6-foot par putts for bunker saves down the stretch.
NFL 49ERS' MACK RETIRES AFTER 13-YEAR
CAREER >> Seven-time Pro Bowl center Alex Mack is retiring after 13 years in the NFL, leaving a major hole on the
offensive line for the 49ers.
The 36-year-old Mack announced his retirement Friday in a move the Niners had been bracing for this offseason.
“I am so grateful to the game of football and everything it has given me,” Mack said in a statement posted on his Twitter account. “From the very start it helped shape who I am and taught me life lessons. I started to play football because it was fun and that never changed.”
FITZPATRICK RETIRES >> Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is retiring, he confirmed to The Associated Press in a text message, ending a career that spanned 17 seasons and nine teams and made him one of the NFL's most colorful and beloved journeymen.
It was a career of perseverance in which the 39-year-old Fitzpatrick never settled for being a backup. Carrying himself with playful determination and a swashbuckling style reflected by his unruly beard, the seventh-round draft pick out of Harvard overcame his physical limitations and modest college roots to become the NFL's first player to throw four touchdown passes in a single game with five different teams.
College baseball
TEN-RUN INNING SENDS STANFORD TO EASY WIN >> Drew Bowser had an RBI double to ignite a 10-run second inning, capping the outburst with a grand slam and No. 2 overall seed Stanford breezed to a 20-7 victory over Binghamton in the Stanford Regional. It is Stanford's 17th consecutive victory.
Stanford (42-14) advances to play the winner of Friday's nightcap between UC Santa Barbara and Texas State today. Binghamton (22-29) will play an elimination game today.
Tommy Troy went 4 for 5 with two home runs and a double for the Cardinal, scoring four runs. He had an RBI single in the second, a solo homer in the sixth and a three-run shot in the seventh. Brett Barrera, Braden Montgomery and Eddie Park all went 3 for 5. Joe Lomuscio hit his first home run for Stanford, a pinch-hit two-run shot in the eighth to cap the scoring.
The 20-run outburst was a program high in the postseason. The Cardinal are aiming for their 18th CWS appearance.
PIRATE HOMERS FROM BOTH SIDES OF PLATE IN SAME INNING >> Bryson Worrell homered from both sides of the plate, driving in four runs, in an eight-run third inning and top-seeded East Carolina (43-18) rolled past Coppin State 17-1 in the Greenville Regional. Worrell started the Pirates' scoring with a solo blast leading off the inning and capped the scoring with a three-run shot, making it 12-1 en route to their nation-leading 19th straight win.
Tennis
WILLIAMS SISTERS NOT ON WIMBLEDON ENTRY LISTS >> Serena and Venus Williams did not appear on the women's singles entry list released by Wimbledon. It is possible that either player could request a wild-card invitation to the Grand Slam tournament, which begins June 27.
NHL
RANGERS TAKE GAME 2 >> Mika Zibanejad scored what proved to be the game-winner early in the third period and the New York Rangers held on to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning in 3-2 to take a 2-0 series lead.