U.S. takes commanding lead in Walker Cup competition
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — NCAAchampion Max Homa beat Max Orrin 5 and 3 and the United States won the first six singles matches Saturday in the Walker Cup to take an 8-4 lead over Britain and Ireland at historic National Golf Links of America.
Homa won the par-4 14th with a par and finished off the Englishman with a birdie win on the par-4 15th.
The biennial amateur event, first played in 1922 at National Golf Links, will close Sunday with four morning foursomes matches and 10 afternoon singles matches.
Alabama team mates Bobby Wyatt and Cory Whitsett, California players Michael Kimand Michael Weaver the first six singles matches, and Alabama’s Justin Thomas earned a halve in the seventh.
Wyatt beat England’s Neil Raymond 2 up, Kim edged England’s Callum Shinkwin 2 and 1, Whitsett topped England’s Jordan Smith 1 up, Niebrugge beat England’s Garrick Porteous 1 up, and Weaver topped U.S. Amateur champion Matthew Fitz patrick,al sofrom England, 3 and 1. Thomas halved with England’s Nathan Kimsey and Ireland’s Gavin Moynihan beat Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers 2 and 1 in the final match.
Britain and Ireland led 21/2-11/2 after the four morning foursomes matches.
The U.S. leads the series 34-8-1.
CHIQUITA CLASSIC
DAVIDSON, N.C. — JohnPetersonand Andrew Svoboda shared the thirdround lead in the Chiquita Classic, the second tournament in the fourevent Web.com Tour Finals series.
Peterson had five back-nine birdies to shoot a 5-under 67 to match Svoboda at 10-under 206 at River Run. Svoboda birdied the final two holes for a 69. The former St. John’s player won the Web.com Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship last month.
The bulk of the field is made up of players in the top 75 on the Web. com Tour money list and Nos. 126200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings. The top 25 on the Web. com money list are assured PGA Tour cards, while the other players are fighting for 25 additional cards through earnings in the four-event series.
Svoboda has already wrapped up a PGA Tour card by finishing 25th on the Web.com money list. Peterson was 30th on the Web.commoney list.
Two-time PGA Tour winner Troy Matteson, Peter Malnati and Greg Owen were a stroke back. Matteson shot 67, Malnati 69, and Owen 71.
MONTREAL CHAMPIONSHIP
SAINTE-JULIE, QUEBEC — Bernhard Langer shot a 5-under 67 to open a three-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s Montreal Championship.
Langer had five birdies in a bogeyfree second round to reach 6-under on La Vallee du Richelieu’s Rouville Course.
Kenny Perry, the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open winner in consecutive tour starts this summer, was 3-under along with Willie Wood,Chien Soon Lu, Bill Glasson and Anders Forsbrand. Perry had a 71, Wood and Lu shot 68, and Glasson and Forsbrand shot 69.
EUROPEAN MASTERS
CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, SWITZERLAND — Scotland’s Craig Lee shot a 10-under 61 to take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the European Masters.
Lee birdied the first six holes, and had 11 birdies overall, to match the lowest round in a European Tour event this year. The 348th-ranked Lee was at 16-under 197.
Thomas Bjorn,the 2011 champion from Denmark, was second along with Spain’s Alejandro Canizares and France’s Victor Dubuisson. Bjorn shot 67, Canizares 65, and Dubuisson 66.