Mcdonald takes lead at lpga’s first major
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Ally Mcdonald made a five-foot birdie putt on the final stroke of the first round Thursday to take the lead in the ANA Inspiration, the LPGA’S first major championship of the year.
Mcdonald shot a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke lead over Lexi Thompson, Jin Young Ko, Hyo Joo Kim and Linnea Strom.
More golf: Si Woo Kim birdied five of his final eight holes for a 6-under 66 and the firstround lead at the Valero Texas Open. Kim leads by a shot over Abraham Ancer, J.T. Poston, Brian Stuard and Jhonattan Vegas . ... NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho held on for a 1-under 71 for a one-shot lead in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, leaving her one round away from a chance to become the first woman to win a tournament at the home of the Masters. The final round is Saturday at Augusta National, the club’s first competition for women. hockey: hilary Knight put the U.S. ahead during a five-goal third period, rallying the Americans past host Finland 6-2 on opening day of the women’s world hockey championship in Espoo, Finland. Next up for the reigning Olympic champs is Canada on Saturday in the Group A preliminary round. NFL: The Vikings signed guard Dakota Dozier, who played the past five seasons with the Jets. Soccer: Mallory Pugh scored twice and the U.S. women’s national team beat Australia 5-3 in an exhibition. Tobin heath and Megan rapinoe scored goals early in the second half and Alex Morgan also scored for the Americans, who have four games left leading up to the Women’s World Cup in France from June 7 to July 7 . ... Belgium stayed atop the FIFA rankings and England rose above Croatia, which it beat in the World Cup semifinals, to reach No. 4 this month. The U.S. moved up a spot to No. 24. Tennis: Defending champion Kiki Bertens and third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, both ranked in the top 10, lost at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, S.C. American Sloane Stephens, the top seed, beat 14th-seeded Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.