Off the wire
GOLF
Crowded at top Rory McIlroy had more trouble with his stomach than his ribs. He opened with a 3- under 68 and was one shot out of a six- way tie for the lead as the Mexico Championship made a strong debut Thursday. Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood, two of the four players who were in the field for the first edition of this World Golf Championships event 18 years ago, each shot 67 and were part of a big group atop the leaderboard at Chapultepec Golf Club that included PGA champion Jimmy Walker, Torrey Pines winner Jon Rahm and Ryan Moore. Westwood and Walker each bogeyed their last two holes. McIlroy, who can go to No. 1 with a victory, was playing for the first time since Jan. 15 because of a rib injury.
Wie leads by 1 Michelle Wie rolled in several clutch putts Thursday and had six birdies in a 10- hole stretch to take a one- stroke lead after the first round of the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore. Wie, 27, who has struggled with injuries and form since winning the U. S. Open in 2014, shot a 6- under 66 at the new Tanjong course. Five others were tied for second after 67s — Brooke Henderson, Inbee Park, Mo Martin, Anna Nordqvist and Ariya Jutanugarn. Among other scores in the 63- player field, former Arkansas Razorback Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer had 68s, top- ranked Lydia Ko shot 69, Shanshan Feng and Lexi Thompson 70, Karrie Webb 75 and Cristie Kerr 77.
Trio out front Gregory Havret, Haydn Porteous and Alexander Bjork shared the lead after the first round of the European Tour’s Tshwane Open in South Africa, all carding 6- under 65s at Pretoria Country Club on Thursday. Fifteen players shot 67 or better at the par- 71 course, a low- scoring opening round in the South African capital. The leaders had a one- shot advantage over five players tied for fourth. Havret made a blistering start with six birdies in his first nine holes before a more subdued back nine, where the Frenchman bogeyed Nos. 11 and 13.
FOOTBALL
Jets release Marshall The New York Jets are releasing wide receiver Brandon Marshall as its roster purge of big- name players with big salaries continues. By releasing Marshall, the team will clear $ 7.5 million on the salary cap, a person with direct knowledge of the team’s decision told The Associated Press on Thursday night. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the move, which is expected today. Marshall, who will turn 33 later this month, is the latest star to be cut by the Jets, who have also parted ways with Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold, Nick Folk and Breno Giacomini this offseason. New York has cleared nearly $ 46 million in cap space during the last few weeks. Newsday first reported the move by the Jets.
TENNIS
Murray advances Andy Murray saved seven match points before beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6- 7 ( 4), 7- 6 ( 18), 6- 1 to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships semifinals on Thursday. The second- set tiebreaker — 31 minutes, 6 seconds long — produced all the high- intensity drama tennis can offer, featuring the seven match points for Kohlschreiber before Murray prevailed on an eighth set point. The power, angles, and crafty shot- making were so all- consuming in that tiebreaker that the players, as well as umpire Renaud Lichtenstein, neglected to realize there was meant to be a change of ends at 15- 15, which took place at 16- 16 instead. The ATP said the 20- 18 tiebreaker was the sixth on tour since 1991. There have been no others with more points. In the semifinals, Murray will play Lucas Pouille or Evgeny Donskoy. Earlier, former top- 10 star Fernando Verdasco upset fourth- seeded Gael Monfils 6- 3, 7- 5 in the quarterfinals. Verdasco next plays Robin Haase, who defeated Damir Dzumhur 6- 2, 4- 6, 6- 4.
Nadal tops Nishioka Rafael Nadal ran his Mexican Open winning streak to 13 matches Thursday night, beating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 7- 6 ( 2), 6- 3 to reach the semifinals. Nadal will face third- seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia. Cilic advanced when American Steve Johnson withdrew because of a right ankle injury. Later, American Sam Querrey knocked out defending champion Dominic Thiem 6- 1, 7- 5 to set up a semifinal against the winner of the late match between top- seeded Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios. On the women’s side, top- seeded Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia beat France’s Pauline Parmentier 6- 2, 6- 3. Lucic-Baroni will face seventh- seeded Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine, a 6- 3, 7- 6 ( 5) winner over third- seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. American Christina McHale beat Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig 6- 2, 6- 2. The fifth- seeded McHale, in her second consecutive semifinal round in Acapulco, will play second- seed Kristina Mladenovic of France. Mladenovic beat Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 6- 4, 6- 3.
BASEBALL
Pitchless walks begin Major League Baseball and the players’ association announced their agreement on pitchless intentional walks, and the change took effect with exhibition games starting Thursday. If a manager signals the plate umpire for an intentional walk, the umpire will tell the batter to take first base. Two other rule changes were announced Thursday. An addition to rule 5.07 formalizes an umpire interpretation and prohibits a pitcher from resetting his pivot foot or taking a second step toward home plate during his delivery. If the pitcher violates the rule with a runner on base, a balk should be called. If there are no runners, a violation should be considered an illegal pitch under rule 6.02( b). A change to rule 5.03 requires base coaches to remain behind the line of the coach’s box closest to the plate and the front line parallel to the foul line prior to each pitch. A coach may leave the box to signal a player after a ball is put in play. In addition, video review regulations were changed to establish a 30- second limit for a manager to make a challenge and a conditional two- minute guideline for the replay umpire to make a decision.
Price scratched Boston Red Sox left- hander David Price was scratched from his first spring training start and will consult with specialists after experiencing soreness in his left elbow and forearm. Price, who had been scheduled to make his first spring training start this weekend, had an MRI on Wednesday and is expected to seek second opinions. Manager John Farrell said Price threw 38 pitches in a two- inning simulated game Tuesday and felt no discomfort. He first noticed the soreness Wednesday. The loss of Price for a significant amount of time could be a setback for the Red Sox. The team was counting on Price, along with reigning Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello and lefty Chris Sale, acquired in a December trade with the White Sox for four top prospects, to lead the team this season. Price went 17- 9 with a 3.99 ERA in a major league- leading 35 starts last season, his first after signing a $ 210 million, seven- year contract with the Red Sox.