Off the wire
GOLF
Thomas grabs 1-shot lead
Justin Thomas started and ended his round with bogeys. He was at his best in the 16 holes between, running off eight birdies for a 6-under 65 that gave him a one-shot lead Saturday in the Mexico Championship. At this World Golf Championship in Mexico City, that doesn’t mean all that much going into the final round. Thomas was five shots behind in the middle of his front nine at Chapultepec Golf Club. He wound up with a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed and Erik Van
Rooyen of South Africa. No one illustrated how quickly fortunes can change like Jon Rahm, who started the third round 10 shots out of the lead and goes into today in the penultimate group, just four shots behind. Rahm opened with six birdies in seven holes — four of those birdies from inside 4 feet — and really excited the crowd with a gap wedge on the par-3 17th that took one big hop and disappeared into the cup for an ace. That carried him to a 61 to break the course record, and it was his low round of his young career. Thomas was at 15-under 198 at the tournament he lost in a playoff two years ago.
Rookie leads in Puerto Rico
PGA Tour rookie Viktor Hovland shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the windy Puerto Rico Open. The 22-year-old Norwegian starred at Oklahoma State, winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, then sweeping low amateur honors at the Masters and U.S. Open. He birdied all four par-5 holes at Coco Beach, the last on the 18th for a back-nine 31 and 18-under 198 total. Martin Laird was second after a 63. He eagled the par-5 second and par-4 10th, holing out with a wedge on 10. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) followed Friday’s 65 with a round of 69 and is tied for seventh at 11 under. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) is tied for 28th. Cook is 7 under for the tournament. Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) struggled with a 74 on Saturday and is tied for 49th at 5 under for the tournament.
TENNIS
Halep earns 20th singles title
Top-seeded Simona Halep won her 20th singles title after prevailing in a third-set tiebreaker to beat Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the Dubai Championships final on Saturday. No. 2-ranked Halep was 3-1 down in the third set. The Wimbledon champion won her second Dubai title in a 21/2-hour match. Rybakina knocked out Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in earlier rounds, and was playing her fourth final of the young WTA season. She’s lost three of them.
HOCKEY
Ovechkin records 700th goal
Alex Ovechkin became the eighth NHL player to score 700 career goals, reaching the milestone in the third period of the Washington’ Capitals’ 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The 34-yearold Russian forward one-timed a slap shot from the right circle that went in off the left post 4:50 into the third period, tying the game at 2. It was his 42nd goal of the season, one behind Boston’s David Pastrnak and Toronto’s Auston Matthews for the league lead, and came on his second shot on goal of the game. Capitals players rushed onto the ice to congratulate their teammate, and Devils fans gave him a strong ovation. Wayne Gretzky leads the career list with 894 goals. He is followed by Gordie Howe (801), Jaromir Jagr (766), Brett Hull (741), Marcel Dionne (731), Phil Esposito (717) and Mike Gartner (708).
Kings sign Frk to extension
The Los Angeles Kings have signed forward Martin Frk to a $1.45 million, two-year extension through the 2021-22 season. The Kings announced the deal Saturday before their game against Colorado. Frk has five goals and an assist in just eight games this season with the Kings, who signed the veteran as a free agent last July. The aggressive Czech forward with a heavy shot has earned a regular NHL role after spending much of the season with the Kings’ AHL affiliate. Frk has appeared in 108 NHL games with Los Angeles, Carolina and Detroit. He was a second-round draft pick by the Red Wings in 2012.
FOOTBALL
Lions, Amendola near deal
Danny Amendola appears to be staying with the Detroit Lions. A Foxsports.com writer, citing unidentified sources, reported Saturday on Twitter that Amendola was signing a one-year deal with the Lions. Erik Burkhardt, Amendola’s agent, retweeted that report and congratulated Amendola on “another well-earned deal.” Burkhardt did not respond to an email from The Associated Press. Amendola caught 62 passes for 678 yards and a touchdown last year in his first season with the Lions. Amendola just finished his 11th NFL season. He played four seasons with the Rams, five with the Patriots and one for the Dolphins before joining the Lions. Detroit finished 3-12-1 last season.
BASEBALL
Flaherty to start Cards’ opener
Jack Flaherty is getting the ball on opening day for the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis Manager Mike
Shildt said Saturday that Flaherty, 24, will start the season opener March 26 at Cincinnati. It will be the right-hander’s first opening day start and comes after he finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting with a closing surge last season. The nod comes one season after Flaherty pitched the home opener for the Cardinals. Shildt gave Flaherty the news on Friday, not a surprise after Flaherty went 11-8 with a 2.75 ERA last season. Seven of those wins came after the AllStar break, when he posted a 0.91 ERA. He also started 3 games in the postseason, allowing 4 earned runs in 13 innings.