3 tied at Firestone
Tommy Fleetwood took advantage of another soft day of good scoring at Firestone with a 7-under 63. So did PGA champion Justin Thomas, who was particularly sharp with his putter for a 64.
They shared the lead with Ian Poulter (67) at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, at 11-under par 129.
No one could catch them, mainly because there was just enough breeze to cause just enough doubt. Even so, 45 players from the 71-man field were under par, a rarity at Firestone.
Tiger Woods, whose last victory was five years ago when he won this World Golf Championship for a record eighth time, got within 4 shots on the way to a 68, leaving him 5 shots behind . . . .
Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand has yet to drop a shot in two rounds of 5-under 67 that gives her a 1-stroke lead in the Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham in Lytham St. Annes, England. Home favorite Georgia Hall (68) was tied for second with Minjee Lee and Mamiko Higa . . . .
Jerry Smith made three late birdies to shoot a bogey-free 8-under 64 to take a 2-shot lead at the Champions Tour’s 3M Championship in Blaine, Minn . . . .
Ben Campbell of New Zealand shot a 6-under 66 to take a 4-stroke lead after two rounds of the European Tour’s Fiji International in Sigatoka.
Colleges: Meyer speaks up
Urban Meyer defended himself, admitting he was not forthright when questioned last week about 2015 allegations of domestic violence against one of his assistant coaches, but also insisting he handled the situation properly at the time.
The assistant Meyer fired, Zach Smith, also spoke up, denying he abused his wife and backed his former boss.
Two days after Ohio State sidelined Meyer and opened an investigation into what its superstar coach knew and did about the accusations of abuse made against Smith by his ex-wife, two central figures in this drama answered some questions and left much to be explained.
The Buckeyes open the season at home Sept. 1 against Oregon State. Co-offensive coordinator Ryan Day is acting head coach.
There is no timeline for the Meyer inquiry to conclude.
Names: Titans’ safety tears ACL
The Tennessee Titans placed safety Johnathan Cyprien (torn left ACL) on injured reserve and waived defensive lineman Connor Flagel. The Titans also said that offensive tackle Laurence Gibson agreed to terms, and tight end Phillip Supernaw passed his physical after being on the physically unable to perform list . . . .
The Ottawa Senators avoided salary arbitration with last season’s leading scorer Mark Stone, signing the winger to a oneyear, $7.35 million, while defenseman Cody Ceci was awarded $4.3 million . . . .
The Dallas Stars re-signed restricted free agent center Gemel Smith to a $720,000, one-year contract . . . .
The Mavericks re-signed backup center Salah Mejri. The 7-foot-1 Tunisian led the Mavericks in field goal percentage and blocks the past two seasons . . . .
The Atlanta Hawks signed 7-1 Ukranian center Alex Len. Len averaged 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 69 games last year . ...
The Phoenix Suns re-signed six-year veteran point guard Isaiah Canaan.