Riley thrilled by good start

JACKSON, Miss. — Davis Riley got off to a hot start Thursday and kept bogeys off his card to the end for a 6-under-par 66 and a share of the first-round lead with Will Gordon in the Sanderson Farms Championship, the PGA Tour event he considers his fifth major. Riley grew up about 90 miles away in Hattiesburg and can remember playing the Country Club of Jackson when he was so young he was hitting fairway metals into the par 4s. He is coming off a strong rookie season in 2021-22, narrowly missing out on the season-ending Tour Championship, and would appear to be off to a solid start again. Riley wonders if being so open about his affection for the PGA Tour’s lone Mississippi stop has created too big of a burden, but it wasn’t an issue Thursday. He saved par with an eight-foot putt on his first hole, handled the par 5s on the front nine and threw in a pair of 12-foot birdie putts. “I have so many friends and family here. I want to perform. It just would be a really, really special tournament to win,” Riley said. “I just have to take it day by day and treat it like every other tournament.” Seven players were tied for third, and four others were within two strokes of the leaders. The big group in 14th at 69 included two Baylor School graduates, with Luke List offsetting his lone bogey with a pair of birdies and an eagle on the par-5 third hole, while Stephan Jaeger had six birdies in his round. A third former Red Raiders standout, Harris English, opened with a 75 that had him tied for 117th.

› ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — With nasty weather on the horizon, golfers at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship were looking to get in a good early score on the storied Scottish courses hosting the DP World Tour event. No one did better than Romain Langasque on the most famous course of all. The 27-year-old Frenchman tied the course record on the Old Course at St. Andrews by shooting an 11-under 61 in the first round Thursday, including a second-nine 28 that featured five birdies and an eagle on his last six holes at the home of golf. “I never thought I would have the course record at St. Andrews,” said Langasque, No. 272 in the Official World Golf Ranking. “But now my name is on the board.” His previous best on the European circuit was a 63, but this scorching round gave him just a one-stroke lead over compatriot Frederic Lacroix. Tougher tests are around the corner, with Friday’s forecast for heavy rain and strong winds of more than 40 mph, which will be a severe examination for the 168 players in the field who must play St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie across the first three days. The final round takes place at St. Andrews. A shotgun start was set for 8:30 a.m. local time Friday in an effort to avoid the worst of the weather and second-ranked Rory McIlroy was among those bracing himself after shooting 4-under 68 at Carnoustie, widely regarded as the toughest of the three courses. He will be playing his second round at Kingsbarns, which he believes is the easiest of the three courses to play in good weather and the hardest in bad weather because it is most exposed to the elements.

MOTORSPORTS

› Alex Bowman will miss Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway with a concussion, an injury the Hendrick Motorsports driver apparently incurred last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Hendrick said Bowman was evaluated Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina, and ruled out. Noah Gragson will drive the No. 48 Chevrolet for Bowman. “I’m disappointed but know my health is the number one priority,” Bowman posted on social media. “I am committed to follow all medical guidance to ensure I can return to competition as soon as possible.” Bowman is the second driver sidelined with a concussion after crashing in NASCAR’s firstyear Next Gen car. Kurt Busch, the 44-yearold 2004 Cup Series champion who drives for 23XI Racing, has been out since a July 23 crash in qualifying at Pocono Raceway and withdrew his spot in the 16-driver playoff field before the regular-season finale. Busch said this week he hopes to race before the end of the season, which is down to its final six races. Bowman crashed on the 98th lap at Texas on Sunday but went on to finish 29th and is last in points among the remaining 12 playoff drivers. After the trip to Talledega, one race remains — on the Roval course at Charlotte Motor Speedway — before the field is trimmed to eight drivers. The Next Gen car that was designed to cut costs and level the playing field, but the safety of the spec car has been under fire since Busch’s crash. Drivers have complained they feel the impact much more in crashes than they did in the old car, and a rash of blown tires and broken parts has plagued the first four races of the playoffs.