Mickelson pulls out of PGA Championship
Phil Mickelson withdrew Friday from the PGA Championship, electing to extend his hiatus from golf following comments he made about a Saudi-funded rival league he supports and the PGA Tour he accused of greed.
Mickelson authored one of the most stunning victories last year when he won the PGA at Kiawah Island, at age 50 becoming the oldest champion in 161 years of the majors. The PGA Championship starts Thursday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Ryan Palmer shot a 10under 62 at the Byron Nelson for a share of the secondround lead with Sebastian Munoz and 40-year-old tour rookie David Skinns . ... Steve Stricker shot a fourunder 68 to maintain a twostroke lead over Scott McCarron and Padraig Harrington in the second round of the Regions Tradition, the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors . ... Minjee Lee flirted with the best round on the LPGA Tour this season before settling for a nineunder 63 and a three-shot lead at the Cognizant Founders Cup. four-year contract . ... Atlanta bolstered its thin ranks at receiver by acquiring Bryan Edwards from Las Vegas.
Philadelphia 76ers President Daryl Morey said Doc Rivers will return for a third season as coach. Forward Danny Green will need surgery after tearing the anterior and lateral cruciate ligaments in his left knee.
Two-time Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year Osun Osunniyi announced he’s transferring from St. Bonaventure to Iowa State. ... Florida signed graduate transfer and St. Bonaventure guard Kyle Lofton . ... Former Texas forward Tre Mitchell transferred to Big 12 foe West Virginia.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic scored a 7-5, 7-6 (1) win over Felix-Auger-Aliassime to reach the Italian Open semifinals; where he’ll face Casper Ruud. Stefanos Tsitsipas meets Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal. The women’s semifinals feature top-ranked Iga Swiatek against Aryna Sabalenka and Daria Kasatkina against Ons Jabeur. Swiatek extended her winning streak to 26 matches by beating Bianca Andreescu 7-6 (2), 6-0.
The state housing agency urged Anaheim’s City Council to reject a revised development agreement for the Angel Stadium property, potentially setting the stage for a new showdown between the agency and the city.
— Bill Shaikin
Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer’s arbitration appeal of his two-year suspension by MLB has been scheduled to start May 23 . ... The lawyer for WNBA star Brittney Griner says her pre-trial detention in Russia has been extended by one month . ... Top fuel points leader Brittany Force broke both ends of the track record at Virginia Motorsports Park in qualifying for the Virginia NHRA Nationals. Force had a 3.710-second run at 335.82 mph . ... The United States cruised past Latvia 4-1 in its opener at the world ice hockey championship.