Burns sets big target with another low round at Riviera
Sam Burns wanted to pay respect to tough Riviera by playing it safe. It led to a 5-under 66 on Friday to tie the 36-hole record at the Genesis Invitational and build a five-shot lead going into the weekend.
Among those chasing is Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world and a past winner at Riviera. Another shot back was Jordan Spieth, who is starting to make himself at home near the top of the leaderboard.
Burns was at 12-under 130, matching the record last set in 2004 by Mike Weir and Shigeki Maruyama.
Baseball
MLB HAS 0.3% POSITIVE COVID-19 RATE » Thirteen of 4,336 tests for COVID-19 were positive during intake for Major League Baseball’s spring training, a rate of 0.3%
The commissioner’s office said that nine positive samples involved players and four involved staff. Positive tests included 11 of the 30 teams.
WALKER, METS STRIKE $20M, 2-YEAR DEAL » The Mets made a late addition to their starting rotation, agreeing to a $20 million, two-year contract with right-hander Taijuan Walker, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
The 28-year-old joins a rotation headed by twotime Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.
DAMON ARRESTED AFTER DUI STOP » Former All-Star baseball player Johnny Damon
was arrested in central Florida on a charge of resisting an officer after he was pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence, according to court and jail records.
Damon, 47, was booked into the Orange County Jail after an incident in Windermere, Florida, a wealthy suburb of Orlando popular with professional athletes. He is charged with resisting an officer without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Pro football
EAGLES RELEASE VETERAN JACKSON » DeSean Jackson’s second stint with the Eagles has come to an end.
The team announced its decision to release the 34-year-old wide receiver, a move that was widely expected because of the Eagles’ salary cap conundrum combined with Jackson’s decline.
The former Cal star played just five games last season because of a couple lower-body injuries. In total, Jackson missed 25 of 33 possible games in the last two years.
WINSLOW II AGREES TO PRISON SENTENCE » Former NFL player Kellen Winslow II agreed to a change in his rape-case plea deal so he could lock in a 14-year prison sentence.
Once a first-round NFL draft pick and the highest paid tight end in the league, the 37-year-old Encinitas resident had faced between 12 to 18 years in prison following his convictions for raping a homeless woman and charges linked to misconduct with other women.
Motor sports
NFL’S KAMARA RACES INTO NASCAR AS A TEAM SPONSOR » Alvin Kamara, NFL star and new NASCAR fan, has put some of his own money into the sport as a team sponsor this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
The New Orleans Saints running back agreed to sponsor Ryan Vargas in the Xfinity Series race Saturday at Daytona. Vargas had no funding for the road course race but now will be sponsored by The Big Squeezy, the Louisiana juice bar chain owned by Kamara.