Off the wire

GOLF Noren leads by 1

Alex Noren of Sweden two-putted for birdie on the final hole for a 3-under 69 that gave him a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at San Diego. Noren has nine European Tour victories and is No. 19 in the world. This is his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour. He leads by one shot over Ryan Palmer, who struggled after building a two-shot lead with a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th. Jon Rahm, the defending champion who needs to win to reach No. 1 in the world, took double bogey on the last hole for a 75 and fell four shots behind. Noren was at 11-under 205. Tiger Woods was superb with his short game for the second consecutive day, and it’s a good thing. Woods was so wild off the tee that he hit only one fairway on the back nine and three fairways for the round. He putted for birdie on only nine holes. And he still managed to scratch out a 70. Woods was eight shots behind, in the middle of the pack.

Henderson ahead

Brooke Henderson birdied the par-5 18th hole and had a one-stroke lead over top-ranked Shanshan Feng on Saturday in the suspended second round of the wind-swept Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic at Paradise Island. Henderson shot an even-par 73 to get to 5 under overall after two rounds and three days at the Ocean Club Golf Course in the event cut to 54 holes after wind wiped out play most of Friday. Feng had nine holes left when play was suspended because of darkness. On her last hole, she birdied the 18th. Lexi Thompson was 3 under along with Ryann O’Toole, Danielle Kang, Luna Sobron Galmes and Wei-Ling Hsu. Thompson and Sobron Galmes had 10 holes to play, and Hsu had nine left. O’Toole had a 69, and Kang shot 73. Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 72 and is 1 over after two rounds. Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) had a 74 and is 6 over.

McIlroy gaining

Rory McIlroy was within sight of a first title in 17 months after the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic where he lay only one shot behind surprise leader Li Haotong on Saturday. McIlroy, who finished his second round in the morning, surprisingly struggled for the first time in seven rounds into his comeback from a three-month layoff, and was 1-over par at the turn in the third round. The four-time major champion then recovered with five birdies on the back nine for a 4-under 68 and 19 under overall that put him one behind Li. Li, in the leader group with McIlroy, shot a bogey-free 64 at Emirates Golf Club. On another low-scoring day, Alex Levy of France made a hole-in-one in a round of 65, a score which was matched by playing partner Haydn Porteous of South Africa. The duo was tied for third, three behind the leader at 17 under par.

BASKETBALL Conley surgery set

Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley will have season-ending surgery to smooth a bone in his left heel and is expected to return healthy for next season’s training camp, the team announced Saturday. Conley has not played since Nov. 13 after starting 12 of Memphis’ first 14 games this season. The Grizzlies announced Nov. 17 that Conley was out indefinitely with a sore left heal and Achilles tendon. Conley averaged 17.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists over 31.1 minutes in his 11th NBA season. He has been playing an average of 31.1 minutes each game. The Grizzlies wrote Jan. 18 on Twitter that Conley had started playing 3-on-3 with teammates.

Cousins’ season over

New Orleans Pelicans star DeMarcus Cousins will undergo surgery to repair his torn left Achilles tendon, sources confirmed to The Washington Post, a devastating injury both to the short- and long-term hopes of the franchise. Cousins suffered the injury Friday night in the final seconds of New Orleans’ 115-113 victory over the Houston Rockets while trying to track down an offensive rebound. Cousins planted his left foot, then immediately reached down and grabbed his heel, falling to the floor in pain. Cousins needed help leaving the court, and was unable to put any weight on his foot. The injury will knock Cousins out for, at minimum, the remainder of this season and only casts further doubt over the future of a franchise that already had one of the most uncertain futures of any in the NBA. Cousins is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer for the first time in his career and was due to be one of a handful of players certain to receive a maximum contract offer.

Roberson injured

Oklahoma City guard Andre Roberson was taken off on a stretcher during Saturday night’s game at Detroit after he was unable to reach an alley-oop pass and landed hard on the floor. It wasn’t clear if Roberson slipped or if his left leg gave way as he was beginning his jump, but he sailed through the air and appeared to land on his tailbone or lower back. He remained down on the court for a while, lying on his side as concerned teammates gathered around. Roberson, 26, was able to sit up while being taken off on the stretcher. Roberson, in his fifth NBA season, came in averaging 5.0 points per game. He made his 39th start of the season Saturday.

BASEBALL Machado moving to SS

Manny Machado will start at shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles this season — if he isn’t traded. Machado becomes a free agent after this year and is sure to demand a huge contract. The Orioles have entertained trade offers for the 25-year-old, who’s been an All-Star in half of his six seasons with Baltimore. But Dan Duquette, vice president of baseball operations for the Orioles, said Saturday that he expects Machado to be part of the team in 2018. A two-time Gold Glove winner at third base, Machado will move to shortstop in 2018, Manager Buck Showalter said at FanFest, an annual offseason event designed to promote interest in the club. Following the retirement of shortstop J.J. Hardy, Showalter said he believes the Orioles will be better defensively if the slick-fielding Machado plays in the middle of the infield. Tim Beckham, who came to the team in July and took over as the starting shortstop, will move to third base.

Pirates’ Turley suspended

Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Nik Turley has been suspended for 80 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The commissioner’s office said Saturday that Turley tested positive for Ipamorelin. The suspension will start at the beginning of the regular season. Turley, 28, made his major league debut last year for Minnesota, going 0-2 with an 11.21 earned-run average in 10 appearances. Pittsburgh claimed him off waivers in November.

MOTOR SPORTS Ogier extends rally lead

Defending world rally champion Sebastien Ogier extended his lead despite not winning any of the five stages on the third day of the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally on Saturday. Ogier considers this rally his favorite, and the Frenchman has won the past four editions. He needs only to safely negotiate today’s last four stages to win it again, and begin his bid for a sixth consecutive world title in perfect fashion. The Ford Fiesta driver is 34 seconds ahead of Estonian driver Ott Tanak, having led the Toyota Yaris driver by 15 overnight. Finnish driver Jari-Matti Latvala, also driving a Yaris, is 1 minute, 33 seconds back in third place. Although Tanak won stages 10 and 11, he paid for a poor start after losing about one minute to Ogier on S9, the first of the day.

OLYMPICS Russian team size confirmed

The IOC said it has invited 169 Russian athletes to compete at the Pyeongchang Olympics. The number confirms the team size announced Thursday by the suspended Russian Olympic Committee. The International Olympic Committee did not publish names of which athletes were cleared by two vetting panels of suspicion of doping to go to the Feb. 9-25 Winter Games in South Korea. The IOC said it chose “from the pool of 389 athletes who could potentially be invited to the games depending on available quota places.” Russia sent 175 athletes to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and 214 to its home 2014 Sochi Olympics which saw orchestrated doping. The “Olympic Athletes from Russia” team will compete in neutral uniforms. If they win gold in Pyeongchang, the Olympic flag will be flown and the Olympic anthem will play. The IOC said its vetting involved “intensive weeks of work” and “detailed consideration of each athlete.”

Noren