Schauffele goes on birdie spree, leads CJ Cup by 3
Xander Schauffele began his second round by missing a 4-foot birdie putt. That was hardly a sign of what was to follow Friday in the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas, Nev.
Schauffele made putts as short as 3 feet and as long as 35 feet. He chipped in from 20 feet. He seemingly couldn’t miss during a two-hour stretch when he made seven birdies over eight holes, including six in a row, for a career-best 29 on the back nine.
His momentum slowed with the pace of play, and he settled an 8-under 64 for a three-shot lead over Tyrrell Hatton.
“Some of those holes, you’re not really trying to birdie them, you’re just trying to leave yourself an uphill 35-footer. And fortunately, I made a couple of them,” Schauffele said. “It was a nice stretch. Got a little bit stale there on the other side. Pace of play slowed down a lot, kind of hot, easy to let the mind wander.
“Upset I didn’t make more birdies, but pleased I didn’t make any bogeys.”
He was at 14-under 130 and now has the course record at Shadow Creek, which is hosting the CJ Cup for this year only because the COVID-19 pandemic made travel to South Korea impractical.
Hatton, among six players who were in England last week for the European Tour’s flagship event, was headed for a rocky finish when he laid up into the rough on the par-5 16th that led to a second straight bogey. He rallied to close with a pair of birdies for a 68.
Russell Henley (68) was another shot back at 10-under 134. HOUSTON OPEN WILL HAVE SOME FANS >> The Houston Open will allow limited spectators next month at Memorial Park, the first domestic PGA Tour event to have fans since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months on March 13.
The tour said 2,000 tickets will go on sale Wednesday through the tournament’s website. The Houston Open is Nov. 5-8.
College sports
UCLA WILL STILL WEAR UNDER ARMOUR DESPITE LAWSUIT >> UCLA will still be outfitted by Under Armour this season even though the university is suing the apparel company for breach of contract.
Athletic director Martin Jarmond has said there isn’t enough time to get a deal in place with a new outfitter.
Under Armour announced in June that it is ending its contract with the school. The two sides were four years into a 15-year deal worth $280 million, which remains the highest in college athletics.
UCLA filed a lawsuit against Under Amour in August in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for breach of contract, seeking damages in excess of $200 million.
Coach Chip Kelly said he believes his team will be able to get through the upcoming football season with its current allotment of equipment. NCAA PENALIZES UMASS FOR VIOLATIONS IN BASKETBALL, TENNIS >> The NCA A is stripping Massachusetts of victories in men’s basketball and women’s tennis for overpaying 12 athletes about $9,100 in financial aid over three years. The NCAA announced Friday the Committee on Infractions had imposed a two-year probation on UMass that will end October 2022 in addition to vacating results involving athletes who received what were determined to be a total of 13 inappropriate payments.
The school will also pay a self-imposed fine of $5,000. UMass plans to appeal the committee’s decision to vacate victories from 2014-17 that include 59 basketball wins and an Atlantic 10 Conference championship in women’s tennis.
Tennis
PETROVIC, MUSETTI REACH FIRST ATP SEMIS AT SARDEGNA OPEN >> Danilo Petrovic of Serbia continued to make the most of his late entry into the Sardegna Open, beating Federico Delbonis 7- 6 (1), 6-1 to reach the semifinals in Santa Margherita Di Pula, Sardinia. Petrovic was playing as a lucky loser in place of top-seeded Fabio Fognini, who withdrew before his opening match after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Petrovic’s first ATP semifinal will be against Marco Cecchinato after the Italian beat fourth-seeded Albert Ramos-Viñolas of Spain 4- 6, 6-1, 6-1.
Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti also reached his first ATP semifinal with a 6-2, 6- 4 victory over Yannick Hanfmann. Musetti will face Serbia’s Laslo Djere, who eliminated Jiri Vesely 6- 4, 6- 4.
RUBLEV, SHAPOVALOV, CORIC, RAONIC REACHST. PETERSBURGSEMIS>> Andrey Rublev eased into the semifinals of the St. Petersburg (Russia) Open after defeating Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-1. The third-seeded Russian will play Denis Shapovalov for a place in Sunday’s final. Second-seeded Shapovalov defeated Stan Wawrinka 6- 4, 7-5.
Hard- serving American Reilly Opelka, who beat defending champion Daniil Medvedev on Thursday, was beaten by the seventh-seeded Borna Coric 7- 6 (3), 6-3 in their quarterfinal. Coric next faces 2015 champion Milos Raonic, who overcame the fourthseeded Karen Khachanov 6-1, 7- 6 (1).
Soccer
PHILADELPHIA’S BRENDEN AARONSON TRANSFERRED TO SALZBURG >> Philadelphia Union midfielder Brenden Aaronson will join FC Salzburg following the conclusion of the Major League Soccer season.
The Union announced Friday that the 19-year- old signed a contract through 2025 with the Bundesliga team. He will be able to play for the club when the international transfer window opens in January.
Sailing
BRITISH CHALLENGER LAUNCHES 2ND AMERICA’S CUP BOAT >> British challenger INEOS Team UK launched its second America’s Cup sailboat in Auckland, a day after United States syndicate American Magic also revealed its second generation racer.
The black-hulled monohull, christened Britannia, was lowered gently into the water outside the Team UK base after a small naming ceremony.
Britannia, which will be helmed by four-time Olympic sailing gold medalist Ben Ainslie in the challenger series starting in January, appeared to mark a major development over the team’s first generation sailboat.