Day within a stroke of lead at Houston Open; Johnson lurks

Jason Day stumbled at the end at difficult Memorial Park, three-putting for bogey on the par-4 18th to fall a stroke behind Sam Burns in the Houston Open.

“Unfortunately, I just gave it a little bit too much gas,” Day said.

Winless in 2 1/2 years and fighting lingering back and neck problems, Day shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to remain in contention in the final event before the Masters.

“Overall, it was a solid day,” the Australian star said. “I think I drove it nice, hit a lot of good iron shots and I was just very patient out there today, so it was good to see. Looking forward to tomorrow.”

Sam Burns shot a 68 to hold onto the lead at 9-under 201.

“I think this golf course, it’s not a matter of if, it it’s a matter of when, when this golf course will hit you,” Burns said. “I think for me, just being able to hang in there.”

He eagled the par- 5 eighth.

“I kind of necked the tee shot, but fortunately it stayed in the first cut,” Burns said.

Day had five birdies and two bogeys.

“I was just trying to be as patient as possible,” Day said. “I know it’s a Saturday round. Obviously, can’t win it today. You’ve got to just give yourself an opportunity to get into tomorrow’s round.”

Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz was tied with Day after a 67. Sepp Straka (66) was 7 under.

Dustin Johnson, needing to finish solo 15th or better to remain No. 1 in the world, was 6 under after a 66 in his return from the coronavirus.

Aaron Wise (69) and Dawie van der Walt (69) joined Johnson at under.

SUTHERLAND GRABS BIG LEAD AT SCHWAB CUP >> Kevin Sutherland hit a sand wedge to inches on the par-5 18th for one last birdie on a windy afternoon in the desert at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.

Sutherland shot a 7-under 64 to take a five-stroke lead into the final round at Phoenix Country Club. He had a 13-under 129 total.

“Yeah, it played hard, I just hit a lot of shots really close to the hole, hit it solid,” Sutherland said.

The tournament is the final official event of the year, but not the season as in the past. Because of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent loss of tournaments, the 2020 and 2021 seasons have been combined with the Schwab Cup winner to be determined in a year.

Motorsports

CINDRIC WINS XFINITY CHAMPIONSHIP IN OT >> Austin Cindric charged on fresh tires to his first NASCAR championship with a gutsy overtime drive Saturday to win the Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Cindric was already headed toward the win when title-favorite Chase Briscoe spun with six laps remaining. It brought out a caution that forced Cindric and Team Penske into a bold race- deciding strategy call.

Cindric handed contender Justin Allgaier the lead by pitting from the lead for new tires. Cindric dropped to third for the two-lap overtime shootout.

Allgaier had taken new tires on the previous pit stop — he and Cindric were on opposite strategies — and Allgaier restarted as the leader. He chose the top lane and Cindric chose to start up there, too, right behind Allgaier.

Cindric had to wrestle with Noah Gragson, Allgaier’s JR Motorsports teammate, for position before he got his shot at Allgaier. Gragson moved to the lead then Cindric bounced off Allgaier as the two took the white flag.

The victory gave Team Penske one championship on the weekend with a shot for one more. Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano race in the Cup Series’ final four Sunday.

Tennis

ZVEREV TOPS NADAL TO REACH PARIS MASTERS FINAL >> Alexander Zverev advanced to the Paris Masters final for the first time by beating top-seeded Rafael Nadal 6- 4, 7-5, denying Nadal the chance to win a tournament that continues to elude him.

T he four th-seeded Zverev faces No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in today’s final, and leads him 5-1 in career meetings. Zverev goes for his fourth Masters title and 14th overall, while 2019 U.S. Open runner-up Medvedev is seeking his third Masters crown, eighth career title and first of this year.

“We’re not going to give each other anything tomorrow and we’ll see who can win. I’m looking forward to it,” Zverev said. “I think we are both extremely hungry, it will be our first title here.”

NHL

ANAHEIM SIGNS NO. 6 OVERALL PICK >> The Anaheim Ducks signed No. 6 overall pick Jamie Drysdale to a three-year contract. The Ducks announced the entry-level deal Saturday.

Drysdale was the second defenseman chosen in the draft last month. The 18-year- old prospect was a first-team All- Star in the Ontario Hockey League last season for the Erie Otters, collecting 47 points in 49 games.

Drysdale also has been invited to Team Canada’s camp later this month for the 2021 World Junior Championship. The smooth two-way defenseman was a member of Canada’s gold medal-winning World Junior Championship team earlier this year.

Soccer

MESSI COMES OFF BENCH, SCORES TWICE >> After Ansu Fati went down injured and Antoine Griezmann sunk deeper into his scoring rut, Barcelona called on Lionel Messi to save it from another setback. Messi was up to the task. He came off the bench at halftime and scored two goals as Barcelona beat 10-man Real Betis 5-2 to end its four-game winless streak in the Spanish league.

The much-needed win came at a high cost, though, with Barcelona’s rising star Fati leaving the field at halftime with a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said that he gave Messi some rare rest during the first half after his star player felt he needed more time to recover from Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League.

CYCLING

ROGLIC SET TO WIN SPANISH VUELTA >> When Richard Carapaz powered away on the race’s decisive climb with the Spanish Vuelta title at stake, Primoz Roglic appeared for a few agonizing moments to be on the brink of another collapse like the one that cost him the Tour de France title. Instead, the Slovenian rider found his pace.

Almost two months after losing the Tour on the penultimate day, Roglic is now poised to win his second straight Vuelta title.