English stays hot, shoots 67 to lead in Hawaii by two
A new year, and Harris English keeps right on rolling.
English finished with a 10-foot birdie to cap off an ideal Friday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, with a 6-under 67, giving him a two-shot lead over a quartet of players that includes defending champion Justin Thomas.
Even with a lead, it feels as though the first PGA Tour event of the year is wide open. With virtually no wind, rare for the Plantation Course at Kapalua, scores remained low and several players were stacked up behind him. That includes Masters champion Dustin Johnson, who hit it close enough all round to make a few putts in his round of 65.
“Felt like I got back in the tournament a little bit,” said Johnson, playing for the first time since his Nov. 15 victory at Augusta National.
English is among 16 players at the winnersonly event who didn’t win last year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out three months on the tour schedule, anyone who reached the Tour Championship qualified this year. English did everything but win, going from No. 369 in the world to among the top 30.
Hockey
DEV I LS GOA L I E TAK ING LEAVE OF ABSENCE >> New Jersey Devils goaltender Corey Crawford has taken an indefinite leave of absence due to undisclosed personal reasons.
The Devils made the announcement Friday after a week of uncertainty in which the recently signed 36-year- old goaltender did not practice.
The team said Crawford was given off on Monday and Tuesday for maintenance after a week of training camp. He was not on the ice on Wednesday and Thursday for personal reasons.
College basketball
PURDUE RAL L I E S PAST MICHIGAN STATE >> Trevion Williams made a short jumper with 4.5 seconds left and scored 22 of his 26 points after halftime, rallying visiting Purdue past No. 23 Michigan State 5554 after trailing by 17.
A a ron Hen r y, who scored 13 points, missed a runner from the left side of the lane just before the buzzer to seal the collapse for the Spartans.
Williams made 9 of 14 shots and 8 of 12 free throws to spur the Boilermakers (8-5, 3-3 Big Ten).
Horse racing
GOLDEN GATE FIELDS TO
OPEN AFTER OUTBREAK >> Golden Gate Fields will resume live racing on Jan. 15 after being closed for over a month due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Track owner 1/ST Racing said Friday that after extensive testing, the COVID-19 outbreak at the San Francisco Bay area track has decreased to levels that allow for live racing.
Owners won’t be allowed to attend training or racing sessions as the winter meet begins, the track said.
Initially, the track was closed for a week in November to address the issue and then the closure was
extended through December. Golden Gate Fields’ stable area houses 1,300 horses.
Olympic sports
OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST SUSPENDED >> Olympic long jump silver medalist Luvo Manyonga was provisionally suspended in a doping case on Friday and could be banned from the Tokyo Games.
The Athletics Integrity Unit said it sent Manyonga a “notice of charge” in the case, which is based on suspected breaches of whereabouts rules.
The South African long jumper — who had his 30th birthday on Friday — is the latest world champion to be investigated regarding whereabouts rules. The cases include missing outof-competition doping tests or failing to update details of where they can be contacted by sample collection officials.
Tennis
QUIROZ WINS AT DELRAY BEACH >> Qualifier Roberto Quiroz overcame a shaky stretch in the first set Friday to beat American Noah Rubin 7- 6 (1), 6- 3 in the opening round of the Delray Beach Open in Miami.
Quiroz led 5-3, lost serve twice and then rallied,
dominating the tiebreaker. The victory was the second career ATP Tour win for the 28-year- old Ecuadorian, who played at the University of Southern California.
Soccer
STANFORDPLAYERTURNING PRO >> Catarina Macario is leaving the Stanford women’s soccer program, forging her senior season, to pursue a professional career, she announced.
“After much prayer and conversations with my family and loved ones, I am making the difficult decision to forego my senior season and take the next step in my soccer career by turning professional,” she said in a statement.
Baseball
TARPLEY CLAIMED BY METS >> Left-hander Stephen Tarpley was claimed by the New York Mets off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
The 27-year- old was 2-2 with one save and a 9.000 ERA in 11 innings over 12 games last year, striking out 11 and walking eight. He earned $208,704 in prorated pay from a salary of the $563,500 major league minimum.