MORNING ROUNDUP
Thomas makes ace and takes lead in Mexico
Justin Thomas hit a 6-iron that one-hopped into the bottom of the cup. Dustin
Johnson hit a wedge that never came down from a tree. In one of the 10 fairways that Phil Mickelson missed, a spectator apparently ran off with his golf ball.
Even better than the wild action Saturday in the Mexico Championship was the promise of more to come.
Thomas, going for his fourth PGA Tour victory of the season, rode a hole-inone to a 5-under 66 to take a one-shot lead over Johnson at Chapultepec Golf Club. Right behind were Mickelson and Rory McIlroy, who saw his momentum stall when his flip wedge on No. 12 struck the pin and spun back.
At nearly 7,800 feet of elevation, the final round figures to be up in the thin air. That might even include
Jordan Spieth, who set the course record with an 8-under 63 and was among a dozen players within five shots of the lead.
James, Irving miss Saturday’s game
LeBron James was back in Miami. He just wasn’t back in uniform.
James and Kyrie Irving were held out of Cleveland’s game in Miami on Saturday night, sitting out for rest.
James played 39 minutes in Cleveland’s victory at Atlanta on Friday night, Irving played 35, and Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said the decision to sit the two All-Stars was made after that game.
James is averaging nearly 38 minutes per game this season, and with the Cavaliers now less than two months away from the postseason, where James will try to reach the NBA Finals for a seventh straight year, Lue said Saturday’s game won’t be the last time he’s asked to sit down the stretch.
Giants coach injured during spring training game
San Francisco Giants coach Jose Alguacil has been taken to a hospital after being hit by a foul ball during a spring training game.
Alguacil appeared to be hit in the face Saturday and fell to the ground. He was sitting in a folding chair outside the dugout and manager Bruce Bochy said the Giants’ new first base coach said he felt fine after the accident.
Alguacil was struck when Kansas City’s Hunter Dozier checked his swing in the eighth inning and fouled it back. After being assisted by trainers, Alguacil got into a cart and was driven from the field. He was holding a towel to his head and there was blood in the spot where he fell.
England upsets United States in women’s soccer
Substitute Ellen White scored on a rebound in close in the 89th minute and England stunned the United States 1-0 in the second round of the SheBelieves Cup at Red Bulls Arena on Saturday.
It marked the first time that England has beaten the United States since a friendly in 2011. It was only England’s fourth win in 14 games (4-9-1) against the U.S.
White, who entered in the 76th minute, scored her 20th goal in 60 games with England, just seconds after
Lucy Bronze cracked a shot off the crossbar moments following a corner kick. Two U.S. defenders collided trying to clear the ball and White ripped it past goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.
Until the goal, it appeared it would be a scoreless draw. Neither team had a good scoring chance in the second half that was played in temperatures in the 20s with a wind chill that made it feel like 10 degrees.