Smith has first-round 62 for RBC Heritage lead
Cameron Smith birdied the difficult 17th and 18th holes at Harbour Town to shoot a 9-under 62, his career low on the PGA Tour, and take a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage on Thursday in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Cink finished his 63 around lunchtime and no one appeared likely to beat that score in overcast, breezier afternoon conditions. Yet Smith played his best down the challenging stretch.
The Australian chipped in for birdie on the par-3 17th, then stuck his approach to the lighthouse finishing hole within 5 feet to take the lead. Smith surpassed his previous low of 63, accomplished three times on tour.
The 47-year-old Cink shot his lowest score in 75 career rounds at Harbour Town — not bad, considering he won here in 2000 and 2004.
Collin Morikawa, who will defend his PGA Championship title up the South Carolina coast next month, shot 65 along with Matt Wallace. Charles Howell III, Billy Horschel and Harold Varner III shot 66.
• Yuka Saso shot her second consecutive 8-under 64 to take a two-shot lead over Lydia Ko after two rounds of the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship in Kapolei, Hawaii.
Saso, who’s playing on a sponsor’s exemption, made seven birdies in her first 10 holes to catch Ko, who shot 63 earlier Thursday at Kapolei Golf Club. The 19-yearold from the Philippines then birdied the 16th and 17th holes to reach 16 under.
No. 1 Djokovic suffers his first setback of 2021
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic lost 6-4, 7-5 to Dan Evans in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco for his first defeat of the year.
No. 3 Rafael Nadal had no such problems, breezing past Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals of a tournament he has won a record 11 times.
It was an unusually sloppy performance from Djokovic, the Australian Open champion who has 82 career titles compared to one for his unseeded British opponent.
Having won in Melbourne for his 18th major title, he was 10-0 in 2021 coming into the match.
LSU’s scoring leader opts to leave, declare for draft
LSU freshman Cameron Thomas, whose 23 points per game led the Tigers in scoring, announced that he is declaring for the NBA draft and intends to sign with an agent.
The 6-foot-4 guard led all Division 1 freshmen in scoring last season while helping LSU advance to the finals of the SEC Tournament and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Only three players have averaged more points than Thomas in their first season at LSU: Pete Maravich (43.8 in 1968), Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (30.2 in 1989) and Bob Pettit (25.5 in 1952).
• Mitch Ballock, one of the top 3-point shooters in Creighton history, will not return to the Bluejays in 2021-22.
The school confirmed that Ballock had signed with an agent and will pursue pro opportunities.
Ballock ranks No. 3 on the school 3-point chart with 308, behind Kyle Korver and Ethan Wragge.
He shot 38.9% on 3s and averaged 9.9 points per game this past season for the Bluejays, who reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
• Cincinnati has hired UNC Greensboro coach Wes Miller to replace the fired John Brannen.
Miller, regarded as one of the top young coaches in college basketball, won 185 games in 10 seasons at UNC Greensboro. Over the last five years, the Spartans have five straight 20win seasons, two NCAA Tournament appearances, two NIT appearances and two Southern Conference tournament titles.
Cincinnati fired Brannen last week after two seasons following an investigation into an exodus of players from the program.
Report: Seahawks agree to deal with DE Smith
The Seattle Seahawks and free agent defensive end Aldon Smith have agreed on a one-year contract, NFL Network reported.
The Seahawks reportedly tried to make a trade for Smith with Dallas last season, his first back in the league after missing four years due to suspension.
Smith enjoyed a renaissance with the Cowboys, starting all 16 games and recording five sacks and 14 quarterback hits.
Smith, 31, was the No. 7 overall pick by San Francisco in 2011 and registered 33.5 sacks in his first 32 games with the 49ers, earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2012.
Ontario Fury playing for MASL championship
The Ontario Fury of the Major Arena Soccer League have already made history and are looking for more.
For the first time in their history, the Fury have advanced to the MASL Finals, where they will host the San Diego Sockers in a two-game series starting at 7 tonight at Toyota Arena.
The second game will be played at 3:05 p.m. Sunday. If the teams are tied after regulation, the champion will be decided by two 15-minute overtime periods.
Fury assistant general manager Oliver King said between 1,5002,000 fans are expected tonight and a full capacity 3,500 for Sunday’s game.
Former Purdue football standout Keyes dies at 74
Leroy Keyes, a two-time consensus All-American running back and one of the greatest football players in Purdue history, died Thursday. He was 74.
He died at his home in West Lafayette, Indiana, the family said.
Keyes had been in poor health recently, suffering from congestive heart failure and a prostate cancer recurrence.
Keyes was third in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1967 and was the runner-up to USC’s O.J. Simpson in 1968.
He excelled at Purdue as a running back, defensive back, kickoff returner and handled kickoff duties.
After finishing his career as the school’s career leader in touchdowns (37), points (222) and allpurpose yards (3,757), the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Keyes with the third overall pick in 1969. Injuries forced him out of the NFL after just five seasons.