The start of the FedEx Cup playoffs brought out the worst score from Jordan Spieth in three months. In his first tournament as No. 1 in the world, Spieth had a pair of three-putt bogeys, hit a tee shot in the water, shot 40 on his back nine and wound up with a 4-over 74 in the opening round of The Barclays at Edison, N.J. It was his highest score since a 75 in The Players Championship, the last time he missed a cut. Bubba Watson and Tony Finau powered their way around Plainfield Country Club and each had a 5-under 65. They were in a four-way tie for the lead that included Spencer Levin and Camilo Villegas, players who are in dire need of a good week. Paul Casey and Jason Dufner were in a large group at 66. Jason Day joined Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in the group at 68. Defending champion Hunter Mahan birdied his opening hole and went on to shoot 78.
• Brittany Lang birdied five of the first seven holes in windy conditions and shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic at Prattville, Ala. Lang had a two-stroke lead over Tiffany Joh, Sydnee Michaels and Ryann O'Toole. Julieta Granada, Hyo Joo Kim, Ariya Jutanugarn, Therese Koelbaek and Simin Feng were three strokes back at 68. Lexi Thompson, the 2011 winner at age 16, opened with a 69. Former Arkansas Razorback Stacy Lewis, the 2012 winner, had a 70. Second last year in Prattville, Lewis is coming off a playoff loss to Lydia Ko last week in the Canadian Pacific Women's Open.
• Both Eduardo De la Riva and Renato Paratore shot a 7-under 65 to take a shared lead after the first round Thursday at the Czech Masters in Vysoky Ujezd, Czech Republic. De La Riva, 33, recovered from an early bogey on the 2nd with six birdies.Paratore, 18, produced a flawless round with seven birdies. Both leaders are seeking their first European Tour victory at the Albatross Golf course near Prague. A group of four -- Englishmen Matt Fitzpatrick and Sam Hutsby, Pelle Edberg of Sweden and Thomas Pieters of Belgium -- was one stroke back after carding 66.
• Curtis Thompson shot a 9-under 62 to take the first-round lead Thursday at the Portland Open in North Plains, Ore. Adam Svensson was alone in second with a 7-under 64. Ryan Blaum, Michael Kim, Dicky Pride and Ryan Sullivan were tied for third at 65. Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) had a 3-under 68. Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) and Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) were both at 1 over 72. Zack Fischer (Little Rock) was 1 over after 16 holes.
HORSE RACING
Pharoah's gallop an event
No one was sure exactly when American Pharoah would go to the track Thursday morning, and nobody wanted to miss him, because his every appearance is a media event. By 4:30 Central time, about half an hour before sunrise, reporters and photographers began to cluster around Barn 25 on Saratoga's picturesque backstretch. At 6:35 on a cool, cloudy morning, a few dozen cameras began clicking rapid fire as the Triple Crown champion emerged. Assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes, on Smokey the buckskin pony, led Pharoah and exercise rider Georgie Alvarez to the main track. A day after arriving for Saturday's Travers Stakes, Pharoah stepped on Saratoga's deep dirt surface for the first time. He and Alvarez broke off from Smokey midway on the backstretch and galloped a little more than a mile, which took about two minutes. Then it was back to the barn to cool out. After 15 minutes of walking around 13 stately oak trees, it was time for the superstar's daily bath.
TENNIS
Tsurenko advances
Lucky-loser entry Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine beat fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday in the Connecticut Open quarterfinals. Tsurenko lost in qualifying, but got into the field when top-seeded Simona Halep withdrew because of an injury. Tsurenko will face fourth-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the semifinals. Safarova beat Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-5 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 56 minutes.
BASEBALL
Cubs pick up Rodney
The playoff-contending Chicago Cubs have acquired struggling reliever Fernando Rodney from the Seattle Mariners for cash. The trade was announced Thursday. Rodney, 38, had been designated for assignment by Seattle last Sunday. Rodney was 5-5 and had gone 16 for 22 in save chances this season. The right-hander had a 5.68 ERA in 54 games. Rodney was an AL All-Star closer last year when he posted a Mariners-record 48 saves.
• Alex Rodriguez's former brother-in-law filed a $100 million suit in Miami state court Wednesday alleging, among other charges, breach of contract and fraud over multiple business ventures with the Yankees designated hitter. The suit, first reported by the New York Daily News, was filed by attorneys for Constantine Scurtis, the younger brother of Cynthia Rodriguez, who was divorced from the ballplayer in 2008. The suit, originally filed in January, was amended to include additional claims. The action alleges that Scurtis did not receive his share of the proceeds when Rodriguez no longer wanted to partner with him after the divorce. Rodriguez is accused in court papers with breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment and tortuous interference. Scurtis is seeking an injunction barring Rodriguez from transferring assets from the partnerships until the case is adjudicated.
Sports on 08/28/2015