Off the wire

GOLF

International team moves up

Bae Sang-moon made a dynamic debut at home Friday in his first Presidents Cup by making a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win a crucial fourballs match that helped the International team win a team session for the first time in four years and pull within one point of the United States. Bae and Danny Lee topped Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker 1 up. Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen set the tone with a 4-and-3 victory over Jordan Spieth and Justin Johnson, while Charl Schwartzel and Thongchai Jaidee won the anchor match, 2 and 1, over Bill Haas and Chris Kirk. The International team picked up a half-point in another match and cut the American lead to 5½-4½ going into the eight matches today. That half-point involved Phil Mickelson, and it led to confusion and a pair of mistakes at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon. Mickelson and Zach Johnson were all square with Jason Day and Adam Scott through six holes when Mickelson switched to a firmer golf ball for a better chance of reaching the green in two on the par-5 seventh. Only when he saw U.S. captain Jay Haas did he start to think about the one-ball condition -- players have to use the same model of golf ball for the entire match. The penalty for a fourballs match is called a one-hole adjustment in the match. The second mistake was from the rules committee. Mickelson was told he was disqualified from the hole, so he picked up his ball from the fairway. In fact, he should have been allowed to finish the hole because the one-hole adjustment was already in effect. Day won the hole with a birdie, so along with the adjustment, the International team went from all square to 2 up. Mickelson rallied by holing another bunker shot, this time with a full pitching wedge from a fairway bunker on No. 12, and making big putts. Even so, his mistake ultimately cost his team a victory. Day made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a halve. The lone American victory came from J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson, a 2-up victory over Marc Leishman and Steven Bowditch.

• South Korea's Ha Na Jang used a late three-hole birdie run to take a one-stroke lead Friday in the LPGA Malaysia. Jang, 23, shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 to reach 10-under 132 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. She made a downhill 10-footer on the par-4 14th, holed a right-to-left curler from 15 feet on the par-3 15th and ran in a 12-footer on the par-5 16th. China's Xi Yu Lin was second after a 68. Top-ranked Inbee Park, Alison Lee and Yani Tseng were another stroke back. Park, the 2012 winner, had a 68. Lee, tied with Lin for the first round, bogeyed Nos. 15 and 16 en route to a 69. Tseng had a 68. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) had an eagle, four birdies and a bogey for a 5-under 66 and a two-round total of 138, placing her in a tie for 19th.

• Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen shot a 3-under 68 on Friday for a share of the British Masters lead with England's Matthew Fitzpatrick. Kjeldsen, the Irish Open winner this year, matched Fitzpatrick at 9-under 133 on Woburn's Marquess Course. Fitzpatrick, the first-round leader, had a 69.

BASKETBALL

Moore lifts Lynx to victory

Maya Moore made a three-pointer at the buzzer from the top of the key to give the Minnesota Lynx an 80-77 victory over the Indiana Fever on Friday night in Game 3 of the WNBA Final. Moore, who finished with 24 points, took the inbounds pass with 1.7 seconds left, moved to her right to elude a defender and made the winning basket. The referees reviewed the play for a few minutes before declaring the basket good and leaving the Fever crowd stunned. Minnesota leads the best-of-5 series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday night with Minnesota trying to win its third title in five years. As had been the case in the first two of the games in the series where each team won by six points, this one came down to the end. Neither team led by more than five points in the fourth quarter. Minnesota trailed 77-74 with 2:08 left before Renee Montgomery hit a three-pointer to tie it at 77-77 with 1:11 left. Both teams missed shots over the next 40 seconds before Indiana had the ball with 25 seconds left. Shenise Johnson’s jumper from the corner was partially tipped with a few seconds left and the ball went to Minnesota with one last chance to win it in regulation, which they did on Moore’s three-pointer. She had been in foul trouble all night, playing just 12 minutes through the first three quarters. Moore scored 12 points in the final quarter to lift the Lynx. Seimone Augustus added 13 points, and Montgomery had 12. Johnson finished with 17 points to lead Indiana. Tamika Catchings added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

BASEBALL

Manfred: Don't rush postseason

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Friday it's "not appropriate" to enforce pace-of-play rules as strictly during the postseason. Speaking before Toronto hosted Texas in Game 2 of their AL Division Series, Manfred said he was pleased with cooperation from players during the regular season, when the average time of a nine-inning game was cut by six minutes this year to 2:56. "We are going to stay focused on pace of play," Manfred said, "but in terms of the disciplinary aspects of the program, warnings and things like that, it's just not appropriate in the postseason." Major League Baseball has not said whether players were fined for violations during the regular season.

• The Seattle Mariners have fired manager Lloyd McClendon after two seasons, with new General Manager Jerry Dipoto choosing to bring in his own field boss to take over Seattle's operations. Seattle announced the decision on McClendon on Friday, less than a week after the Mariners concluded a disappointing 76-86 season. Seattle started the year with expectations of contenting in the AL West and reaching the postseason, but instead finished in fourth place in the division. Dipoto was hired to replace Jack Zduriencik the final week of the regular season and said he would take his time evaluating whether McClendon would return. McClendon was under contract for the 2016 season.

TENNIS

Djokovic advances

Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak to 27 matches at the China Open in Beijing with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over John Isner on Friday to secure a place in the semifinals. The top-ranked Djokovic has never lost a match at the tournament, and his victory over the big-serving American means he has won 23 consecutive sets. Relying on his outstanding return, Djokovic restricted Isner to just three aces. He didn't face a breakpoint, and only dropped nine points on his own serve. Djokovic moved into a semifinal match against fourth-seeded David Ferrer, who beat wild-card entry Lu Yen-hsun 6-3, 6-1 to join fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the last four. Third-seeded Nadal reached his first hard-court semifinal of the year by outlasting Jack Sock of the United States 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

• Defending champion Kei Nishikori beat Marin Cilic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Japan Open in Tokyo. The second-seeded Nishikori overcame 23 aces by the hard-hitting Cilic to set up a match against Benoit Paire, who beat Nick Kyrgios 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Nishikori saved one break point in the first game of the third set. Despite receiving treatment on his right shoulder after the third game, he immediately broke Cilic and went on to record his 51st match victory of the year. In other matches, French Open champion Stan Wawrinka overpowered Austin Krajicek 6-3, 6-4. The top-seeded Wawrinka saved every break point he faced to dispatch the American qualifier in just 59 minutes. The Swiss player will face Luxembourg's Gilles Muller in today's semifinals. Muller beat Gilles Simon of France 6-3, 6-4. Muller hit eight aces and lost just six points on his first serve.

HOCKEY

Richards, Kings settle

Center Mike Richards and the Los Angeles Kings have settled their dispute over the termination of Richards' contract after his arrest in June. The NHL Players' Association announced the settlement Friday, making Richards an unrestricted free agent. Richards was charged with possession of a controlled substance in Manitoba after he was stopped by Canadian border authorities. The Kings terminated his contract later in the summer, and the NHLPA filed a grievance on his behalf. Richards had five years and $22 million remaining on a lavish 12-year, $69 million deal signed with Philadelphia. The two-time Stanley Cup champion's offensive production declined sharply the past few years. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed by the union or the team. The Kings issued a brief statement declaring the settlement "agreeable to all parties."

SOCCER

Blatter plans quick return

Suspended and shamed, Sepp Blatter is still hoping to return to power as FIFA president within the next 10 days. Blatter was banned for 90 days on Thursday, essentially ending his 17-year reign as the leader of soccer's governing body. But Klaus Stoehlker, a close associate of Blatter, told The Associated Press on Friday that the Swiss official is aiming to be back at work very soon. "He has made an appeal and everybody hopes there will be a decision in the next 10 days," Stoehlker said. "He is very, very tough ... he is sure he will have the right to be back. He doesn't feel he is out of the job. That's a huge misunderstanding." Both Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini were given 90-day bans in the wake of a Swiss criminal case investigating financial misconduct at FIFA.

Sports on 10/10/2015

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