GOLF
Lee leads at Phoenix
Danny Lee took the lead Saturday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in front of the largest crowd in golf history. With an estimated 201,003 fans packing TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course, Lee shot a 4-under 67 to move three strokes ahead of Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama. Lee had six birdies and two bogeys to reach 13-under 200. Fowler parred the final five holes for a 70. Matsuyama had a 68. Bryce Molder and Boo Weekley were 9 under. Molder closed with an 18-foot putt on the par-4 ninth for a 64, the best round of the week. Weekley birdied three of the last four holes for a 65. Phil Mickelson was 8 under after 65. The previous largest crowd at the Stadium Course was 189,722 in 2014. The tournament also set a day record Friday at 160,415, and has drawn 535,035 overall. The weekly mark of 564,368 was set last year.
• Ha Na Jang won her first LPGA Tour title on Saturday by making a late birdie to take the lead and closing with an even-par 72 for a two-shot victory over Canadian teen Brooke Henderson in the Coates Golf Championship at Ocala, Fla. Jang played the final 36 holes with Lydia Ko, but it was the No. 1 player in women's golf who buckled. They were tied for the lead after finishing the third round in the morning. Ko dropped five shots in five holes, and only three late birdies kept her hopes alive. Ko closed with a 75 and finished three shots behind. Henderson had a pair of three-putt bogeys over the final five holes and shot 72. Jang had a one-shot lead playing the par-5 18th and hit wedge to a back pin for a 5-foot birdie. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) had an eagle, seven birdies one bogey and a double bogey for a 6-under 66 (285). Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks) had three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey for a 1-over 73 (292).
• Danny Willett shot a second successive round of seven-under par 65 to enjoy a one-shot advantage on top of the Dubai Desert Classic leaderboard after the third round Saturday. Willett moved to 16-under par for the tournament, with 2012 champion Rafael Cabrera-Bello in second place at 15-under with his third consecutive round of 67. Defending champion Rory McIlroy saved his round with another blistering back nine performance, but will begin the final day eight shots behind Willett at 208 after a four-under par 68 round. England's Andy Sullivan (66) was third at 202, Netherland's Joost Luiten (67) fourth at 203 and recent Joburg Open winner, Hadyn Porteus of South Africa, fifth at 204. Four-time major champion Ernie Els, who started the day just one shot behind the leader, struggled to a two-over par 74 round and fell back to a tie for 28th place at seven-under par.
• Sebastian Munoz was in the lead by one stroke Saturday after third-round play was suspended because of darkness at the Club Colombia Championship in Bogota, Colombia. He was at 11 under. Andrew Putnam was in second, followed by Alexandre Rocha and Trey Mullinax tied for third at 9 under. Round 3 will resume at 7 a.m. today local time. Matt Atkins (Henderson State) shot a 6-under 65 (205) and is tied for fifth place at 8 under. Zack Fischer (Little Rock) and Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) are tied for 14th at 136 but have yet to complete their third rounds. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) is tied for 65th at 140. Scott Gardiner (Farmington) did not make the cut.
TENNIS
Gasquet on course
Defending champion Richard Gasquet remains on course to defend his Open Sud de France title after rallying to beat Dustin Brown of Germany 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday at Montpellier, France, setting up an all-French final against veteran Paul-Henri Mathieu. Mathieu earlier beat German teenager Alexander Zverev 7-6 (11), 7-5 in a hard-fought match. Mathieu, who won the last of his four career titles in 2007, had nine aces and withstood 15 from the 18-year-old Zverev, who beat U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in the second round. The top-seeded Gasquet, ranked 10th, bids for his 13th career title. He was in deep trouble but fought back from 3-0 down in the second set as Brown, who fired 17 aces in the match, started to get more nervous approaching victory.
• Top-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut advanced to the Sofia Open final by beating Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Saturday at Sofia, Bulgaria. The Spaniard will meet the second-seeded Viktor Troicki for the first time in the final after the Serb took nearly 2 1/2 hours to put away seventh-seeded Martin Klizan of Slovakia 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Bautista Agut won 75 percent of his service points, and Muller did well to save six of seven break points. But after Muller dropped the opener in a tiebreaker, he was broken in the third game of the second set.
BASKETBALL
Statham breaks record
Harry Statham earned his record-breaking 1,099th victory as a head coach on Saturday as freshman Nate Michael scored 40 points to lead McKendree to a 92-84 victory over Maryville. Statham, 78, who is in his 50th season coaching the Bearcats (11-10, 4-9 Great Lakes Valley Conference), moved past legendary Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt for most victories ever by a coach at a four-year school. He has 476 losses. McKendree had tremendous success under Statham at the NAIA level, making 40 postseason appearances -- including 10 in the national tournament during a 12-year span -- ending in 2011. Then the Bearcats moved up to Division II and have struggled. The milestone victory came on the Bearcats' third try after losing the past two games.
Pitino: Fine schools, coaches
Louisville Coach Rick Pitino said Saturday that schools and coaches should be fined for violations, and that players who had nothing to do with infractions should not be penalized. Pitino said Athletic Director Tom Jurich chose to keep Louisville out of this year's Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA tournaments. The decision came after an investigation revealed that violations occurred when the school reviewed allegations by an escort that a former staffer paid her and other dancers for sex parties at the team's dormitory. University President James Ramsey announced the ban Friday. Speaking after the No. 19 Cardinals' 79-47 rout of Boston College on Saturday, Pitino said he thinks "it's wrong to penalize these kids" by keeping them out of competition. He suggested a $10 million fine for schools while coaches' salaries get docked for infractions.
Sports on 02/07/2016