GOLF
Casey leads by 3 after third
Paul Casey finished with a birdie and an eagle over the last three holes Sunday for a 5-under 66 and a threeshot lead going into the Labor Day finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Casey hit 7-iron into 5 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th, and then he drilled a 3-iron into the swirling wind on the par-5 18th that worked out perfectly. It landed just left of the green, caught a ridge and rolled to 30 inches for the eagle. Casey was at 15-under 198 as he goes for his first PGA Tour in seven years. Bryce Molder (Conway) is tied for 56th at 1 under. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) is at 2 over and is in a tie for 68th.
Masson wins first title
Caroline Masson broke out of a star-filled pack to win the LPGA Manulife Classic in Ontario for her first tour title. The German player rebounded from an opening double bogey to make nine birdies in a 5-under 67. She beat third-round leader Mi Hyang Lee, Minjee Lee and Solheim Cup teammate Karine Icher by a stroke, finishing at 16-under 272 at Whistle Bear. Mi Hyang Lee parred the final two holes to miss a chance for a playoff. Ariya Jutanugarn tied for fifth at 14 under in her bid to win three straight events for the second time this season. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) finished tied for 49th at 5 under and won $5,504.
Franco breaks through
Paraguay’s Carlos Franco rallied to win the Shaw Charity Classic at chilly Canyon Meadows in Calgary, Alberta, for his first PGA Tour Champions victory. Three strokes behind defending champion Jeff Maggert entering the round, the 51-year-old Franco shot his second straight 7-under 63 to beat Bernhard Langer and Michael Allen by two strokes. Glen Day (Little Rock) tied for 33rd and won $15,158. Mike Grob (Arkansas Razorbacks) was at 2 under and won $7,050. John Daly (Dardanelle, Razorbacks) shot a 4-over 74 and finished at 1 over and tied for 53rd, good enough for $5,288.
FOOTBALL
Defensive coordinator fired
Louisiana-Lafayette fired defensive coordinator Melvin Smith on Sunday, a day after a season-opening 45-10 loss to Boise State. Ragin’ Cajuns Coach Mark Hudspeth said linebackers coach Mike Lucas will be the defensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. Smith came to Louisiana-Lafayette last year after two seasons as Auburn’s cornerbacks coach. He also has been an assistant at Mississippi State, Alabama and Texas A&M.
Dead punter’s brother robbed
While Nebraska honored punter Sam Foltz who died in a car crash this summer, someone broke into his brother’s home and car. Greeley County Sheriff David Weeks said the burglary happened sometime after the Foltz family left home around noon to attend Saturday’s game in Lincoln and before they returned around 3 a.m. Sunday. The thieves took items worth roughly $1,400, including a television and tools, from Jordan Foltz’s home and vehicle in the Greeley, Nebraska, area. Sam Foltz, who would have been a senior at Nebraska, died in a car crash in Wisconsin in July along with former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler.
USC DE suspended a half
Southern California defensive end Jabari Ruffin will be suspended for part of the Trojans’ next game after stomping on the groin of an Alabama player. USC Coach Clay Helton said Sunday that Ruffin will sit out the first half when the Trojans host Utah State on Saturday. The fifth-year senior also will write an apology letter. Ruffin was ejected from the Trojans’ 52-6 loss to the Crimson Tide in the second quarter when he stepped on Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick following a kickoff return. The resulting penalty pinned the Trojans’ offense on the USC 10. Two plays later, Alabama’s Marlon Humphrey returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown and a 17-3 lead to ignite the blowout.
BASEBALL
Padres release SS Ramirez
The San Diego Padres have released veteran shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Ramirez, who turns 35 on Sept. 22, hit .240 with 5 home runs and 41 RBIs in 128 games with San Diego this year, starting 109 games at shortstop, 3 in right field and 1 at designated hitter. The last-place Padres signed Ramirez, who made the AL All-Star team in 2014, as a free agent this past offseason. He played his first eight years with the White Sox, batting .273 with 109 home runs.
Kershaw set to return
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to pitch Friday at Miami after spending more than two months on the disabled list with a herniated disk. Manager Dave Roberts says Kershaw won’t have a specific pitch count, but the team will be looking at the big picture with the playoffs coming up next month. The Dodgers lead the NL West by two games over San Francisco. Kershaw dominated in his lone rehab start at Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday night. The left-hander allowed only an infield hit, struck out five and walked none. He threw 35 pitches in the game and another 15 in the bullpen.
TENNIS
Nadal upset by 24th-seeded Pouille
NEW YORK — Rafael Nadal kept making a stand, kept coming back, kept showing he would not depart quietly from this U.S. Open. Facing a much younger, much-less-accomplished opponent, Nadal twice erased a set deficit. Then he staved off three match points.
And then, more than four hours into the toughest test he’s put his left wrist through since returning from injury, Nadal faltered. He missed a short forehand, pushing it into the net. Nadal knew what he’d done and covered his eyes with both hands. One point later, the match was over.
Nadal was upset in the U.S. Open’s fourth round by 24th-seeded Lucas Pouille of France 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6) on Sunday, prolonging the 14-time Grand Slam title winner’s quarterfinal drought at major tournaments.
The No. 4-seeded Nadal, a twotime champion at Flushing Meadows, breezed through his opening three matches in Week 1 at the hard-court tournament, dropping only 20 games combined. But Pouille, a 22-year-old with flashy strokes, presented a much greater challenge in the fourth round, pushing Nadal to the limit through entertaining, tense — and intense — exchanges.
This was Pouille’s third career victory in a five-setter — and all have come in his past three matches.
Since losing in last year’s French Open quarterfinals, Nadal has failed to make it beyond the fourth round at a major.
After finally pulling even with Pouille by capturing the fourth set, Nadal appeared to nose ahead by breaking to open the fifth, then going ahead 4-2. But Pouille broke back to 4-4.
Soon enough, they were in the tiebreaker, with Pouille managing to pull out the victory.
“It’s just never over until the last point,” Pouille said. “I was a break down in the fifth, and I came back. And then 6-3 in the tiebreak, he came back. It’s never done until the last point is over.”
On Tuesday, Pouille will face 10th-seeded Gael Monfils, who beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 for a spot in the quarterfinals. No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga advanced as well, knocking off No. 26 Jack Sock 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-2.
In the winner’s bracket, No. 7 Roberta Vinci moved on after toppling 99th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko 7-6 (5), 6-2 while twotime U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki eliminated eighth-seeded Madison Keys 6-3, 6-4. Unseeded Anastasija Sevastova upset 13th-seeded Johanna Konta 6-4, 7-5.