GOLF
Blixt, Smith widen lead
Swede Jonas Blixt and Australian Cameron Smith prolonged their bogey-free run to three rounds in the new team format at the Zurich Classic at Avondale, La., deftly adjusting to gusting winds and posting a 4-under 68 to widen their lead to four strokes. Alternating shots on Saturday as teams did in the first round, the Blixt-Cameron partnership posted four birdies to improve to 19-under, building on a lead that stood at one shot through two rounds. They are the only team without a bogey. The Kevin Kisner-Scott Brown and Nick Watney-Charley Hoffman teams were tied for second. Also still in contention are Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer, five shots behind. The final round, which will start earlier than planned -- at 6:40 a.m. -- because of rain in the forecast, will return to the "best ball" format used in the second round, in which each team takes the best score per hole. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Danny Lee had an even-par 72 and are tied for 15th at 10-under 206.
Nomura leads by 2
Haru Nomura of Japan shot a 1-over 72 on another windy day on the LPGA Tour's Texas Shootout at Irving, Texas, to extend her lead through three rounds despite a late double bogey. Nomura was at 8-under 205 at the end of play Saturday. She was two strokes ahead of 17-year-old amateur Eun Jeong Seong (69), Cristie Kerr (70) and two-time Texas winner Inbee Park (71). Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) had the day's best round with a bogey-free 66. Tied for 44th place after 36 holes, Lewis moved up to fifth place. There were winds of about 20 mph and a threatening storm that created difficult conditions for the second consecutive day. Ariya Jutanugarn started the day a stroke off the lead and with a victory this weekend would take over as the world's No. 1-ranked player. The third-ranked Jutanugarn shot 76 with six bogeys and was in a group of five players, including her sister Moriya (74), that are five strokes off the lead. Lydia Ko, ranked No. 1 for 79 consecutive weeks, withdrew before the third round because of an eye infection. Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks) had a 74 and is 4 over going into today's final round.
Atkins leads in Mexico
Matt Atkins (Henderson State) shot a 6-under 66 and moved into the lead Saturday at the Web.com El Bosque Mexico Championship at Guanajuato, Mexico. Atkins was 13 under after a three-round score of 203 heading into today's final round. Sebastian Munoz (68) was one stroke back at 204. Sepp Straka, who was leading at the end of play Friday, was alone in third, three strokes off the lead at 206. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) was 8 under and Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) was 7 under. Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks), Zack Fischer (Little Rock) and Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) did not make the cut.
Frittelli out front
Dylan Frittelli of South Africa moved three strokes clear of the China Open field after carding an 8-under-par 64 in the third round on Saturday. Frittelli birdied eight holes in a bogey-free round at the Topwin Golf and Country Club to get to 19 under. Pablo Larrazabal of Spain was his nearest challenger at 16 under after a 70. Alexander Levy of France, the 2014 champion, was third at 12 under after a 71. English golfer Chris Wood scored 65 with just a single bogey to get to 11 under, a shot clear of South Korea's Moon Kyong-jun and Austria's Bernd Wiesberger. Pep Angles (Central Arkansas) shot a 70 and is 7 under going into the final round todayf.
TENNIS
Thiem upsets Murray
Dominic Thiem upset top-ranked Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the final today against defending champion Rafael Nadal at the Barcelona Open. Nadal beat Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 Saturday after the fourth-seeded Thiem dispatched Murray in windy conditions at the Real Club de Tenis. Murray's defeat came a week after he exited the third round in Monte Carlo. That loss prompted Murray to enter Barcelona to whip up some form for the French Open following a right-elbow injury. "Thiem is a specialist on clay, one of the best in the world," Nadal said. "It will be a tough match for me, but I am just happy to be back in the final."
Sharapova loses
Maria Sharapova's first tournament since her controversial return to tennis ended Saturday after losing to Kristina Mladenovic of France in the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix at Stuttgart, Germany. Mladenovic beat former top-ranked Sharapova 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. In her fourth match following a 15-month doping ban, the Russian was left to rue missing 13 of her 16 break-point opportunities as Mladenovic rallied to win in 2 hours, 38 minutes. The 19th-ranked Mladenovic, who ousted two-time defending champion Angelique Kerber on Thursday, next plays last year's runner-up Laura Siegemund. The German wild card advanced to her second final in her hometown with a 6-4, 7-5 defeat of fourth-seeded Simona Halep. Sharapova, who tested positive for meldonium at last year's Australian Open, had been given a wild card to enter the Stuttgart event after losing her ranking because of the ban.
MOTOR SPORTS
Larson wins Richmond
Kyle Larson took the lead on pit stops with only a handful of laps to go when race leader Ty Dillon jumped a restart and won the NASCAR Xfinity race at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday after barely beating a caution flag to the overtime line. Justin Allgaier finished second after leading 157 of the 254 laps and won a $100,000 bonus in the Dash for Cash, and pole-sitter Daniel Hemric was third. Larson was running near the lead when the race went back to green with about five laps to go. Dillon was the leader and took off too early when the green flag flew, setting up a battle between Larson and Allgaier for the victory in a two-lap dash to the finish. Allgaier started on the outside and stayed side-by-side with Larson into the first turn. But Larson slowly put a few car lengths between them before an accident behind them brought out a caution flag, making official Larson's second victory in five Xfinity starts this year.
Vettel takes Russian pole
Sebastian Vettel stormed to pole position for the Russian Grand Prix on Saturday, ending a run of 18 poles for Mercedes. Vettel, the Formula One leader, shaved 0.059 seconds off his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen's leading time and denied the Finn his first pole for nine years. The Mercedes duo of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton qualified third and fourth respectively after failing to dislodge Vettel with their last-lap efforts.
CYCLING
Young dies from injuries
Promising cyclist Chad Young died from injuries sustained during a high-speed crash at the Tour of Gila at Tucson, Ariz., the first American rider to die in a prominent North American stage race in nearly two decades. Young was 21. His team, Axeon Hagens Berman, said Young died late Friday in Tucson. The team said he was involved in a crash last Sunday during the queen stage of the New Mexico race. Medics were on the scene within minutes and Young was airlifted to a hospital in Tucson, where he was initially listed in stable condition. Young was downgraded to critical on Tuesday when the extent of his head injuries became clear.
Yates wins mountain stage
Simon Yates outlasted Richie Porte to win the Tour de Romandie's main mountain stage and earn the leader's yellow jersey on Saturday at Leysin, Switzerland. Britain's Yates easily held off Australian Porte as both clocked the same time for the 101-mile trek to Leysin ski station. Yates, riding for the Orica-Scott team, took a 19-second lead on Porte to start today's 11-mile time trial to Lausanne that ends the six-day race. Emanual Buchmann of Germany placed third, 20 seconds back, and was third overall, trailing Yates by 38 seconds. Fabio Felline of Italy fell to fourth overall, 44 seconds back, after holding the lead since Tuesday. Three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome dropped from the main group three miles from the finish and lost more than one minute to Yates.
Sports on 04/30/2017