GOLF
4-way tie for lead
Two swings cost Dustin Johnson the lead, and it wasn't long before Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler caught up to him in The Northern Trust at Old Westbury, N.Y. Spieth ran off five consecutive birdies on the back nine at Glen Oaks Club for a 5-under 65, which allowed him to join a four-way tie for the lead with Johnson, Fowler and Jhonattan Vegas going into the weekend. Johnson hit consecutive tee shots that wound up on the wrong hole and led to back-to-back bogeys in his round of 69. Fowler made up a five-shot deficit in the final six holes with three birdies for a 66. Spieth played in the afternoon and surged into a share of the lead by matching the longest birdie streak of his PGA Tour career. His six birdies on the back nine included putts of 25 feet and 40 feet. Vegas played bogey-free for a 65. The leaders were at 6-under 134. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 68.
Chun out front
In Gee Chun took the lead Friday in the Canadian Pacific Women's Open at Ottawa, and Canadian star Brooke Henderson did just enough to make the weekend at Ottawa Hunt. Chun closed with a birdie on the par-5 ninth for her second consecutive 4-under 67, giving the South Korean player a two-stroke lead over Americans Mo Martin, Brittany Lincicome and Marina Alex. Henderson, the 19-year-old fan favorite from nearby Smiths Falls, followed her opening 74 with a 69 to make the cut on the number at 1 over. Also closing on the front nine, she rebounded from a bogey on the par-3 eighth with a two-putt birdie on No. 9. Martin birdied four of the last four holes for a 67, and Lincicome birdied the par-5 18th for her second consecutive 68. Alex, the first-round leader, had a 70. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 68 and is tied for fifth at 5 under. Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks) had a 69 and is even after two rounds. Emily Tubert (Razorbacks) did not make the cut.
Webster leads by 1
Defending champion Thomas Pieters missed the cut at the Made In Denmark tournament in Farso, Denmark, as Steve Webster took a one-shot lead after two rounds of the European Tour event on Friday. Pieters, the world No. 29, was the highest-ranked player in the field, but shot 74-70 and was 2 over the expected par cut line. Webster, who led overnight with Wade Ormsby and Matt Wallace, shot a 1-under 70 and was on 8-under overall at the Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort. Paul Dunne (68), SSP Chawrasia (68), Marc Warren (64), and David Horsey (67) were a shot off the lead. Warren, the 2014 champion, had missed the cut in his previous eight events. Making his 500th European Tour appearance, Europe Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn shot 68 to make the weekend on 1 under. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 70 and is 5 under going into the weekend. Pep Angles (Central Arkansas) did not make the cut.
Wise leads Portland
Aaron Wise shot a 6-under 65 on Friday to lead the Web.com Portland Open at North Plains, Ore. With his first-round 64, he leads the pack at 13 under. Eric Axley had a second consecutive 66 and is in second at 10 under. Adam Schenk and Lanto Griffin are 9 under. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) is 6 under after a 67. Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) and Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) are 3 under. Landry had a 70 and Moore a 71. Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) is 2 under after a 76. Zack Fischer (Little Rock), Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) and Matt Atkins (Henderson State) did not make the cut.
Pair share Boeing lead
Jerry Kelly and David McKenzie shot 7-under 65 on Friday to share the first-round lead on the Champions Tour Boeing Classic at Snoqualmie, Wash. Kelly had eight birdies and a bogey at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge. The three-time PGA Tour winner is making his 13th senior start after turning 50 in November. McKenzie, from Australia, eagled the par-5 eighth -- his 17th hole -- to join Kelly atop the leaderboard. Marco Dawson and Duffy Waldorf were a stroke back. Glen Day (Little Rock) shot even-par 72.
TENNIS
Cibulkova advances
Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia beat qualifier Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-1, 6-3 on Friday to reach the Connecticut Open final at New Haven. Cibulkova is looking for her first title of the season in the final tuneup before the U.S. Open, which begins Monday. She will face the winner of the semifinal between top-seeded defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska and Daria Gavilova. Cibulkova, seeded second and ranked 11th, broke Mertens five times in the 70-minute match. This will be her first final in eight appearances in New Haven. Mertens, who won her first career title in Hobart, Australia, in January, went up a break early in the second set, but gave back that advantage on her next serve. She lost the seventh game of the set on a double fault and was broken again to close the match.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Swinney's big raise
Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney is getting a hefty raise after winning the national championship. The university announced Friday its Board of Trustees approved a new 8-year, $54 million contract for Swinney. The deal pays Swinney $6 million this season, has $3.2 million in signing bonuses in three installments and includes a $6 million buyout until the end of 2018. Clemson Athletics Director Dan Radakovich said the school thought Swinney earned a salary similar to the other three active coaches with national championships. Only Alabama's Nick Saban and Michigan's Jim Harbaugh will be paid more this year. Swinney was paid just over $4.5 million in 2016 before his team beat Alabama to win Swinney's first national championship.
HORSE RACING
Travers field balanced
Today's $1.25 million Travers Stakes for 3-year-olds pits the winners of all three Triple Crown races -- Always Dreaming (Kentucky Derby), Cloud Computing (Preakness) and Tapwrit (Belmont Stakes) -- in the Mid-Summer Derby at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. There is also Girvin, recent winner of the Haskell Invitational, and Good Samaritan, winner of Saratoga's Jim Dandy Stakes, to name five of the contenders in the 12-horse field that will run 1 ¼ miles. How wide open is this race? Tapwrit (7-2) is the morning-line favorite, followed by Bob Baffert-trained West Coast (4-1), Good Samaritan (5-1), Always Dreaming (6-1), Cloud Computing (8-1), Irap (8-1) and Girvin (10-1). McCraken, beaten a nose in the Haskell, is 12-1. Then, there is Oaklawn-raced Lookin at Lee, trainer Steve Asmussen's Kentucky Derby runnerup, listed at 30-1. Others in the field: Fayeq, 30-1; Giuseppe the Great, 20-1; and Fountain of Youth winner Gunnevera, 20-1.
MOTOR SPORTS
Hamilton fastest
Lewis Hamilton increased the pace on quicker tires and posted the fastest time in the second practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday. The Mercedes driver had been second quickest behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the morning's first practice, but that was with Raikkonen on ultra softs and Hamilton on the slightly slower softs. With both on ultra softs in P2, Mercedes showed its extra pace with Hamilton clocking 1 minute, 44.753 seconds -- putting him .262 clear of Raikkonen and .427 ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. In a further boost for Hamilton, championship leader Sebastian Vettel was only fifth behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Toward the end, thunderous rainfall drenched the vast 4.3-mile Spa circuit that cuts through the forest of Ardennes, enveloping it in darkness. "Aquaplaning already," Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo said. "Lot of water everywhere." The third practice is set for this morning, followed by qualifying, where Hamilton looks to equal F1 great Michael Schumacher's pole position record of 68.
BOXING
Lawsuit tossed
A federal judge has dismissed class-action lawsuits by disgruntled boxing fans who complained they didn't get their pay-per-view money's worth when Manny Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas in May 2015. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles said in his Friday ruling that he has sympathy for fans around the country who felt deceived that Pacquiao failed to disclose he had a shoulder injury until about three hours before the fight. But the judge said fans still got what cable TV networks said viewers paid more than $400 million to see -- a boxing match between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Sports on 08/26/2017