GOLF
Johnson ahead in rain
Dustin Johnson finished with three birdies over his last four holes Saturday for another 5-under 66 to take a one-shot lead after 36 holes of the rain-delayed Genesis Open in Los Angeles. Johnson has three victories in 54-hole events, though this one figures to go 72 holes, even if that means going into Monday. Heavy rain across southern California wiped out seven hours of play Friday and caused a two-hour delay Saturday morning. Pat Perez birdied the last two holes for a 66 and was one shot behind, along with Cameron Tringale (64). Johnson has had a chance to win at Riviera four times in the past five years, and he has been pointing to this event all year. A victory might be enough to send him to No. 1 in the world for the first time. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) and Bryce Molder (Conway) did not make the cut.
Putnam takes lead
Andrew Putnam had a 3-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Mark Anderson at the Web.com Tour’s Panama Claro Championship at Panama City, Panama. Putnam is at 11-under 199 after three rounds. Chris Baker (66) and Sam Ryder (67) are tied at 9-under 201. Willy Wilcox (64) is alone in fifth place at 7-under 203. Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Matt Atkins (Henderson State) are tied for 13th at 4-under 206. Landry shot a 3-under 67 and Atkins a 2-over 72. Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) had a 1-under 69 and is at 2-under 208. Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) is at even-par 210. He shot a 1-under 69.
Salas moves up
American Lizette Salas shot a 2-under 71 Saturday to take a twostroke lead over two Australians and a Thai golfer heading into the final round of the Women’s Australian Open at Royal Adelaide. Australian Olympian Su Oh had the round of the day, a 68, and was tied for second with 36-hole leader Sarah Jane Smith (74) and Pornanong Phatlum (73). Defending champion Haru Nomura of Japan had a second consecutive 69 and was in a group tied for seventh, four strokes behind. No. 2-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand shot a 71 and was at 4-under. Michelle Wie shot 76 and was at 2-under, eight strokes behind. No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand was at even par after a 73 on Saturday, as was Canada’s Brooke Henderson. Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 4-over 77.
Jimenez ahead by 1
Miguel Angel Jimenez birdied two of the last four holes Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Fred Couples and Kevin Sutherland into the final round of the Chubb Classic at Naples, Fla. Jimenez birdied the par-4 15th and par-5 17th in a bogey-free 5-under 67 that got him to 12-under 132 in the PGA Tour Champions event at The TwinEagles Club. Couples shot a 65 in perfect conditions on the Talon Course. Sutherland had a 63 for the best round of the week. Bob Tway
(68) and Doug Garwood (70) were tied for fourth at 9 under. Defending champion Bernhard Langer was 7 under after a 68. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) followed his opening 68 with a 74 to drop into a tie for 38th at 2 under. Glen Day (Little Rock) shot an even-par 72 and is tied for 43rd at 1 under.
TENNIS
Basilashvili advances
Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia beat Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 7-6 (5), 6-1 on Saturday in the Memphis Open semifinals to reach his second career final. Basilashvili, 24, will play Donald Young or Ryan Harrison today at The Racquet Club. Basilashvili needed 1 hour, 46 minutes to reach his first final since 2016, and he advanced by attacking Kukushkin’s serve and eventually wearing him down. Kukushkin broke Basilashvili’s serve to go up 2-0 only to be broken himself. Basilashvili took the first set in the tiebreaker after Kukushkin held serve on nine break points. Basilashvili went up 6-4 in the tiebreaker with a backhand winner into the corner, then won set point when Kukushkin hit into the net. Ranked 67th in the ATP rankings, Basilashvili then broke Kukushkin to go up 2-0 in the second set and again to take a 5-1 lead before holding serve for the match.
Tsonga in final
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrated his 400th career victory in style by beating fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final of the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Saturday. The sixth-seeded Frenchman was dominant on serve, hitting 10 aces, winning 88 percent of his points on first serve, and not conceding a single break point against the hard-hitting Czech. Tsonga will play third-seeded David Goffin of Belgium in the final. Goffin easily won 6-1, 6-3 against French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a doubles specialist ranked only 109th in singles.
Nishikori moves up
Top-seeded Kei Nishikori disappointed home fans and beat local wild card Carlos Berlocq 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the Argentina Open final Saturday in Buenos Aires. Nishikori will face Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the final after he defeated fourth-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 7-5, 6-2. Nishikori has won 11 ATP titles. He has a 5-0 record against Dolgopolov, without dropping a set. Dolgopolov is seeking his third title, and first in five years.
Pliskova wins Open
Karolina Pliskova beat Caroline Wozniacki for the first time and won their Qatar Open final 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday in Doha. Wozniacki won all three previous encounters in 2013 and 2014, but couldn’t hold a rally with Pliskova in the final and dropped her first sets of the week. Pliskova won her second WTA title of the year and the eighth of her career. The Czech will remain No. 3 in the world rankings.
TRACK AND FIELD
Farah’s last indoor race
Mo Farah marked the final indoor race of his career by breaking his own European record over 5,000 meters in a victory at the Grand Prix in Birmingham, England, on Saturday. The fourtime Olympic champion won in 13 minutes, 9.16 seconds, beating Bahrain’s Albert Rop in a sprint for the line. Farah, 33, is planning to transfer to road racing after the athletics world championship in London in August. “I can’t quite believe it is my last race but I have had a great indoor career,” Farah said. “It is something that must come to an end. It is weird thinking about it and saying goodbye.”
BASKETBALL
NBA monitoring laws
The NBA is continuing to monitor how states are handling laws regarding the protections of transgender people, with Commissioner Adam Silver warning that any less-than-inclusive policies will help the league decide where to hold All-Star Games going forward. Silver, in his annual state-of-the-league address at All-Star Saturday night, said he has spoken with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper — whose state was originally set to host this All-Star weekend — about the controversial and divisive HB2 law, one that the recently elected Cooper has said he wants repealed. And for other states considering similar measures, Silver said the NBA will watch them as well. Texas is considering a bill that would be similar to HB2. Its version is known as SB6, with top Republicans in that state recently unveiling a proposal that would ban transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice. Next year’s All-Star weekend is in Los Angeles. Texas last hosted an All-Star weekend in 2013. “I’m not ready to draw bright lines,” Silver said. “Clearly, though, the laws of the state, ordinances, and cities are a factor we look at in deciding where to play our All-Star Games.”
NBA returning to Africa
The NBA is going back to Africa. The league and the National Basketball Players Association announced Saturday that NBA Africa Game 2017 will be held on Aug. 5 in Johannesburg. It’s the second time the NBA is playing on that continent, after a soldout event there in 2015. Among the players planning to take part so far are Orlando’s Bismack Biyombo, Portland’s CJ McCollum and Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay. The game will have a Team Africa vs. Team World format and will support UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and SOS Children’s Villages South Africa. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said going back to South Africa “is part of the league’s continued commitment to bring the authentic NBA experience to fans around the world.”