GOLF
Na leads Fort Worth
Kevin Na chipped in from the rough more than 90 feet away for an incredible birdie to close out an 8-under 62 and take the first-round lead in the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial on Thursday. After Na's tee shot at the 399-yard ninth hole went into the rough to the right, his approach flew over the green and settled against a temporary grandstand. His relief was a drop into more rough, but after the chip to the green, the ball rolled over a ridge, started to curl and caught the right edge of the cup before falling to end his round. That put him one stroke ahead of Charley Hoffman, who also was bogey-free when shooting a 63 in the morning round. Jhonattan Vegas, Emiliano Grillo, Andrew Putnam and Beau Hossler shot 64. Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot even-par 70. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) was 1 over and David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) was 2 over.
Four at the top
Moriya Jutanugarn, Caroline Masson, Danielle Kang and Amy Olson shot 6-under 66 on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour's Volvik Championship at Ann Arbor, Mich. Jessica Korda, Minjee Lee, Nasa Hataoka, Lindy Duncan, Morgan Pressel, Megan Khang and Jodi Ewart Shadoff were a stroke back at 67 at Travis Pointe. Ariya Jutanugarn, the Kingsmill Championship winner last week in Virginia, opened with a 69. The Jutanugarn sisters and Korda are among six players with a chance to become the LPGA Tour's first two-time winner this year. Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) had a 3-under 69. Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) had a 71 and Emily Tubert (Razorbacks) had a 74.
6 share lead with 66s
Nevada club professional Stuart Smith shot a 5-under 66 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's Senior PGA Championship. Smith closed his morning round with a double bogey on the par-4 18th, and Scott McCarron, Tim Petrovic, Wes Short Jr., Barry Lane and Peter Lonard matched the 66 in the afternoon. One of 41 club pros in the field at Harbor Shores for the senior major, Smith is the director of golf at Somersett Country Club in Reno. Defending champion Bernhard Langer is skipping the event to attend son Jason's high school graduation, and Steve Stricker is playing the PGA Tour event in Texas. Glen Day (Little Rock) had a 1-under 70. Clark Dennis (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot even-par 71.
McIlroy near the top
Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under 67 at Wentworth on Thursday in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship at Virginia Water, England. He was two shots off the lead held by Lucas Bjerregaard (65). Bjerregaard made seven birdies in a bogey-free round -- his last at No. 18 giving him the outright lead over South Africans Dean Burmester and Darren Fichardt. Kiradech Aphibarnrat finished 7-6 on the two par fives to drop from the outright lead at the time to 4 under.
TENNIS
Wawrinka, Querrey out
Two-time defending champion Stan Wawrinka and top-seeded Sam Querrey lost at the Geneva Open as the semifinals lineup was completed on Thursday. Wawrinka was swept aside by Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-4, 6-0 in the quarterfinals for his first defeat in front of home fans at Geneva since 2015, just before he won the French Open. Querrey lost in the second round, his opening match at the rain-hit tournament, to Guido Pella of Argentina 7-5, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4). It was the 13th-ranked American's third consecutive quick exit from a clay-court event before the French Open begins on Sunday. Wawrinka's ranking has dropped to No. 25 while sidelined by persistent knee injuries, and his second-round victory on Wednesday was his first on tour for nearly four months. Fucsovics will next play Steve Johnson after the sixth-seeded American won both of his matches on Thursday.
Norrie advances at Lyon
Cameron Norrie of Britain recorded his first victory over a top-10 player to reach the Lyon Open semifinals on Thursday. Norrie defeated 10th-ranked John Isner 7-6 (1), 6-4 at the clay-court warmup for the French Open. Norrie, who will break into the top 100 next week, saved all four break points to prevail against the second-seeded American. Norrie will next face local favorite Gilles Simon of France. Simon spent more than 2 1/2 hours to rally past Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). The match pitting top-seeded Dominic Thiem against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez was suspended by darkness with the players tied at one set apiece. The winner will go up against Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in the other semifinal.
Bertens moves up
Two-time champion Kiki Bertens rallied to beat Mona Barthel of Germany 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the Nuremberg Cup quarterfinals on Thursday. Bertens fought back after losing the opening set to the 122nd-ranked Barthel, and the Dutch player next faces Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. Also in the second round, Alison Riske defeated Yulia Putintseva 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 for a match against the sixth-seeded Sorana Cirstea. Katerina Siniakova and Johanna Larsson both advanced to the semifinals. The eighth-seeded Siniakova beat Fanny Stollar of Hungary 7-5, 6-4, and Larsson rallied to beat Kristyna Pliskova 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in their respective quarterfinals. The day's schedule was disrupted by rain, leading organizers of the clay-court tournament to offer spectators half-price tickets today.
Barty wins at Strasbourg
Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty advanced to the semifinals of the Strasbourg International by beating Wang Qiang 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday at Strasbourg, France. It was Barty's third consecutive straight-set win at the clay-court tournament. The 22-year-old Australian will next face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-2.
BOXING
Heavyweight champ Johnson pardoned
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, who was convicted in 1913 of transporting a white woman across state lines.
Trump signed the pardon for Johnson during an Oval Office ceremony, sitting at the Resolute Desk and flanked by Sylvester Stallone, Lennox Lewis and other fighters.
The president called Johnson “a truly great fighter, had a tough life,” but served 10 months in federal prison “for what many view as a racially motivated injustice.” Trump said the conviction took place during a “period of tremendous racial tension in the United States.”
Decades after Johnson was convicted, his case drew significant attention as a gross miscarriage of justice and a symbol of the depths of racism in the American justice system.
Johnson was convicted in 1913 of violating the Mann Act on charges that he transported a white woman across state lines “for immoral purposes.” The woman, Belle Schreiber, worked as a prostitute and had been in a steady relationship with the heavyweight champion.
Johnson was sentenced to a year in prison, but he fled the country for several years, returning in 1920 to serve his sentence.
Johnson was born March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas, and died June 10, 1946, in Raleigh, N.C.
Trump noted that bipartisan requests for a pardon for Johnson had been made for years, but that despite that, no previous president had been willing to sign one. He noted — with a glancing reference to former President Barack Obama — that the last resolution in Congress calling for the pardon was in 2015.
The Obama administration passed on pardoning Johnson, citing in part allegations of domestic violence against women.
Sports on 05/25/2018