GOLF
Westwood on top at Bay Hill
Lee Westwood made a pair of 30-foot putts over the final three holes Saturday, one for eagle and the other a closing birdie, for a 7-under 65 that gave England's ageless wonder a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla. Westwood turns 48 next month and is feeling younger by the years, coming off a third European Tour title and still easily among the top 50 in the world. Now he goes up against U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, whose 68 included a birdie on the par-5 sixth hole in which he cut off so much of the water he had only 70 yards for his second shot on the 531-yard hole. Corey Conners of Canada, who started with a one-shot lead, could only manage a 71 on a cool, breezy day with only a few drops of rain. He also was one shot behind. Jordan Spieth opened with a birdie and a hole-in-one, took the lead by holing a bunker shot on the par-3 seventh, saved par after a tee shot into the water and shot 68. He was two shots behind, along with former PGA champion Keegan Bradley, who had the low score of the week at 64.
Ernst holds lead
Jennifer Kupcho made a 12-foot eagle putt on the final hole to cut Austin Ernst's lead to a stroke Saturday in the LPGA Tour's Drive On Championship in Ocala, Fla. Kupcho shot a 2-under 70 at rainy Golden Ocala, setting up the eagle with a fairway wood from 215 yards that just cleared the rocks and water fronting the green on the par-5 18th. Ernst parred the last six holes in a 69. The two-time LPGA Tour winner chipped in for birdie on the par-4 ninth. She was at 13-under 203. Kupcho is winless on the tour. The former Wake Forest star from Colorado won the 2018 NCAA title and the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur in 2019. Ernst and Kupcho are in position to give the United States three consecutive victories to open a season for the first time since 2007. Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) fell back with a 74 on Saturday and is 1-under for the tournament. Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) turned in a 75 on Saturday and is at 3-over after three days.
BASEBALL
Giants, Alvarez reach deal
Left-handed reliever Jose Alvarez signed a $1.15 million, one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. The 31-year-old will look to build off momentum he had with the Phillies last season when he posted a 1.42 ERA over eight outings. He was struck by a 105 mph line drive in the groin area Aug. 20 against Toronto and didn't pitch for the rest of the year. Alvarez allowed just one earned run over 61/3 innings before the injury, holding right-handed hitters to 3 for 15 with one extra-base hit.
Boone back on bench
New York Yankees Manager Aaron Boone returned to the dugout Saturday, three days after surgery to have a pacemaker inserted. Boone, who turns 48 in a few days, left the club Wednesday to get the pacemaker at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Fla. He returned to camp Saturday after clearing covid-19 protocols and said he feels great -- especially so when he watched ace Gerrit Cole cruise through a simulated game at the team's spring training facility in Tampa. Boone -- who says his only restriction is he can't raise his left hand over his head for about a month -- then joined the team in nearby Bradenton for a rain-delayed exhibition game against the Pirates. Boone had the pacemaker inserted after he was found to have a heart rate as low as 30-39 beats per minute, well below the 60-100 considered normal for adults. Boone, who had open heart surgery in 2009 for a congenital defect, had been experiencing light-headedness and fatigue this winter.
TENNIS
Teen reaches Lyon final
Danish teenager Clara Tauson continued her remarkable form at the Lyon Open, beating seventh-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday to set up a first career final against fellow qualifier Viktorija Golubic. Golubic caused another upset by beating second-seeded Fiona Ferro 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4).
HORSE RACING
Trainer O'Neill suspended
Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O'Neill was suspended for a minimum of 10 days and fined $7,500 for a medication violation that occurred on Oct. 9, at Santa Anita. The horse Howbeit tested positive for the pain reliever Lidocaine after finishing second in a claiming race. O'Neill entered into a settlement agreement with the California Horse Racing Board in which he would have to serve only 10 days of the 30-day suspension if he remains without any more medication violations for a year. The suspension starts Monday and goes through March 17. O'Neill is best known for winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with I'll Have Another in 2012. The horse scratched before the Belmont with an injury. But during that time O'Neill was fighting a suspension from the California Horse Racing Board so he could train his horse in the Belmont Stakes. O'Neill also won the Kentucky Derby in 2016 with Nyquist.
MOTOR SPORTS
Nemechek earns Trucks victory
John Hunter Nemechek beat boss Kyle Busch, ending Busch's three-race winning streak at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with a victory on Friday night in the NASCAR Truck Series race. Nemechek this year stepped down two levels from the Cup Series to drive a truck for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He figured in the right equipment, he could show he should race at NASCAR's top level. In just his third race driving for Busch, Nemechek led Busch across the finish line for a 1-2 KBM finish. It was Nemechek's sixth career Truck Series victory, first since 2018. He spent 2019 in the Xfinity Series and last year running Cup. Busch rallied from a lap down to finish second.
