GOLF
Mickelson receives Open invite
Phil Mickelson is assured of at least one more crack at the major that has given him the most heartache. He accepted a special exemption Friday to play the U.S. Open. Mickelson becomes the first player since Vijay Singh in 2010 to receive an exemption without having won the U.S. Open, but he's not without merit. He has won five majors -- all of them except the U.S. Open -- to go along with his 44 victories on the PGA Tour. He has been eligible for every U.S. Open dating to 1994, but the 50-year-old Mickelson has fallen out of the top 100 in the world ranking. He had said in February 2020, a month before golf shut down because of the pandemic, that he would not accept an exemption. He was prepared to go through 36-hole qualifying on June 7, a week before the U.S. Open returns to Torrey Pines in his hometown of San Diego. He holds the U.S. Open record with six runner-up finishes.
Burns rolling in Texas
Sam Burns birdied six of his last eight holes Friday for a 10-under 62 and two-stroke lead over Alex Noren at 17 under after the second round of the AT&T Byron Nelson in McKinney, Texas. Noren shot 64 to get to 15 under, and K.H. Lee had his second 65 to reach 14 under. Doc Redman bogeyed two of his last three holes for a 67 that left him 13 under. J.J. Spaun was 12 under, following a first-round 63 that left him tied with Jordan Spieth with a 69. Spieth shot 70, leaving the local favorite in the group at 11 under that included Matt Kuchar and Charl Schwartzel. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 4-under 68 for the second consecutive day and is at 8-under 136 at the halfway point. Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) finished with a 4-under 140 and missed the cut by two strokes. Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) also missed the cut with a 1-under 143, as did David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) with a 2-over 146.
Ames takes lead with 66
Stephen Ames shot a 6-under 66 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions' Mitsubishi Electric Classic. The 57-year-old Ames had an opening bogey and seven birdies for a one-stroke lead over Paul Goydos. The four-time PGA Tour champion won the 2017 tournament at TPC Sugarloaf for his lone senior title. Goydos played the back nine in 5 under, closing with a birdie on the par-5 18th. The 56-year-old Goydos has five senior victories after winning twice on the PGA Tour. John Daly (Dardanelle, Razorbacks) and Glen Day (Little Rock) both turned in scores of 1-over 73 on Friday. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) shot a 5-over 77.
Jaeger fires 62 at Knoxville
Stephan Jaeger followed Thursday's round of 6-under 64 with an even better 8-under 62 to grab a one-shot lead at the Korn Ferry Tour's Knoxville Open. Jaeger is 14-under 126 at the Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn., one shot better than Kyle Reifers, who shot a 64 on Friday. Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) shot a 68 for the second consecutive day and is at 4-under 136. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) also shot a 68 and is at 3-under 137. Matt Atkins (Henderson State) missed the cut with a 146.
Pepperell on top in England
Eddie Pepperell holed a birdie putt from 40 feet on the 18th to take a one-shot lead after the third round of the British Masters in Birmingham, England, and move into position to win the event for the second time in four years. The English golfer shot a second consecutive 4-under 68 at The Belfry to jump to 10 under and emerge from a logjam at the top of the leaderboard. Six players were one stroke off the lead, and the top 26 players were separated by five shots.
SOFTBALL
Florida, Bama in SEC finals
Pinch runner Katie Kistler scored on a throwing error with two outs in the seventh inning to give Florida a 7-6 victory over Missouri and advance the Gators to today's championship game of the SEC Tournament in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Florida (42-8) will play Alabama (44-7) in the title game. Missouri scored four runs in the top of the seventh to take a 6-5 lead. Kendyl Lindaman homered and drove in three runs for Florida. In Alabama's 6-5 victory over Tennessee, Bailey Hemphill belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for the game winner. Tennessee had taken a 5-4 lead in the top of the sixth, using three singles, two walks and two wild pitches to score three runs. Alabama's Montana Fouts struck out the final four batters she faced and finished with 13 strikeouts. The Tide's Kaylee Tow went 3 for 3 with a walk.
TENNIS
Nadal advances in Rome
Rafael Nadal ended a run of three consecutive losses to Alexander Zverev with a 6-3, 6-4 win to reach the Italian Open semifinals on Friday. Zverev beat Nadal in straight sets at the same stage in Madrid a week ago. Nadal raced to 4-0 in the first set and saved all eight break points he faced in the second. Nadal, aiming for a record-extending 10th Rome title, will next face big-serving American Reilly Opelka, who reached his first Masters semifinals by edging Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis 7-5, 7-6 (2). In the women's tournament, top-ranked Ash Barty retired from her rainy quarterfinal against 17-year-old Coco Gauff while leading 6-4, 2-1 due to a right arm injury.
FOOTBALL
Broncos' WR injured
A person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press that Broncos wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton suffered a serious knee injury Friday while working out on his own. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hamilton is suspected to have torn an ACL, as first reported by the NFL Network. That not only imperils his $2.183 million salary for 2021, but it also squelches trade talks for the fourth-year pro from Penn State. Players are protected against lost wages if they suffer an injury at a team's facility. They don't have the same protection if they're injured working out anywhere else.
OLYMPICS
Petition asks to cancel games
An online petition with more than 350,000 signatures calling for the Tokyo Games to be canceled was submitted Friday to local organizers, the International Olympic Committee and others. The Olympics are scheduled to open in just 10 weeks on July 23 in the midst of a pandemic with Tokyo and other areas under a state of emergency. Cases continue to rise in Japan, where less than 2% of the population has been fully vaccinated. The petition campaign -- called "Stop Tokyo Olympics" -- was drafted by lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya, who has also run for governor of Tokyo. He said the response was surprising but acknowledged that this was too little, and probably too late.
Triple jumper banned
American triple jumper Omar Craddock was banned for 20 months Friday over missed doping tests and will miss the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 world championships in Oregon. Track and field's Athletics Integrity Unit alleged the 2019 Pan American Games champion broke anti-doping rules with three violations of the whereabouts rule in a 12-month period. Lawyers for Craddock argued at a tribunal hearing he had been in a "preoccupied mental state" last year. The first violation was in August 2019 when he was the world's No. 3-ranked triple jumper behind fellow Americans Will Claye and Christian Taylor. Craddock leaped a lifetime best 17.68 meters that season.
