Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Sports Briefs: Mahan shares lead after first round at Bridgestone
By The Associated Press
Friday, August 03, 2007 | No comments posted.
AKRON, Ohio — Coming off four consecutive top 10s that included his first PGA Tour victory, Hunter Mahan overcame a sloppy double bogey with a torrid stretch of birdies for a 3-under 67, giving him a share of the lead with Paul Casey and Rory Sabbatini at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Tiger Woods, a five-time winner at Firestone and going after his third straight title in this World Golf Championship, opened with a 68.
For most of the 83-man field, it was a matter of hanging on.
Only 13 players managed to break par.
Stewart Cink, a winner in 2004 and a playoff loser to Woods last year, failed to make a birdie on his way to a 79. Mike Weir’s progress slowed dramatically when he opened with a 77, while Vijay Singh chopped through the rough on his way to a 74.
Phil Mickelson, who has missed the cut in his last two majors, also shot 74.
Flesch shoots 9-under at Reno
RENO, Nev. — Steve Flesch had two eagles and five birdies in a 9-under 63 on Thursday that gave him a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Reno-Tahoe Open.
Flesch made an 18-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fourth to get to 4 under through four holes. He made the turn at 6-under 30 and got to 8 under when he hit a 3-wood within 10 feet for another eagle on the 584-yard 11th. He birdied from 4 feet on the final hole of his bogey-free round that was one stroke off the course record and one in front of Jose Conceres.
Conceres had six birdies, a bogey and a hole-in-one on the 220-yard seventh in his 64. He said the ace was extra special because it came on the 16th birthday of his daughter, Maria Jose, who was home in Argentina.
PRO BASKETBALL
Washington forward arrested
WASHINGTON — Washington Wizards forward Andray Blatche, a restricted free agent, was arrested on sexual solicitation charges.
Blatche and a man identified in court documents as Gregory Palmer tried to solicit sex from an undercover police officer, according to charging documents.
The 20-year-old Blatche appeared Thursday in District of Columbia Superior Court and was released on his own recognizance, court spokeswoman Marie Robertson said. He also was wanted for failure to appear on a charge of driving without a license, stemming from an October 2006 arrest, according to court documents.
HOCKEY
Ducks to let Penner go
LOS ANGELES — The Anaheim Ducks cut ties with Dustin Penner when the team opted not to match a five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers for the 24-year-old left winger.
The Ducks will receive picks in the first, second and third rounds of the 2008 draft from Edmonton as compensation.
Penner, who was a restricted free agent, will get a huge raise from the Oilers, earning $4.25 million in each of the next five seasons. He made the NHL minimum of $450,000 last season, when he scored 29 goals for the Stanley Cup champion Ducks.
BOXING
Holyfield to meet Ibragimov
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Evander Holyfield will replace Ruslan Chagaev in a bout against Sultan Ibragimov in Russia in October, six days before the former heavyweight champ’s 45th birthday.
Event organizers announced that Chagaev, the WBA heavyweight champion, was withdrawing because of unspecified medical reasons. He was scheduled to fight Ibragimov, the WBO champ, in an Oct. 13 unification bout at Khodynka Arena in Moscow.
In his latest comeback attempt, Holyfield (42-8-2, 27 KOs) is seeking to earn a record fifth heavyweight title.
X GAMES
Burnquist wins Big Air gold
LOS ANGELES — Bob Burnquist won gold in Skateboard Big Air in the opening night of the X Games, scoring 95.6 on the final run of the competition.
Burnquist pulled the trick off in his fifth and final attempt just moments after watching silver medalist Jake Brown slam to the bottom of the event’s mega ramp and lay motionless for nearly five minutes.
A 30-year-old from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Burnquist rolled down the 80-foot drop-in ramp backward, did an ollie 180 over the 70-foot gap and launched more than 18 feet into the air on the quarter-pipe for a frontside 540 that vaulted him from second past Brown into first.
Kyle Loza of Trabuco, Canyon Calif. won the Moto X Best Trick gold medal later Friday with a score of 94.20. Adam Jones of Minden Nevada won silver with 91 points and Todd Potter of Temecula, Calif. won the bronze. Potter also scored 91, but lost the tiebreaker to Jones.
Tiger Woods, a five-time winner at Firestone and going after his third straight title in this World Golf Championship, opened with a 68.
For most of the 83-man field, it was a matter of hanging on.
Only 13 players managed to break par.
Stewart Cink, a winner in 2004 and a playoff loser to Woods last year, failed to make a birdie on his way to a 79. Mike Weir’s progress slowed dramatically when he opened with a 77, while Vijay Singh chopped through the rough on his way to a 74.
Phil Mickelson, who has missed the cut in his last two majors, also shot 74.
Flesch shoots 9-under at Reno
RENO, Nev. — Steve Flesch had two eagles and five birdies in a 9-under 63 on Thursday that gave him a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Reno-Tahoe Open.
Flesch made an 18-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fourth to get to 4 under through four holes. He made the turn at 6-under 30 and got to 8 under when he hit a 3-wood within 10 feet for another eagle on the 584-yard 11th. He birdied from 4 feet on the final hole of his bogey-free round that was one stroke off the course record and one in front of Jose Conceres.
Conceres had six birdies, a bogey and a hole-in-one on the 220-yard seventh in his 64. He said the ace was extra special because it came on the 16th birthday of his daughter, Maria Jose, who was home in Argentina.
PRO BASKETBALL
Washington forward arrested
WASHINGTON — Washington Wizards forward Andray Blatche, a restricted free agent, was arrested on sexual solicitation charges.
Blatche and a man identified in court documents as Gregory Palmer tried to solicit sex from an undercover police officer, according to charging documents.
The 20-year-old Blatche appeared Thursday in District of Columbia Superior Court and was released on his own recognizance, court spokeswoman Marie Robertson said. He also was wanted for failure to appear on a charge of driving without a license, stemming from an October 2006 arrest, according to court documents.
HOCKEY
Ducks to let Penner go
LOS ANGELES — The Anaheim Ducks cut ties with Dustin Penner when the team opted not to match a five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers for the 24-year-old left winger.
The Ducks will receive picks in the first, second and third rounds of the 2008 draft from Edmonton as compensation.
Penner, who was a restricted free agent, will get a huge raise from the Oilers, earning $4.25 million in each of the next five seasons. He made the NHL minimum of $450,000 last season, when he scored 29 goals for the Stanley Cup champion Ducks.
BOXING
Holyfield to meet Ibragimov
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Evander Holyfield will replace Ruslan Chagaev in a bout against Sultan Ibragimov in Russia in October, six days before the former heavyweight champ’s 45th birthday.
Event organizers announced that Chagaev, the WBA heavyweight champion, was withdrawing because of unspecified medical reasons. He was scheduled to fight Ibragimov, the WBO champ, in an Oct. 13 unification bout at Khodynka Arena in Moscow.
In his latest comeback attempt, Holyfield (42-8-2, 27 KOs) is seeking to earn a record fifth heavyweight title.
X GAMES
Burnquist wins Big Air gold
LOS ANGELES — Bob Burnquist won gold in Skateboard Big Air in the opening night of the X Games, scoring 95.6 on the final run of the competition.
Burnquist pulled the trick off in his fifth and final attempt just moments after watching silver medalist Jake Brown slam to the bottom of the event’s mega ramp and lay motionless for nearly five minutes.
A 30-year-old from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Burnquist rolled down the 80-foot drop-in ramp backward, did an ollie 180 over the 70-foot gap and launched more than 18 feet into the air on the quarter-pipe for a frontside 540 that vaulted him from second past Brown into first.
Kyle Loza of Trabuco, Canyon Calif. won the Moto X Best Trick gold medal later Friday with a score of 94.20. Adam Jones of Minden Nevada won silver with 91 points and Todd Potter of Temecula, Calif. won the bronze. Potter also scored 91, but lost the tiebreaker to Jones.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines