Chad Campbell eagled his final hole at TPC Summerlin on Friday to seize a share of the lead along with Troy Matteson in a US$4.2 million USPGA Tour event.
Campbell eagled the par-five ninth to complete a nine-under 62 for 129. Matteson followed his career-best first-round 62 with a 67 for 129.
Campbell, who once played for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, also had seven birdies in a bogey-free round.
Matt Kuchar, coming off a victory two weeks at Turning Stone in the tour’s Fall Series opener, fired a 64 to join Ryan Moore (63), Bob Heintz (67) and Scotland’s Martin Laird (67) on 12-under 130
Moore’s round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-five 16th.
“Every hole is a birdie hole if you can get in position,” Moore said. “So even if you do make a bogey or two, you feel like you can bounce back right away and make some birdies.”
Rickie Fowler carded a 64, America’s 2008 college player of the year getting to 11-under 131 in his first PGA Tour start as a professional.
Three-time Las Vegas winner Jim Furyk was also 11-under after a 67, along with Scott Piercy (67) and overnight co-leader Tom Pernice, who fired a 69.
Pernice, who won his Champions Tour debut last month, had shared the first-round lead with Matteson and Spencer Levin.
Piercy’s wife, Sara, gave birth to their son, Jett, on Thursday night.
Hunter Mahan, who played with Furyk on America’s victorious Presidents Cup team last week, carded a 63 to join a group on 133 that also included Levin.
“Yes, I hit a lot of fairways,” Mahan said. “I gave myself a lot of good looks with some short irons and was able to make some.”
Among those who failed to make the cut at 138 were defending champion Marc Turnesa of Australia and Presidents Cup team member Anthony Kim.
■
PORTUGAL MASTERS
REUTERS, VILAMOURA, PORTUGAL
Padraig Harrington was disappointed to miss out on a magical 59 after reeling off 10 birdies in a brilliant 62 in the Portugal Masters second round on Friday.
The triple major champion’s 10-under-par return equaled his previous best and pushed the Irishman within two strokes of leader Francesco Molinari of Italy, who carded a 66 for 129.
South African Charl Schwartzel bogeyed the last for a 65 but held second spot on 130. One behind Harrington on 132 were South African Retief Goosen (64) and Spain’s Pablo Martin (66).
“I was very uncomfortable all day on the greens and will have to improve over the weekend,” said Harrington, who is chasing his first win this year and second European order of merit title.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
Stan Wawrinka’s 40-year-old legs did not let him down over three-plus hours in his first singles match of a farewell tour yesterday. Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Wawrinka beat Arthur Rinderknech of France, who is ranked 29th to Wawrinka’s 157th, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). The match went 3 hours, 16 minutes. Wawrinka last month announced that this year would be his last on the ATP tour. “Today was a tough battle ... it’s amazing to come here for the first time, to have so much support,” Wawrinka said yesterday. “Twenty years on tour, you kind of always play in the same place
BOUNCING BACK: Antetokounmpo had just returned from an eight-game injury absence last month, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their third win in four games Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down the game-winning dunk with 4.7 seconds remaining to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to a 122-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets and grab a slice of NBA history on Friday. The Bucks trailed by as many as 16 on their home floor, but Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 30 points in the final quarter to help seal the win in a frantic finish that saw five lead changes in the final 45.7 seconds. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) added 10 rebounds and five assists. It was his 158th regular-season game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and
RSS