GOLF

Lee takes 3-stroke lead in Women’s British Open

South Korea's Mirim Lee equaled the lowest round at the Women's British Open with a 10-under 62 Thursday at Woburn, England. Nick Potts/PA via AP

Mirim Lee shot a 10-under 62 on Thursday to match the Women’s British Open record and open a three-stroke lead in the major championship at tree-lined Woburn Golf Club.

Three weeks after shooting a 64 in the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open, the 25-year-old South Korean player made the last of her 10 birdies on the par-3 17th and closed with a par.

Lee fell a stroke short of the LPGA Tour major record of 61 set by Hyo Joo Kim in the first round of the 2014 Evian Championship.

Minea Blomqvist shot a 62 in the third round of the 2004 Women’s British Open at Sunningdale, and Lorena Ochoa had a 62 in first round of the 2006 Kraft Nabisco. Lee also matched her official LPGA Tour career low set in the second round of the 2014 LPGA Taiwan.

“I’ve shot 11 under before,” Lee said. “It was back in, I think, second round of LPGA Q-School, final stage. Just so happens my caddie at the time (John Kileen) was my caddie today.”

Ariya Jutanugarn was second after a bogey-free 65.

TENNIS

ROGERS CUP: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia, beat Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4. Also at Toronto, Milos Raonic advanced to the quarterfinals by routing American qualifier Jared Donaldson 6-2, 6-3.

Second-seeded Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland beat 16th-seeded Jack Sock of the United States 7-6 (3), 6-2; third-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan topped Rajeev Ram of the United States, 6-3, 6-4; South Africa’s Kevin Anderson edged 12th-seeded Bernard Tomic of Australia 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; and Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov beat Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-5.

• Venus Williams tumbled out in the third round, falling 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-3 to 10th-seeded Madison Keys at Montreal.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1.

BASKETBALL

NBA: Richard Jefferson’s planned retirement didn’t last long. The valuable veteran forward, who played a critical role in Cleveland winning an NBA championship this season, re-signed with the Cavaliers.

• The Washington Wizards re-signed reserve guard Marcus Thornton.

General Manager Ernie Grunfeld announced the move Thursday, calling Thornton “a proven veteran who gives us experience and scoring off the bench and will add depth at the two-guard position.”

Thornton averaged 8.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14 games with the Wizards last season after signing as a free agent March 9 when he was waived by the Houston Rockets.

• The National Basketball Players Association’s player representatives have voted unanimously to fund health insurance for all retired NBA players with at least three years of service.

HOCKEY

NHL: The Minnesota Wild and defenseman Matt Dumba agreed to a two-year, $5.1 million contract. Dumba, 22, had 10 goals, 16 assists, 83 hits and 56 blocked shots in 81 regular-season games in 2015-16.

• The Arizona Coyotes locked up two of their best young defenseman, signing Connor Murphy to a six-year contract and Michael Stone to a one-year deal.

AUTO RACING

FORMULA ONE: Frontal cockpit protection will not be introduced for Formula One cars before the 2018 season, to allow for more testing.

While drivers generally don’t like the look of the system, which puts a see-through capsule around their cockpits, they appreciate the improved safety.

The apparatus is designed to prevent flying objects from hitting drivers’ heads and would provide added protection when cars overturn or when they land on each other.

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