GOLF
Nike’s surprise: Moving away from golf equipment
Nike is getting out of the golf equipment business, a surprising announcement Wednesday that is sure to send Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and other players searching for new clubs and golf balls next season.
Nike said it would stop making clubs, golf balls and golf bags, instead devoting its resources to shoes and apparel, its strength in the golf marketplace for some time.
Woods has been with Nike since he turned pro in 1996. The company also signed Rory McIlroy in 2013.
Woods, however, has gone more than a year without playing because of back surgeries.
MSGA: Ricky Jones of Thomaston and the Samoset Resort Golf Club has been named the winner of the 2016 Dr. Leonardo Buck Player of the Year Award, by the Maine State Golf Association.
The award is given annually to the player who accrues the most points from Aug. 1 to July 31 in a wraparound season. Points are given in MSGA weekend, mid-week and championship events, with major tournaments carrying more points.
Jones, 44, won the award for a record 11th time thanks to a late push with top finishes in some major tournaments to edge out Martindale Country Club’s Andrews Slattery, who led Jones by 239 points with one month remaining in the season.
U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR: China’s Muni He made a 35-foot birdie putt on the 22nd hole to beat qualifying medalist Mariel Galdiano in the first round at Springfield, Pennsylvania.
TENNIS
JIANJING OPEN: Former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone beat Lu Jiajing of China 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the second round at Nanchang, China.
HOCKEY
NHL: A 21-year-old Buffalo woman has sued Sabres forward Evander Kane, saying he seriously injured her in the hotel room where he lives.
Documents filed July 1 in Erie County State Supreme Court on behalf of Rachel Kuechle say Kane met her in a bar Dec. 27, invited her to what he said was a party and later attacked her, causing cuts and bleeding that required multiple surgeries.
Kane had pleaded not guilty Monday to charges stemming from a different incident at a bar on June 24.
BOXING
HEAVYWEIGHTS: World heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, provisionally suspended in June after the British fighter tested positive for a banned substance, had the ban lifted on Wednesday “pending full determination of the charges,” according to U.K. Anti-Doping.
FANTASY SPORTS
RULING: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill legalizing daily fantasy sports contests for cash in the state, clearing the way for Boston-based DraftKings Inc. to reenter one of its most lucrative markets just before the start of football season.
In November, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had tried to shut down DraftKings and its New York-based rival, FanDuel Inc.
– From staff and news services
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