GOLF

Portland’s Hayes wins first match at Mid-Amateur

John Hayes of Portland defeated Derek Meinhart of Mattoon, Illinois, on Tuesday to advance to the second round of match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in Atlanta.

Hayes was 1-up on Capital City CC’s Crabapple course, eliminating Meinhart by carding a 3 on the 214-yard par-3 third hole, one stroke better than Meinhart, who was ranked 11th after qualifying stroke play.

Hayes, ranked 54th, shot par on the 17th and 18th holes during a special qualifying round Tuesday morning for the final 16 berths in match play.

Hayes faces 22nd-ranked George Nichols of Kernersville, North Carolina, in Wednesday’s round of 32, teeing off at 10:30 a.m.

BASKETBALL

VISAS DENIED: WNBA players Emma Cannon and Brionna Jones were denied visas for entry into Turkey with their Russian team this week, fallout from a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Turkey.

The two players told The Associated Press in texts Tuesday that they were at the Moscow airport when the team president told them they wouldn’t be allowed to enter Turkey. Cannon and Jones are members of the Russian team Nadezhda in the winter to supplement their income.

The U.S. on Sunday suspended the issuing of visas for Turkish citizens hoping to visit or study in the United States after Turkey arrested U.S. consulate employee Metin Topuz last week on allegations of espionage.

Turkey immediately halted visa services in the U.S. in response.

NBA: New Orleans Pelicans guard Rajon Rondo is expected to be sidelined about four to six weeks following surgery on Tuesday to repair a core muscle injury.

Rondo’s injury occurred during New Orleans’ preseason game at Oklahoma City on Friday night.

• Washington Wizards swingman Sheldon Mac is expected to be out for the season after having surgery Monday to repair a torn left Achilles tendon.

Mac will be sidelined about six to eight months.

As a rookie last season, Mac averaged 3.0 points and 1.1 rebounds while appearing in 30 games for the Wizards.

TENNIS

SHANGHAI MASTERS: A year after being fined for “tanking” a match at Shanghai, Nick Kyrgios quit another one altogether.

The Australian argued several times with the chair umpire during his first-round match against Steve Johnson on Tuesday. After losing the tiebreaker 7-6 (5) in the first set, Kyrgios shook hands with Johnson at the net and then with the chair umpire before packing his bags and walking off court.

Kyrgios later apologized on Twitter and said he had been dealing with a stomach bug and shoulder soreness.

In other matches, John Isner beat Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6), and 14th-seeded American Jack Sock retired because of dehydration, while Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic beat Kyle Edmund of Britain 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the second round.

– Staff and news service report