GOLF

Na avoids bogeys, leads The Players Championship

Kevin Na didn’t feel comfortable about anything Saturday except his name atop the leaderboard at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Na rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for one of only three rounds without a bogey on a tough day at the TPC Sawgrass. It gave him a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar as he goes after the richest prize on the PGA Tour — a five-year exemption and a spot in all the majors.

For all his practice swings and waggles, even purposely missing the ball so he could start over, Na pieced together a brilliant round free of bogeys. He finished with two birdies on the last three holes to build a one-shot lead over Kuchar, who hit into the water at the island-green 17th and had to settle for a 69.

Rickie Fowler didn’t make a bogey until the last hole but still had the best score of the third round with a 66 and was two shots behind.

PREP SCHOOLS

GIRLS’ LACROSSE: Lyndsay Brattan’s six goals led Berwick Academy (11-2) to a 13-9 victory over Hebron Academy in South Berwick.

Tilly Burzynski added three goals and an assist for Berwick, and Aimee Briand had two goals and two assists. Chelsea Boucher scored four times for Hebron and Ally Strachan had three goals.

RUGBY

CLUB: Mat Aldues’ scored a penalty with no time remaining to give the Portland Rugby Club a 23-20 victory over Kearsage, N.H., in Portland. Nate Pooler, John Toohey, Jake Bigelow and Evan Peaco all scored trys for Portland.

TENNIS

MADRID OPEN: Roger Federer will play for his third Madrid Open title with a chance to take over the No. 2 spot in the world ranking after cruising past Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals.

The Swiss star and former No. 1 advanced to a finals matchup against Tomas Berdych, who edged Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) in the other semifinal.

A victory will push Federer ahead of Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the rankings.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams will meet top-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the final after each won their semifinal matchups in straight sets.

SOCCER

PDL: Chris Banks scored in the 78th minute to break a 1-1 tie and lift the GPS Portland Phoenix to a 2-1 win over the Vermont Voltage in their season opener at Memorial Field in Portland.

MLS: Lee Nguyen scored twice, Saer Sene and Shalrie Joseph added goals and the host New England Revolution beat the beat Vancouver Whitecaps 4-1. After Eric Hassli opened the scoring for the Whitecaps (5-3-2) in the fifth minute, Nguyen tied it in the sixth minute, Sene scored in the 24th and Joseph in the 33rd for New England (4-6-0).

• David Beckham bent in a free kick in the 62nd minute to help the Los Angeles Galaxy tie the host Montreal Impact 1-1 at Olympic Stadium in front of 60,860 fans — the largest crowd for a professional soccer game in Canada.

• Brad Davis scored in the 67th minute and Houston beat D.C. United in the first game at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

• New York Red Bulls defender Wilman Conde was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer in Fort Lee, N.J.

GERMAN CUP: Borussia Dortmund outclassed Bayern Munich 5-2 in the German Cup final and claimed its first domestic double in Berlin. Robert Lewandowski led Dortmund to its first cup title in 23 years with a hat trick in front of a sellout crowd in the Olympic Stadium.

CYCLING

GYRO D’ITALIA: Paolo Tiralongo of Italy won the seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia, while Ryder Hesjedal replaced Adriano Malori as the overall leader to become the first Canadian to wear the pink jersey.

Frank Schleck, one of the favorites to win the race, was three seconds behind Tiralongo in third.

– From staff and news services

 

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