GOLF

Mickelson nearly breaks own record with a first-round 60 at the Phoenix Open

Phil Mickelson missed out on a 59 by a fraction of an inch Thursday in the Phoenix Open.

Mickelson had a chance to become only the sixth player in PGA Tour history to break 60 with a 25-foot birdie attempt on his last hole, the par-4 ninth at the TPC Scottsdale. The putt looked good all the way, and Mickelson pointed his putter at the cup as he prepared to celebrate.

Right at the end, though, the ball caught the right edge of the cup, curled 180 degrees to the other side of the hole and stayed out. Mickelson had to settle for the course record, which he set in the Phoenix Open eight years ago.

• Vijay Singh withdrew from the Phoenix Open, a day after saying he used deer-antler spray and was “absolutely shocked” that it may contain a banned substance.

DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC: South Africa’s Richard Sterne nearly broke the course record, shooting 10-under 62 in the first round to finish one shot ahead of Stephen Gallacher.

TENNIS

DAVIS CUP WORLD GROUP: John Isner will play the No. 1 singles spot for the U.S. team against Brazil in the first round of Davis Cup World Group matches Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.

Sam Querrey will play the No. 2 position. Mike and Bob Bryan will be the doubles team.

PATTAYA OPEN: Ayumi Morita of Japan knocked top-seed Ana Ivanovic, beating the Serb 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in Thailand.

SOCCER

LIGUE 1: David Beckham has signed a five-month deal with Paris Saint-Germain, and will donate his salary to a children’s charity. PSG is the latest stop in Beckham’s career, which has seen him win titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

CYCLING

TOUR DE FRANCE: Danish rider Michael Rasmussen admitted that he took performance-enhancing drugs for more than a decade, the latest cyclist to acknowledge doping since Lance Armstrong’s confession this month. The 38-year-old Dane said he would quit the sport and cooperate with anti-doping agencies. In return, Danish anti-doping officials said they would seek a two-year suspension instead of the usual eight years.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

FROST PROMOTED: Oregon has promoted former Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost to offensive coordinator under new Coach Mark Helfrich. The 38-year-old has been Oregon’s wide receivers coach for the past four seasons.

BIG 12: Commissioner Bob Bowlsby says the league likely will seek permission from the NCAA to hold a championship game even though it doesn’t have the 12 members required under the current rules. Down to 10 members, the Big 12 was forced to do without a championship game the last two seasons.

BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE: The Cleveland Indians have signed free agent pitcher Matt Capps to a minor-league contract. The 29-year-old has 138 career saves in 444 appearances for Pittsburgh, Washington and Minnesota.

— From news service reports

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