GOLF

Spieth finishes strong, takes four-shot lead

Jordan Spieth chipped in for eagle and ended his day with a birdie that dropped on the last turn. It gave him a 9-under 64 for a four-shot lead in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

The first PGA Tour event of the year feels a lot like last year. Spieth is making putts. Spieth is chipping in. And everything seems to go his way, like the putt on the final hole that left him smiling.

He was at 16-under 130, four shots clear of Kevin Kisner (65), Fabian Gomez (66) and Patrick Reed (69).

Spieth seized control with a chip-in for eagle on the par-5 ninth, and he began to pull away with three straight birdies on the back nine. Two of those birdies were inside 3 feet.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Branden Grace’s charge up the leaderboard at the South Africa Open was halted by stormy weather with play abandoned midway through the second round.

The South African was tied for the lead with Keith Horne at 8 under, after going through 11 holes in 5 under, when play was called off.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: Former Washington State offensive lineman Mike Utley, who suffered a spinal cord injury during an NFL game and was paralyzed, is one of 14 players to be selected for induction for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Florida State’s Derrick Brooks, Iowa State’s Troy Davis and Purdue’s Rod Woodson also join this year’s class.

The others are LSU’s Bert Jones, UNLV’s Randall Cunningham, Ohio State’s Tom Cousineau, North Carolina’s William Fuller, Wisconsin’s Tim Krumrie, Harvard’s Pat McInally, Colorado’s Herb Orvis, Georgia’s Scott Woerner, Ashland’s Bill Royce and Nebraska Omaha’s Marlin Briscoe.

TENNIS

ASB CLASSIC: Fifth-seeded American Sloane Stephens coped with an overnight rain break and a stern rally from Caroline Wozniacki to advance to the final with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (3) victory in Auckland, New Zealand.

It was her first win in six meetings with Wozniacki.

QATAR OPEN: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will break their 23-23 head-to-head record when they meet for the 47th time in the final Saturday.

Top-seeded Djokovic beat third-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-6 (3) to reach his 16th consecutive final.

CHENNAI OPEN: Stan Wawrinka advanced to the semifinals in India with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fifth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.

The top-seeded Swiss set up a clash with third-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire.

SOCCER

U.S. TEAM: Goalkeeper David Bingham, defenders Steve Birnbaum and Brandon Vincent, and midfielder Perry Kitchen have been added to the U.S. roster for a training camp ahead of exhibitions against Iceland and Canada.

Training starts Monday at Carson, California, where the U.S. plays Iceland on Jan. 31 and Canada on Feb. 5.

FIFA: Lionel Messi is favored to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or on Monday, ending Cristiano Ronaldo’s two-year hold on soccer’s top individual prize.

MLS: The New York Red Bulls signed midfielders Dax McCarty and Felipe to multiyear extensions and re-signed defender Damien Perrinelle.

BOBSLED

WORLD CUP: Jamie Greubel-Poser and Cherelle Garrett of the United States posted the fastest time in both runs to win the gold medal in a women’s race at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

– From news services