GOLF
Tiger Woods couldn’t have scripted a better scenario for the PGA Tour’s first tournament in Japan despite his shaky start.
After a layoff from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two months ago, Woods shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Zozo Championship at Inzai City, Japan.
Woods was tied with Gary Woodland, with local favorite Hideki Matsuyama a stroke behind. They had to wait another day to get back on the course after heavy rain washed out play Friday.
Things didn’t start well for Woods when he sent his opening shot into the water on No. 10 and bogeyed the first three holes.
But the Masters champion quickly found his game at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, with birdies on four of his next six holes. He had five birdies on the final seven holes.
LPGA: Minjee Lee overcame a series of changing weather conditions at the Buick Ladies Championship to take a one-stroke lead with a bogey-free 6-under 66 after the first round of the LPGA tournament at Busan, South Korea.
Danielle Kang, who won last week’s tournament at Shanghai, was in a group tied for second with Jin Young Ko, Jeongeun Lee6 and Seung Yeon Lee on the LPGA International Busan course.
COLLEGES
FIELD HOCKEY: Delaney Keithley, in perfect position to the keeper’s right, poked a rebound under the pads to give Colby a 2-1 win over Husson at Bangor.
Georgia Cassidy set up the winning shot for Colby (9-5), inching the ball toward the circle in front of a retreating defense before turning and sweeping a low backhanded shot on net.
Husson (6-7) scored first on Allysah Greene’s goal 2:30 into the opening period. Cassidy tied the match 1:28 later.
• Alexandra Belaire scored from Megan Quirion 4:44 into the game, setting St. Joseph’s on its way to a 5-0 GNAC win over Anna Maria at Paxton, Massachusetts.
Belaire then set up Maddy Beaulieu early in the second quarter. Beaulieu followed with an assist on Meghan Hill’s goal for a 3-0 lead at the half for the Monks (13-3, 6-0). Emma Rutledge added a pair of second-half goals, with Sophia Jacques and Quirion each getting an assist.
Alexandria Simpson made two saves for the Monks; Hannah Tobey had 12 saves for Anna Maria (7-7, 3-3).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: The UConn women’s basketball team gained a fifth member of its 2020 recruiting class when Aaliyah Edwards, the No. 26 prospect of her class according to ESPN, verbally committed to UConn.
Edwards, a 6-foot-3 wing who’s ranked fourth for her position, is a five-star player with experience playing on the Canadian National Team. She attended First Night in Storrs last week, where she spent time with the rest of UConn’s 2020 commits.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Patrick Beilein cited personal reasons for abruptly resigning as Niagara University men’s basketball coach two weeks before the start of his first season.
Beilein made the announcement in a statement released by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference school on Thursday. The 36-year-old is the son of longtime basketball coach John Beilein, who left Michigan to take over the Cleveland Cavaliers this year.
Former Duke star Greg Paulus was promoted to take over as coach.
FOOTBALL: The University of New Mexico suspended senior quarterback Sheriron Jones indefinitely from the team amid allegations of indecent exposure.
SOCCER
FIFA RANKINGS: Canada moved into sixth place among CONCACAF nations in the FIFA rankings, putting it on track to compete for a World Cup berth in the North and Central American and Caribbean region.
Following a 2-0 victory over the United States in a CONCACAF Nations League match at Toronto, Canada rose six places to 69th in the world, passing El Salvador, which fell from 72nd to 73rd. The Canadians play the U.S. again on Nov. 15 at Orlando, Florida.
The top six CONCACAF teams in next June’s rankings will play for three World Cup berths during qualifying from September 2020 through September 2021, known as the hexagonal. All the other teams in the region will compete for the right to meet the fourth-place team in the hex in a playoff. The playoff winner will play a nation from another region for a spot in the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Mexico leads the region and moved up one place to 11th in the world, according to September rankings announced Thursday. The U.S. dropped two spots to 23rd and is followed in the region by Jamaica (45), Costa Rica (47) and Honduras (63).
MLS: The Montreal Impact will not bring back Coach Wilmer Cabrera next season.
The MLS club said Cabrera’s contract has expired and will not be extended. He joined the Impact on Aug. 21 to replace the fired Remi Garde. Montreal went 2-4-1 under Cabrera and finished 12-17-5, missing the playoffs.
TENNIS
SWISS INDOORS: Stan Wawrinka set up an all-Swiss quarterfinal against Roger Federer by outlasting Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 at Basel, Switzerland.
Wawrinka saved two break points when serving at 5-5 in the decider, then converted his second match point after six deuces in the next game.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
UFC: Conor McGregor will return to mixed martial arts in January with a UFC fight in Las Vegas.
The Irish fighter said he will return “fully focused” on Jan. 18 at the T-Mobile Arena.
McGregor, 31, hasn’t fought since losing by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018. He was banned for six months and fined $50,000 for his part in a post-fight brawl.
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