GOLF

Starting with a 55-foot putt on the par-3 second hole, Rory McIlroy ran off five straight birdies and grabbed a share of the lead after the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a 6-under 66 in Orlando, Florida.

McIlroy was tied with Corey Conners, who made four birdies and an eagle in his first seven holes and eventually got to 7 under before a bogey on his final hole – the ninth.

Bryson DeChambeau opened with a 67, aided by birdies on three of the four par 5s.

LPGA: Nelly Korda didn’t miss a beat four days after her first LPGA Tour title on U.S. soil, outplaying her sister and the world’s No. 1 player for a 5-under 67 to share the lead at the Drive On Championship in Ocala, Florida.

Former NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho managed a 67 despite playing most of the back nine with a migraine that blurs her vision. Austin Ernst also had a 67 at Golden Ocala.

Korda was part of a featured group alongside her older sister, Jessica, who had a 69; and top-ranked Jin Young Ko, who had a 75.

SOCCER

ENGLAND: Mason Mount scored in the 42nd minute, and Chelsea sent Liverpool to a fifth straight home defeat for the first time in the club’s 128-year history, 1-0.

The soon-to-be-deposed Premier League champions have gone more than 10 hours of action at Anfield without scoring from open play.

Liverpool dropped to seventh place, four points behind fourth-place Chelsea in the battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

• Richarlison scored on a header in the second half as Everton continued its charge toward the Champions League with a 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.

Everton is one point behind Chelsea for fourth place but has played one less match.

TRACK AND FIELD

PENN RELAYS: The Penn Relays have been canceled for the second straight year because of the coronavirus pandemic and local restrictions on large gatherings.

The three-day event at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field was scheduled to begin April 22.

HOCKEY

WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: The International Ice Hockey Federation has tentatively scheduled the women’s world championships for mid-May after canceling the 2020 tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The IIHF pushed back the 10-team tournament from April 7-17 to May 6-16 in Halifax and Truro, Nova Scotia.

TENNIS

ABN AMRO: Australian Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas held off a stubborn challenge from Hubert Hurkacz to reach the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Tsitsipas will next face Karen Khachanov.

Qualifier Jeremy Chardy upset sixth-seeded David Goffin 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) and advances to play fourth-seeded Andrey Rublev.

QATAR OPEN: The top two seeded players were eliminated in the quarterfinals, as Victoria Azarenka played through pain to win against Elina Svitolina, 6-2, 6-4, and Jessica Pegula defeated Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 6-1.

AUTO RACING

24 HOURS OF LE MANS: The 24 Hours of Le Mans race was postponed from June to August in the hope that fans can attend by then, organizers said.

The iconic race was scheduled to take place on June 12-13 but was moved to Aug. 21-22.

The race was first held in 1923, and in 2019 it drew 252,500 spectators. There were none in 2020, when the race started three months late because of the coronavirus pandemic.

FORMULA ONE: Tickets will be sold for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix to fans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or prove they have recovered from it, organizers said.

Fans attending the event from March 26-28 must show that two weeks have elapsed since they had a second vaccine or since the date they tested positive for the virus.

 

« Previous

Boston Marathon plan to hand out 70,000 medals causing rift among runners

Next »

Kiké Hernandez ready to be an everyday player and leadoff hitter for Red Sox