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Kuchar leads shortened Barclays

With the help of Hurricane Irene, Matt Kuchar finds himself in good position to win the PGA’s opening playoff tournament. (Associated Press)
With the help of Hurricane Irene, Matt Kuchar finds himself in good position to win the PGA’s opening playoff tournament. (Associated Press)

Golf: What once looked to be a long week at The Barclays in Edison, N.J., suddenly has turned into a sprint. Matt Kuchar heard the news from his walking scorer when he reached the eighth green Friday that the PGA Tour’s opening playoff event, would be reduced to 54 holes today because of Hurricane Irene. By then, the defending champion had already left his mark on Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J., and closed with a pair of pars for a 6-under 65.

That gave Kuchar a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson and Vijay Singh.

Even now, no one is sure what to expect from Irene. The plan is to start the third and final round this morning and hope to finish before the rain arrives. If not, it will revert to a 36-hole tournament.

• Cochran leads Boeing Classic: Russ Cochran shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Jeff Sluman after the first round of the Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash.

Defending champion Bernhard Langer was two strokes back at 68 along with Hale Irwin and Ted Schulz.

The 66-year-old Irwin had a hole-in-one on the par-3 ninth.

• Cantlay moves on in U.S. Amateur: UCLA star Patrick Cantlay won two matches to advance to the U.S. Amateur semifinals in Erin, Wis., while defending champion Peter Uihlein dropped out in the quarterfinals.

Cantlay beat England’s Tom Lewis 3 and 1 in the round of 16, then edged Max Buckley in 19 holes in the afternoon quarterfinals. Jordan Russell beat Uihlein 2 and 1 to set up a semifinal match with Cantlay.

• Stanford, Miyazato tied for lead: Angela Stanford and Ai Miyazato took advantage of soft greens and calm conditions in Mirabel, Quebec, to top the leaderboard after the second round of the Canadian Women’s Open.

Stanford shot a 6-under 66 and Miyazato had a 68 to reach 11-under 133. Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., at 145, missed the cut by two strokes.

Isner tops Roddick in Winston-Salem semis

Tennis: Fourth-seeded John Isner upset top-seeded Andy Roddick 7-6 (7), 6-4 in the all American semifinal of the Winston-Salem (N.C) Open.

The 28th-ranked Isner will play qualifier Julien Benneteau, who defeated 10th-seeded Robin Haase 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) in the other semifinal that took nearly 3 hours to complete.

• Wozniacki advances at New Haven: Three-time defending champion Caroline Wozniacki kept her unbeaten streak at Yale alive, topping Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (2) 6-3 in the semifinals of the New Haven (Conn.) Open.

Wozniacki, 16-0 during her four years at the tournament, will play Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska in today’s final.

Cetkovska, ranked No. 40, upset French Open champion Li Na in a dramatic third-set tiebreaker 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (9) to reach her first WTA final.

Italy’s Viviani rides to victory in Stage 4

Cycling: Elia Viviani of Italy used a centerline sprint to complete the 82.3-mile Avon to Steamboat Springs (Colo.) road race in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 14 seconds and win Stage 4 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

American Levi Leipheimer finished 24th to maintain his 11-second overall lead.

• Kittel wins stage at Spanish Vuelta: German rider Marcel Kittel won the seventh stage of the Spanish Vuelta, while Sylvain Chavanel maintained the leader’s jersey for the fourth consecutive day.

Busch claims 50th Nationwide victory

Auto racing: Kyle Busch has won the Nationwide race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., to become the series’ all-time wins leader.

Busch had to hold off a strong challenge from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano to earn his 50th victory in NASCAR’s second-tier division.

• Crewman recovering after pit road accident: The car chief for T.J. Bell’s Nationwide Series team was taken to a hospital in Kingsport, Tenn., for injuries suffered on pit road. Cory Howe was making adjustments underneath the Chevrolet when Bell accidentally backed over him. Howe is listed in good condition.

• Newman wins pole in Bristol: Ryan Newman of Stewart-Haas racing, turned a lap at 122.811 mph in his qualifying session to win the pole for tonight’s Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

LSU teammates suspended after fight

College football: LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson and teammate Joshua Johns were released on $5,000 bond each in connection with a bar fight that injured four people.

The two players turned themselves in after police obtained arrest warrants on felony charges of second-degree battery, stemming from their alleged roles in a fight outside Shady’s bar in Baton Rouge, La., on Aug. 19. The players also have been suspended indefinitely by the school.

• Miami awaits eligibility verdict: Miami coach Al Golden said that the university has asked the NCAA to decide the eligibility of a number of football players – eight, a person with knowledge of the process told The Associated Press – who are believed to have committed violations in dealings with former booster Nevin Shapiro.

Some of Miami’s top players are implicated in the scandal, including quarterback Jacory Harris, linebacker Sean Spence and receiver Travis Benjamin.

Senchenko retains welterweight title

Boxing: Ukraine’s Viacheslav Senchenko retained his WBA welterweight title when he stopped Venezuelan Marco Avendano in the sixth round at Donetsk, Ukraine.