Allen holds five-shot lead at Senior Open
GOLF: Michael Allen raised his arms and looked skyward.
The long, hard-breaking eagle putt that defined his round of 7-under-par 63 Friday had just finished its uphill journey to the back of the cup on the 14th hole.
“The miracle shot,” he called it.
Allen said he wanted to lag the ball to within 10 feet. That it went in was a bonus.
Just about everything else went right for the 54-year-old Allen. His best round of the year put him at 10 under after the second round of the U.S. Senior Open at Omaha, Neb., and allowed him to break away from the pack for a five-stroke lead.
The cushion was the largest after 36 holes in the tournament’s 34-year history.
Rocco Mediate was Allen’s closest pursuer after he shot a bogey-free, 3-under 67. Jeff Sluman also had a 67 and was another shot back.
“We’ve got to go out and get him,” Mediate said. “He ain’t going to come back, more than likely.”Defending champion Roger Chapman was among the players who missed the cut. He followed his first-round 74 with a 76. Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett shot a 72.
• Johnson keeps share of lead: Defending champion Zach Johnson, Lucas Glover and rookie Patrick Reed are tied for the lead following second-round play at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill.
Johnson shot a 5-under 66 to maintain a share of the lead for the second day in a row.
Reed shot a 63 in the morning session, one year after missing the cut at TPC Deere Run, while Glover finished at 9 under.
• Els, Mickelson upstaged: Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson endured frustrating second rounds at the Scottish Open as the tournament’s headline acts were upstaged by some lesser-knowns at Inverness, Scotland.
Chris Doak, ranked No. 341, was the surprise leader at the halfway point of his home event after a second straight 66 left him at 12-under 132.
Conditions were ripe for low scoring on the Castle Stuart links, but Els struggled on the greens and shot a 2-under 70 to miss the cut a week before he defends his British Open title.
Mickelson was tied for third after a first-round 66 but dropped back into a tie for 13th after a 70.
• Matthew’s 64 leads at Manulife: Catriona Matthew shot a 64 to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic at Waterloo, Ontario.
Matthew’s 15-under 127 at the tournament’s midway point blew away her previous career-best 36-hole mark on tour by five strokes. American Angela Stanford shot a 67 and was second, while Inbee Park had a 67 and was tied with three other players at 10 under.
Wendy Ward (Edwall, Wash.) shot a 71.
Isner advances with win over Karlovic
Tennis: Two-time defending champion John Isner won the battle of the tallest players on the ATP tour, defeating Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) to advance to the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Newport, R.I.
Isner won his 13th straight match on Newport’s grass courts and raised his mark to 13-0 in tiebreakers during the streak.
• Top seeds lose at Swedish Open: Top seeds Tomas Berdych and Nicolas Almagro were knocked out in the Swedish Open quarterfinals at Bastad.
Unseeded Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands beat top-seeded Berdych 7-5, 7-5, while second-seeded Almagro was defeated by Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
In the third quarterfinal upset, fifth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria defeated third-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 6-2.
Carlos Berlocq of Argentina beat Albert Ramos of Spain 6-3, 6-4 to set up a semifinal against De Bakker.
• Fognini reaches Stuttgart semifinals: Fabio Fognini of Italy beat top-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany 6-4, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Mercedes Cup at Stuttgart, Germany.
Second-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany avoided a similar upset by beating Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-4 to advance.
Victor Hanescu of Romania also reached the semifinals by upsetting fourth-seeded Benoit Paire of France 7-5, 6-2.
Bruins sign Bergeron for eight more years
NHL: Bruins center Patrice Bergeron signed an eight-year extension through the 2021-2022 season.
The contract worth $52 million begins after next season, the last of Bergeron’s current three-year deal with Boston.
The signing of their alternate captain comes two days after the Bruins signed goalie Tuukka Rask to an eight-year, $56 million deal. Rask had been a restricted free agent.
• Condra re-signs with Senators: The Ottawa Senators re-signed Erik Condra to a two-year, $2.5 million deal, avoiding arbitration with the restricted free-agent forward.
U.S. tops Australia at World Cup of Softball
Miscellany: Jessica Moore threw a one-hit shutout, Lauren Gibson hit a two-run single during a four-run third inning and the United States beat Australia 4-0 in the World Cup of Softball at Oklahoma City.
The U.S. improved to 2-0 in the eighth World Cup and 41-4 all time in the event.
• Sky defeat Sun in WNBA action: Rookie Elena Delle Donne had 23 points and five rebounds and the Chicago Sky scored the game’s first 12 points and went on to beat the Connecticut Sun 83-70.
Former Gonzaga University point guard Courtney Vandersloot had seven assists and four steals for Chicago.
• Pangos, Canada win group play: Gonzaga University junior Kevin Pangos scored nine points, and Canada’s Development Men’s National Team defeated the United States 94-85 at Kazan, Russia, to win Group C at the 2013 FISU Universiade and enter medal-round play at 5-0.
Canada will face either Brazil, Norway or Finland in Sunday’s quarterfinal of what is also known as the World University Games.
The U.S. finished pool play with a 3-2 record and will play for ninth place.
• Claros puts Honduras in Gold Cup quarters: Jorge Claros scored in second half stoppage time to give Honduras a 1-0 win over El Salvador and a spot in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Miami Gardens, Fla.
Edder Delgado’s pass found an open Claros, who took a couple of steps inside the area and blasted a shot past goalkeeper Dagoberto Portillo.
Also, two goals from Jean Maurice lifted Haiti to a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago.