Walshe leads by one after first round
Golf: Alison Walshe, chasing her first victory in four years on the LPGA Tour, shot a 6-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead Thursday after the opening round of the steamy Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
Walshe, in the top 20 on tour in putting statistics, needed only 22 putts to negotiate hot and humid Highland Meadows. Paula Creamer, the 2008 winner of what used to be known as the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, played later in the day and shot a 66 that left her tied with teenager Lexi Thompson and Canadian Jessica Shepley.
Top-ranked Inbee Park birdied her final two holes for a 67. Defending champ So Yeon Ryu had a 68, and Se Ri Pak, a five-time winner of the tournament, opened with a 69. Wendy Ward (Edwall, Wash.) also shot a 69.
• Summerhays shoots 63 in Mississippi : Daniel Summerhays rebounded from a disappointing finish last week to take the lead in the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Madison, Miss.
Four days after squandering the final-round lead in the John Deere Classic, Summerhays shot a 9-under 63 to open a three-stroke lead. He had an eagle and seven birdies at Annandale Golf Club.
Will Claxton, Michael Bradley and Jonathan Randolph shot 66.
Brooks won’t face assault charges
Miscellany: The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office said it won’t pursue assault charges against San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks because of insufficient evidence in the case.
Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu-Towery said that Brooks will not face prosecution after further investigation into allegations that Brooks repeatedly hit a teammate on the head with a beer bottle in a June incident.
According to police, Brooks hit teammate Lamar Divens with the bottle three times and then punched him in the face during an early-morning argument June 8. The alleged attack left Divens with a 3-inch cut on his forehead, according to police statements.
Police statements said Brooks, Divens and others had been drinking and went to a bar before returning to Brooks’ house. Divens pretended to throw Brooks’ keys in the grass, though he had actually held onto the keys, prompting the attack. Investigators were told Brooks was intoxicated and had threatened to get a gun.
• Sun Bowl Association reaches extension with ACC: The Sun Bowl Association reached a six-year extension with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Association officials in El Paso, Texas, announced the extension that begins in 2014. The association recently announced a similar six-year extension with the Pac-12.
Teams from both conferences will face off in the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl on the UTEP campus.
Williams sisters get U.S. Open entry
Tennis: Top-ranked Serena Williams and her sister Venus are among five past champions getting direct entry into the U.S. Open women’s main draw.
They’re also two of 10 Americans in the provisional field, the most of any country.
Other past champions in the field are Maria Sharapova, Samantha Stosur and Svetlana Kuznetsova, along with two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka and recent Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli.
The hard-court tournament begins Aug. 26, with the women’s final scheduled for Sept. 8.
Team USA beats Cuba 2-1 in exhibition
Baseball: Matt Chapman had an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Team USA a 2-1 victory over Cuba in an international exhibition in Des Moines, Iowa.
The matchup was the opener of a five-game series between Cuba and a team of American college stars — and the first between the countries on American soil since 1996.
Cuba’s Jose Fernandez tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI single with two outs in the ninth. But Chapman responded by ripping a line drive to right field with two outs in the 11th.
Cuba, which lost pitcher Misael Siverio to defection on Tuesday, will play the U.S. in Omaha, Neb., today and Saturday before games in Cary and Durham, N.C. next week.
• Minor-league team no-hi for third time: The Single-A Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts have been no-hit three times this season.
Clinton (Iowa) LumberKings pitcher Victor Sanchez pitched a complete-game no-hitter on July 17, allowing just three base-runners in a 1-0 home victory. Two runners reached on errors and the third was hit by a Sanchez pitch.
Lansing had gone hitless in a game once in its first 17 seasons, but the Lugnuts (38-56) have been blanked three times in 94 games in 2013. Lansing, an affiliate of the Blue Jays, was also no-hit in seven innings on April 14 against South Bend and against Bowling Green in June.
Rookie Delle Donne tops All-Star voting
WNBA: Elena Delle Donne became the first rookie to lead the WNBA All-Star voting. Delle Donne received 35,646 votes, nearly 2,000 more than Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker.
The All-Star game will take place on July 27 and reserves will be announced Tuesday.
Kiwis establish top speed in catamarans
Sailing: Emirates Team New Zealand established a top speed for America’s Cup 72-foot catamarans, hitting 44.15 knots, or 50.8 mph, on San Francisco Bay. The Kiwis set the mark on the first reaching leg as they sailed alone around the course to collect another point in the Louis Vuitton Cup for challengers. The scheduled opponent, Artemis Racing, has yet to race as it works to get its second boat launched following the fatal capsize of its first boat on May 9.
The Kiwis’ top speed translates to 81.7 kilometers per hour or 74.5 feet per second. The wind speed on the leg peaked at 15.8 knots.
The team’s previous best mark was 43.26 knots, or 49.78 mph, set July 9 in slightly stronger winds.