Palmer opens with 63, assumes lead
GOLF: Ryan Palmer took only 21 putts Friday on the TPC Boston and made birdie on half of his holes. That gave him an 8-under 63 and a two-shot lead after the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Palmer one-putted 15 times in what he called one of his rounds of the year.
Keegan Bradley did his best to make an impression on U.S. captain Tom Watson for the Ryder Cup. Bradley is being considered for a captain’s pick. He played bogey-free for a 65.
Webb Simpson, another Ryder Cup hopeful, and Jason Day of Australia were among those at 66.
Rory McIlroy opened with a 70, while Phil Mickelson made only six pars in a wild round of 73.
• Bryant, Pernice share lead: Tom Pernice Jr. and Bart Bryant shot 8-under 62 to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta.
The 54-year-old Pernice birdied his first five holes – Nos. 10-14 – and had 10 birdies and two bogeys at Canyon Meadows.
The 52-year-old Bryant, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, birdied five of his last eight holes. Bernhard Langer opened with a 67, two days after turning 57.
• Kim at 12-under: I.K. Kim increased her lead to three strokes in the LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic, shooting a 5-under 67 to reach 12 under.
The South Korean player had seven birdies and two bogeys in her morning round in cloudy, calm conditions at Columbia Edgewater.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and South Korea’s Mi Jung Hur shot 65 to join Laura Diaz at 9 under.
Phoenix takes series opener
WNBA: Brittney Griner had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the Phoenix Mercury held off a late rally to beat the Minnesota Lynx 85-71 in Game 1 of the best-of-3 Western Conference finals.
Game 2 is Sunday in Minneapolis.
Chelsea loans Torress to AC Milan
SOCCER: Chelsea has agreed terms with AC Milan for striker Fernando Torres to join the Serie A club in a two-year loan deal.
The deal was announced a few hours after Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho had raised the prospect of Torres leaving before the transfer window closes, saying that the 30-year-old Spain striker may be ready to “try a new life, a new club, probably a new league.”
De Marchi wins 7th Vuelta stage
CYCLING: Alessandro de Marchi of Italy pulled away from a small breakaway group to win an accident-filled seventh stage of the Spanish Vuelta in Alcaudete, Spain, while Alejandro Valverde maintained the overall lead.
De Marchi shed the other three escapees and rode alone for the last 8 miles to complete the hilly 105-mile ride through rolling olive groves in just over four hours.