In brief: Colin Montgomerie maintains lead at Senior Open
Golf: Colin Montgomerie shot an even-par 71 on Friday on the second day of the U.S. Senior Open in Edmond, Oklahoma, and leads Scott Dunlap by one stroke.
Montgomerie opened with a 65 on Thursday. Dunlap had a 69 in the first round and a 68 in the second to get to 5 under for the tournament.
“It’s not easy to repeat a good round as yesterday’s was, but this was as good, to be honest,” Montgomerie said. “Seventy-one out there was a good effort. Breezy conditions, windier than it was yesterday, warmer and with the pack coming at you – it’s never easy.”
Dunlap was at 2 under after starting on the back nine, and then went back to the front nine and birdied Nos. 2, 5 and 7 on his way to a 32.
Bernhard Langer, who leads the Champions Tour with three wins this season, moved into a tie for the lead with a 3-under 32 on the front nine, and then grabbed the advantage with a birdie on 14. He had bogeys on 15 and 16, both on close misses, and then bogeyed 18 to finish at 4 under. He is tied with Gene Sauers.
Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett is tied for 10th with two others at 1 under after shooting a 72 at Oak Tree National.
• Johnson, McGirt share John Deere lead: Zach Johnson and William McGirt were at 12-under 130 and tied for the lead at the halfway point of the John Deere Classic at Silvis, Illinois.
They were a stroke ahead of Steven Bowditch, Johnson Wagner and Brian Harman.
Three-time Deere winner Steve Stricker shot a 65 for a 133 total to vault into contention at the par-71 TPC Deere Run, and was tied for sixth with Rory Sabbatini, Ryan Moore and Todd Hamilton.
Spokane native Alex Prugh is tied with three others for 21st place at 6 under after shooting his second straight 68.
• Martin in front at Women’s British Open: American Mo Martin took two putts from short of the green on the par-5 18th for her 10th birdie in two days to give her another 3-under 69 and a three-shot lead over Beatriz Recari of Spain and former U.S. Women’s Open champion So Yeon Ryu at the Women’s Britsh Open.
The tournament is being played on Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.
The weekend will not include Michelle Wie. Coming off her first major in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2, the 24-year-old from Hawaii never got anything going and fell apart over the closing stretch for a 78 to miss the cut by three shots.
• McIlroy slumps at Scottish Open: McIlroy surrendered the lead at the Scottish Open at the Royal Aberdeen links course with his latest second-round meltdown, leaving three players tied for first place on a day when brutal winds played havoc with the field.
Kristoffer Broberg of Sweden, Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez and Marc Warren of Scotland were atop the leaderboard on 6 under, with just 17 of 150 players shooting below 70 on the par-71 Royal Aberdeen links course.
McIlroy shot a course-record 64 in the first round but followed it up with a 78.
Jackets sign Dubinsky for six more years
Hockey: The Columbus Blue Jackets signed center Brandon Dubinsky to a six-year contract extension worth a reported $35.1 million through the 2020-21 season.
The 28-year-old Dubinsky, acquired two years ago in the blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers for Rick Nash, has scored 18 goals with 52 assists in 105 games the past two seasons.
He was at his best in last season’s six-game playoff series with Pittsburgh, scoring a goal with five assists.
• Lightning sign Morrow to one-year deal: The Tampa Bay Lightning signed free-agent forward Brenden Morrow to a one-year contract.
Morrow had 13 goals and 25 points in 71 games with St. Louis last season.
In 921 NHL games with the Blues, Dallas and Pittsburgh, the 35-year-old has 262 goals and 567 points.
Serena Williams out of Swedish Open
Tennis: Swedish Open organizers say defending champion Serena Williams will not appear at the women’s tournament next week because she doesn’t feel on top form.
Tournament spokesman Marcus Duner said that the top-seeded American had decided to use one of her two allowed annual withdrawals, with Williams saying in a statement that she was “still not at 100 percent.”
At Wimbledon, Williams couldn’t get the ball over the net in a doubles match with her sister Venus, stopping after three games because of what was called a viral illness.
In the men’s tournament, defending champion Carlos Berlocq upset top-seeded David Ferrer in a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the quarterfinals.
• Top-seeded Isner out in quarterfinals: Seventh-seeded American Jack Sock and third-seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the semifinals at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.
The 21-year old Sock, fresh off a doubles title at Wimbledon with Canadian Vasek Pospisil, defeated top-seeded and two-time Newport champion John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (4). The 33-year old Hewitt beat American Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4.
• Two Americans in semifinals: Shelby Rogers, the 147th-ranked qualifier appearing in her first WTA quarterfinal, defeated No. 7-ranked Camila giorgi of Italy 6-1, 7-5 at the Gastein Ladies in Bad Gastein, Austria. She dropped serve only once while Giorgi had 11 double faults.
Another American, Grace Min, reached her first WTA semifinal when the 138th-ranked player defeated No. 8 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1.
Four American track athletes are victors
Track and field: Jamaican Nickel Ashmeade won the 100 meters in 9.97 seconds at the Glasgow (Scotland) Grand Prix ahead of American Mike Rodgers.
Triumphs for United States athletes came when Tianna Bartoletta leapt 22 feet, 10 3/4 inches in the long jump, Francena McCorory clocked 49.93 in the 400, Reese Hoffa’s shot put reached 71-1 1/4, and Gia Lewis-Smallwood threw 221-9 in the discus.