In brief: Titleholder Bernhard Langer in 8-way tie for lead at Senior British Open
GOLF: Two albatross twos were recorded on the same hole on a memorable opening day at the Senior British Open in Sunningdale, England, where defending champion Bernhard Langer finished in an eight-way tie for the lead at 5-under-par 65 on Thursday.
Langer tops the leaderboard alongside Americans Michael Allen, Bart Bryant, Marco Dawson, Jeff Sluman and Lee Janzen, Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, and China’s Lianwei Zhang, playing in only his third senior tournament after turning 50 in May.
The albatrosses at the opening hole, a first time in senior tour history, were by England’s Barry Lane and American Steve Jones.
Lane holed his 4-iron second from 218 yards on the 492-yard par-5 and, a couple of hours later, Jones did the same with a 6-iron from 179 yards.
Pullman High grad Kirk Triplett was tied for 20th after shooting a 2-under.
• Three atop leaderboard at LPGA event: Lizette Salas, Katherine Kirk and Dori Carter shared the first-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic at 7-under 64 at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan.
Jaye Marie Green and rookie Wei-Ling Hsu were a shot back in the second-year tournament.
Salas, Kirk, Carter and Green played in the morning in little wind and perfect scoring conditions. Hsu had the best round in the afternoon after the wind kicked up.
• Argentina’s Grillo leads Canadian Open: Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 to take the first-round lead in the Canadian Open in Oakville, Ontario.
The 22-year-old Grillo birdied three of the four par 5s at Glen Abbey. He won the Argentine Open last season for his biggest career victory, and lost in a playoff this year in the Puerto Rico Open.
Spokane native Alex Prugh was tied for eighth after shooting a 5-under 67.
Source: Union offered settlement on Brady
NFL: The players’ union proposed a settlement on Tom Brady’s four-game suspension last week that was “met with silence” by the NFL, a person familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the NFL Players Association’s offer was confidential. There is no timetable on when Commissioner Roger Goodell will rule on the New England quarterback’s appeal.
Several media reports indicated the union’s proposal called for Brady paying a large fine, but with no suspension. The Patriots paid a record $1 million fine and were stripped of two draft picks, including a No. 1 selection next year. Team owner Robert Kraft accepted those punishments while stating he believed the Patriots had done nothing wrong.
• Bryant not happy with Madden rating: Dez Bryant isn’t too pleased with EA Sports even though it has him rated as the second-best receiver in the new Madden NFL 16 video game.
Bryant expressed his displeasure with a speed rating of 89, posting a rant on Twitter about the subject.
When one of his followers pointed out that Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles got only a 92, Bryant replied: “That’s really not right.”
• Officers punished for wrongful detainment of Allen: Officials say four southwest Florida police officers have been punished for the wrongful detainment of Oakland Raiders safety Nate Allen.
Fort Myers police Chief Doug Baker said the arrest was isolated and not deliberate.
Allen, who lives in southwest Florida in the offseason, spent several hours in a holding cell in February after a 16-year-old girl said he performed a lewd act at a traffic light. Allen denied the accusation, saying he was on a cellphone call from the time he left a nearby restaurant until he was stopped. No charges were filed, and Allen was eventually released.
Croatia loses point for swastika incident
SOCCER: Croatia has been stripped of one point in its European Championship qualifying group after a swastika was painted on the field before a match against Italy.
The UEFA disciplinary panel made the deduction and ordered Croatia to play its next two home qualifiers in an empty stadium.
UEFA also barred Croatia from playing qualifiers in Split, which hosted the 1-1 draw with Italy on June 12. The Croatian football federation must also pay a 100,000 euro ($110,000) fine.
Croatia’s federation described the punishment as “hard, the hardest in the history” of the association.
The federation can appeal to UEFA, and the governing body can also challenge the ruling. UEFA can ask its own appeals committee to impose a tougher penalty.
Still, Croatia will stay at the top of its six-team group even with the sanction. It now leads Italy by one point after six of 10 rounds.
The swastika was clearly marked in the middle of the half Italy was attacking in the first half. The match was played behind closed doors as punishment for racist chanting and other misconduct by Croatia fans at a previous Euro 2016 qualifier.