Jordan Spieth takes 1-shot lead into final round of Tour Championship
GOLF: Jordan Spieth already has the best year in golf. He’s one round away from having the richest year in golf history.
Spieth battled through a tough, rainy Saturday at the Tour Championship in Atlanta and overtook Henrik Stenson with a 2-under 68 for 202. The Masters and U.S. Open champ saved par with a 20-foot putt on the 16th hole and took the lead for the first time with a 20-foot birdie on the 18th.
Stenson made three bogeys on the back nine for a 72 and is one shot behind at 7 under.
The FedEx Cup finale is Sunday, and it is shaping up as a big one. Rickie Fowler shot a 67, the best score of the third round, and was four shots back. If any of them win, they get the $10 million bonus.
• Montgomerie takes Champions Tour lead: Colin Montgomerie settled for a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s First Tee Open after bogeying the final hole at Pebble Beach, California.
The 52-year-old Scot finished with a 5-under 67, missing a 6-foot par putt on Pebble Beach’s par-5 18th to fall to 8-under 135. He opened with a 68 on Friday at Poppy Hills.
Austin Dillon wins 500th Truck race
CAR RACING: Austin Dillon led 80 laps and won at New Hampshire Motorspeedway in the milestone 500th NASCAR Truck Series race in Loudon, New Hampshire.
Dillon won for the first time this season in the series, to go with three wins in the Xfinity Series. He was dominant and won from the pole, for his seventh victory in 67 career races.
Two-time defending Truck Series champion Matt Crafton was second, followed by Johnny Sauter. Points leader Erik Jones was seventh.
Mike Skinner won the first race on Feb. 5, 1995.
• Blaney wins Xfinity race: Ryan Blaney completed a Team Penske season sweep of the NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Kentucky Speedway, beating Ty Dillon in a green-white-checkered finish in Sparta, Kentucky.
After the record-tying 10th caution, Dillon led Blaney on the restart. Blaney used the inside to pass and pulled away to his fourth career Xfinity victory and second this season.
Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski also won in July at Kentucky.
Bencic sets up Pan-Pacific Open
TENNIS: Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic cruised past top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to set up a Toray Pan-Pacific Open final in Toyko against Agnieszka Radwanska.
The eighth-seeded Bencic had beaten Wozniacki in all three of their previous meetings this year. The 18-year-old Bencic is looking for her third title of a breakthrough season, having beaten Radwanska for her first career trophy in June.
• Raonic to play Sousa at Open final: Milos Raonic of Canada beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6 (2) in St. Petersburg, Russia, to set up a final against Joao Sousa of Portugal at the St. Petersburg Open.
Raonic hit 19 aces, four of them in the second-set tiebreaker, and held serve throughout the match. • Former champions face off at Open de Moselle: Gilles Simon will face fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Open de Moselle final in Metz, France, with both men looking for a historic third victory in Metz.
Both won in straight sets , with Simon beating Martin Klizan of Slovakia 6-4, 6-4 and Tsonga easing past Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4 to set up a replay of the 2013 final which Simon won.
Messi tears ligament, to be out 7-8 weeks
SOCCER: Barcelona faces two long months without four-time world player of the year Lionel Messi after the forward tore a ligament in his left knee during the defending champion’s Spanish league match against Las Palmas in Barcelona.
The Catalan club confirmed the injury after Messi had tests at a nearby Barcelona hospital. Barcelona said it expects Messi to be out “seven to eight weeks.”
Messi went down after colliding with Las Palmas defender Pedro Bigas in the third minute.
• Giovinco breaks MLS points record: Sebastian Giovinco broke the MLS single-season points record, assisting on two goals in Toronto FC’s 3-2 vctory over the Chicago Fire in Toronto to push his total to 35.
The Italian has 19 goals and 16 assists with four games left. He broke the mark of 34 set by Chris Wondolowski with San Jose in 2012.
Big Blue Kitten wins Belmont’s Turf Classic
HORSE RACING: Big Blue Kitten won the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic in a course-record time at Belmont Park in New York.
The 7-year-old ran 1 1/2 miles in 2:23.39, erasing the mark of 2:24.36 set by Fantastic Light in 2001.
Big Blue Kitten and jockey Joe Bravo settled far back in sixth before launching a four-wide bid on the final turn. They surged past the pack at the top of the stretch and had enough left to hold off Slumber by three quarters of a length.
• Beholder wins Zenyatta Stakes in Breeders’ Cup prep: Beholder won the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita by 3 1/4 lengths for the third consecutive year in her final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic next month, where she is expected to face Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
Ridden by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, Beholder ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.83 and paid $2.20, $2.10 and $2.10 as the 1-9 favorite in 93-degree heat.
High school QB dies after game injury
MISCELLANY: A New Jersey high school football player died after suffering an injury on the field in Washington, New Jersey.
Warren Hills Regional High School quarterback Evan Murray died after being hurt in a game Friday night. A statement from interim Superintendent Gary Bowen said the school community is “deeply saddened” by the death of Murray, a three-sport athlete who had been the football team’s starting quarterback for three years.
People who attended the game said Murray walked off the field under his own power after taking a hit in the backfield, then apparently collapsed a short time later.
• Armitstead wins road world championships: Lizzie Armitstead won a dramatic sprint finish to capture the women’s cycling road world championship in Richmond, Virginia, powering past Anna van der Breggen and holding on by about a half-bike length.
The British sprint star burst into tears moments after crossing the finish line. Van der Breggen added another silver medal to the one she captured in the time trial, while Megan Guarnier of the U.S. won the sprint for bronze.
• Blackhawks, Seabrook agree to extension: The defending NHL champion Chicago Blackhawks and defenseman Brent Seabrook agreed to an eight-year contract extension through the 2023-24 season.
The 30-year-old Seabrook holds franchise records among defensemen in regular-season overtime goals (six), postseason goals (19) and postseason overtime goals (three).