In brief: Garcia builds two-shot advantage at TPC
Sergio Garcia – mired in a 0-for-53 drought on the PGA Tour, the longest of his career – had seven birdies Thursday at The Players Championship, leading to a 6-under-par 66 and a two-shot lead at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Kenny Perry and Paul Goydos each had a 68 in the mild, morning breeze on a perfectly conditioned golf course. Sawgrass turned tricky in the afternoon, and Ernie Els was among those who paid dearly. Els was at 2 under until his wedge came up 20 feet short of the island green on the 17th, and he barely kept his third shot on land. He wound up with a triple bogey.
“A course record-tying 63 by Scotland’s Mhairi McKay highlighted the LPGA’s Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill in Willamsburg, Va.
Michelle Wie returned to the tour for the first time since February and struggled to a 75.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., opened with a 73 while Rathdrum’s Tracy Hanson was at 79.
Horse racing
Club will study safety
The Jockey Club has formed a committee to study equine health, including track safety and the rules of racing, five days after the death of the filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby.
The committee will review every facet of equine health, ranging from breeding practices to medication, and to recommend actions to be taken by the horse industry to improve the health and safety of thoroughbreds.
Tennis
Safina upsets Henin
Top-ranked Justine Henin was upset by Dinara Safina 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in the third round of the German Open in Berlin, derailing efforts to regain form ahead of the French Open.
Sports and courts
Vick ordered to pay up
A federal judge ordered imprisoned quarterback Michael Vick to repay more than $2.4 million to a Canadian bank for defaulting on a loan. Vick is serving a 23-month prison sentence at the U.S. penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., after pleading guilty last year to bankrolling a dogfighting ring.
“Former University of Montana football player Qwenton Freeman pleaded guilty in Missoula to his role in a violent home invasion. Freeman, 22, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and aggravated burglary for the Nov. 5 break-in.
Miscellany
League bowler dies at 106
By the time Bill Hargrove was recognized last year as the nation’s oldest league bowler, his eyesight had deteriorated so much he could hardly see the pins. But he kept at it, armed with a mental image of them. He was still bowling last week, just before he was hospitalized and died Monday in Gainesville, Ga., of congestive heart failure – four days shy of turning 107.
“Zach Parise’s power-play goal with 8:57 remaining snapped a tie and gave the United States a 6-4 victory over Germany in a qualifying-round game at the world hockey championship at Halifax, Nova Scotia.