Three-way tie atop Senior British Open

Golf: Mark Calcavecchia defied the afternoon rain to shoot a bogey-free 68 and take a three-way share of the first-round lead at the Senior British Open at Walton on the Hill, England, on Thursday.

Bidding to become the fourth player to win both the British Open and the senior version, the 51-year-old American had two birdies on either side of the turn before parring the final five holes.

Calcavecchia, winner of the British Open at Royal Troon in 1989, was joined at 4-under by Ireland’s Mark McNulty and Australia’s Mike Harwood, who earlier benefited from still and dry conditions on the parkland course at Walton Heath that hosted the 1981 Ryder Cup.

• Blanks’ 67 leads Canadian Open: American Kris Blanks shot a 3-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the first-round at the Canadian Open in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Matt McQuillan was the best of 17 Canadians with a 2-under 68, putting the 30-year-old PGA Tour rookie in a tie with 11 players, including Ernie Els.

Only 21 players were under par on the tight tree-lined, 7,010-yard Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.

Spokane’s Alex Prugh shot a 76 to close the first round nine shots off the lead.

• Barrett advances at U.S. Junior Amateur: Chelso Barrett defeated defending champion Jim Liu in the second round of match play at the men’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championships being held in Bremerton, Wash.

U.S. Open qualifier Beau Hossler of Mission Viejo, Calif., also advanced to the third round, beating Austin Smotherman of Loomis, Calif., 1 up. Jordan Spieth of Dallas, the 2009 winner, advanced with a 2-and-1 victory over Wesley Gosselin of Knoxville, Tenn.

• Stupples shares lead at Evian Masters: Former women’s British Open champion Karen Stupples of England shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead with Sweden’s Maria Hjorth and South Korea’s Ahn Shin-ae at the Evian Masters in Evian-Les-Bains, France.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., was seven shots off of the lead after finishing the round with a 74.

• Jutanugarn on to quarterfinals: Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, the top-ranked player in the field, was forced to the 18th hole before beating Canada’s Jisoo Keel to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Girls Junior Championship in Olympia Fields, Ill.

Jutanugarn will face eighth-seeded Gabriela Then of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., in today’s first quarterfinal match.

The other quarterfinal matches will be between Amy Lee of Brea, Calif., and Talia Campbell of Dallas; Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J., and China’s Yu Liu; Summar Roachell of Conway, Ark., and Dottie Ardina of the Philippines.

U.S. opens World Cup with win over Czechs

Softball: Stacy May-Johnson homered, Rhea Taylor had a two-run triple and the United States beat the Czech Republic 7-2 at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City.

Taylor put the United States ahead to stay with her two-run triple to deep right field in the second inning. May-Johnson’s solo shot bumped the lead to 6-2 after the Czechs scored twice in the top of the fourth inning.

U.S. sprinter Dix wins 200M at Spitzen

• Track and Field: United States sprinter Walter Dix won the 200-meter race in 20.02 seconds at the Spitzen meet in Lucern, Switzerland.

Marvin Anderson of Jamaica finished in second, trailing by more than a half-second.

Two arrests in Giants fan beating

Miscellany: Two suspects were arrested Wednesday in Los Angeles in the beating of Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan, outside Dodger Stadium and the original suspect may well be exonerated, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said that if the district attorney’s office files a case against the men, the man previously identified as the suspect, Giovanni Ramirez, would be exonerated.

• Boogaard brother arrested: The brother of former Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers player Derek Boogaard, who died from a drug overdose in May, has been arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal prescription pills.

Online records showed Aaron Boogaard was arrested Wednesday on a narcotics charge. He was held without bail in the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis. His family said the arrest has “nothing to do with” his brother’s death.

Medical examiners ruled that Derek Boogaard’s death was from a mix of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone.