Mahan cool leader at hot Congressional
Golf: A punishing golf course. Temperatures that topped 100. Hunter Mahan still managed to make Friday at Congressional feel like a breeze.
Mahan finally had a good score to match the efficient way he has been swinging the club. He made seven birdies in the stifling heat in Bethesda, Md., for a 6-under-par 65, giving him a two-shot lead at 7-under 135 going into the weekend at the AT&T National as he goes after a PGA Tour-leading third win of the year.
Chris Couch sought medical attention and struggled to finish in the oppressive conditions. One caddie had to stop after nine holes, and another vomited to the side of the 13th green from drinking too much water.
Tiger Woods stayed in the game with a 68.
• Couples on top in Senior Players: Defending champion Fred Couples birdied the final three holes in sweltering conditions for a 7-under 63 and the second-round lead in the Senior Players Championship.
Couples, the winner last year at Westchester CC in Harrison, N.Y., reached 11 under for a one-stroke lead at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh on a day when the temperature reached 96 degrees with a heat index of 105. Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett shot at 69 and was at 140.
• Felibert’s career best worth lead: Veronica Felibert shot a career-best 6-under 65 to take the first-round lead by one stroke in the LPGA Tour’s NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark.
Felibert, a rookie from Venezuela who made the field as the second alternate, had seven birdies and needed only 27 putts. The round came after the former Southern California player missed the cuts in her previous three tournaments, and one week after switching to a new putter.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., opened with a 72.
Mo Williams to Jazz; Odom to Clippers
NBA: Mo Williams will be reunited with the Utah Jazz as part of a four-team deal that will send Lamar Odom back to Los Angeles for a second chance with the Clippers.
The deal initially was believed to involve only three teams, but a fourth, the Houston Rockets, got involved after Thursday’s draft. The Rockets received the rights to the Clippers’ 53rd overall pick, Furkan Aldemir, and the Jazz sent the team’s trade exception to Dallas. The Mavs also received cash considerations from Houston.
The Jazz drafted Williams in 2003 but allowed him to leave after one season, a decision that general manager Kevin O’Connor said was the worst he made.
Dallas faced a Friday deadline on a $2.4 million buyout of Odom’s $8.2 million option for next season.
Williams’ decision to exercise his $8.5 million player option cleared the way for the deal.
While Williams put up solid numbers in Los Angeles, Odom – drafted fourth overall by the Clippers in 1999 – is coming off an underwhelming 50-game stint with Dallas that didn’t even take him through the entire season. He was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for the Lakers for the 2010-11 season.
• Pistons expect to sign Singler: Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars says the team expects to sign 6-foot-8 forward Kyle Singler on July 11. Detroit drafted the former Duke standout 33rd overall last year and Singler chose to stay in Spain after the lockout ended.
Lions give coach multiyear extension
NFL: The Detroit Lions gave coach Jim Schwartz a multiyear contract extension. Schwartz had one season left on his deal. Terms were not disclosed. Schwartz helped Detroit reach the playoffs last season just three years after inheriting a team coming off the NFL’s first 0-16 year.
• Falcons reach deal with safety: The Atlanta Falcons agreed to terms with safety Chris Hope, who has started 109 games in 10 seasons with Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Flames sign two to extensions
NHL: The Calgary Flames signed right-wing Lee Stempniak and defenseman Cory Sarich to two-year contract extensions. Stempniak will earn $5 million, while Sarich agreed to a deal worth $4 million.
Hyman off to Texas A&M to be A.D.
Colleges: South Carolina’s Eric Hyman has left after seven years to guide Texas A&M’s transition into the Southeastern Conference as the Aggies new athletic director.
The 61-year-old Hyman said in a statement he looked forward to leading his new school in its transition from the Big 12 Conference into the SEC. Hyman will take over for Texas A&M’s Bill Byrne, who retired in May.
• Georgia tailback arrested on weapons charges: Georgia tailback Isaiah Crowell faces felony weapons charges after police found a gun in his vehicle early Friday morning on the Georgia campus at a vehicle checkpoint.
Among the charges he faces are carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon on school property.
Crowell, 19, came to UGA in 2011 as the top-rated running back prospect in the country and was slated to start for the Bulldogs this fall. The sophomore from Columbus, Ga., led the Bulldogs with 850 yards rushing last season and was named the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Year by The Associated Press.
2009 champ out of Olympic trials
Miscellany: Bridget Sloan, the 2009 world gymnastics champion, is out of the running for the London Olympics after spraining her left elbow during warm-ups at the trials in San Jose, Calif.
Athletes aren’t allowed to petition directly onto the Olympic team, so the injury effectively ends her chances. Only the winner of the two-day trials is guaranteed a spot on the five-woman London squad. A selection committee will name the remaining four after Sunday’s final.
Jordyn Wieber, the reigning world champion, breezed through the first night of the trials and all but assured herself the lone guaranteed spot on the five-woman London team.
• U.S. defeats Australia 3-1 in softball: Valerie Arioto homered, Lauren Gibson doubled in a run and the United States beat Australia 3-1 at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City.
• Blake beats Bolt in Jamaican track and field trials: Usain Bolt, the “Fastest Man in the World,” wasn’t the fastest man on the track in Jamaica on Friday night. Instead, that honor was snatched away by Yohan Blake, the man they call “The Beast,” who blew away Bolt out of the starting blocks and finished the 100-meter final in 9.75 seconds to upset the world-record holder by 0.11 seconds in the Jamaican Olympic trials.