In brief: Lincicome leads heading into final round of LPGA Championship
Golf: Brittany Lincicome beamed. She had fought off the jitters while leading an LPGA Tour major and it felt oh-so-good.
Lincicome, who hadn’t held a second-round lead since 2009 and never in a major, shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday at the LPGA Championship in Pittsford, New York, to finish the third round at 10-under 206. That was one shot better than Suzann Pettersen (67) of Norway and defending champion Inbee Park (69) of South Korea as the fourth major championship of the season heads to the final round.
“Nervous is probably an understatement. My stomach was in knots,” Lincicome said. “When it came time to eat lunch, it just wasn’t happening because I haven’t been in this position in a while. Hopefully, going into tomorrow it’s out of my system.”
Mirim Lee of South Korea was alone in fourth at 7 under after a 69, while 17-year-old Lydia Ko (71) of New Zealand was another shot back along with South Korea’s Meena Lee (71) and Gerina Piller (69).
The long-hitting Lincicome began the day at Monroe Golf Club with a three-shot advantage over Park and Lexi Thompson, who finished with a 74 and was at 4 under.
Lincicome is 11 under on the generous par-5s at Monroe Golf Club, a distinct advantage over most of her challengers.
• Watney birdies final hole for lead: Nick Watney birdied the final hole for a 5-under 65 and a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Watney made a 20-foot birdie putt from the right edge of the green on the par-4 18th. The five-time PGA Tour winner had a 14-under 196 total at Sedgefield. Brad Fritsch was second after a 65.
Freddie Jacobson and second-round co-leader Heath Slocum were 12 under. Jacobson shot a 66, and Slocum had a 68.
• Sutherland holds one-shot advantage: Kevin Sutherland’s 59 gave him a one-shot lead over Steve Lowery going into the final round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Edicott, New York. He was at 14-under 130 in the Champions Tour event.
Lowery had nine birdies in his round of 65. John Cook had a 67 and was two shots behind.
Scott Hoch was 11 under after a 64, and Bernhard Langer had a 67 to top the group at 10 under.
• Conners, Yang face off in Amateur final : Canadian Corey Conners and South Korean Gunn Yang set up the second straight all-foreign final in the U.S. Amateur in Johns Creek, Georgia.
Conners beat Denny McCarthy 1 up, and Yang edged Frederick Wedel in 19 holes.
Washington team wins at LLWS
Baseball: Lynnwood, Washington, beat Rapid City, South Dakota, 7-5, in an elimination game at the Little League World Series. Colton Walsh hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give Lynnwood the lead in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Also Saturday, CJ Davock hit a two-run, two-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Cumberland, Rhode Island, an 8-7 victory over Nashville, Tennessee, in another elimination game.
In International play, Callum Schipp struck out 11 in Australia’s 10-1 victory over the Czech Republic, and Venezuela routed Canada 10-0 in five innings. Ronny Medina hit a grand slam in the fifth, putting an early end to Venezuela’s victory over Canada.
Today, the eight teams who opened the tournament with victories will be in action. In U.S. play, Chicago will face Las Vegas, and Philadelphia will meet Pearland, Texas. In the International division, Seoul will play Humacao, Puerto Rico, and Tokyo will face Guadalupe, Mexico.
On Monday, Cumberland will face the Chicago-Pearland loser, and Lynnwood will meet the Las Vegas-Philadelphia loser.
Serena Williams tops Wozniacki in semi
Miscellany: Serena Williams rallied to advance to the Western & Southern Open tennis final in Mason, Ohio, beating Caroline Wozniacki 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The top-ranked Williams lost a set for the first time in the tournament and committed 41 unforced errors, 20 more than Wozniacki.
Williams will face ninth-seeded Ana Ivanovic in the final. Ana Ivanovic beat fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in a night match.
In the first men’s semifinal, sixth-seeded David Ferrer beat Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-2. Second-seeded Roger Federer turned back fifth-seeded Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-3.
• Porter loses decision to Brook: Kell Brook won a majority decision over Shawn Porter to take Porter’s IBF welterweight title.
The English challenger claimed his first world title in just his second fight outside Britain, outpointing the American champion with a smart game plan and consistent elusiveness at the outdoor StubHub Center south of Los Angeles.
Brook (33-0) won 117-111 and 116-112 on two American judges’ cards, while English judge Dave Parris scored it a 114-114 draw. The Associated Press scored it 115-113 for Brook.
Porter (24-1-1) never found a consistent range in his first defeat.
• Hernandez retains IBF title: Yoan Pablo Hernandez of Cuba retained his IBF cruiserweight title by split decision over German boxer Firat Arslan in Erfurt, Germany.
Judges Vincent Dupas of France and American Shafeeq Rashada scored the bout 115-113 and 116-113, respectively, for the defending champion, while Leszek Jankowiak of Poland scored it 115-113 for Arslan.
Both fighters raised their arms at the final bell but it was Hernandez who improved to 29-1 (14 KOs), while Arslan dropped to 34-8-2 (21 KOs).
• U.S. wins U17 world championship: Malik Newman led the United States to its third straight FIBA Under-17 World Championship basketball title, scoring 21 points in a 99-92 victory over Australia in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Newman, the tournament MVP from Jackson, Mississippi, also had 11 rebounds. Jayson Tatum of St. Louis added 15 points.
The U.S. is 23-0 in the history of the tournament that also was played in 2010 and 2012.
• Roczen, Martin tops in Indiana: Ken Roczen won the Indiana National for his fifth 450 Class victory of the season, and Jeremy Martin wrapped up the 250 Class season title.
Roczen, from Germany, won the first moto and finished second in the second. He stretched his season lead to 20 over Red Bull KTM teammate Ryan Dungey heading into the finale in Utah.