Golf
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Matt Kuchar eagled the par-5 13th and added two late birdies and a big par save on the rowdy par-3 16th hole Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Kuchar shot a 7-under 64 in perfect afternoon conditions at TPC Scottsdale for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama and Brendan Steele. The crowd was estimated at 103,420 on the fan-friendly stadium layout.
Kuchar made a 20-foot eagle putt on the 13th, and ran in a 6-footer for birdie on the par-5 15th. He got up-and-down for par from the left bunker on the triple-deck stadium 16th, making a 12-foot putt, and chipped to inches from the front fringe on the short par-4 17th to set up his final birdie in the bogey-free round.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Sergio Garcia took advantage of better playing conditions in the morning and carded a 7-under-par 65 for a one-shot lead to open the Dubai Desert Classic.
Playing ahead of Tiger Woods, who could not make any headway and posted a 5-over 77, Garcia made six birdies and an eagle before finally dropping a shot on the eighth hole, his 17th.
Chile’s Felipe Aguilar and South Africa’s George Coetzee were tied on 66, and the resurgent Ian Poulter led a group of four players with 67.
Henrik Stenson, the highest-ranked player in the field at 4, posted a bogey-free 68.
Soccer
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – After a dismal 0-0 tie against an inexperienced group of Serbians in his first game as U.S. coach in more than a decade, Bruce Arena gets one more look at the domestic part of his player pool when the Americans play Jamaica in an exhibition on Friday night ahead of the resumption of World Cup qualifying.
Arena said defenders Walker Zimmerman and Jorge Villafana will play against the Reggae Boyz, with Zimmerman making his international debut five days after Villafana.
Luis Robles, making his third appearance, will take over from goalkeeper Nick Rimando. Sebastian Lletget, who made his debut at the start of the second half against Serbia, figures to see action in midfield on the artificial surface of Finley Stadium following the departures of midfielders Jermaine Jones and Sacha Kljestan.
Losses to Mexico and Costa Rica in the first two games of the final round of World Cup qualifying in North and Central America and Caribbean, caused the U.S. Soccer Federation to fire Jurgen Klinsmann and bring back Arena, the U.S. coach from 1998-2006. Arena supervised a training camp of players from Major League Soccer, and the Europe-based portion of the player pool will be integrated ahead of the March 24 qualifier against Honduras.
NEW YORK – Contract talks between the women’s national team and the U.S. Soccer Federation have resumed after the players’ union retained a new lawyer.
U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said Thursday the union is being represented in collective bargaining by Mady Gilson of Bredhoff & Kaiser. The players parted ways in December with attorney Rich Nichols, who had been executive director of the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association since late 2014.
At a news conference Thursday announcing A+E Networks purchase of a stake in the National Women’s Soccer League, Gulati said he was encouraged by progress in talks for a collective bargaining agreement to replace the deal that expired Dec. 31.
Associated Press
