GOLF
Fresh off her victory at Inverness, Danielle Kang attacked a more receptive golf course Thursday in the Marathon Classic and opened with a 7-under 64 to share the lead with Lydia Ko.
Kang went six months without playing because of the COVID-19 pandemic and said she was eager to compete again. For five rounds in northeast Ohio, it sure looks that way.
Kang , who moved to No. 2 in the world last week by winning, played bogey-free at Highland Meadows. She closed with three birdies over his last four holes.
Ko, the former No. 1 player in women’s golf with only one victory in the last four years, had eight birdies against a lone bogey on the par-3 eighth hole to join Kang in the lead.
They had a one-shot lead over Megan Khang, whose 65 featured a hole-out for eagle on the par-4 fifth hole.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Cormac Sharvin of Northern Ireland shot a course-record 8-under 63 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the English Championship at Ware, England.
Sharvin played in the final group and made three straight birdies from the 14th to move past a group of six players in the clubhouse at 7 under.
COLLEGES
FOOTBALL: Notre Dame opens its season as an Atlantic Coast Conference football member against visiting Duke on Sept. 12 and won’t face Navy for the first time in more than nine decades as part of the ACC’s reconfigured schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The league released the schedule featuring the Fighting Irish, who are giving up their coveted football independence and competing for the ACC title this season. The ACC had announced plans last week for a 10-game league slate with one nonconference game and its championship game played either Dec. 12 or 19.
• Clemson is No. 1 in the USA Today coaches’ preseason poll for a second straight year.
The Tigers received 38 of 65 first-place votes in the poll. Clemson is seeking its third national title in five years after losing 42-25 to LSU in last season’s championship game.
Ohio State, which lost 29-23 to Clemson in a Fiesta Bowl semifinal last year, is second in the poll and received 17 first-place votes. Alabama, Georgia and LSU round out the top five.
• Penn State All-American Micah Parsons, a junior, is opting out of the 2020 season because of concerns about COVID-19.
He will be eligible to enter the 2021 NFL draft and is already expected to be high first-round selection.
• Two sons of pro football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis have announced on social media they will transfer to play at Kentucky.
Rayshad Lewis and Rahsaan Lewis announced their decisions on verified Twitter accounts. A Wildcats football spokeswoman says the brothers are confirmed walk-ons.
Rayshad Lewis, 5-foot-10 and 176 pounds, played wide receiver and special teams as a senior at Maryland last season after switching from defense the previous year. He previously played at Utah State before transferring to Maryland.
Rahsaan Lewis, a 5-11, 181-pound receiver, played several games at Florida Atlantic last season before redshirting. He began his collegiate career at Central Florida and played in seven contests as a defensive back.
• Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau, who was second in the nation with 15.5 sacks last season, has opted out of this season.
He would have been a third-year sophomore and is eligible to enter the NFL draft next year.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Texas Tech fired Coach Marlene Stollings two days after a scathing newspaper report alleging a culture of abuse in her program.
Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt announced the firing in a one-sentence statement while adding that he planned to address the decision Friday.
Players made claims of abuse over the past two years in season-ending exit interviews that were obtained through an open records request by The Intercollegiate, an investigative media outlet for college sports. The details were published by USA Today.
Players dreaded a heart monitoring system they said was misused in punitive ways, had to endure demeaning and threatening comments and were subject to sexually suggestive behavior from a strength coach who has since resigned, according to the report.
ROAD RACING
LONDON MARATHON: The pandemic-delayed London Marathon will be staged on Oct. 4 using a different route than usual and with only elite runners participating.
Rather than starting in Greenwich in east London, there will be a looped 26.2-mile course featuring 19.8 laps around St James’s Park within a biosecure bubble with spectators excluded. It will finish in the traditional place in front of Buckingham Palace.
SOCCER
EUROPA LEAGUE: Sevilla beat Roma 2-0 in the Round of 16 to stay in the hunt for a record sixth title, as Bayer Leverkusen also qualified for the quarterfinals.
Bayer Leverkusen cruised into the quarterfinals, beating Rangers 1-0 thanks to a powerful shot from Moussa Diaby for a 4-1 aggregate win.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Sergio Perez could return at Silverstone after missing last weekend’s race at the same circuit following a positive coronavirus test.
The Mexican driver has been in quarantine for seven days but he has been cleared to drive again for Racing Point this weekend providing he returns a negative COVID-19 test. Nico Hulkenberg is on standby if Perez is not fit.
NASCAR: Erik Jones won’t return to Joe Gibbs Racing next season, ending his time with one of NASCAR’s top teams after three Cup seasons but several years in Gibbs’ driver development program.
TENNIS
U.S. OPEN: Past champions Kim Clijsters and Andy Murray received wild-card invitations for the Grand Slam tournament.
The U.S. Open is scheduled to start Aug. 31 without spectators.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.