- Associated Press - Saturday, September 19, 2020

GOLF

MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) - Patrick Reed made enough birdies to account for the inevitable bogeys.

He was particularly strong making pars. He shot an even-par 70 for a one-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau.

They were among only six players who remain under par in the U.S Open. That’s after an opening round that yielded 21 scores under par.

The wind was out of the north and enough to cause problems. The greens were quick. The rough was deep.

Tiger Woods won’t be around until the end. He shot 77 and missed the cut.

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) - Spectators will attend a European Tour event for the first time since the resumption of golf after the coronavirus outbreak when the Scottish Open is staged at The Renaissance Club next month.

A total of 650 spectators each day on Saturday and Sunday will be allowed into the East Lothian venue, the tour said Friday.

They will be subject to daily temperature checks and health questionnaires, the tour added, and must follow stringent health protocols including enhanced social distancing.

It will be one of a number of pilot events being used to judge when fans can return to sporting events amid the pandemic.

NFL

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A person with knowledge of the deal says receiver Robert Woods has agreed to a four-year contract extension worth up to $68 million with the Los Angeles Rams.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Rams announced the deal Friday without revealing the financial terms.

Woods’ extension includes a guaranteed $32 million, and the veteran receiver is now signed with his hometown team through the 2025 season.

Woods is coming off three highly productive seasons for the Rams, racking up 3,134 total yards receiving and 284 yards rushing with 15 total touchdowns.

-By AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham.

MLB

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols passed Willie Mays for fifth place on the career home run list, hitting No. 661 on Friday night against Texas.

Pujols connected for a solo homer with two outs in the fifth inning. He sent Wes Benjamin’s fastball on a 1-2 count over the wall in left field.

Pujols didn’t wait long to get No. 662, taking Demarcus Evans deep to left in his next at-bat. He led off the seventh to extend Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2.

The 40-year-old Pujols went into the game with just four home runs this season, and he had connected only once since Aug. 4.

Pujols trails only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Alex Rodriguez (696).

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - The Oakland Athletics clinched their third straight playoff berth with Seattle’s loss to San Diego and a 6-0 win against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, highlighted by Matt Olson’s three-run homer.

Oakland is in the playoffs for the sixth time in nine seasons and now shifts its attention to an AL West crown, which could be locked up Saturday. The A’s haven’t captured the division since 2013, winning 97 games each of the past two seasons to finish in second place behind Houston and before losing the AL Wild Card Game both years.

NBA

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - Giannis Antetokounmpo’s historic year earned him a historic awards sweep.

The Milwaukee forward is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season, receiving that award Friday. He got the Defensive Player of the Year award earlier in these NBA playoffs.

The 25-year-old Antetokounmpo becomes just the third player in league history to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, joining only Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Antetokounmpo - who was in his native Athens, Greece, with his family when the award was announced - received 85 votes from the 100-person panel of global sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league, plus the one additional vote granted by winning fan balloting.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - The Maui Invitational is moving to the mainland during the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the premier preseason tournaments on the college basketball schedule, the Maui Invitational will be played at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

Dates for the tournament announced Friday have yet to be finalized. The NCAA announced Wednesday that the college basketball season will begin Nov. 25.

This year’s Maui Invitational field includes Alabama, Davidson, Indiana, North Carolina, Providence, Stanford, Texas and UNLV.

AUTO RACING

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) - The final regular-season race of the Xfinity Series proved to be a preview of the upcoming playoffs as title contenders Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric dominated yet another event.

Briscoe passed Cindric with five laps remaining Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, pouncing when Cindric lost power steering. Briscoe raced to his series-best seventh victory of the year while regular-season champion Cindric slipped to a third-place finish.

Ross Chastain, poised for a probable promotion to the Cup Series with Chip Ganassi Racing, followed Briscoe past Cindric in the waning laps and finished second.

SOCCER

GENEVA (AP) - The coronavirus pandemic has forced one edition of FIFA’s Club World Cup to be postponed, is pushing back another, and causing concern about delays to 2022 World Cup qualifying games.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed on Friday an inevitable rescheduling to the traditional seven-team tournament for continental club champions that was scheduled in Qatar in December.

South America’s champion will not be known until January after the 2020 Copa Libertadores group stage resumed only this week after a six-month shutdown.

A revamped, 24-team edition was to launch in June 2021 until FIFA put it on hold. That cleared space after the 2020 European Championship and 2020 Copa America were postponed for one year.

OBITUARY

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Ronnie Hogue, the first Black scholarship athlete on the Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball team, died Friday, the school announced. He was 69.

Hogue was a native of Washington, D.C., and lived in Maryland. No cause of death was given.

Arriving at Georgia in 1969, Hogue averaged 20.5 points per game as a junior and scored a career-high 46 points against LSU on Dec. 20, 1971 - the second-highest total in school history and most ever by a Georgia player at Stegeman Coliseum.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Larry Wilson, a former Cardinals safety and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has died. He was 82.

Wilson died Thursday evening, according to a news release from the team.

Wilson spent more than 43 years in the Cardinals’ organization as a player and an executive.

A seventh-round draft pick out of Utah in 1960, Wilson played 13 seasons with the Cardinals. He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and was a first-team All Pro five times.

Wilson was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was on both the NFL’s 75th and 100th anniversary teams. He holds franchise records with 52 career interceptions and 800 interception return yards. His seven straight games with an interception in 1966 are second-most in NFL history.

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