Briefly: Marc Leishman leads PGA Tour's BMW Championship

September 16, 2017 at 5:45AM
Wilfried Tsonga of France returns the ball to Laslo Djere of Serbia during their Davis Cup semi final at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Lille, northern France, Friday, Sept.15, 2017. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
DAVIS CUP SEMIFINALS tied: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France lined up a return against Laslo Djere of Serbia, part of a 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-3 victory that left France and Serbia tied 1-1 after the first day of a Davis Cup semifinal in Lille, France. Belgium and Australia were tied 1-1 in Brussels in the other semifinal. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Marc Leishman followed his great start with another low score, a 7-under 64 that gave him a three-shot lead over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler going into the weekend at the PGA Tour's BMW Championship in Lake Forest, Ill.

Day made a hole-in-one Friday for his third eagle of the week at Conway Farms in his round of 65. Fowler holed out a chip for eagle on the 14th hole.

Leishman also got in on the act. He turned a tough par into an unlikely birdie on the par-4 seventh hole when he holed a pitch-and-run from 50 yards for birdie.

Leishman, who opened with a 62, was at 16-under 126.

LPGA restart benefits leader

• Seizing a second chance to play the first round at the LPGA Tour's Evian Championship in Evian-Les-Bains, France, Sung Hyun Park shot an 8-under 63 to lead by two shots over Moriya Jutanugarn. Park had been 6 over par through five holes Thursday before the round was abandoned, with scores wiped out, because of weather.

• Steve Flesch and Jerry Smith each shot 7-under 64 to share the lead in the PGA Tour Champions' Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship in Victoria, British Columbia.

Olympics

IOC leader confident about Pyeongchang

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, said Friday he remains confident the Winter Games will go on as scheduled in South Korea despite growing tensions on the peninsula, including North Korea's ballistic missile test this week.

"Our position remains unchanged," Bach said.

North Korea's IOC member, Ung Chang, said he hopes the Olympics will go on as planned. When asked whether South Korea will be safe for the Olympics, he responded: "Nobody knows."

The Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 8-25 in Pyeongchang.

AROUND THE HORN

Auto racing: Kyle Busch ran a lap at 187.963 miles per hour to win the pole for the Monster Energy Cup Tale of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Busch and teammate Denny Hamlin will start on the front row.

Soccer: Julie Ertz scored twice in an eight-minute span in the first half, helping the United States women's team beat New Zealand 3-1 in Commerce City, Colo.

Figure skating: Nathan Chen won the U.S. International Classic in Salt Lake City, scoring 183.24 points in the free skate for a total of 275.04.

NBA: New Orleans signed guard Tony Allen, who averaged 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds for Memphis last season.

NHL: Colorado signed defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who led the Avalanche with 153 hits last season.

NEWS SERVICES

Laslo Djere of Serbia returns the ball to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during their Davis Cup semi final at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Lille, northern France, Friday, Sept.15, 2017. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
Laslo Djere of Serbia returns the ball to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during their Davis Cup semi final at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Lille, northern France, Friday, Sept.15, 2017. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS/The Minnesota Star Tribune

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