Update on the latest sports | National Sports – Voice Of Alexandria

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Zalatoris leads after bogey-free 65

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Will Zalatoris (zal-ah-TOHR-ihs) is the leader through two rounds of the PGA Championship Southern Hills in Tulsa. Zalatoris took the outright lead with a birdie on 17 and is 9 under following Fridays bogey-free, 5-under 65. That puts him one stroke ahead of Mito Pereira and three in front of Justin Thomas.

In the seven previous majors at Southern Hills, the leader after the second round went on to win.

Another good omen for Zalatoris is that hes won at the venerable Perry Maxwell layout before, doing so as a 17-year-old amateur in 2014.

Pereira surged up the leaderboard with a 6-under 64, one off the tournament record for lowest score. Thomas fired his second consecutive 67.

Bubba Watson matched the tournament scoring record with a 63 that leaves him four shots back.

First-round leader Rory McIlroy had his struggles on Friday, shooting a 71 that leaves him at minus-4. He's tied with Abraham Ancer (AN'-sur)

Tiger Woods made the cut with a 69 that included a pair of late birdies, putting him at plus-3.

Notables missing the cut are world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington.

MLB-SCHEDULE

Rojas hits 3 home runs to lead DBacks

UNDATED (AP) The weather was warm and the wind was blowing toward Waveland Avenue this afternoon, providing the perfect atmosphere for a home run derby at Wrigley Field. The players complied.

Arizona and Chicago combined for 11 home runs before the Diamondbacks completed a 10-6 win over the Cubs. Josh Rojas launched his first three longballs of the season and David Peralta furnished two of the Diamondbacks seven homers.

Arizona also received round-trippers from Alek Thomas and Christian Walker in winning its second straight since a six-game losing streak.

Jonathan Villar, Patrick Wisdom, rookie Christopher Morel and Ildemaro Vargas homered for the Cubs.

Elsewhere around the majors:

A winter storm warning caused the postponement of the Mets-Rockies game in Colorado. A split doubleheader is now scheduled for Saturday, but snow is in the morning forecast and gametime temperatures for Game 2 are expected to be in the low 30s.

The Yankees and White Sox will try to play two on Sunday in New York after Friday's game was rained out.

MLB-NEWS

Harper still out

UNDATED Phillies slugger Bryce Harper missed his fifth straight game on Friday versus the Dodgers, five days after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow.

The reigning NL MVP has been playing exclusively at designated hitter since injuring his arm on a throw from right field last month.

The Phillies originally hoped Harper could return on Tuesday.

Also around the majors:

The Reds activated Canadian slugger Joey Votto (VAH-toh) off the injured list before Fridays game in Toronto against the Blue Jays. The Reds also placed infielder Brandon Drury, outfielder Albert Almora, right-hander Joel Kuhnel and right-hander Tyler Mahle (MA-lee) on the restricted list. To enter the country, the Canadian government requires a person to have received a second COVID-19 vaccine dose or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 14 days before entry.

The Tigers and Guardians were without their managers for Friday's game in Cleveland. Bench coach George Lombard is running the Tigers while A.J. Hinch deals with a non-COVID illness. Terry Francona is recovering from minor surgery and has been replaced by DeMarlo Hale, although the Guardians skipper is expected back on Saturday.

NHL-STARS-BOWNESS

Bowness wont be back as Stars coach

UNDATED (AP) Rick Bowness wont return as the coach of the Dallas Stars.

The 67-year-old Bowness says he is stepping away to allow the organization the opportunity to go in a different direction. The decision comes less than two years after he led the Stars to a surprising run to the Stanley Cup finals.

Dallas just lost a competitive seven-game series to Calgary in the first round.

Bowness was not under contract past this season. He has been on an NHL bench for a record 2,562 regular-season games as a head coach or an assistant over nearly four decades.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-NEWS

Mountain West to eliminate 2-division format in football

UNDATED (AP) The Mountain West Conference is the latest league to say it will eliminate its two-division format in football for the 2023 season.

The conference has announced that the two teams with the highest winning percentage will compete in the league championship game. The decision came two days after the NCAA threw out requirements dictating how conferences can determine their champions and the Pac-12 scrapped its two-division format.

TENNIS-NEWS

Wimbledons Russia ban prompts tours to cut ranking points

PARIS (AP) The womens and mens professional tennis tours say they will not award ranking points for Wimbledon this year because of the All England Clubs ban on players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine.

The WTA and ATP announced their decisions two days before the start of the French Open and a little more than a month before play begins at Wimbledon on June 27.

The All England Club said in April it would not allow Russians or Belarusians to compete at the Grand Slam grass-court tournament. Russian athletes have been prevented from competing in many sports since the country began attacking Ukraine in February. Belarus has aided Russia in the invasion.

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Update on the latest sports | National Sports - Voice Of Alexandria