Furyk rides 56-foot putt to lead in Heritage
Jim Furyk added his own touch to Harbour Town’s famous 18th hole Friday, rolling in a 56-foot birdie putt for a two-shot lead in the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Putting from the back fringe, Furyk had simply hoped for a good lag and an easy par on the final hole. Instead, he watched his ball strike the flagstick and fall in. His 4-under-par 67 left him at 11 under, two strokes in front of Aaron Baddeley (67), Brian Gay (67), Duffy Waldorf (68) and first-round leader Vaughn Taylor (70).
•Lorena Ochoa shot a 4-under 68 in windy conditions to take a two-stroke lead over Brittany Lincicome in the Takefuji Classic at Las Vegas. She was at 13-under 131 through two days of the 54-hole tournament. Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., who won wire-to-wire last year and finished 16 under, shot a second-round 71 and was tied for 13th at 6-under 138.
•Tiger Woods’ agent issued an apology for the golf star calling himself a “spaz” after the Masters last week.
Football
Favre gets more time
The due date for Brett Favre’s $3 million roster bonus – originally scheduled last month – has been moved to July 27, giving the three-time MVP more time to make a decision on retirement.
•Starting fullback Jeremi Johnson got a six-year contract from the Cincinnati Bengals.
Colleges
E. Oregon cuts back
Facing school-wide funding cuts, Eastern Oregon University of La Grande will drop its baseball team and other sports at the end of this season. Women’s golf, rodeo and a wellness and recreation staff position will also be dropped.
•Calum MacLeod, a 7-foot-1 center from New Zealand who played one year at Gonzaga and last season at Northeastern Junior College in Colorado, signed a basketball letter of intent with Valparaiso. As a freshman, he played in nine games for Gonzaga.
•Wrestling great Dan Gable is returning to the Iowa Hawkeyes staff as an assistant coach. Gable spent 21 seasons as Iowa’s coach, leading the Hawkeyes to 21 straight Big Ten titles and 15 national championships.
•Montana coach Bobby Hauck named Washington State transfer Josh Swogger the starting quarterback as the team wrapped up spring football drills.
Miscellany
Derby preps today
Kentucky Derby contenders will be separated from pretenders this afternoon at Keeneland and Oaklawn Park. First Samurai, Bluegrass Cat and Strong Contender head a field of nine in Keeneland’s Grade I $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes, while Lawyer Ron towers over his 13 rivals in Oaklawn’s Grade II $1 million Arkansas Derby.
•The U.S. women’s gymnastics team came out on top after the first day of competition at the Pacific Alliance Championships in Honolulu.
Reigning world champion Chellsie Memmel tied fellow American Nastia Liukin for the all-around title, and the United States won the team competition with 183.150 points, beating Australia and Canada.
The Pacific meet is considered one of the sport’s premier international events.