Frustrated Palmer done with competitive golf
Arnold Palmer quit keeping score after four holes in a Champions Tour event Friday, then tearfully said it was time for him to stop playing competitive golf.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time and, first of all, to stand out there and not be able to make something happen is very traumatic in my mind,” Palmer said. “The people, they all want to see a good shot, and you know it and you can’t give them that good shot. That’s when it’s time.”
Palmer, 77, was making only his second appearance on the 50-and-older circuit this year. He hit two balls into the water on the fourth hole, then said he was withdrawing because of a sore lower back. Even so, he finished the round with Lee Trevino and John Mahaffey, entertaining the gallery following him at the Administaff Small Business Classic in Spring, Texas.
Tom Purtzer shot a 7-under-par 65 to share the first-round lead with Jay Haas and Dick Mast.
•D.A. Points shot a second-round 64 at TPC Summerlin to go with his opening 65 at the par-71 TPC Canyons course in Las Vegas.
At 14-under 129, he led Todd Fischer, Tom Pernice Jr. and Aaron Baddeley by two strokes.
•Annika Sorenstam shot a 1-under 71, sharing the lead with Sophie Gustafson (70) and Paula Creamer (68) at the Samsung World Championship in Palm Desert, Calif., at 6-under 138.
Basketball
Bryant recovers
Kobe Bryant participated in his first preseason practice with the Los Angeles Lakers since having right knee surgery.
•Luke Jackson, a 10th pick out of Oregon in the 2004 draft, was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics for center Dwayne Jones.
•Atlanta Hawks forward Lorenzen Wright and Memphis Grizzlies forward Kimani Ffriend were each suspended for a game after both players threw a punch during a shoving match earlier this week.
•Prosecutors in suburban Detroit said they may request jail time for Indiana Pacers guard Stephen Jackson if he is found to have violated probation by firing a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club.
•UCLA junior center Lorenzo Mata is expected to be out four to five weeks following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
Miscellany
NCAA investigates OU
The NCAA has officially begun an investigation into alleged violations by former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn that led to the players’ dismissal from the Sooners football team.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops has said the players were dismissed for “knowingly” breaking NCAA rules. The university has said the players “received extra compensation above that to which they were entitled related to their employment at a private business,” and a subsequent report to the NCAA identified that business as Norman car dealership Big Red Sports and Imports.
•LSU athletic director Skip Bertman failed to report the $100,000 sale of his summer athletic camp to baseball coach Smoke Laval, which could violate Southeastern Conference and NCAA guidelines.