Associated PressPRATTVILLE, Ala. ó Ninth-grader Alexis Thompson shot a 3-under 69 on Friday for a share of the lead with top-ranked Lorena Ochoa and three others after the second round of the Navistar LPGA Classic.
The 14-year-old Thompson, from Coral Springs, Fla., is trying to become youngest winner in LPGA Tour history. Marlene Hagge won the 1952 Sarasota Open 14 days after her 18th birthday and took the Bakersfield Open two months later, but both were 18-hole events. Paula Creamer won the 2005 Sybase Classic at 18 years, 9 months to become the youngest winner of a full tournament.
Thompson, the sister of PGA Tour player Nicholas Thompson, won the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior and tied for 34th in July in the U.S. Women’s Open. She shot a 65 on Thursday.
– TIMONIUM, Md. ó Tom Watson shot a bogey-free 68 in windy conditions to take a two-stroke lead at the halfway point of the Senior Players Championship, the last of the Champions Tour’s five major tournaments.
– VERONA, N.Y. ó Vaughn Taylor has shot his second straight 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead over three players after another cold, wet and somewhat windy day at Turning Stone Resort Championship.
SEPARATED
NEW YORK ó Just 15 months after they were married, golf star Greg Norman and tennis great Chris Evert announced they have separated.
The announcement Friday comes three days before Norman is to captain the International team at the Presidents Cup in San Francisco, where wives of the captains take on a visible role.
Norman and Evert, each in the Hall of Fame in their respective sports, did not say whether they planned to divorce.
They were married June 28, 2008, in The Bahamas. A month later, while still on their honeymoon, Norman was nine holes away from becoming golf’s oldest major champion at 53 when he led the British Open. He eventually tied for third at Royal Birkdale.
COLLEGE HOOPS
DAVIDSON ó Davidson begins the post-Stephen Curry era with a schedule that includes home games against Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and tournament appearances in New York and Charleston, S.C.
The schedule released Thursday begins with the Wildcats visiting Butler on Nov. 14. Davidson will then play South Florida on Nov. 19 in the first of three games in Charleston.
The Wildcats host Rhode Island on Nov. 28, Penn on Dec. 28 and UMass on Dec. 30. Davidson will face Gonzaga in Seattle on Dec. 12 and Cornell on Dec. 20 in the first of two games at Madison Square Garden.
Davidson’s Southern Conference opener is Dec. 3 at The Citadel. The conference tournament is March 5-8 in Charlotte.
Curry left Davidson for the NBA after his junior year.
NHL
RALEIGH ó Ray Emery made 28 saves in his Philadelphia debut, leading the Flyers to a 2-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in their opener.
Jeff Carter and Mike Richards scored power-play goals 22 seconds apart for Philadelphia. The Flyers put their first two shots of the second period past Cam Ward and held on for their eighth win in 10 meetings with Carolina.
– PITTSBURGH ó The Pittsburgh Penguins raised their Stanley Cup banner to the rafters before their opener against the New York Rangers on Friday.
With the Stanley Cup on a table on the ice and the Prince of Wales, Art Ross and Conn Smythe trophies also on display in front of the 119th consecutive sellout at Mellon Arena, the Penguins’ players surrounded a trunk containing the banner that represents the franchise’s third championship.
NASCAR
KANSAS CITY, Kan. ó The feud between Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski is not over.
Far from it.
The tension started at last weekend’s Nationwide race at Dover, where Hamlin’s day ended after contact with Keselowski caused him to crash. Hamlin confronted Keselowski after the race on pit road, and the two had to be separated after a brief scuffle.
Hamlin was critical of Keselowski again after Sprint Cup practice Friday, saying Keselowski never reached out to apologize for causing the accident.
“I still see it the same way,” Hamlin said. “I still don’t agree with him, and he hasn’t called me to reach out to say hes sorry. So as far as I’m concerned, he needs to be worried whenever I’m around.”
Keselowski, who was cavalier about his role in the accident in interviews following last Saturday’s accident, had not changed his view after Hamlin’s remarks at Kansas.
“I didn’t know I was supposed to call him, I thought he was going to call me,” he said. “It got crossed, huh? I guess it should get uncrossed. This is what makes racing awesome, otherwise it’s just cars going in circles. You’ve got to have some human drama.”
– Suspended NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield is turning to high-profile attorney Mark Geragos to help fight his drug suspension.
Geragos confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday night that he’s finalizing a deal to represent Mayfield himself out of his Washington, D.C.-based firm Luque Geragos and Marino.
“It’s clear to me that there are real issues here, substantial issues, and I think he’s getting a raw deal,” Geragos said.
Geragos declined to discuss specific issues until he could review the case.