BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – Australian Curtis Luck birdied the third playoff hole to beat local favorite Nick Carlson in the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur on Saturday.
Luck will face Brad Dalke in today’s 36-hole final at Oakland Hills. Dalke defeated Jonah Texeira 3 and 2.
Carlson, who is entering his sophomore year at Michigan, was 1 up when his drive on No. 18 ended up under a tree. Luck needed only a bogey to take that hole and square the match.
The playoff began on No. 10. Both players parred that hole and birdied No. 11 before Luck was able to reach the green in two on the par-5 12th. Carlson missed a putt for birdie from about 20 feet, ending the match.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Si Woo Kim followed his tournament-record 10-under 60 with a 64 on Saturday to increase his lead to three strokes in the Wyndham Championship.
The 21-year-old South Korean player had an 18-under 192 total at Sedgefield, a stroke off the tournament 54-hole record set by Carl Pettersson in his 2008 victory.
Kim is in contention for his first PGA Tour victory for the second time in a month after losing a playoff to Aaron Baddeley in Alabama in the Barbasol Championship.
Kim played the front nine in 3-under 35 with four birdies and a bogey, added birdies on the par-4 13th and par-5 15th and parred the final three holes.
Rafa Cabrera Bello was second after a 65 in the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale. The Spaniard was fifth last week in the Rio Olympics.
Jim Furyk, Luke Donald and Kevin Na were 13 under.
VYSOKY UJEZD, Czech Republic – Defending champion Thomas Pieters is by himself at the top of the Czech Masters leaderboard after shooting a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s third round for a two-stroke lead.
The Belgian began the round sharing the lead with Jeff Winther of Denmark but moved ahead after three birdies at the front nine and another birdie on the 10th.
But Pieters fell back with two straight bogeys on the 11th and 12th for a 12-under 204 total at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague.
Paul Peterson of the United States produced the best third round with an 8-under 64 to equal the course record. After a flawless round with eight birdies, Peterson surged to second with a 10-under 206.
Winther is a shot further back, tied for third with Englishman Robert Rock.
CINCINNATI – Tomas Berdych pulled out of the U.S. Open on Saturday, saying he’s been diagnosed with appendicitis and needs time to recover.
The eighth-ranked Berdych lost to Marin Cilic in three sets at the Western & Southern Open on Thursday. He tweeted on Saturday that he was examined in Cincinnati and diagnosed with appendicitis.
“So I will be flying back to Europe for additional checks and treatment,” he wrote on Twitter. “I need to take some time off to recover fully.”
Berdych had his best showing at the U.S. Open in 2012, when he reached the semifinals.
The Grand Slam event also will be missing Roger Federer, who is taking the rest of the season off to rehabilitate a surgically repaired knee. Also, Rafael Nadal isn’t back to full strength after missing two months with an injured left wrist. He returned to the courts, played in the Olympics at Rio de Janeiro, and lost in Cincinnati on Thursday, saying his body was tired and sore from so much tennis after such a long layoff.
MASON, Ohio – Angelique Kerber reached the Western & Southern Open final Saturday, leaving her one win away from unseating Serena Williams at No. 1.
Kerber took control after a 33-minute rain delay in the first set and beat Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-4, in humid, windy conditions, putting her within reach of the world’s top ranking. Williams has led the WTA rankings for 183 consecutive weeks, the second-longest such stretch.
A win on Sunday over 15th-seeded Karolina Pliskova would move Kerber to the top spot in next week’s rankings. Williams dropped out at the start of the tournament because of an inflamed shoulder, leaving her ranking vulnerable.
Pliskova advanced to the championship match for the first time by beating Garbine Muguruza, 6-1, 6-3, in an earlier match. She was well aware of the stakes on Sunday.
“I know it,” she said. “For me, doesn’t really mean anything. For her, yes. I don’t know if she would be a little bit stressed or something, but I would love to have her as a No. 1 after a few years. But I’ll do anything for her not to get there, if she wins (in the semifinals).”
BALTIMORE – The Baltimore Orioles placed starting catcher Matt Wieters on paternity leave.
Wieters left the team Saturday to join his wife, Maria, who is due to give birth to the couple’s second child.
Wieters, a four-time All Star, is batting .240 with 10 homers and 45 RBI in 91 games.
Baltimore recalled Francisco Pena from Triple-A Norfolk to be the second catcher behind Caleb Joseph. Pena played in nine games with the Orioles this season while Joseph was on the disabled list.
The Orioles also recalled pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne from Norfolk. The reliever replaced Tyler Wilson, who was optioned to Norfolk late Friday.
In 15 games with the Orioles this season, Despaigne is 0-2 with a 4.81 ERA.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Texas Rangers signed outfielder Carlos Gomez to a minor league contract Saturday and assigned him to Triple-A Round Rock.
General Manager Jon Daniels said Gomez, who was released by the Houston Astros on Friday, will be in the lineup Sunday for the Round Rock Express.
Daniels said the Rangers hope to get the two-time All-Star on the major league roster “sooner (rather) than later.”
Gomez hit .210 with five home runs and 29 RBI in 85 games with Houston. The Astros got him late last summer from Milwaukee.
Gomez won a Gold Glove as a center fielder for the Brewers in 2013, but Daniels said the Rangers would use him as a corner outfielder. Shin-Soo Choo, the Rangers’ right fielder for most of this season, is out with a fractured left arm.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was excused from the team to enter a rehabilitation facility.
Dareus announced the decision in a statement released by the Bills on Saturday, hours before their preseason game against the New York Giants.
It comes a week after the NFL suspended the Bills’ top-paid player for the first four games of the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Last year, he was suspended for the season opener for another violation of the policy.
Dareus said his latest suspension was the result of a missed drug test.
The Bills released a statement saying they support Dareus’s decision and that he should “take the time he needs to seek treatment.”
No further details were released.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Running back Karlos Williams has run out of chances with the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills released Williams on Saturday, hours before their preseason home game against the New York Giants. They did not provide any details about the move.
Williams had already run into trouble twice this offseason. Last month, the NFL suspended Williams for four games because he violated the league’s substance abuse policy.
In June, Williams was overweight upon reporting to mandatory minicamp. He then missed the first two weeks of training camp to get into shape.
Williams’s release comes after he enjoyed an impressive rookie season. The fifth-round pick out of Florida State had 517 yards rushing and scored nine touchdowns, including two receiving.
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Car owner Rick Hendrick said injured star Dale Earnhardt Jr. “looks great,” but the organization will wait until the driver is 100 percent before he returns to the track.
Hendrick said Saturday that Earnhardt is scheduled for a medical check next week and that will help determine if he’ll drive at Michigan next week. Earnhardt has missed the past four races and won’t be driving at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
Jeff Gordon has run the previous three races and will compete at Bristol. However, Gordon is unavailable to drive next week and if Earnhardt can’t go, Alex Bowman will return to the No. 88. Bowman subbed for Earnhardt in New Hampshire last month.
Earnhardt was diagnosed with a concussion from a hard crash Michigan and two wrecks at Daytona.
NEW YORK – The New York Rangers won the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes, announcing Friday that they agreed to terms on an entry-level deal with the coveted college free agent.
Vesey was the Hobey Baker Award winner as the NCAA’s player of the year last season for Harvard. The 23-year-old forward had 24 goals and 22 assists in 33 games.
Originally drafted by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2012 draft, Vesey said he wouldn’t sign by the Aug. 15 deadline. The Predators traded his rights to the Buffalo Sabres for a third-round pick in the 2016 draft.
Vesey met with several teams this week and ultimately chose to join the Rangers.
“The thing that jumped out at me was that they came to really want me,” Vesey said on a conference call. “It seemed that they really needed to have me in their lineup and it seemed that they believe in me. That was something that I was looking for.”
Darryl McDaniels from Run-DMC, actress Susan Sarandon, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson and former Giants defensive end Justin Tuck were among those who tweeted at Vesey vouching for the Rangers.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – While his Florida teammates were preparing to sign autographs for fans, suspended cornerback Jalen Tabor was following through on a promise to buy a homeless man a pair of shoes.
Tabor, who was suspended Wednesday along with tight end C’yontai Lewis for fighting in practice, shared video of his quest on app Periscope .
Tabor stopped at an abandoned convenience store near campus and gave the man $22 and a pair of blue camouflage Adidas sneakers. Tabor said: “I’ve got you. Keep doing your thing, man.” The man responded: “Thank you, man. God bless.”
Tabor tweeted Friday that he had “Seen a homeless man with no shoes on today, going to go buy him some shoes.” A while later, Tabor shared video of the purchase.
He completed the endeavor Saturday.