Off the wire

GOLF Garrigus leads by 1

Robert Garrigus missed two short putts on the back nine and had to settle for a 1-under 70 and a one-shot lead Saturday in the Valspar Championship at Palm Harbor, Fla. Garrigus opened with back-to-back birdies and stretched his lead to four shots through five holes. But he missed a 4-foot par putt on the 13th hole and ended his round by missing a 3-foot par putt on the 18th. He was at 8-under 205, one shot ahead of Kevin Na. Na received a bad time on the 13th tee, and was so deliberate that the final group was two holes behind along the back nine. John Senden shot a 64 and moved up 32 spots into third, only two behind. Justin Rose had a 69 and was three behind. David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) had three birdies and three bogeys for an even-par round of 71 (216). Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had 1 birdie, 3 bogeys and 3 double bogeys for an 8-over 79 (221) and missed the final cut.

Alejandro Canizares of Spain extended his lead to six strokes in the third round of the Trophee Hassan II at Agadir, Morocco, after shooting a 3-under 69 on Saturday. Leading since the first round, Canizares made four birdies and a bogey. He’s at 17-under 199 heading into the final round. Seve Benson of England remained in second place despite carding a 74. He holed four birdies to offset three bogeys and a triple bogey. Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands climbed to third, one stroke behind Benson, by firing a bogey-free 67. The 2011 winner David Horsey of England (72) shared fourth at 208 with compatriot Paul Waring (67), Shiv Kapur of India (67), Robert Karlsson (70) and Magnus Carlsson (72) of Sweden.

Jon Curran’s 6-under 65 on Saturday kept him in the lead of the Brasil Champions at Sao Paulo, Brazil, and put him in the Web.com Tour record book with a 23-under 190. That is four in front of AlexCejka (63) and Ash Hall (65). Oscar Fraustro (67) is Curran’s closest competitor at 15 under. Curran, 27, has led the tournament from the start.

Bernhard Langer maintained a two-stroke lead Saturday in the Champions Tour’s Toshiba Classic, making four birdies in a late five-hole stretch for a 5-under 66. Langer, the 2008 winner, had a 13-under 129 total at Newport Beach, Calif., Country Club. The 56-year-old German won the season-opening event in Hawaii in January for his 19th victory on the 50-and-over tour. Kenny Perry and Chien Soon Lu were tied for second. Perry had a 65, and Lu shot 66. Fred Couples, Scott Dunlap, Esteban Toledo and Jeff Hart were 10 under.

TENNIS

Djokovic, Federer to meet

Novak Djokovic beat John Isner 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-1 on Saturday to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open, where he’ll resume his longtime rivalry with Roger Federer in a matchup of former top-ranked players. Federer had a much easier time in the semifinals, beating Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1 and putting himself in position to win a fifth career title at Indian Wells, Calif. Djokovic is a two-time winner there. Federer leads their rivalry 17-15, having beaten Djokovic two weeks ago in the semifinals at Dubai. Before that, Djokovic had won three consecutive times over the Swiss star. No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska will play Flavia Pennetta in the women’s final today before the men’s title is decided.

MOTOR SPORTS Hamilton claims pole

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in a rain-hit qualifying session Saturday, while four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will start the race from12th after being caught out by the wet conditions. Vettel was joined by fellow big-name drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button in dropping out of qualifying in the second session as they struggled on the wet surface at the Albert Park street circuit in Melbourne. While Vettel struggled, his new Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo thrived, qualifying second, three tenths of a second behind Hamilton’s pole time. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg qualified third, ahead of McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Marino Franchitti, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas teamed to give Chip Ganassi Racing its first victory in the Twelve Hours of Sebring, the oldest endurance sports car race in the country. Franchitti made a pit stop in the No. 01 Ford/ Riley DP just before a caution period Saturday night at Sebring, Fla., allowing him to take the lead under a full-course caution when others pitted with 34 minutes remaining. Chip Ganassi Racing became the first organization to win the Twelve Hours of Sebring, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500.

HORSE RACING Mamdooha wins

Mamdooha rallied to beat stablemate Sustainable by 1½ lengths Saturday in the $100,000 Cicada Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Aqueduct. The first two finishers are trained by Kiaran McLaughlin and raced as separate betting interests. Mamdooha, the 6-5 favorite, extended her winning streak to four. Unbeaten since running second in her debut last September, Mamdooha has captured three consecutive stakes: the Gin Talking at Laurel and two at Aqueduct, the Ruthless and the Cicada. Eddie Castro was aboard for six furlongs in 1:12.13 on the fast track. Mamdooha paid $4.40, $3 and $2.10. Sustainable returned $4.90 and $3.40, and Alpaca Fina paid $4.10 to show.

Let Faith Arise won the $350,000Santa Margarita Stakes for older fillies and mares by 1¾ lengths at Santa Anita on Saturday. Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Let Faith Arise ran 11/8 miles in 1:48.70 and paid $10.60, $3.80 and $3.20. Iotapa returned $3 and $2.60 as the 7-5 favorite, while Stanwyck was another half-length back in third and paid $3.80 to show. The victory helped Let Faith Arise increase her career earnings to $380,240, with five wins in 10 starts. In the $100,000 Irish O’Brien Stakes for older fillies and mares, Tribal Spy led all the way to win by a length. Ridden by Irving Orozco, Tribal Spy ran 6½ furlongs on the downhill turf course in 1:12.59 and paid $10.40, $5 and $3. It was the first career stakes victory for the 20-year old jockey. Ciao Bella Luna reared up leaving the gate and was last early before rallying to finish second. She returned $3.80 and $2.60. Dancingtothestars was another head back in third and paid $3 to show. Could Be Trouble, the 2-1 favorite, was fourth. The victory, worth $60,000, increased Tribal Spy’s career earnings to $238,610, with five wins in 14 starts. It was her first stakes victory.BASEBALL Machado healing

Time appears to be running out on Manny Machado in his bid to play on opening day for the Baltimore Orioles following offseason knee surgery. Machado had an operation in October to repair a torn ligament in his left knee. The All-Star third baseman hoped to return for the March 31 opener against the defending champion Boston Red Sox, but he hasn’t run in five days. “It’s scar tissue that flared up and got a little sore and we decided not to push it, which is what we talked about all along,” Manager Buck Showalter said Saturday. Machado, 21, was supposed to have an appointment Tuesday to re-evaluate the injury, but that visit will be postponed. Machado played in every game of the 2013 season before the injury, which occurred Sept. 23 when he stepped awkwardly on first base in a game at Tampa Bay.

Sports, Pages 22 on 03/16/2014

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