Off the wire

GOLF Bowditch leads by 3

Steven Bowditch opened a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Texas Open, while Phil Mickelson withdrew after 10 holes because of a pulled muscle in his right side. Bowditch, the 30-year-old Australian seeking his first PGA Tour title, shot a 4-under 68 to reach 12 under at TPC San Antonio. Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe were tied for second. Kuchar shot 65, and Loupe had a 70. Mickelson withdrew after pulling the muscle teeing off on No. 1 - his 10th hole of the round. He said he hopes to play next week in the Houston Open, the last event before the Masters. Mickelson was 1 over in the round and 4 over overall when the three-time Masters champion was taken off the course in a cart. His caddie, Jim Mackay, said Mickelson felt a twinge on his tee shot on No. 1. It’s the second time this year Mickelson has withdrawn in the middle of a tournament. He pulled out at Torrey Pines after making the cut because of a back injury. Mickelson made the cut on the number Friday, following an opening 77 with a 70. Bowditch, ranked 339th in the world, chipped in at the first two holes, for birdie at No. 1 and an eagle at the par-5 second. He drove to chipping distance at the 338-yard fifth hole and made a 4-foot birdie putt. He cooled after that when he missed the green at No. 9 and bogeyed, then strung together pars until he drove close to the green at the 324-yard downwind 17th. He chipped inside a foot and tapped in for birdie and kept his two-stroke lead when Loupe matched the birdie. Loupe closed with a bogey. Kuchar, a six-time winner on the tour, had the best round of the week. He holed out from the greenside bunker on No. 1. Pat Perez was fourth at 8 under after a 69. Kevin Na, who had a 16 on the ninth hole three years ago, was 7 under after a 69. Scott Gardiner (Farmington) had 2 birdies, 5 bogeys and 1 double bogey for a 5-over 77 (220).

Kyle Reifers shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday, taking the lead at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. His 12-under 201 is one stroke better than Blayne Barber and Brett Stegmaier. They each had 65s in the third round of the tournament at Le Triomphe Country Club. Fabian Gomez, the 2010 champion, Steve Saunders, Sebastian Vasquez, Justin Thomas and Andres Echavarria are tied for fourth at two shots back. Glen Day (Little Rock) shot a 1-over 72 (208).

Asia staged an improbable Ryder Cup-like comeback on the final day of the EurAsia Cup at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday, picking up seven of 10 points available in singles to level the score at 10-all and share the trophy with Europe. Asia, trailing 7-3 going into the final day, briefly took the lead at 9½-8½ before Joost Luiten beat Koumei Oda 1-up to pull the Europeans level. The final match between Asia’s Hideto Tanihara and Europe’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano then finished all square. Tanihara made an eight-foot putt to halve the 17th after Fernandez-Castano eagled the 16th to even the match. On the 18th, Tanihara had a chance to give Asia the victory, but his birdie putt was a foot to the left. Fernandez-Castano then holed a 3-footer to halve the hole, their match and the Cup.

Cristie Kerr made a 55-foot par-saving putt after hitting her final approach into the water Saturday at Aviara, giving her a share of the lead with Lizette Salas after the third round of the Kia Classic at Carlsbad, Calif. Kerr finished with a 2-under 70 to match Salas at 10-under 206. After dropping a stroke on the par-5 17th, Kerr holed out from the edge of the green on the par-4 18th after taking a penalty drop. Salas, the former Southern California player from Azusa, had a 69. She birdied the par-5 17th for a share of the lead and matched Kerr with a par on the last. Dori Carter, the second-round leader after a course-record 64, had a 74 to drop into a tie for third at 8 under with Thailand winner Anna Nordqvist, Ayako Uehara and Shanshan Feng. Nordqvist and Uehara shot 67, and Feng had a 69. Third-ranked Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) was 7 under after a 73 (209).

BASEBALL Lincecum cleared to pitch

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum is expected to make his first scheduled start in the regular season despite getting hit on the left knee by a comebacker. The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner walked through the clubhouse without a noticeable limp and rode a stationary bike before Saturday’s exhibition game against Oakland was rained out. A night earlier, Lincecum was on the ground near the pitcher’s mound writhing in pain after getting struck by a hardhit grounder from Daric Barton in the fourth inning. Lincecum tried to run toward first but immediately fell, unable to put any pressure on his leg. He limped off the field with the assistance of two trainers and underwent X-rays, which were negative. Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said Lincecum appears fine and is hopeful the right-hander will start Thursday in Arizona.

Suspended slugger Alex Rodriguez is supporting Stanford baseball - for one game, at least. In the Bay Area for a visit, the New York Yankees star took a campus tour Friday, then stopped by unexpectedly for Game 1 of Stanford’s doubleheader sweep against Oregon at Sunken Diamond and stayed for about half the game. The three-time American League MVP chatted with Cardinal Coach Mark Marquess and deputy athletic director Ray Purpur. Rodriguez posed for photos, many of which quickly hit Twitter and became popular talk around the university. Rodriguez is suspended for the entire 2014 season for violating baseball’s drug agreement and labor contract. Last month, he withdrew two lawsuits against Major League Baseball in his effort to overturn the season-long ban.

Coaches from the Oakland Athletics were sent scrambling after toilets in the home clubhouse backed up and overflowed before Saturday’s exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants. It was the latest in a series of plumbing problems that have plagued the aging stadium, which was built in the late 1960s. There were multiple problems last year alone. In September, A’s players reported foul smells from the bathroom end of their dugout. That came after a clogged pipe caused a sewage backup and flooding on the bottom floor of the ballpark in June, sending the Seattle Mariners and A’s scrambling around in towels and heading for higher ground in the Oakland Raiders’ locker room.

TENNIS Serena wins in Florida

The celebration began with a series of happy hops that propelled Serena Williams across the court. Soon she was twirling, waving, laughing and mugging for the cameras - a familiar ritual by a perennial champion. Williams won a record seventh Key Biscayne title Saturday when she overcame a slow start and a set point to beat Li Na 7-5, 6-1 at the Sony Open. She surpassed the tournament record of six titles she shared with Andre Agassi. The No. 1-ranked Williams looked tense at the outset and served poorly, and she was broken twice to fall behind 5-2. Li held a set point serving at 5-4, but Williams erased it with a backhand winner. Williams needed another 21 minutes to pull out the set. The final game of the set went to deuce six times, but she finally won it with a booming backhand that Li couldn’t handle.

Sports, Pages 26 on 03/30/2014

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