Off the wire

GOLF

Snedeker by 2

Brandt Snedeker followed his opening 11-under 59 with a 67 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at the Wyndham Championship at Greensboro, N.C. A day after becoming the 10th player in PGA Tour history to break 60, Snedeker moved to 14-under 126 halfway through the final PGA Tour event before the playoffs. D.A. Points shot a 64 to reach 12 under -- one stroke ahead of C.T. Pan, who also had a 64. David Hearn, Peter Malnati, Keith Mitchell, Harris English, Brett Stegmaier and Sergio Garcia were 9 under. Snedeker, the 2012 FedEx Cup champion, won this tournament in 2007 before it moved across town to the par-70 Sedgefield Country Club. He had the tour's first 59 of the year during the first round. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State), David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks), Matt Atkins (Henderson State) and Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) all missed the cut.

Garwood out front

Doug Garwood birdied the final three holes for an 8-under 64 and the first-round lead Friday in the Dick's Sporting Goods Open at Endicott, N.Y. Garwood, 55, had nine birdies and a bogey, playing his final nine holes -- the front nine at En-Joie Golf Club -- in 6-under 31. Michael Bradley and Marco Dawson shot 65, Woody Austin and Clark Dennis (Arkansas Razorbacks) followed at 66, and Bob Estes and Tom Gillis were at 67. Kenny Perry had a 68. Bernard Langer and Miguel Angel Jimenez each shot 70. Jimenez is coming off a victory at St. Andrews in the British Senior Open. Defending champion Scott McCarron had a 72. Glen Day (Little Rock) is at 3-under 69 and tied for 17th. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks), the winner of the PGA Tour's 1992 B.C. Open at En-Joie, opened with a 73.

Park, Salas in lead

Sung Hyun Park shot a 9-under 63 on Friday for a share of the lead with Lizette Salas during the suspended second round of the Indy Women in Tech Championship in Indianapolis. Salas, the first-round leader after a 62, had a 69 to match Park at 13 under at Brickyard Crossing. Danielle Kang and Nasa Hataoka were two shots back. Kang shot 68, and Haraoka 69. Storms forced a suspension of nearly four hours, with nearly half the field unable to finish before dark. Angel Yin and Amy Yang were the top players unable to finish, tied at 10 under with each having eight holes to play. Neither Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) nor Emily Tubert (Razorbacks) was able to finish her round Friday. Lopez was 4 over through 13 holes and Tubert was 8 over through 7.

Ex-Hog tied for 2nd

Former Arkansas Razorback Taylor Moore was tied for second place Friday after a 3-under 68 at the Web.com Tour's Portland Open at North Plains, Ore. Moore and Sungjae Im (66) were tied at 11 under, three shots back of leader Derek Ernst (67). Fernando Mechereffe (68) was fourth at 10 under and Kevin Dougherty (67) and Erik Compton (68) were tied for fifth at 8 under. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks), Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) and Patrick Sullivan (Maumelle, UALR) did not make the cut.

TENNIS

Djokovic advances

Novak Djokovic destroyed a racket to get on track and took another step toward the title that has eluded him. Enraged by his poor play in the opening set, Djokovic slammed his racket on the court and rallied for a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Milos Raonic on Friday night to reach the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio. He beat defending champion Grigor Dimitrov a few hours earlier, completing a match suspended overnight because of rain and returned a few hours later to play his rested opponent. Djokovic will next face Marin Cilic, who won twice Friday to reach the semifinals. Cilic beat Karen Khachanov in three sets, completing a suspended match, and got a 7-6 (7), 6-4 win over Pablo Carreno Busta, who was playing his only match of the day. Roger Federer and Simona Halep made quick work of their rain-delayed matches Friday afternoon and advanced to the quarterfinals, facing the daunting challenge of playing a few hours later in humid conditions. Federer needed only 72 minutes to beat Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 7-6 (6). Then, it was off for a little rest before an evening match against fellow Swiss player Stan Wawrinka, who advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Marton Fucsovics. The top-ranked Halep beat Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 6-4 early Friday afternoon to reach the quarterfinals, then returned and knocked off Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-1. In a match between rested players, Petra Kvitova beat Elise Mertens 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the semifinals.

GYMNASTICS

Mikulak gets high score

Sam Mikulak is back in his usual spot at the U.S. men's gymnastics championships. The four-time champion overcame a pair of miscues to post an all-around score of 85.150 during the opening round Thursday in Boston, more than a point clear of Akash Modi. Allan Bower was third at 83.350, followed by Donothan Bailey and defending champion Yul Moldauer. Mikulak's start values are significantly higher than the rest of the field, giving him some wiggle room should he make a mistake. On Friday he made two. The two-time Olympian put up the highest scores of the night on floor exercise and parallel bars, a buffer he needed after flubs on high bar and pommel horse. He will start today well in front as he tries to become only the sixth man to win five national titles.

FOOTBALL

Seahawks cut Smith

The Seattle Seahawks added veteran linebacker Erik Walden on Friday and terminated the contract of defensive end Marcus Smith. Smith spent 2017 with Seattle and re-signed with the team this offseason on a one-year deal. However, the former Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick had missed the last few days of practice due to a personal matter and the Seahawks released him so he could tend to those issues. Smith spent all of last season at defensive end for Seattle, but has been used as a strong-side linebacker in training camp. Walden is a 10-year veteran who spent last season with the Tennessee Titans and the previous four years with the Indianapolis Colts.

Bryant talks continue

A person familiar with the negotiations said free agent Dez Bryant concluded his visit with the Cleveland Browns without agreeing to a contract, but "conversations continue." The person spoke Friday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. The former star receiver for the Dallas Cowboys and his agent met with Cleveland officials for the second consecutive day. One of the NFL's top receivers the past eight seasons, Bryant was cut by Dallas in April. The Browns, despite coming off a 0-16 season, are intriguing to Bryant. Cleveland has significantly upgraded its talent. If Bryant signs, the Browns would have three Pro Bowlers -- Bryant, Jarvis Landry and Josh Gordon -- on their roster. Gordon is away from the team to deal with health issues.

Sports on 08/18/2018

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