GOLF
Kevin Kisner's economical opening round has put him atop the leaderboard in the British Open at Carnoustie.
Kisner took only 22 putts in completing a 5-under 66 that leaves him one stroke ahead of Tony Finau, Zander Lomard and Erik van Rooyen.
Kisner was 1 over going into the fifth hole when he hit a 3-iron onto the par-5 and sunk a long putt for eagle. The American followed with four more birdies, then finished with a string of pars on the difficult final holes at Carnoustie.
Finau had eight birdies to offset his share of mistakes and move into the three-way tie for second.
Ryan Moore, Brendan Steele and Brandon Stone share fifth place. None of the top seven players have won a major.
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm powered their way to 69s, leaving them tied with Zach Johnson, Justin Thomas and six others.
Tiger Woods used his driver just once en route to a 71.
Defending champion Jordan Spieth was in range of the lead until he made one mental error and two bad swings while dropping four shots over the last four holes. He signed off on a 1-over 72.
Reigning U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka managed to complete a 72 despite shooting a 41 on the front nine.
HORSE RACING
The Saratoga Race Course opens its gates for the 2018 season Friday at 11 a.m. Post-time for the first race is 1 p.m
The Triple Crown winners have greatly increased interest in the sport, says thoroughbred owner Tom Bellhouse.
“After a Triple Crown, it’s been a tremendous. We always used to joke the most important day in New York racing was the Preakness,” chuckled Bellhouse. “Because, you know, whether we kept Belmont. But it really, it’s been a huge shot in the arm.”
Attendance at Saratoga in the last few years has been up. NYRA, which operates Saratoga Race Course, along with Belmont and Aqueduct, has invested heavily in its tracks and digital access. This year marks the debut of a new premium seating area called The Stretch.
NBA
Carmelo Anthony is one-and-done in Oklahoma City.
A person with knowledge of the details tells The Associated Press the Thunder are sending the veteran NBA forward and a 2022 protected first-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for Hawks guard Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala. The person says Anthony will be waived by the Hawks, allowing him to become a free agent.
Anthony averaged a career-worst 16.2 points in his lone season with the Thunder, six points below his average with the 2016-17 Knicks.
ESPN first reported the trade and said the Thunder will send Muscala to the 76ers for Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot. Philadelphia's Justin Anderson will be sent to Atlanta.
Schroder averaged a career-high 19.4 points per game last season for the Hawks in 67 games, all starts.
In other NBA news:
A person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press that restricted free agent Marcus Smart has been re-signed to a four-year, $52 million contract by the Celtics after failing to receive a comparable offer from other teams. Smart averaged 10.2 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game last season. He returned from thumb surgery late in the first round of the playoffs and provided the defensive presence that was instrumental in the Celtics taking a 3-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals before losing to the Cavaliers.
Nuggets rookie forward Michael Porter Jr. has undergone back surgery that will keep him out of action an undetermined length of time. Porter was considered a top-five selection before a previous back surgery limited him to three games at Missouri last season. The injury allowed Denver to take him with the 14th overall selection.
Luc Mbah a Moute is back with the Clippers after signing a free-agent deal. The 31-year-old forward averaged 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.18 steals in 61 games for the Rockets last season.
The Bulls have signed guard Antonio Blakeney to an NBA contract. Undrafted out of LSU in 2017, Blakeney accepted a two-way deal with the Bulls and averaged 7.9 points in 19 games for Chicago last season while also seeing action with the G League's Windy City Bulls.
MLB
The Chicago Cubs won the first game since the major league All-Star break to open a three-game lead over Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Ian Happ belted a two-run homer to cap the Cubs' five-run fifth in a 9-6 win over the Cardinals. Chicago trailed 3-1 in the fifth until Anthony Rizzo's RBI double sparked the comeback. Jason Heyward tied it with his second RBI single of the night before Ben Zobrist (ZOH'-brihst) lifted a sacrifice fly to put the Cubbies ahead.
Zobrist finished with two RBIs and Victor Caratini scored three times while going 3-for-3 with a run-scoring single.
Tommy Pham and Matt Carpenter hit solo shots for the Cardinals.
Also in the Majors:
The Cleveland Indians have fortified their bullpen while Andrew Miller continues to recover from a knee injury.
The AL Central leaders have acquired All-Star left closer Brad Hand and reliever Adam Cimber from the San Diego Padres for catching prospect Francisco Mejia.
Hand was selected to the All-Star Game for the second straight year after recording 24 saves and a 3.05 ERA for San Diego. Cimber is a sidearmer who has gone 3-5 with a 3.17 earned run average in 42 appearances this season.
Mejía was batting .279 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs in 79 games for Triple-A Columbus.
Cleveland entered the All-Star break with a 7 ½-game lead over the Twins.
Elsewhere around the majors:
The New York Yankees and The New York Mets return to the diamond Friday at 7:05 p.m. in the second subway series of the season.
The Boston Red Sox will travel to Detroit to take on the Tigers Friday at 7:10 p.m.
The Angels say Shohei Ohtani has been medically cleared to begin a throwing program as his elbow ligament continues to heal. The two-way star was placed on the disabled list with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain on June 8 after complaining about tightness in his right elbow following a June 6 start against Kansas City. Ohtani has since returned to the roster as a designated hitter, but his prospects to pitch remain unclear.
The Cubs have placed closer Brandon Morrow on the 10-day disabled list with right biceps inflammation. Morrow has 22 saves and a 1.47 ERA in 35 games in his first season with Chicago. The Cubs also activated outfielder Albert Almora Jr. and relievers Carl Edwards Jr. and Anthony Bass before Thursday night's game against St. Louis.
The Yankees have activated catcher Gary Sanchez from the disabled list and sent backstop Kyle Higashioka to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Sanchez has been out since June 25 with a strained right groin.
The Athletics have released veteran reliever Santiago Casilla, five days after he was designated for assignment. Casilla is 42-31 with 144 career saves in 15 seasons, but has been up and down with the A's this year while having control issues.
NFL
A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that the Atlanta Falcons won't renegotiate Julio Jones' contract this season. The decision casts doubts on whether the star receiver will be in training camp next week.
The person says the Falcons informed Jones several weeks ago that they didn't have room under the salary cap to offer him a new deal for this season.
Jones dipped on the NFL's list of highest-paid receivers during the offseason when several players received huge new contracts. He is set to make $10.5 million this season, $12.5 million in 2019 and $11.4 million in the final season of a six-year, $71.3 million contract he signed in 2015.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
The NFL and National Football League Players Association have agreed to halt enforcement of rules regarding the new national anthem policy while they work on a resolution.
The two sides issued a joint statement late Thursday, hours after The Associated Press reported that Miami Dolphins players who protest on the field during the anthem could be suspended for up to four games under a team policy issued this week. The "Proper Anthem Conduct" section is just one sentence in a nine-page discipline document provided to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the policy.
The Dolphins have since issued a statement saying they will address this issue once the season starts, adding that all options are still open.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Clemson men's basketball coach Brad Brownell has received a new six-year contract that will pay him $15 million through 2024.
Brownell just led the Tigers to the Sweet 16 in the team's first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years. Clemson finished 25-10 last season after being picked to finish 13th in the ACC preseason poll.
Brownell is entering his ninth season with the program.
In other college basketball news:
North Carolina, UCLA, Michigan State and Texas will play in the Las Vegas Invitational. North Carolina takes on Texas in one semifinal on Nov. 22, and Michigan State faces UCLA in the other. The championship and consolation games are slated for Nov. 23
PGA
Brittany Lincicome has shot a 6-over 78 in the first round of the Barbasol Championship, leaving the LPGA Tour pro's goal of making the cut likely out of reach. Lincicome would likely need a round in the mid-60s on Friday to make the cut.
Lincicome was hoping to become the second woman to make the cut in a men's event and the first since Babe Zaharias in 1945.
She's the first woman to get a PGA Tour start since Michelle Wie (wee) a decade ago.
OLYMPICS
Prosecutors in Kazakhstan say Olympic figure skating medalist Denis Ten has been killed, and they are treating the case as murder.
Kazakh news agencies report Ten was stabbed after a dispute with people who tried to steal a mirror from his car.
Ten won bronze at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, becoming Kazakhstan's first medalist in figure skating.
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