Poulter leads, Tiger lurks at Bridgestone
Ian Poulter has never had much success at the Bridgestone Invitational until he opened with an 8-under 62 in Akron, Ohio. That was 4 shots better than Tiger Woods, who plays well at Firestone all the time.
Poulter was motivated by seeing his results and realizing he has never finished better than a tie for 13th. He made eight birdies in soft, vulnerable conditions yesterday and saved par from the bunker on his final hole to build a 1-shot lead over Rickie Fowler and Patrick Cantlay.
Back at Firestone for the first time in four years, Woods had his lowest opening round of the year. He shot a 66, but on a day like this, it was needed just to keep pace.
Forty-five players in the 71-man field broke par. …
Minjee Lee shot a 7-under 65, including a right-to-left putt for eagle from 25 feet on the par-5 15th hole, to lead by a stroke after the first round of the Women’s British Open in Lytham St. Annes, England.
Mamiko Higa was a shot behind after a 66, while five players —
Georgia Hall, Teresa Lu, Park Sunghyun, Lee Mi-hyang and Pornanong Phatlum — were 2 back. …
Ollie Schniederjans scored five points with a closing eagle to take a three-point lead in the Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nev., the PGA Tour’s only modified Stableford scoring event.
Thomas holds firm
Holdout safety Earl Thomas reiterated he wants to be traded if the Seattle Seahawks aren’t willing to offer him a contract extension.
Thomas has skipped Seattle’s entire offseason program and missed the first week of training camp. …
Tennessee safety Johnathan Cyprien will miss the season with a torn left ACL, and coach Mike Vrabel says veteran Eric Reid is among the safeties the Titans want to look at as a potential replacement. …
Forward Yoshinuro Muto has joined Newcastle after being granted a work permit, becoming the first Japanese player for the English Premier League club. …
The U.S. men’s national soccer team will play Colombia in an exhibition at Tampa, Florida, on Oct. 11, one of six friendlies planned for this fall.
Alabama tops
Defending national champion Alabama is a unanimous No.1 in the preseason coaches’ football poll, with Clemson No. 2 and Ohio State No. 3.
The Crimson Tide received 61 one first-place votes from a panel of major-college coaches. The Associated Press media poll will be released Aug. 20. …
Former Baylor football coach Art Briles told the Fort Worth StarTelegram he has been hired to lead an American football team, Guelfi Firenze, in Florence, Italy.
Skinner to Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres acquired forward Jeff Skinner in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes in a move that continues an offseason roster shake up for both teams.
The Hurricanes acquired prospect forward Cliff Pu and three draft picks, including a secondround selection in 2019. The Hurricanes also acquired Buffalo’s third- and sixth-round picks in the 2020 draft. …
The Calgary Flames placed assistant captain Troy Brouwer on unconditional waivers with the intention of buying out the remaining two years of his contract. …
The Dallas Mavericks acquired center Chinanu Onuaku from the Houston Rockets for the rights to forward Maarty Leunen.
The Mavs also get cash in the trade.