SAN DIEGO (AP) Alex Noren of Sweden has all the credentials to be on the fringe of the elite in golf. He is a nine-time winner on the European Tour, including the flagship BMW PGA Championship, and he cracked the top 10 in the world when he won four times in 2016.

Now he has a chance to make his mark in America.

Noren surged on the closing stretch as so many challengers crumbled Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open. He bounced back from a double bogey with three birdies over the final six holes for a 3-under 69 and a one-shot lead going into the final round at Torrey Pines.

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”To win would be very, very big for my confidence, I think,” Noren said. ”And playing around these courses … we’re going to have the U.S. Open here in a few years, so it would be massive.”

But even as he took his first 54-hole lead in his first PGA Tour event as a member, it was easy to overlook the 35-year-old Swede.

For starters, Tiger Woods takes up almost all the attentio..

SAN DIEGO (AP) Alex Noren of Sweden two-putted for birdie on the final hole for a 3-under 69 that gave him a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

Noren has nine European Tour victories and is No. 19 in the world. This is his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.

He leads by one shot over Ryan Palmer, who struggled after building a two-shot lead with a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th. Jon Rahm, the defending champion who needs to win to reach No. 1 in the world, took double bogey on the last hole for a 75 and fell four shots behind.

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Noren was at 11-under 205.

Tiger Woods only hit three fairways and still managed a 70. Woods was eight shots behind.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) Brooke Henderson birdied the par-5 18th hole and had a one-stroke lead over top-ranked Shanshan Feng on Saturday in the suspended second round of the wind-swept Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Henderson shot an even-par 73 to get to 5 under overall after two rounds and three days at the Ocean Club Golf Course in the event cut to 54 holes after wind wiped out play most of Friday.

”It was windy today,” Henderson said. ”I feel like overall Britt (caddie and sister) and I did a really good job again just calculating numbers and negotiating the wind as best we could. There was a couple of bogeys I would like to take back, but having four birdies is really good.”

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Feng had nine holes left when play was suspended because of darkness. On her last hole, the Chinese star birdied the 18th.

”I know this is only the first tournament of the year, but normally I’m pretty good in the wind,” Feng said. ”Actually, I get more excited in th..

SAN DIEGO (AP) Tiger Woods was everywhere but the fairway and putted for birdie on only half of his holes. He still managed a 2-under 70 and was in the middle of the pack going into the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

Woods relied on a number of big putts and a sharp short game for a decent score Saturday.

He described his round as ”gross,” although he was proud of his score.

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He gave his back a good workout in the rough. Woods has hit only three fairways each of the last two days at Torrey Pines.

Woods is playing the PGA Tour for only the second time since August 2015. He had two back surgeries that fall, returned last year and then went through spinal fusion surgery in April.

Lance KingDURHAM, NC – JANUARY 27: Grayson Allen #3 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after being hit near his jaw after fouling Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers late in their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. Virginia won 65-63. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)Duke fans got some great news on Saturday ahead of the Blue Devils' matchup with the No. 2 ranked Virginia Cavaliers when they found out rival North Carolina lost on home court in an overtime heartbreaker to North Carolina State, 95-91. The No. 10 ranked Tar Heels entered the game as a 12.5-point favorite, making it an even uglier loss on their resume.
But the Cameron Crazies couldn't celebrate for long, as they watched their team fall behind quickly in the first half against coach Tony Bennett's UVA team, one that ranks first in the country in points allowed per game. Duke rallied in the second half, even taking the lead on a few occasions and looking like they&#039..

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Rory McIlroy was within sight of a first title in 17 months after the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic where he lay only one shot behind surprise leader Li Haotong on Saturday.

McIlroy, who finished his second round in the morning, surprisingly struggled for the first time in seven rounds into his comeback from a three-month layoff, and was 1-over par at the turn in the third round.

The four-time major champion then recovered with five birdies on the back nine for a 4-under 68 and 19 under overall that put him one behind Li.

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Li, in the leader group with McIlroy, shot a bogey-free 64 at Emirates Golf Club.

Li, the highest ranked Chinese male player in the world at No. 60, produced a brilliant display of iron play and putting to be in great position to add to his only previous European Tour win, the 2016 China Open.

He needed just 24 putts to complete his round, and said: ”It’s going to be fun out there tomorr..

On Wednesday night we were treated to one of, if not the finish of the season so far on any basketball court, college or pro, when Penn State hit an absolute dagger at the buzzer to beat Ohio State. Quite frankly, that may not hold a candle to what happened in a high school game in Evanston, Illinois.
Down 44-42 with 2.6 seconds to play, things looked bleak for Evanston Township High School, with their opponent at the line shooting one more free throw to extend the lead to three. Make or miss, it would take a heave and a prayer for Evanston to win the game or extend to OT. After a clanked free throw, freshman Blake Peters grabbed the board, launched one from deep and whammmmmy:
https://twitter.com/ETHSports/status/957083546274942976
Incredible. And to think, if the kid from Maine South just makes his free throw this likely ends differently. Another angle:
Blake Peters just became an instant legend and he's still got three more years to strut around the halls of Evanston Township H..

What were the biggest takeaways and trends about golf for this coming year? Here's what we learned from the 2018 PGA Merchandise Show

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Rory McIlroy shot 5-under for the seven holes he played Saturday to take a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic.

The four-time major champion was three-under par for his round after 11 holes when play was suspended Friday after heavy fog in the morning had delayed the start of the second round by 2 hours, 50 minutes.

But in perfect conditions Saturday, the 28-year-old finished a great round with three consecutive birdies for a 64 and a two-round total of 15-under 129.

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Jamie Donaldson, who shot 69, was in second place.

The cut was at 5-under, the lowest in the history of the tournament. The previous low cut was 3-under in 2001 and 2007.

The third round was scheduled for later Saturday.

SAN DIEGO (AP) Ryan Palmer is the 36-hole leader in the Farmers Insurance Open. Jon Rahm is right behind, poised to reach No. 1 in the world. And for the first time in 29 months, a PGA Tour event will feature Tiger Woods on the weekend.

Palmer finished eagle-birdie on the North Course at Torrey Pines for a 5-under 67. That gave him a one-shot lead over Rahm, the defending champion who birdied two of his last three holes on the North for a 66.

The biggest buzz, as usual, was for Woods. He kept his fairway-lined following in suspense over his closing stretch on the front nine Friday simply by trying to make the cut, and it came down to the very last hole .

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A wild drive was saved by a perfect flop shot to escape with par on No. 6. Another superb chip on the reachable par-4 seventh set up a birdie, the first time all week he was under par. A chip that bounced hard and rolled off the back of the green led to bogey and left him one shot outside the cut line..