Presidents Cup International captain Nick Price has the toughest job in team golf, but he’s optimistic this third time around could be a turning point

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) Bernhard Langer birdied the 18th hole at Pebble Beach to salvage an indifferent back nine and move one shot ahead of Kenny Perry after two rounds of the PURE Insurance Championship, putting the German star in position for his fifth victory this year.

The 60-year-old Langer was 5 under through eight holes before his momentum stalled. The birdie on No. 18 brought him back to even par on the back nine. He shot 67 and stood at 12-under 131 after his opening-round 64 at Poppy Hills.

”I played really solid starting off, hit it close and had a bunch of really good saves, up-and-downs,” Langer said. ”It wasn’t that easy. The greens are not that simple to putt on. Hard to make long putts here.”

Langer’s four victories include three majors, and he leads the Charles Schwab Cup standings as he vies for his ninth money title in 10 years and sixth in a row.

Perry, 57, shot 63 at Pebble Beach to equal the tournament course record. The U.S. Senior Open champion is fou..

ATLANTA (AP) Paul Casey had an easy time keeping it simple even as he was presented all the scenarios, projections and possibilities of winning $10 million for the FedEx Cup.

”They went in one ear and out the other,” Casey said. ”All I know is that none of them matter if I don’t win. So I have to win.”

And for a guy who has gone more than eight years and 143 starts on the PGA Tour since his last victory, winning the Tour Championship was his sole objective when he left East Lake on Saturday evening with a two-shot lead.

Casey closed out the front nine by twice having to get up-and-down for bogey, and then he kept a clean card the rest of the way. He holed a 40-foot birdie putt from the back of the 17th green that carried him to a 5-under 65, giving him another chance to finally have something to show for his stellar performance in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

He lost a three-shot lead at the TPC Boston a year ago. He ran into Dustin Johnson at Crooked Stick. Six times in his last ei..

BEACHWOOD, Ohio (AP) Nicholas Lindheim shot a 2-under 68 on Saturday to move into a tie for the lead after the third round of the DAP Championship with Matt Atkins, who faltered with a double bogey on the 16th hole at the Web.com Tour Finals event.

Lindheim, who’s trying to regain his PGA Tour card after a disappointing rookie year, spent most of the day chasing Atkins at Canterbury Golf Club before birdies at 15 and 16. He bogeyed 17, but Atkins took two shots to escape a greenside bunker on the par-5 16th en route to a 7. He shot 69, and both were at 9-under 201.

The event is the third of four tournaments that determine 25 PGA Tour cards. The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com regular-season money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and non-members with enough money to place in the top 200 in the FedEx Cup had they been eligible.

Atkins has already earned a PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 25 on the regular-season Web.com money list. T..

ATLANTA (AP) Paul Casey shot a 5-under 65 to build a two-shot lead in the Tour Championship. That leaves him one round away from ending eight years without winning on the PGA Tour in the biggest way possible.

Casey holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and escaped with par on the closing hole at East Lake.

He was at 12-under 198, two shots ahead of Kevin Kisner (64) and PGA Tour rookie Xander Schauffele (65). Casey’s only PGA Tour victory was in 2009 at the Houston Open. A victory Sunday might be enough to also give him the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus.

Justin Thomas had to rally for a 70 and fell five shots behind. He’s still in the hunt for the FedEx Cup.

It took forever, but the New York Knicks finally traded Carmelo Anthony on Saturday, sending the star forward to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick.
The deal, first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, marks the unfortunate end of what was an ugly marriage for the majority of Anthony's seven year tenure as a Knick. A tenure that featured an astounding five different coaches, very minimal success and a ton of unfavorable back page headlines.
But if you can forget all the 2-for-17 shooting nights, potential game winners that clanged off the rim, and the early playoff exits, you'll recall that there were some good times. We remembered some of those (extremely few) good moments of Melo's time in the orange and blue, and ranked them accordingly:
5. The Day Carmelo became a Knick
FacebookPinterestI realize we're setting a pretty low bar with this one, but the Knicks did win the game! Anthony scored 27 ..

VILAMOURA, Portugal (AP) Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark led the Portugal Masters by one shot after carding a 3-under-par 68 in the third round on Saturday.

Bjerregaard made birdies on the third, fifth, and 10th holes. Then, after stumbling with two bogeys, he rebounded with birdies on the 15th and 17th to finish strong. He’s at 14-under 199 overall.

Bjerregaard is seeking his first win on the European Tour. He recorded four top-five finishes in 2015, but has been erratic since.

”It’s been a rough year for me so to be in contention again feels really good,” he said. ”I’ve been seeing my game go in the right direction the last month or so. I’m in a place where I’m still building confidence but it feels good. This is what we play for, this is where I want to be. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

George Coetzee (67) is one shot behind, followed by overnight leader Nino Bertasio (71), Eddie Pepperell (68) and Marc Warren (70), who were all two strokes back at 12 under.

Another six g..

VILAMOURA, Portugal (AP) Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark led the Portugal Masters by one shot after carding a 3-under-par 68 in the third round on Saturday.

Bjerregaard made birdies on the third, fifth, and 10th holes. Then, after stumbling with two bogeys, he rebounded with birdies on the 15th and 17th to finish strong. He’s at 14-under 199 overall.

Bjerregaard is seeking his first win on the European Tour. He recorded four top-five finishes in 2015, but has been erratic since.

”It’s been a rough year for me so to be in contention again feels really good,” he said. ”I’ve been seeing my game go in the right direction the last month or so. I’m in a place where I’m still building confidence but it feels good. This is what we play for, this is where I want to be. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

George Coetzee (67) is one shot behind, followed by overnight leader Nino Bertasio (71), Eddie Pepperell (68) and Marc Warren (70), who were all two strokes back at 12 under.

Another six g..

Take a hole-by-hole tour of Liberty National Golf Club, host of the 2017 Presidents Cup in Jersey City.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) A capsule look at the International team for the Presidents Cup, to be played Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Liberty National Golf Club. Listed in the order they made the team:

HIDEKI MATSUYAMA

Age: 25.

Country: Japan.

Ranking: 3.

Worldwide victories: 14.

2017 victories: Phoenix Open, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Majors: None.

Presidents Cup appearances: 2.

Record: 3-4-2.

Presidents Cup moment: Making birdie on the 18th hole to beat J.B. Holmes in singles in South Korea two years ago.

—

JASON DAY

Age: 29.

Country: Australia.

Ranking: 6.

Worldwide victories: 11.

2017 victories: None.

Majors: PGA Championship (2015).

Presidents Cup appearances: 3.

Record: 4-8-3.

Presidents Cup moment: Failing to win any of his five matches two years ago in South Korea.

—

ADAM SCOTT

Age: 37.

Country: Australia.

Ranking: 22.

Worldwide victories: 27.

2017 victories: None.

Majors: Masters (2013).

Presidents Cup appearances: 7.

Record: ..