Michelle Wie talks with Holly Saunders about course conditions and her expectations after Day 1 of the US Open.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Michelle Wie was pleasantly surprised by the condition of Shoal Creek and her game after the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open.

The 2014 champion shot a 3-under 69 Thursday on a course that’s been drenched in recent days and weeks, forcing the cancellation of Tuesday’s practice round and limiting course time on the eve of the tournament.

Wie got off to a strong start with birdies on the second and third holes and had only one bogey.

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“It’s mind-blowing how great the golf course is,” Wie said. ”The greens staff, they’ve been working day and night trying to get this golf course ready and have done an amazing job.

”I thought there was no chance we could play a practice round (Wednesday). I was out there and the greens were actually great, today even better. Hopefully, you know, there will be no storms and just get better and better from here.”

She had withdrawn from last year’s U.S. Women’s Open with a neck injury and failed to mak..

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) One shot on the wrong side of the creek. One shot in the water. Another one in someone’s backyard.

Tiger Woods was headed for another bad memory at the Memorial.

One shot changed everything.

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Woods recovered from a rugged start Thursday by running off three straight birdies late in the opening round to salvage an even-par 72 at Muirfield Village.

”I fought back and I didn’t really have much starting out,” Woods said. ”Didn’t really feel my swing very well, and consequently I hit it both ways – mainly left. I wasn’t rotating very well. Made a few tweaks, a few changes, made a couple of birdies, made a couple of putts, and lo and behold, I finished at even par. I know it’s a long way back, but at least I’ve got a fighting chance.”

Woods is a five-time winner at the Memorial. The last time he was at Muirfield Village was three years ago, when he shot a career-high 85 in the third round and had to play as a single Sunday morning.

What tur..

Stream the U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship live!

BRESCIA, Italy (AP) English duo Robert Rock and Laurie Canter and South Africa’s Richard Sterne all shot rounds of 8-under 63 on Thursday to share the lead after the first round of the Italian Open.

The trio was two shots ahead of a group of eight players, which includes 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and Ryder Cup duo Ross Fisher and Thomas Pieters.

Daniel Im is also part of that group after a bogey on the 11th halted a bright start by the American on a day of low scoring at Gardagolf in Brescia.

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Lightning stopped play for about an hour and 19 minutes midway through the afternoon after Rock and Canter had both finished their rounds.

Rock was at 1 over after three holes, but carded nothing higher than a 3 on the next nine holes and finished with seven birdies and an eagle.

”I did well to bogey the second after two terrible tee shots, my provisional was in the water as well, but got on a run after that with all threes and twos for nine holes,” Rock..

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) A Utah couple ran into a different sort of hazard during a round of golf on Memorial Day near Salt Lake City.

A young moose bigger than their golf cart chased them off the links at the Park City Golf Club.

Emily Clearwater of Phoenix says she watched the scene unfold from a relative’s home nearby and took a video when she realized it was following them.

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She said the young-looking moose went after the cart twice but eventually lost interest.

Golfer Mark Redican told the Deseret News he was getting ready to hit a shot when his wife started yelling. They jumped in the cart and made an escape as the animal headed off to a nearby pond.

He says the animal wasn’t super aggressive, but it was ”gigantic” so they didn’t hang around.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors will face off in the NBA Finals for a fourth consecutive year starting Thursday night. The excitement level for this rematch has been turned down considerably, though, in large part because the Cavs no longer have a high-scoring guard to help LeBron James. Kyrie Irving, who hit the title-winning shot in 2016, was that guy for the three previous meetings and when he forced a trade, Isaiah Thomas was supposed to be a comparable replacement this season. Whoops.
RELATED: Watch LeBron show off his freakish photographic memory
Thomas sat out the the first few months of this campaign with a hip injury, and when he finally returned to action, he didn't quite fit in as nicely as expected. The Cavs wound up dealing the diminutive guard to the Lakers at the trade deadline for Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson. And if Isaiah was a poor man's Kyrie, Clarkson is a broke-ass man's Isaiah.
Anyway, with the 2018 NBA Finals hours awa..

Everybody loves happy ending, which is precisely why last year's infamous St. Louis Rally Cat incident went from hilarious to viral moment to national outrage (a not uncommon trajectory, admittedly) when it became clear that nobody was sure what had happened to the terrified little kitten after it was eventually—after much clawing and ball boy bloodshed—removed from the Busch Stadium field. “How could you be so careless with an innocent kitten, you irredeemable monsters?” bellowed legions of American cat lovers, who were equally unimpressed with the Cardinals' official statement saying they had given the kitten to a random fan who then promptly lost it in the nearby City Garden. Needless to say, what should have been a triumphant moment for American baseball, became a sad, cautionary table about America's stray pet problem.
Thankfully, the Detroit Tigers learned from that from that very fiasco. Last night, during the 6th inning of the Tigers' 6-1 win over the Ohtani..

Adam Glanzman(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)Boston Celtics' fledgling superstar Jayson Tatum can do a lot of things. Spelling isn't one of them.
The NBA rookie made an appearance on ESPN's “Get Up,” and because the Worldwide Leader will be airing the National Spelling Bee this week, the show's hosts put Tatum to the test, asking him to name the letters in “Krzyzewski.” A sobriquet that would be a curveball for most, but should be an, ahem, layup for Tatum, given he played for Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. (And because, obviously, Duke players are wicked smart as they go to class and do things the “right way.”)
Unfortunately, that was not the case, as Tatum was unable to get past…K:
https://twitter.com/CelticsNewsNBA/status/1002217600875663361
Luckily for Tatum, his Celtics lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, so instead of getting his butt handed to him by the Golden State Warriors, he can stay at home and take some no..

GALLOWAY, N.J. (AP) Irish twins Leona and Lisa Maguire are turning professional and plan to compete at next week’s ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Tournament executive director Tim Erensen says they will join the field that begins play June 8 at Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club.

Leona Maguire is a two-time National Player of the Year and three-time ACC champion for Duke. She recently broke Lydia Ko’s record for the most weeks (131) at the top of the world amateur rankings. She has played three times in the Curtis Cup and twice earned her LPGA card through Q School but returned to college each time.

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Lisa Maguire has been ranked as high as 35th as an amateur. She is a two-time member of the European Junior Solheim Cup team and played in the Curtis Cup in 2010.