DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) Joaquin Niemann could figure out where Tiger Woods was on the golf course from the mass of people following him a few groups ahead, and he had a pretty good idea what he was doing from all the noise, at least before Woods put a putter in his hands.

”There was so many people,” Niemann said.

The few that stuck behind for the 19-year-old Chilean saw another good show.

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In his fifth start as a pro, Niemann finished with two birdies over his last three holes for a 4-under 68 and a share of the lead with Kyle Stanley, who had a 66. He finished with an 8-foot birdie on the 18th hole.

Woods made Muirfield Village sound like a rock concert until storms arrived. He holed out with a sand wedge from 97 yards for eagle on the par-5 11th hole, and then his tee shot on the par-3 12th struck the flag waving in the wind and settled 6 feet behind the hole.

And then he sat out a weather delay that lasted just under 90 minutes, and he missed four putts un..

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) Jason Day found himself in a foreign place on his home course at the Memorial – atop the leaderboard.

Day birdied three of his last five holes Friday for another 4-under 68, leaving him tied for the early 36-hole lead. Day was at 8-under 136, along Hideki Matsuyama (71), Wesley Bryan (68) and J.B. Holmes (66).

Day is a member at Muirfield Village, though that hasn’t translated well. His best finish is a tie for 15th in his nine previous appearances, and the Australian has never been closer than five shots going into the weekend.

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The group at 6-under 138 included Dustin Johnson, who has played the par 5s in just 1 under for two rounds.

Jordan Spieth bogeyed his last two holes and was certain to miss the cut.

Stream the second round of the 2018 U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship

BRESCIA, Italy (AP) Martin Kaymer compiled a bogey-free 63 on Friday to lead the Italian Open by one shot at the halfway stage, as several of Europe’s top golfers came to the fore.

The Ryder Cup player from Germany birdied five of his last six holes, and had eight in total, as he produced the lowest round of the week to move to 11-under after 36 holes on another day of low scoring at the Gardagolf Country Club.

”It’s been a while since I played that solid,” said Kaymer, who missed the cut in three of his last four events. ”I was getting very close recently but that positivity was missing on the golf course because I haven’t had a lot of good results.

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”It doesn’t matter if you’ve won majors and had the situations I had at the Ryder Cup, it’s really exciting to be in a position that you can win a golf tournament again.”

Kaymer, whose last win yielded a second major title at the 2014 US Open, was one ahead of Italy’s Francesco Molinari, 2016 Masters champi..

Jamie SabauIf you missed the video of Jerry Seinfeld and David Letterman swapping stories about Joey Votto that circulated on social media on Thursday, we don't blame you. J.R. Smith's gaffe dominated Twitter, so it may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Here's the clip from Letterman's new Netflix talk series “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,” in which the two comedians randomly discuss the kindness of the Cincinnati Reds first baseman:
https://twitter.com/AaronGleeman/status/1002284183723520000
These two great stories, from two great storytellers, are not particularly surprising considering A. Votto is the consummate professional and B. he's Canadian, and Canadians are really nice, eh? But seriously, everything you read or hear about Votto is always about how great of a guy he is. He's a genuine, entertaining and funny character, despite having to spend his entire career on the Reds. Oh, he's also really good at baseball, having made five All-Star..

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Canadian Brooke Henderson has withdrawn from the U.S. Women’s Open for personal reasons.

The USGA says Henderson pulled out before Friday’s second round at Shoal Creek. The USGA statement says she left to be with her family in Ottawa, but didn’t elaborate.

Henderson shot a 1-over 73 in the first round Thursday.

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The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ontario, has six wins on the LPGA Tour. She became the second youngest player in LPGA history to win a major championship, capturing the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at 18 years, 9 months and 2 days.

She won the Lotte Championship this year and has two previous top 10 finishes in the U.S. Women’s Open. Henderson tied for 13th last year.

Clay Court SZN comes to a close with French Open finals next weekend, but things are already heating up at Roland Garros. Serena Williams came out dressed like Batman and then played like it, men's 4-seed Gregor Dimitrov has already bid the tournament adieu, and now Damir Džumhur has provided the viral moment of the tournament, colliding with a ball boy in the middle of five-set battle with second-seeded Alexander Zverev. Džumhur isn't a big dude—clocking in at a very average 5' 9″, 154 lbs—but needless to say, he got the better end of this exchange:
https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/1002511210263269376?
Though the ball boy was clearly shaken up, he was back on his feet in about 30 seconds and able to walk off under his own power. He didn't finish the match—which Džumhur narrowly lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 5-7—but was later seen watching on from the photographer pit. On the brightside, however, at least he didn't get his bell rung as bad as this poor kid,..

Ezra ShawOn Thursday night at Oracle Arena, with the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers tied 107-107 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Cavs guard George Hill clanked his second free throw to give his team the lead. But with a few ticks still on the clock, Cleveland had one more chance when J.R. Smith got the offensive rebound. Instead, Smith ran around attempting to run out the clock because he thought Cleveland had the lead.
RELATED: Twitter had a field day with J.R. Smith's blunder, but the best Tweet was one that came to his defense
It's already in the conversation for worst mental errors ever, and because it came in such an enormous game the Cavs so desperately needed to make this series interesting, it might be the worst. OK, so we're prone to hyperbole in these 24-hour news cycle times, but still, why J.R, WHY!?!??!
https://twitter.com/ericsports/status/1002402762376613888
After the game, Smith tried to say he knew the score, but it was too late, because his ..

Lachlan Cunningham(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)J.R. Smith went full J.R. Smith at the worst possible moment in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, forgetting the score and dribbling out the clock instead of attempting a game-winning shot at the end of regulation. It was mistake that seemingly personified the career of Smith, a player whose talent has been offset by his, ahem, routine lapses in judgement. Despite winning a ring with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, Smith's blunder—one that ruined (arguably) the best Finals performance from the (arguably) greatest player the league has ever seen—might endure as the thing that encapsulates his existence.
As you can imagine, Twitter—rough crowd, that Twitter—had a field day with Smith's gaffe. We won't highlight those barbs; the Internet is mean enough as is. However, we will relay Twitter's best response, which coincidentally, is one that came to his defense:
https://twitter.com/yoGleech/status/1002405177033482242
M..

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. (AP) Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz is making his mark in a new sport.

Golf.

The 51-year-old Smoltz qualified for the U.S. Senior Open on Thursday, emerging from a three-man playoff to take the final spot.

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Three places were up for grabs in the 18-hole qualifier at Planterra Ridge Golf Club in Peachtree City, Georgia, about 30 miles south of Atlanta. Jack Larkin and Sonny Skinner got through in regulation by shooting 4-under 68, with Smoltz and two others one stroke back.

Brian Tennyson was eliminated on the first playoff hole with a bogey. On the third extra hole, Smoltz finished off Brian Ferris despite making double bogey.

Smoltz spent most of his career with the Atlanta Braves. He finished with a record of 213-155 with 154 saves – making him the only pitcher in baseball history with 200 wins and 150 saves. He was an eight-time All-Star and captured the NL Cy Young Award in 1996.

Smoltz also was an avid golfer in his spare time..