WJPA Sports

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) – Tiger Woods arrived at Royal Portrush on Sunday morning. Now he tries to avoid leaving Friday afternoon from the British Open.  Woods, Rory McIlroy and others who got off to a rugged start faced a daunting task trying to make the cut on a links course with ever-changing conditions and a steady challenge.  Woods didn’t make a birdie until the 15th hole in his opening round of 78, his worst start in a British Open and third-highest score in a major championship. McIlroy played reasonably well except the start (quadruple bogey) and finish (triple bogey) in his round of 79.  J.B. Holmes set the pace with a 5-under 66 and played Friday morning under a mostly blue sky and mild wind. That could change without notice.

UNDATED (AP) – Seattle’s NHL expansion team has announced its general manager – Ron Francis, a Hall of Famer and a two-time Stanley Cup winner.  He will have complete control of operations under Seattle Hockey Partners CEO Tod Leiweke. The yet-to-be-named team will debut in 2021. The Seattle club said Thursday it has more than 32,000 season ticket deposit holders and another 25,000 on a waiting list  Francis had a prolific NHL career. He finished with 1,798 points in 1,731 games over 23 seasons for the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins, where he won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) – The New York Racing Association is canceling Saturday’s card of racing at Saratoga Race Course due to excessive heat forecast for eastern New York. The National Weather Service is predicting a heat index that could reach as high as 110 degrees. Training will be permitted Saturday on both the main track and Oklahoma training track in the normally cooler temperatures in the morning.