Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/121679
2B Daily News – Saturday, April 13, 2013 THE MASTERS Day leads, 14-year-old makes cut AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The 14year-old from China isn't going anywhere in a hurry. And this Masters is still a long way from taking shape. Despite being the first player at Augusta National to get hit with a oneshot penalty for slow play, teen sensation Guan Tianlang still made history Friday as the youngest player to make the cut in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. And it came down to the last shot of a wild and windy day. Jason Day could have sent the kid home early with a birdie from just off the front of the green on the 18th hole. But the Australian was wide left and tapped in for par, giving him a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead over fellow Aussie Marc Leishman and the ageless Fred Couples. The par meant that Guan, who had one shot added to his score on the 17th hole for his second bad time of the round — made the cut under the 10-shot rule. ''If I can make it, I would be really happy for it,'' Guan said some five hours earlier. ''But if I didn't make it, it's still a great week.'' He's now part of a weekend at Augusta that should be as dynamic as ever. Day was at 6-under 138, and 18 players were within four shots of the lead, including Tiger Woods. Woods moved into a share of the lead with a two-putt birdie on the eighth hole, and his game looked to be as sharp as ever — perhaps too sharp. Right when it looked like he might take the outright lead, Woods hit a lob wedge that was so perfect it hit the flag on the par-5 15th and caromed backward off the green and into the water. Instead of having a short birdie putt, he had to scramble to save bogey. Woods posed over another shot on the 18th and was stunned to see it hop onto the upper shelf, leading to his second three-putt bogey of the week. He had to settle for a 71, though he was still only three shots out of the lead. ''My score doesn't quite indicate how well I played today,'' Woods said. Day, a runner-up at the Masters two years ago, can be one of the most exciting players in golf when his game is on, and he was firing at flags from everywhere Friday. Even from the pine straw under the trees on the dangerous 11th, the Aussie took dead aim at the pin and set up a rare birdie to join the leaders. His only blunder was hitting into the water short of the 12th, though he still managed to escape with bogey, and then he fired a 4-wood low enough to stay below the trees and avoid the wind on the 13th, setting up a two-putt birdie. He was cognizant of the guys behind him — Woods included — though just as much pressure comes from trying to be the first Australian in a green jacket. ''The moment I start worrying about other players is the moment I start losing focus on what I need to do, and when I do that, I'll start making bogeys,'' Day said. ''It's obviously great to have the lead. I'm very exciting for the challenge over the next two days. It really is exciting to have the opportunity to win the Masters. I'm very, very happy where I am right now.'' The 53-year-old Couples, who shared the 36-hole lead last year at the Masters, birdied the 18th hole for a 71 and will play in the final group. ''I did tee off Thursday with the idea of playing well, and now it's Friday afternoon late. I'm surprised, but I'm not going to freak out over it,'' Couples said. Former Masters champion Angel Cabrera birdied five of his last six holes for a 69 and was in the group two shots behind, along with former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk (71) and Brandt Snedeker (70). Woods was at 3-under 141 with six others, including Adam Scott (72), Lee Westwood (71) and Justin Rose (71). And still in the mix was Rory McIlroy, who turned his fortunes around with a 5-wood from about 275 yards that set up a short eagle putt. He added three more birdies on the back nine and had a 70, leaving him only four shots out of the lead going into the weekend. ''Anything under par today was going to be a good score,'' McIlroy said. The hole locations were severe in spots, with one pin tucked on top of a mound toward the front of the fifth green. The par 5s played into an opposite wind on the back nine, and they were not easy to reach. Furyk got home in two on the 15th hole Thursday with a hybrid. He used that same club to lay up on Friday. Such tough conditions made the performance of Guan that much more impressive. He had a respectable 75, which included the one-shot penalty. And for the longest time, it looked as though it might be costly. Guan, playing with Matteo Manassero and Ben Crenshaw, was informed his group was out of position as it left the 10th green. They were on the clock on the 12th hole, meaning players would be timed to make sure they hit their shots within the 40-second limit. The teen got his first bad time with his second shot on the 13th hole, and it was clear he was in trouble after his shot into the 17th when John Paramor, chief referee in Europe, walked out to speak to him. ''You give him the news, the best you can,'' Paramor said. Fred Ridley, the head of competition at the Masters, did not say how long Guan took to hit his second shot on the 17th, only that it was a ''considerable margin'' over his time. Guan still managed to make par on the 17th, and if he was shaken by the news so late in the round, it didn't show. He made one last par and was at 4-over 148. His game is well beyond his years, and so was his attitude over the first slow-play penalty in a major since Gregory Bourdy in the 2010 PGA Championship. ''I respect the decision they make,'' said Guan, who spent nearly 90 minutes talking with officials after the round. ''They should do it because it's fair to everybody.'' The penalty looked ominous because Dustin Johnson was running off birdies every way imaginable, the only player to reach 7-under par in nasty conditions. His round imploded, however, when he played the final five holes in 6-over par. That included a double bogey on the 15th when he hit his third shot into the water. He had a 76 and plunged down the leaderboard, though he was still only five shots behind. Furyk also hit into the water on the 15th with a wedge he chunked so badly that it didn't make it halfway across the pond. Scott made his third straight bogey at No. 5, but that was the last mistake he made. He answered with three birdies the rest of the way. Day's 68 was the lowest score of the round, with conditions so tricky that only five players broke 70. ''It just feels like every shot is the biggest shot you've ever hit in your life out there,'' Day said. ''It's really, really difficult. I'm just glad to be in the clubhouse right now.'' One player who didn't recover was Sergio Garcia, who opened with a 66. One day after six birdies and no bogeys, he had four bogeys and no birdies. One day after he saw so many shots go where he was aiming, he couldn't cope with the wind. ''I hit the ball better today and was I was 10 shots worse,'' Garcia said after a 76 that put him in the group at 2-under with McIlroy, former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and 55year-old Bernhard Langer. ''But even with everything that happened today, we still are in a decent position to hopefully do something on the weekend.'' That weekend will include defending champion Bubba Watson, who will play with a marker in the first group Saturday morning, and Phil Mickelson, who shot 40 on the back nine and had a 76 that left him nine shots out of the lead. And it will include an eighth-grader who is assured of winning the sterling silver cup as the low amateur. He was the only amateur to make the cut, penalty shot and all. MLB MLB Romo blows save in Giants' 4-3 loss to Cubs CHICAGO (AP) — Sergio Romo proved he wasn't perfect. The Giants' closer entered Friday's game against the Chicago Cubs six for six in save chances this season. But after a ninth-inning San Francisco comeback, he could not hold a 3-2 lead as Starlin Castro's two-out double off the center-field wall gave the Cubs a 4-3 victory. Chicago led 2-0 heading into the top of the ninth, but closer Kyuji Fujikawa allowed a one-out RBI single by Pablo Sandoval and hit Buster Posey with a pitch before Brandon Belt's twoout double down the rightfield line scored two runs and gave the Giants a 3-2 lead. Romo was then summoned from the bullpen for his fourth appearance in five days. Pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro tied the game with a home run to right field to lead off the inning, the first pinch-hit homer of the sea- son for the Cubs. ''I made a good pitch. He put the ball in play,'' Romo said. ''Things happen when you put the ball in play. You tip the cap to him. No excuses.'' Romo then struck out Luis Valbuena and Brent Lillibridge before David DeJesus singled to center to set up Castro's winner. ''It's a great comeback and a tough loss to go with it,'' Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ''The boys battled back hard there in the ninth. Sergio's been so good, he just got a couple balls up in the ninth. ''It's going to happen and he's going to have to deal with the occasional hiccup. That's the life of a closer.'' Matt Cain made his first start since giving up nine earned runs in 3 2-3 innings in a 14-3 loss to St. Louis on April 7. The Giants' ace allowed seven hits— solo home runs to DeJesus and Castro while striking out six and walking two. ''A lot of time if you make good pitches, you get rewarded for it,'' Cain said. ''If you make bad pitches, guys get the ball up in the air and if the wind's blowing the wrong way, you're at the mercy of whatever's going to happen.'' Carlos Villanueva pitched 7 1-3 shutout innings and allowed three hits and struck out three. The strong start was Villanueva's second in a row. Villanueva made his Cubs debut April 6 at Atlanta and allowed one run in 6 2-3 innings. After allowing Angel Pagan to lead off the game with a single, Villanueva retired the next 12 batters until Hunter Pence singled with one out in the fifth. Villanueva was replaced with one out in the eighth by James Russell after giving up a single to Gregor Blanco. Brandon Crawford singled off Russell, but the Cubs' left-hander got pinchhitter Andres Torres to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third SWEEP start Red Bluff with an out in the first inning. But it was Nicholls' pitching in the fourth that stopped the Eagles' best opportunity to score. With one out and runners on first and third, Nicholls fanned consecutive batters to end the inning and save a 0-all tie. "I just needed to pull my team through it," she said. Red Bluff's Tayler Zazueta, who was 2-for-3 batting on the day, came through on the offensive end in the bottom of the fourth as she smacked a double to left field and brought Bailey Akins (1 for 3) across the plate from second. Zazueta said her offense has been struggling of late as she has been trying to figure out what she's been doing wrong. "And I just got up here knowing that I had runners on so I just tried to hit the ball as best as I could and get that runner across," she said. Nicholls (1 for 2) gave herself a bit of a cushion in the fifth with an RBIsingle to right, which scored Harris and gave the Spartans a 2-0 advantage. "(Nicholls) is a very competitive, heady, very even-keeled type of player," Howell said. "Obviously with Bryce's injury it's put a lot more pressure on her, but she's the right kid to handle that pressure." The undefeated Spartans will put their record on the line in a doubleheader against Foothill that is scheduled for 3 and 5 p.m. Tuesday at Red Bluff High School. ——— (Continued from page 1B) doubleheader on Tuesday. "I really wanted the third win of the sweep and I just tried hard," she said. The Spartans (15-3 overall) are now a perfect 6-0 to start SRL play. "There are no easy wins in the Sac River (League), so to be 6-0 right now, we're pretty happy," Spartans coach J Howell said. "It's just the halfway point. We still got the second half of league to finish strong." Red Bluff's defense did come up big throughout the game. Haley Harris at second base was at it again as she made a spectacular dive to steal a hit from West Valley in the top of the second. Vanessa Byrd saw the ball clearly in right field, and made a great running catch in the outfield to Sports Editor Andre Byik can be reached at 5272151, ext. 111 or at sports@redbluffdailynews.c om. Follow him on Twitter: @TehamaSports when DeJesus led off with his home run. DeJesus' blast was helped by a wind that was blowing out to right field. DeJesus had three hits. The Cubs doubled their lead in the bottom of the fifth when Castro homered, taking a 1-2 pitch from Cain and lining it into the leftfield bleachers. San Francisco threatened in the sixth after Crawford led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second by Cain. With two outs, Scutaro's sharp grounder to third was snagged by Steve Clevenger, who threw to first to NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific GP W x-Anaheim 41 27 Los Angeles41 23 San Jose 40 21 Dallas 40 20 Phoenix 40 18 Northwest GP W Vancouver 40 23 Minnesota 40 22 Edmonton 40 16 Calgary 39 14 Colorado 41 13 Central GP W y-Chicago 40 31 St. Louis 40 23 Detroit 41 19 Columbus 41 18 Nashville 42 15 L OT Pts GF GA 9 5 59 124 103 14 4 50 118 103 12 7 49 101 100 17 3 43 114 120 16 6 42 108 107 get the San Francisco second baseman. Sandoval's ninth-inning RBI single extended his hitting streak to six games. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific y-L.A. Clippers x-WARRIORS L.A. Lakers KINGS Phoenix Southwest y-San Antonio x-Memphis x-Houston Dallas New Orleans Northwest x-Thunder x-Denver Utah Portland Minnesota W 53 45 42 28 24 L 26 34 37 51 55 Pct .671 .570 .532 .354 .304 GB — 8 11 25 29 W 58 54 44 39 27 L 21 25 35 40 53 Pct GB .734 — .684 4 .557 14 .494 19 .338 31.5 W 58 54 42 33 29 L 21 25 38 45 50 Pct GB .734 — .684 4 .525 16.5 .423 24.5 .367 29 EASTERN CONFERENCE L OT Pts GF GA 5 4 66 132 85 15 2 48 110 102 15 7 45 103 107 16 7 43 99 105 19 8 38 98 115 EASTERN CONFERENCE y-New York x-Brooklyn x-Boston Philadelphia Toronto Central y-Indiana x-Chicago x-Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland Southeast Atlantic GP W L OT Pts GF GA y-Pittsburgh 41 31 10 0 62 138 101 Islanders 41 21 16 4 46 119 121 Rangers 40 20 16 4 44 99 96 New Jersey 41 15 16 10 40 96 113 Philadelphia40 17 20 3 37 108 125 Northeast GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Montreal 40 26 9 5 57 127 95 Boston 40 26 10 4 56 114 87 Toronto 40 22 13 5 49 123 112 Ottawa 41 21 14 6 48 101 89 Buffalo 41 16 19 6 38 107 127 Southeast GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 41 22 17 2 46 123 113 Winnipeg 42 21 19 2 44 109 123 Tampa Bay 40 17 21 2 36 127 122 Carolina 40 16 22 2 34 103 129 Florida 40 13 21 6 32 98 139 —————————————————— Friday's Games Chicago 3, Detroit 2, SO Ottawa 2, New Jersey 0 Columbus 4, St. Louis 1 Dallas 5, Nashville 2 Phoenix at Calgary, late Saturday's Games Philadelphia at Buffalo, Noon Vancouver at Colorado, Noon Montreal at Toronto, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Washington, 4 p.m. Boston at Carolina, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Columbus at Minnesota, 5 p.m. San Jose at Dallas, 5 p.m. Calgary at Edmonton, 7 p.m. Anaheim at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. Sunday's Games Chicago at St. Louis, 9:30 a.m. Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 2 p.m. Detroit at Nashville, 4:30 p.m. z-Miami x-Atlanta Washington Orlando Charlotte Boston New York Baltimore Tampa Bay Toronto Central Kansas City Detroit Cleveland Minnesota Chicago West ATHLETICS Texas Seattle Houston L.A. Angels W 5 5 5 4 4 L 4 4 5 5 6 Pct .556 .556 .500 .444 .400 GB — — .5 1 1.5 W 6 5 4 4 4 L 4 4 5 5 6 Pct .600 .556 .444 .444 .400 GB — .5 1.5 1.5 2 W 8 7 4 3 2 L 2 3 7 6 7 Pct .800 .700 .364 .333 .222 GB — 1 4.5 4.5 5.5 NATIONAL LEAGUE East Atlantic L OT Pts GF GA 11 6 52 109 96 16 2 46 103 100 17 7 39 102 111 21 4 32 103 138 22 6 32 96 128 AMERICAN LEAGUE East W 52 47 40 32 31 L 27 32 39 47 48 Pct .658 .595 .506 .405 .392 GB — 5 12 20 21 W 49 43 37 28 24 L 30 36 42 52 55 Pct GB .620 — .544 6 .468 12 .350 21.5 .304 25 W 63 44 29 20 18 L 16 36 51 59 61 Pct GB .797 — .550 19.5 .363 34.5 .253 43 .228 45 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division z-clinched conference —————————————————— Friday's Results Toronto 97, Chicago 88 Brooklyn 117, Indiana 109 Philadelphia 97, Washington 86 New York 101, Cleveland 91 Atlanta 109, Milwaukee 104 Detroit 113, Charlotte 93 Miami 109, Boston 101 Memphis 82, Houston 78 L.A. Clippers 96, New Orleans 93 Dallas 108, Denver 105, OT San Antonio 108, Sacramento 101 Utah 107, Minnesota 100 Oklahoma City at Portland, late Golden State at L.A. Lakers, late Saturday's Games Milwaukee at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Boston at Orlando, 4 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 5 p.m. Phoenix at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Sunday's Games Chicago at Miami, 10 a.m. Indiana at New York, 12:30 p.m. Cleveland at Philadelphia, 12:30 p.m. Brooklyn at Toronto, 12:30 p.m. Portland at Denver, 2 p.m. Dallas at New Orleans, 3 p.m. Sacramento at Houston, 4 p.m. San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 6:30 p.m. Atlanta Washington New York Philadelphia Miami Central St. Louis Cincinnati Chicago Pittsburgh Milwaukee West W 9 7 5 5 1 L 1 3 4 5 9 Pct .900 .700 .556 .500 .100 GB — 2 3.5 4 8 W 6 5 4 4 2 L 4 5 6 6 7 Pct .600 .500 .400 .400 .222 GB — 1 2 2 3.5 W L Pct GB Arizona 6 3 .667 — L.A. Dodgers 6 3 .667 — GIANTS 7 4 .636 — Colorado 5 4 .556 1 San Diego 2 7 .222 4 —————————————————— Friday's Results AL N.Y. Yankees 5, Baltimore 2 Cleveland 1, Chicago White Sox 0 Tampa Bay at Boston, ppd., rain Toronto 8, Kansas City 4 N.Y. Mets at Minnesota, late Detroit at Oakland, late Houston at L.A. Angels, late Texas at Seattle, late NL Chicago Cubs 4, San Francisco 3 Atlanta 6, Washington 4, 10 innings Pittsburgh 6, Cincinnati 5 Philadelphia 3, Miami 1, 10 innings N.Y. Mets at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m. St. Louis 2, Milwaukee 0 L.A. Dodgers at Arizona, late Colorado at San Diego, late Saturday's Games AL Tampa Bay (Price 0-1) at Boston (Lester 2-0), 10:05 a.m. Baltimore (Hammel 1-1) at N.Y. Yankees (P.Hughes 0-1), 1:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Sale 1-0) at Cleveland (McAllister 0-1), 1:05 p.m. Detroit (Verlander 1-1) at Oakland (Anderson 1-1), 1:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Harvey 2-0) at Minnesota (Diamond 0-0), 1:10 p.m. Toronto (Dickey 0-2) at Kansas City (Shields 1-1), 4:10 p.m. Houston (Harrell 0-2) at L.A. Angels (Richards 0-0), 6:05 p.m. Texas (Ogando 2-0) at Seattle (J.Saunders 1-1), 6:10 p.m. NL Atlanta (Hudson 1-0) at Washington (Strasburg 1-1), 10:05 a.m. San Francisco (Bumgarner 2-0) at Chicago Cubs (Samardzija 1-1), 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Mets (Harvey 2-0) at Minnesota (Diamond 0-0), 1:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Gallardo 0-0) at St. Louis (Wainwright 1-1), 1:15 p.m. Cincinnati (Cueto 1-0) at Pittsburgh (Locke 0-1), 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia (Hamels 0-2) at Miami (Fernandez 0-0), 4:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Ryu 1-1) at Arizona (Kennedy 1-0), 5:10 p.m. Colorado (Chacin 1-0) at San Diego (Volquez 0-2), 5:40 p.m.