<p style="text-align: justify;">Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Golf-Resurgent Koepka enjoying life in the fast lane at Masters</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Brooks Koepka once had a reputation as a major-winning machine until injuries halted his momentum and stymied his confidence but he appears to have his motor purring again after another solid outing at the Masters on Friday. Overnight co-leader Koepka, who won four majors in eight starts at one point, was in cruise control throughout his second round as he fired a flawless five-under-par 67 in ideal early conditions to reach 12 under on the week at Augusta National.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Golf-Pine trees fall near Masters patrons, nobody injured</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Three towering pine trees came crashing down near the tee box of the par-four 17th hole at Augusta National on Friday and sent patrons running for safety before play at the Masters was suspended for the day as a storm moved into the area. Augusta National Golf Club said nobody was injured from the trees that fell down as breezy northeasterly winds ushered in colder conditions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Soccer-Kompany says he did not expect to lead Burnley to promotion in first season</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Burnley manager Vincent Kompany said he did not expect to lead the Lancashire club to promotion to the Premier League in his first season in charge, but having achieved that return to the top tier he said his side are now aiming for more. Burnley secured automatic promotion to the Premier League with seven games to spare after Friday’s 2-1 victory at Middlesbrough ensured Kompany’s side will finish in the second-tier Championship’s top two.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Soccer-Wilkinson ends New Zealand goal drought as Chance suffers knee injury</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Coach Jitka Klimkova’s relief at seeing her New Zealand team break their six-game goal drought on Friday was tempered by injury concerns over midfielder Olivia Chance after the Football Ferns fought back to claim a 1-1 draw with Iceland in Turkey. Hannah Wilkinson’s 34th-minute header in Antalya cancelled out the opener from Dagny Brynjarsdottir as the Melbourne City striker scored New Zealand’s first goal since a 1-1 draw with South Korea in November.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Soccer-Arteta preparing Arsenal players for Anfield ‘jungle'</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is preparing his players to take their Premier League title charge to the Anfield "jungle" as they look to end a marathon winless run at the home of Liverpool. Arsenal has not won at Anfield in the Premier League since their 2-0 victory in the 2012-13 season – a game in which Arteta himself played for the north London club. Since then they have suffered heavy defeats, including two 5-1 losses.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>ATP roundup: No. 1 seed Lorenzo Musetti falls in Morocco</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Frenchman Alexandre Muller upset top seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix Hassan II on Friday in Marrakech, Morocco. Muller won 35 of 48 first-service points (72.9 percent) and will face Russia’s Pavel Kotov in the semifinals. Kotov outlasted Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3) in two hours and 53 minutes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>NFL-Chiefs star Kelce throws out laughble first pitch at Guardians game</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce showed why he makes his money catching balls instead of throwing them after his ceremonial first pitch at a Cleveland Guardians baseball game badly missed the mark on Friday. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, who is a native of Cleveland Heights, took his time getting ready on the mound before uncorking a pitch that bounced off the infield grass and ricocheted off the backstop and over toward photographers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Soccer-Pressure to impress for U.S. hopefuls in World Cup countdown</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Players hoping to make the United States Women’s World Cup squad will step into a pressure cooker on Saturday, as a friendly against Ireland is one of their final chances to earn a spot with the four-time champions. The exhibition match in Austin, Texas, is the United States’ second to last before head coach Vlatko Andonovski names the 23 players who will travel to the quadrennial tournament, which is co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Golf-Late father’s last words written on every Masters shot for Bennett</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sam Bennett has the last words his father Mark wrote before dying from Alzheimer’s tattooed on his left forearm: "Don’t wait to do something." Those are words the 23-year-old amateur is living by this week, putting his mark on the Masters in the form of two near spotless rounds of 68 to sit alone in third, four shots back of four-time major winner Brooks Koepka when second-round play was halted on Friday due to stormy weather.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Soccer-Gustavsson to consult medics on Kerr availability after Scotland loss</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Australia coach Tony Gustavsson will consult his medical staff before deciding to field Sam Kerr in Tuesday’s clash with England after the Chelsea forward missed Friday’s 1-0 loss against Scotland for the Women’s World Cup hosts. Gustavsson did not reveal the injury that kept the prolific striker out of the friendly clash in London, which was decided by Nicola Docherty’s goal in the opening minute of the second half, but he remains hopeful she will be available.</p>
About the Author
