PARAMUS, N.J. — Martin Laird‘s goal of reaching the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs suddenly has changed. He now has a great chance of winning The Barclays.
Laird, a Colorado State graduate who started the playoffs at No. 95, ran off four birdies early in his round and kept bogeys off his card Saturday for a 6-under-par 65 to build a three-shot lead over Dustin Johnson (64) and Jason Day (70).
A victory for the 27-year-old Scot would move him to No. 1 — ensuring him a spot in all four majors next year and making him a serious contender for the $10 million FedEx Cup payoff.
• Overnight leader Michelle Wie shot an even-par 72 to fall into a tie with Jiyai Shin (69) with 10-under totals at the Canadian Women’s Open in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
• Bernhard Langer fired a 9-under 63 to take a one-shot lead over Nick Price (67) after the second round of the Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash.
• Stanford’s David Chung ousted defending U.S. Amateur champion Byeong-Hun An in the semifinals of the 110th championship in University Place, Wash. In the other semifinal, Oklahoma State’s Peter Uihlein defeated 18-year-old Patrick Cantlay 4 and 3.
Super Saver’s skid continues
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Afleet Express held off a fast-closing Fly Down in a thrilling stretch run to win the $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver finished out of the top three for his third straight defeat since winning the Run for the Roses on May 1.
• Richard’s Kid outlasted Crowded House by three-quarters of a length to win the $1 million Pacific Classic for the second consecutive year at Del Mar (Calif.).
Mercury completes WNBA sweep
SAN ANTONIO — Diana Taurasi scored 23 points and Tangela Smith added 16 as the Phoenix Mercury, the defending WNBA champion, jumped to a 19-point lead in the first quarter and routed the San Antonio Silver Stars 92-73 to complete a sweep of their Western Conference semifinals series.
• Lauren Jackson had 24 points and nine rebounds as the visiting Seattle Storm beat the Los Angeles Sparks 81-66 to finish off a sweep of their Western Conference series.
Franchitti wins IndyCar race
JOLIET, Ill. — Dario Franchitti‘s pit strategy gamble — choosing not to change tires on his final stop — paid off as he won the IndyCar series race at Chicagoland Speedway.
It was a tough night for series points leader Will Power, who was running among the leaders when he abruptly went to pit road for an extra fuel stop with five laps left. He finished 16th.
• Marcos Ambrose won the pole for today’s Nationwide race in Montreal.
Footnotes.
U.S. Open top seed Caroline Wozniacki won her third consecutive Pilot Pen tennis title in New Haven, Conn., beating Nadia Petrova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the final.
• HTC-Columbia won the first stage of the Spanish Vuelta, a team time trial through Seville, giving Mark Cavendish the leader’s jersey.
