LA QUINTA, Calif. — Jhonattan Vegas birdied the final five holes Saturday to rejoin Gary Woodland atop the Bob Hope Classic leaderboard for the second straight day.
Vegas shot a 6-under-par 66 on the La Quinta course to match Woodland at 24-under par. Woodland had a 66 in postcard-perfect weather on the Palmer Private course in the PGA Tour’s only five-day, four-course event.
Colorado State graduate Martin Laird (66) was two strokes back, and defending champion Bill Haas joined three contenders in fourth place with a 10-under 62 on the generous Palmer course.
• Russ Cochran shot a 7-under 65 to keep a two-stroke lead over defending champion Tom Watson (65) after the second round of the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
John Cook birdied half the holes and was alone in third place at 14- under after carding the lowest score in the round with a 64.
• Defending champion Martin Kaymer extended his lead at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in the United Arab Emirates to five strokes over Rory McIlroy after shooting a 6-under 66 in the third round.
Kaymer, the 2010 PGA Championship winner, birdied three of his last four holes to total 18-under 198. McIlroy finished birdie-eagle for a 65 to move into second place.
Kearney wins moguls event
WILMINGTON, N.Y. — Defending Olympic champion Hannah Kearney of the U.S. and Guilbaut Colas of France skied to freestyle World Cup victories, winning moguls events at Whiteface Mountain.
Kearney finished with the top qualifying score in the first heat and clinched the win with a solid second run.
• Stefan Groothuis of the Netherlands took the lead in a tight men’s competition halfway through the four-race speedskating world sprint championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Shani Davis of the U.S. was third.
• David Kreiner of Austria edged Mikko Kokslien of Norway to win a nordic combined World Cup event in Chaux-Neuve, France.
East prevails in Shrine Game
ORLANDO, Fla. — Syracuse running back Delone Carter ran for a touchdown and was selected the offensive MVP in the East’s 25-8 victory over the West in the East-West Shrine Game.
• Norm Chow is returning to his alma mater as Utah’s offensive coordinator after spending the past three years in the same role at UCLA.
• UCLA hired Mike Johnson as offensive coordinator, the same position he had this past season with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
Footnotes.
Evgeni Nabokov has decided he won’t report to the New York Islanders, who claimed the 35-year-old goaltender off waivers after he had signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
• Center fielder Andres Torres and the World Series champion San Francisco Giants agreed to terms on a one-year contract.
• The Kansas City Royals and first baseman Billy Butler agreed to a new four-year contract.
