Golf

Park takes first-round lead at restarted LPGA major

Sung Hyun Park took full advantage of a fresh start to the Evian Championship on Friday, firing an 8-under 63 to lead the rescheduled first round by three shots.

That meant a 14-shot turnaround for the No. 3-ranked Park, who had been 6 over in the rain and wind on Thursday morning at Evian-les-Bains, France. Play was abandoned and all scores wiped from the record, leaving the fifth and final women’s major as a 54-hole event.

The South Korean regrouped and had seven birdies and an eagle to lead by three over Australia’s Katherine Kirk (66).

Park, the U.S. Women’s Open champion, played in a stellar group with top-ranked So Yeon Ryu (75) and No. 2 Lexi Thompson (70).

PGA: Marc Leishman followed his great start with another low score, a 7-under 64 that gave him a three-shot lead over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler going into the weekend at the BMW Championship in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Day made a hole-in-one Friday for his third eagle of the week at Conway Farms in his round of 65. Fowler holed out a chip for eagle on the 14th hole.

Leishman turned a tough par into an unlikely birdie on the par-4 seventh hole when he hit into the native grass, chipped out to the fairway and hit a pitch-and-run from 50 yards that he holed for birdie.

Leishman, who opened with a 62, was at 16-under 126.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson struggled again and was 16 shots behind.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Steve Flesch and Jerry Smith each shot 7-under 64 to share the first-round lead in the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship at Victoria, British Columbia.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Joel Stalter of France shot a 4-under 67 to take a one-stroke clubhouse lead at the KLM Open in Spijk, Netherlands, before bad light suspended play with nearly half the field still to complete their second rounds.

COLLEGES

FIELD HOCKEY: Libby Pomerleau scored in the first half, Hayley Winslow added a second-half goal, and St. Joseph’s College shutdown Regis for a 2-0 GNAC victory at Standish.

Megan Baker needed to make just one save for the Monks (2-2, 2-0), who fired 12 shots on goal against the Pride (2-3, 0-2).

PREP SCHOOLS

GIRLS’ SOCCER: Christine Gardella scored twice in the first five minutes to set Berwick Academy (2-0) on its way to a 5-2 win over Bancroft (0-1) in an EIL game at South Berwick.

Brayden Reed added a first-half goal before Caroline Starr and Aaliyah Farid scored in the opening minutes of the second for a 5-0 lead.

BASKETBALL

NBA: The New Orleans Pelicans added back-court depth by signing free agent Tony Allen. The 6-foot-4 guard, known as a strong defender, averaged 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds last season with Memphis.

HOCKEY

NHL: The Colorado Avalanche signed restricted free agent Nikita Zadorov to a two-year deal. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound defenseman led the Avalanche with 153 hits last season before missing the final 25 games with an ankle injury. He had 10 assists.

OLYMPICS

2018 GAMES: IOC President Thomas Bach says he remains confident the Winter Games will go on as scheduled in Pyeongchang, South Korea, despite growing tensions, including North Korea’s ballistic missile test this week.

– Staff and news service report