Blumenherst tops Duke teammate
Amanda Blumenherst, the NCAA Division I Player of the Year who led Duke to its third consecutive NCAA championship in May, beat her college and Curtis Cup teammate Jennie Lee 5 and 4 on Friday and advanced to the semifinals of the U. S. Women’s Amateur at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind.
Blumenherst will play today against 15-year-old defending champion Kimberly Kim of Hilo, Hawaii, who beat South Korea’s Jennifer Song in 21 holes.
“I thought I played great. I hit the ball really solid,” Blumenherst said. “I’m playing well and have a lot of confidence in my game.
“ It was a lot of fun to have a lot of Indiana family and friends. It’s also a little tough on the competitor.”
Blumenherst, who grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind., and lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., was cheered on by about 15 family members. She birdied two of the first three holes, increased her lead to 6-up with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 12 th hole and was 5 under par when the match ended two holes later.
It was the third consecutive quarterfinal loss in the tournament for Lee, who was born in South Korea and lives in Henderson, Nev.
In other quarterfinals, Maria Jose Uribe of Colombia, who will be a freshman at UCLA in the fall, beat 2008 Duke recruit Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif., 5 and 4; and 15-year-old Ha Na Jang of South Korea won 5 and 4 over 12-yearold Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., the youngest player to get this far in the 107-year history of the tournament.
“I hit some really ugly shots,” Thompson said. “I was pretty frustrated. I just don’t know what happened to me. I really don’t.”
Jang, playing in the Women’s Amateur for the first time, shot a 33 on the front nine to take control of the match.
“She didn’t make a mistake out there,” Thompson said. “I’m really happy how far I made it. I wish I would have won today’s match, but I knew I was going to have an off-round sooner or later.”
Kim, trying to become the first repeat winner in 11 years, won her match against Song with a 25-foot putt.
“It felt like 50 yards,” she said. “I guess I just got lucky on that hole.... At first, I thought it was too low. Then it went in and I thought, ‘Thank God.’”
Richard Johnson (Fort Smith ) shot 7-under-par 64 for 10-under 132 and shares the lead with D. A. Points (65 ) in the incomplete second round at the Nationwide Tour’s Northeast Pennsylvania Classic in Scranton, Pa. After two lengthy rain delays, play was suspended because of darkness. Johnson made eight birdies and a bogey. Rich Morris (Arkansas Razorbacks ) shot 2-over 73 with three birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey for par 142. Ron Whittaker (Little Rock ) was one of 74 golfers who didn’t finish the second round. Whittaker, who will complete his round this morning, shot 2 under with two birdies after three holes and is 6 under for the tournament.
Laura Diaz shot 2-under-par 70 for 5-under 139 and a one-stroke lead over Brittany Lincicome (69 ) after two rounds at the Scandinavian TPC in Loddekopinge, Sweden, while tournament host and three-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam shot 75—146. Diaz had two bogeys on the front 9, but the American finished her round with a birdie on the 18 th — her fourth birdie of the day. Lincicome had six birdies but the American also had three bogeys. Paula Marti of Spain (69 ), amateur Caroline Hedwall of Sweden (72 ) and Jade Schaeffer of France (72 ) shared third at 142. Suzann Pettersen, a Norwegian who won her first major this year at the LPGA Championship, made six birdies and shot 68 for the day’s best score and was at 143 with Sweden’s Louise Stahle (74 ). Firstround leader Minea Blomqvist of Finland shot 76—144. BASEBALL Pitcher fails drug test
A former Class AAA pitcher from Torrance, Calif., has become the first player in Japanese baseball history to flunk a drug test. Rick Guttormson, 30, who played in the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners minor league systems, was suspended for 20 days Friday after testing positive for a banned substance. His team, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, was fined $ 63, 000. Japanese baseball officials said a postgame test July 13 showed Finasteride in Guttormson’s system. Finasteride was in a hair-growing agent Guttormson had been taking for two years. It’s banned because it can be used as a masking agent. Guttormson, a righthander, is 5-6 with a 3. 37 ERA this season. Guttormson, who has no major league experience, is in his third season in Japan. He pitched a no-hitter in 2006 for the Yakult Swallows. He played in the Padres’ system from 1997-2001 and made it as far as Class AAA. In 2004, he had 25 saves for Class AA San Antonio in the Mariners’ organization. BASKETBALL Men charged in robbery
Authorities charged four men Friday in connection with the armed robberies of New York Knicks forward Eddy Curry and Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker in their Chicago-area homes last month. Police said they found nothing to indicate other athletes had been targeted. The four men suspected in the robbery at Walker’s home are charged with home invasion, armed robbery and aggravated kidnapping, Cook County state’s attorney spokesman Tandra Simonton said. She identified the suspects as Phillip Allison, 28, Antoine Larkins, 28, Demorris Hill, 25, and Gregory Reedfields, 23, all of Chicago. Burr Ridge Police Chief Herbert Timm said Hill and Larkins also are being charged with armed robbery, aggravated kidnapping and home invasion in the Curry case. A third suspect in the Burr Ridge case has not been identified. The robbery at Walker’s $ 4 million Chicago town house occurred July 9 when Walker, a Chicago native, was at home with a relative. Multiple masked robbers bound the two with duct tape and held them at gunpoint. They made off with Walker’s Mercedes, cash and jewelry. Less than three weeks later, Curry, his wife and an employee were tied up and robbed by masked gunmen at his Burr Ridge home.
Lehigh associate head coach Brett Reed was promoted to head coach Friday, three days after Billy Taylor left for Ball State. Reed was an assistant at Lehigh for five seasons. Before that, Reed was the top assistant at High Point for two seasons. Taylor was 81-69 in five seasons at Lehigh, including a Patriot League championship in 2004. TENNIS Roddick eliminated
Fifth-seeded Andy Roddick was bounced by third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia 7-6 (4 ), 6-4 and defending champion and top-ranked Roger Federer ousted Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal. It is Federer’s 10 th consecutive victory over the former world No. 1 since 2004. Federer needed one service break to take the first set. Hewitt double-faulted on break point to open the second, broke back for 2-2 then gave back the advantage two games later. ODDS & ENDS Women’s CEO resigns
Donna Lopiano, 60, resigned as chief executive officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a group founded by retired tennis player Billie Jean King. Lopiano held the position since 1992 and previously spent 18 years as the director of the women’s athletic program at the University of Texas. She was a college coach of men’s and women’s volleyball and women’s basketball and softball, and is a member of the National Sports Hall of Fame. Bourdais moving to Formula One
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Sebastien Bourdais, chasing an unprecedented fourth consecutive Champ Car World Series title, said Friday he will drive for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One next year.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “I’m very satisfied that, finally, I’m going to get a shot at Formula One and also because [the team has ] got some potential.”
As Bourdais, 28, who grew up in Le Mans, France, drove his way up the European racing ladder as a youngster, the obvious goal was the globe-hopping international series. But the Formula One doors failed to open for Bourdais and he wound up heading instead for the United States, where he has become one of the best ever in American open-wheel racing.
Bourdais has driven for the Newman / Haas / Lanigan team since coming to the United States in 2003 after winning the FIA International F 3000 championship the previous year.
The team has seven championships and 101 race victories in CART and Champ Car, its successor. And Bourdais, who was rookie of the year in his only nontitle season here, has 28 poles and 27 victories in 68 starts heading into Sunday’s Generac Grand Prix at Road America.
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