Stephan Jaeger chips in twice and shoots 63 to lead Black Desert Championship

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Stephan Jaeger chips in twice and shoots 63 to lead Black Desert Championship

2024-10-12 09:43 Last Updated At：09:50

IVINS, Utah (AP) — Stephan Jaeger made up for a three-putt from 10 feet by chipping in for birdie on consecutive holes Friday for an 8-under 63 that gave him a one-shot lead before the second round was suspended by darkness at the inaugural Black Desert Championship.

The PGA Tour's return to Utah for the first time in 61 years has been greeted with low scoring on the Tom Weiskopf design carved out of an ancient black lava field.

Jaeger was at 14-under 128 — by three shots his lowest 36-hole score — and he still had six players within two shots of him at the Black Desert Resort.

Adam Svensson followed his career-low 60 with a 69 and was one shot back along with Ben Kohles, who had a 64.

Matt McCarty, whose three Korn Ferry Tour wins gave him an instant promotion to the PGA Tour in August, was at 12-under par and some 20 feet away in the first cut at the par-5 seventh when it was too dark to continue. He still had the par-5 ninth to complete his second round Saturday morning.

Harris English (64), Henrik Norlander (68) and Sam Ryder (66) were in at 12-under 130.

Jaeger made an early move on another picturesque day in the southwestern tip of Utah with three straight birdies to start and another on the reachable par-4 fifth hole. He was poised for another birdie until his 10-foot putt on the seventh ran about 3 feet by and he missed the short par putt coming back.

But he eventually came roaring back, making a 30-foot birdie on the 12th, driving the par-4 14th green for a two-putt birdie and then chipping in on the next two holes. Jaeger two-putted from 50 feet for birdie on the par-5 closing hole to take the lead.

“The two chip-ins on the back kind of made this round from being good to great, so super happy with it,” Jaeger said. “Game feels nice.”

Jaeger already has one victory this year, capturing his first PGA Tour title in the Houston Open in a duel over Scottie Scheffler. It's everything in between that has left him searching.

He is one of two players — Chris Kirk, who was six shots back, is the other — who finished in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup and are assured of all the $20 million signature events next year.

For players like English, it's a chance to finish in the top 60 and at least get into two of the early $20 million events at Pebble Beach and Riviera.

“I’m not really caught up in all that,” English said. “Playing good golf is a lot of fun and that’s why I play. I’m here to try to win, get up the leaderboard, and get those nerves going on Sunday and those butterflies and see if you can pull off a win.”

And then so many others want to make sure they finish in the top 125 to secure a full tour card. Norlander is at No. 131 and Ryder is at No. 132, so this becomes a big week.

Still to be determined when the second round resumes Saturday morning is the cut, which was at 5-under par. Wesley Bryan was at 3 under and had a 15-foot eagle putt on his final hole, which he chose to mark and wait until the morning.

One player certain to miss the cut was Jay Don Blake, the 65-year-old Utah native who grew up about a half-mile away from what was an ancient lava field at the time. Now it's a five-star resort hosting a PGA Tour event, Blake was given a sponsor exemption. It was his 500th career start. He shot a 79.

“Playing and being able to participate in the 500th event is just a crazy dream story,” Blake said, who won at Torrey Pines for his only tour title. “I gave up on trying to get 500 about 10, 12 years ago. All the emotions have been like a whirlwind everywhere. Most of it’s been a joy and I really had a good time.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Alcaraz upset by Machac in Shanghai and Sabalenka rallies in Wuhan

2024-10-12 09:16 Last Updated At：09:20

SHANGHAI (AP) — No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz's 12-match winning streak was ended by Tomas Machac 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals on Thursday.

It was No. 33 Machac's third tour-level quarterfinal, and the Czech player proved more than a match for the four-time major-winning Spaniard as he earned his second win over a top-five opponent this year in two hours.

Machac will play top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

“I knew that the level of my tennis would be great because I am playing the best right now, for sure,” Machac said. “I beat Tommy Paul (in my) last match with an unbelievable performance. With these types of players, I have to play this level otherwise it’s 6-2, 6-3 (and) you go home, there is no other option.

Alcaraz, who won the China Open in a thriller against Sinner last week, learned of Rafael Nadal's retirement announcement shortly before going on court but said the news about his idol hadn't affected his match.

“It is a really difficult thing, really difficult news for everybody, and even tougher for me,” Alcaraz said. "He has been my idol since I start playing tennis. I look up to him. Proudly, thanks to him, I really wanted to become a professional tennis player. Losing him, in a certain way, is going to be difficult for us, so I will try to enjoy as much as I can when he’s going to play.

"But we are going to play in Saudi Arabia, and then Davis Cup, so I’m going to try to enjoy as much as I can the time with him. But, yeah, it is a shame for tennis and for me."

Sinner advanced to his fifth ATP Masters semifinal of the season when the Italian swept aside fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.

Sinner started strongly and only faced one break point in his 6-1, 6-4 masterclass over the Russian, who needed treatment on his shoulder from the physio during the second set.

“I’m very happy how I handled today and this match,” Sinner said. “It felt like he had a bit of shoulder pain and couldn’t hit his forehand as well as he wished to. Hopefully, he can recover as fast as possible, but from my side it was a great match, a great battle, and let’s see what I can do now in the semifinals.”

With Thursday's win, the two-time major winner has leveled his head-to-head series against Medvedev at 7-7, but has won seven of the last eight meetings with the Russian.

Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a set down to beat No. 35 Yulia Putintseva 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 to maintain her undefeated record at the Wuhan Open and rise to the top of the Race to the WTA Finals.

Sabalenka, the U.S. Open champion, is 14-0 in Wuhan after winning the title on her first appearance in 2018 and defending her crown in 2019 before the tournament took a five-year hiatus from the calendar due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The three-time major winner started slowly but roared to life during the second set and carried that momentum through the decider to clinch a quarterfinal spot against Beatriz Haddad-Maia or Magdalena Frech.

Sabalenka finished with 44 winners to 33 unforced errors, while holding Putintseva to 13 winners and 14 unforced errors.

Coco Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-1 rout of 17th-ranked Marta Kostyuk.

It was the fourth-ranked Gauff's eighth consecutive win after the American won the China Open last week.

Gauff fired two aces and broke the Ukrainian's serve five times — for the loss of one of her own — as she clinched a one-sided match and extended her lead in their head-to-head series to 3-1.

Next for Gauff is No. 45-ranked Magda Linette, who continued her impressive form this week by beating eighth-seeded Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3.

“She’s a tough opponent,” Gauff said of Linette. "We haven’t played since (the U.S. Open in 2021). I really don’t know what to expect. But just from watching her play, she’s been playing a great couple of matches here in Wuhan.

"I expect it to be a tough match. She’s not an easy opponent."

Gauff will be the only American left in the draw after third-ranked Jessica Pegula and tour rookie Hailey Baptiste lost.

Pegula, the U.S. Open finalist, had a tough afternoon against the 51st-ranked Wang Xinyu of China, who was dominant on serve throughout and clinched a 6-3, 7-5 win.

Wang had won their only previous meeting in three sets in the second round at Wimbledon and got off to a fast start here by breaking Pegula twice in the opening set to take the lead.

After her first win over a top-10 player in the previous round, Baptiste was routed by Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-1.

Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen rallied to beat Leylah Fernandez 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 and sixth-ranked Jasmine Paolini defeated Erika Andreeva 6-3, 6-2.

EDs: Please note that this story corrects the fact that Aryna Sabalenka is No. 1 in the Race to the WTA Finals, not WTA rankings.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis