BRITISH OPEN

Johnson is the man to beat

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Dustin Johnson is the man to beat once second round play begins in the British Open, where officials suspended competition due to heavy rain.

Johnson opened the third major of the year with a 7-under 65 that included five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole at St. Andrews. Johnson is playing his first major since three-putting the final hole and losing the U.S. Open by one stroke.

Zach Johnson, Retief Goosen and Jason Day are one shot back, as are Robert Streb, Paul Lawrie and Danny Willett.

Jordan Spieth got off to a fast start as he tries to join Ben Hogan as the only players to win the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open in the same year. Spieth birdied six of his first 11 holes and closed with a birdie for a 5-under 67 that put him two shots off the lead.

Scores for other players of note were a 2-under-70 for Phil Mickelson, a 1-under-71 for Bubba Watson and 4-over-76 for Tom Watson and Tiger Woods. The round by Woods featured five bogeys and a birdie.

Three-time champion Nick Faldo posted the worst score in the 156-player field. His 11-over 83 is his highest score ever at the Open and leaves him 18 shots back.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy is sitting this one out after injuring his ankle playing soccer with friends.

PGA-BARBASOL CHAMPIONSHIP

Saunders leads

OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — Sam Saunders has a one-stroke lead over Jason Gore after the first round of the Barbasol Championship in Alabama.

Saunders shot a 7-under 64 on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

LPGA-MARATHON CLASSIC

Jang tops leaderboard

SYLVANIA, Ohio (AP) — Ha Na Jang fired a 5-under 66 for a one-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour's Marathon Classic. The South Korean birdied four of the first five holes on the back nine and closed with a birdie to move ahead of Nannette Hill, Wei-Ling Hsu, Lee-Anne Pace and Sarah Kemp.

Jang is seeking her first LPGA victory.

Defending champ Lydia Ko opened with an even-par-71.

NFL-STEELERS-HEYWARD

Heyward gets new deal

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed defensive end Cameron Heyward to a six-year contract.

The 26-year-old Heyward was entering the final year of the rookie pact he signed after the Steelers took him with the 31st overall selection of the 2011 draft. He set a career high and tied for the team lead with 7 1/2 sacks in 2014 as Pittsburgh won the AFC North title.

NBA-CLIPPERS-SMITH

Clippers ink Josh Smith

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Josh Smith is joining the team he helped eliminate in this year's NBA playoffs.

Smith is now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers after signing a reported one-year deal worth the veteran minimum $1.5 million.

The 29-year-old forward is the 25th player in NBA history with over 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 1,000 blocked shots. Smith helped the Rockets rally from a 3-1 series deficit against the Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals, scoring 34 points over the last two games.

NBA-KINGS

Kings part way with Mbah a Moute

UNDATED (AP) — The Sacramento Kings have voided the one-year contract of free-agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute after he failed a team physical, two days after he agreed to the deal.

Mbah a Moute averaged a career-high 9.9 points to go with 4.9 rebounds per game with Philadelphia last season. He has averaged 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in seven NBA seasons.

NBA-NUGGETS

Alcohol monitoring requested for Lawson

DENVER (AP) — Colorado prosecutors want Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson to use an alcohol monitoring device after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence for a second time this year.

Lawson was arrested in Los Angeles Tuesday and is scheduled to stand trial in a Denver DUI case next month.

After his January arrest in Denver, Lawson was ordered not to drink alcohol or violate laws as part of his bond. Prosecutors now are asking a judge to require him to use a device, such as an ankle bracelet or a home breath tester that monitors the body for alcohol.

A judge could rule on the request Friday when Lawson is due in court for a hearing.

NBA-MAVERICKS

Team owner moving to Under Armour

DALLAS (AP) — Mavericks President and CEO Terdema Ussery is stepping down for a position with sports apparel company Under Armour. Chief financial officer Floyd Jahner is taking Ussery's place as Mavs CEO.

MLB-GIANTS

Minor league deal for shortstop Cabrera

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Shortstop Everth Cabrera has signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants. The 28-year-old Cabrera appeared in 29 games for Baltimore this season, batting .208 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs before his release last month.

Giants GM Bobby Evans confirmed the deal Thursday. Cabrera is scheduled to join San Francisco's Arizona rookie league team initially then move on to Triple-A Sacramento when ready, according to Evans.

NHL

Preds ink defenseman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Taylor Aronson to a one-year, two-way contract after he accepted his qualifying offer. The deal will pay him $605,000 in the NHL or $65,000 in the minors. The 23-year old had 29 assists in his first full season at Milwaukee in the American Hockey League last season. Aronson also led the Admirals' defensemen with 32 points. He had 38 points in the ECHL with Cincinnati in 2013-14.

TENNIS-WILLIAMS

Wimbledon champ injured

BASTAD, Sweden (AP) — Wimbledon champion Serena Williams has pulled out of the Swedish Open with an injured right elbow. Tournament spokesman Marcus Duner says the top-ranked Williams was injured while practicing.

Williams withdrew ahead of her second-round match after winning her first match in straight sets.

TOUR DE FRANCE

Froome stays in yellow

LANNEMEZAN, France (AP) — Britain's Chris Froome remains in control of the yellow jersey, symbolic of being the overall leader of the Tour de France. In Thursday's 12th stage the winner was Spain's Joachim Rodriguez after surging out of a breakaway group on the way to an uphill finish as the race leaves the Pyrenees mountains.

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