GOLF

Jon Rahm started his round strong and ended it even better Thursday, closing eagle-birdie-birdie for a 7-under 65 and a two-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Rahm, playing in the afternoon when the greens became a bit more crusty, opened with three straight birdies. He held steady the rest of the way until his big burst at the end allowed him to zoom past Honda Classic winner Chris Kirk and Cameron Young.

Kirk had seven birdies for a 67 during the morning round. Young also had a 67 in morning conditions that might be as easy as Bay Hill gets all week. They were joined by Kurt Kitayama.

The group at 68 included defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, all among the top 20 in the world.

LPGA: Elizabeth Szokol shot an 8-under-64 for a three-stroke lead after the first round of the Women’s World Championship at Singapore.

Yuka Saso of Japan was second after a bogey-free 67, and a pack of six including Nelly Korda and former No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn carded 68s at Sentosa Golf Club. Szokol shot 6 under on the front nine, including four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 fifth. Her only bogey came on the 10th hole but she birdied 14, 16 and 18.

FOOTBALL

NFL: Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers founder and for years one of the NFL’s most influential owners until a scandal forced him to sell the team, has died. He was 86.

Richardson died peacefully Wednesday night at his Charlotte home, the team said in a statement. The Spring Hope, North Carolina, native spent years trying to persuade the NFL to put a team in the Carolinas, ultimately succeeding through a relatively original concept of funding a new stadium through the sales of permanent seat licenses.

Richardson’s reputation took a tremendous hit when he announced he was selling the Panthers on Dec. 17, 2017, — the same day Sports Illustrated reported that four former Panthers employees received significant monetary settlements due to inappropriate sexually suggestive language and actions by Richardson. It was also reported he used a racial slur directed toward a team scout.

HOCKEY

U.S. WOMEN: Three-time Olympian Brianna Decker, 31, announced her retirement from the United States national hockey team, ending a career in which she ranks third among American women players in world championship tournament points.

The forward from Wisconsin was a core member of USA Hockey’s next generation of female players, who built on the success of their trail-blazing predecessors. She was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea – the U.S.’s second to win a title after the 1998 Nagano Games, when women’s hockey made its Olympic debut.

Decker also won Olympic silver medals in 2014 and 2022, along with six world championship titles. She made her national team debut with the Under-18 squad in 2008, and competed in her first world championship in 2011.

Decker’s announcement comes 13 months after her last Olympic appearance ended abruptly when she broke her left fibula and tore ligaments in her ankle in a preliminary round-opening 5-2 win over Finland at the Beijing Games.

TENNIS

DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday and will face former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The five-time Dubai champion’s 20th straight victory set the stage for a last-four match against Medvedev, who defeated Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in the nightcap at the hard-court tournament.

Defending Dubai champion Andrey Rublev will face Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal match. Rublev advanced by defeating Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 7-6 (3). Zverev topped Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 6-4.

SKIING

U.S. MEN: American ski racer Travis Ganong announced he will retire at the end of the season.

The 34-year-old from Alpine Meadows, California, has won two World Cup races over his career and a downhill silver medal at the 2015 world championships in Colorado.

His retirement plans include more time skiing powder.

The mountains became the pathway to his passion and his ticket to travel the world. He met his fiancée through ski racing. Ganong will compete in two downhill races this weekend in Aspen, Colorado, and at the World Cup Finals in Andorra later this month to wrap up his career.

SOCCER

ARGENTINA: Gunmen left a threatening message for Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi and opened fire at a supermarket owned by his in-laws in Argentina’s third-largest city, police said.

Nobody was injured in the early morning attack, and it was unclear why assailants would target Messi or the Unico supermarket in Rosario, owned by the family of his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo. The city’s mayor, Pablo Javkin, lashed out at federal authorities over what he called their failure to curb a surge in drug-related violence in Rosario, located about 190 miles northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires.

Police said two men on a motorcycle fired at least a dozen shots into an Unico branch in the early hours, and left a message on a piece of carboard that read, “Messi, we’re waiting for you. Javkin is also a drug trafficker, so he won’t take care of you.”

Messi, captain of the national team that won last year’s World Cup for Argentina for the first time in 36 years, has not commented.

AUTO RACING

FORMULA ONE: Lance Stroll is set to drive for Aston Martin at the Bahrain Grand Prix this week after missing Formula One preseason testing due to a wrist injury.

Reserve driver Felipe Drugovich replaced Stroll as the teammate to Fernando Alonso in testing after the Canadian’s accident while training in Spain. Aston Martin said Stroll was back.