Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, hits his approach shot on the first hole during the first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, hits his approach shot on the first hole during the first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) Credit: Ross D. Franklin

Scottsdale, Ariz. — Matt Kuchar eagled the par-5 13th and added two late birdies and a big par save on the rowdy par-3 16th hole Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Kuchar shot a 7-under 64 in perfect afternoon conditions at TPC Scottsdale for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama and Brendan Steele. The crowd was estimated at 103,420 on the fan-friendly stadium layout.

Kuchar made a 20-foot eagle putt on the 13th, and ran in a 6-footer for birdie on the par-5 15th. He got up-and-down for par from the left bunker on the triple-deck stadium 16th, making a 12-foot putt, and chipped to inches from the front fringe on the short par-4 17th to set up his final birdie in the bogey-free round.

Matsuyama had a bogey-free round in the morning. Last year, he beat Rickie Fowler in a playoff.

Woodstock native Keegan Bradley shot a first-round 72.

H.S. Basketball

Girl Who Wanted SpotOn Boys Team Expelled

Newark, n.j. — A girl who wanted to play for her Roman Catholic school’s boys’ basketball team has instead been kicked out of school after her family filed a lawsuit.

Scott Phillips said he was told Wednesday that both of his daughters would have to leave St. Theresa’s School in Kenilworth.

A judge last month denied the family’s attempt to allow 12-year-old Sydney Phillips to play on the boys team after the girls team was canceled.

The Archdiocese of Newark said in a statement that the school’s parent and student handbook says parents will be requested to remove their children if they file lawsuits against the school.

Phillips found out about the expulsion while his daughter was practicing with the WNBA’s New York Liberty on Wednesday night.

The team invited her family to their practice facility in Tarrytown, N.Y, after learning that she wasn’t allowed to play with the boys team. She ran drills with players Brittany Boyd, Sugar Rodgers and Teresa Weatherspoon, the team’s director of player development.

Olympics

Russian Dopers Holding Medals

Moscow — None of the Russian athletes recently stripped of their Olympic titles for doping have returned their medals, the country’s Olympic committee said Thursday.

Russia has had 18 medalists disqualified in doping cases from Olympic retesting from the 2008 and 2012 Games. Ten more Russians also are obliged to return medals they won as part of relay teams containing dopers.

Some Russian athletes have said they want to keep their medals while they prepare an appeal, but others have refused to give them up.

Usain Bolt, meanwhile, said he gave up his 4×100-meter relay gold from the 2008 Beijing Olympics as soon as teammate Nesta Carter was disqualified last week.

College Hockey

Ex-Wisconsin Coach Sauer Dies

Madison, Wis. — Jeff Sauer, who led Wisconsin to two men’s hockey NCAA titles, has died. He was 73.

Friend Bill Brophy said Sauer died on Thursday at University Hospital in Madison after battling pancreatic cancer.

Sauer coached Wisconsin for 30 years, from 1982 to 2002. In his first year, he led Wisconsin to the national championship in 1983. He followed with another NCAA title in 1990.

Sauer, who grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, led the Badgers to 489 wins. The Badgers also won two WCHA regular-season titles under Sauer and five WCHA playoff crowns. He previously spent 11 years at his alma mater Colorado College.

Sauer was named head of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team in 2011. He also was associated with the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association.