Sports briefs
In golf
Max Homa in the lead at his hometown PGA Tour event used to give him chills. Now he’s playing so well it almost feels normal.
Homa, a winner last month down the coast at Torrey Pines, ran off three birdies around the turn at Riviera and tossed in a few big par saves Friday for a 3-under 68, giving him a one-shot lead over Jon Rahm, Keith Mitchell and Lee Hodges at the Genesis Invitational.
Tiger Woods will be part of the weekend, even with a sloppy finish and more attention over a juvenile prank than a putter that went cold. Woods finished with three bogeys over his last four holes for a 74.
In baseball
Pittsburgh beat first baseman Ji-Man Choi in salary arbitration on Friday while Seattle outfielder Teoscar Hernández and St. Louis pitcher Génesis Cabrera went to the last two hearings of the year.
Choi got a raise from $3.2 million to $4.65 million instead of his $5.4 million request in a decision by Jeanne Charles, Allen Ponak and Melinda Gordon, who heard the case a day earlier. The 31-year-old hit .233 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs for Tampa Bay and made $3.2 million, then was traded to the Pirates in November for a minor leaguer.
- Manny Machado says he plans to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with the San Diego Padres after this season.
Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres in February 2019, a deal that gives him the right to terminate the agreement after this season and become a free agent. The third baseman, who turns 31 in July, would forfeit $150 million from his current deal, which calls for a $30 million annual salary through 2028.