Nov 9, 2023 3 min read

In golf

Alex Noren worked hard on his wedge game and it paid off Thursday in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship with 10-under 61, giving him a two-shot lead among early starters on a calm day at Port Royal.

With barely any breeze, Noren took dead aim and was dialed in. He set a tournament record with 11 birdies. Vince Whaley, Dylan Wu and Robert Garrigus were at 63.

• Brooke Henderson was bothered by seeing so many low scores before she even teed off on the LPGA Tour. She just went out and putted for birdie on every hole, opening with an 8-under 62 for a one-shot lead in The Annika.

Henderson made a long birdie putt on her final hole, the par-3 ninth, for a 29 on the front nine to move past a group that included Jin Young Ko and Patty Tavatanakit.

• Ernie Els opened with four birdies in five holes and never really slowed until he finished with an 8-under 63 for a two-shot lead in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

The 35-man field at Phoenix Country Club effectively is playing for second place in Schwab Cup points race. Steve Stricker, who won six times this year, clinched it before the postseason even began.

In college football

Juniors who declare for the NFL draft will be eligible for three of the college all-star games after this season, including the Senior Bowl.

The league sent a memo to all 32 NFL teams informing them that the East-West Shrine Bowl, Senior Bowl and HBCU Legacy Bowl can now accept juniors. Underclassmen who had graduated were already eligible.

In the NBA

The NBA All-Star Game is going back to its roots, with the best of the East playing the best of the West.

Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement Wednesday, revealing this season’s All-Star Game on Feb. 18 in Indianapolis will pit the top vote-getters from the two conferences against one another. The decision means captains will no longer draft teams

In college basketball

Three former New Mexico State basketball players were charged with multiple sex crimes Thursday related to a series of alleged assaults of teammates that led to the disbandment of the team in the middle of last season.

A New Mexico grand jury indicted former Aggies Deshawndre Washington, Kim Aiken Jr. and Doctor Bradley with multiple counts of criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual conduct and false imprisonment. Washington and Bradley could face 27 years in prison if convicted.