GOLF

Chris Kirk made a hole-in-one on his way to a score of 64 (six under par) to move one stroke ahead in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but the surprise in some ways was Hideki Matsuyama.

The Olympic bronze medalist lost his wallet in London when thieves stole his bag, which also contained the passports of his caddie Shota Hayato and swing coach Mikihito Kuromiya. His caddie and coach had to return to Japan, while Matsuyama went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he shot a 65 to finish one point behind the leader.

Olympic gold medalist Scottie Scheffler and two-time major winner Xander Schauffele, the top two golfers, were, as expected, right in the thick of things, trailing two shots in a group of seven players at 4 under par.

LPGAs: Two-time major winner Minjee Lee of Australia coped with strong winds and lucked into rare sunshine in a rainy Scottish summer to shoot a five-under-par 67 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead in the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open before play was suspended for the day.

Former U.S. Women’s Open champion A. Lim Kim and American Megan Khang shot 68. Lydia Ko, who had just won her Olympic gold medal and was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, battled the worst weather on the Dundonald Links and managed five birdies in her round of 69.

OLYMPICS

GYMNASTICS: American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that she must return the bronze medal she won in floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unfair” and a “heavy blow” in a message posted on social media on Thursday.

The International Olympic Committee announced in light of the decision by the International Court of Justice for Sport that it would award the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu of Romania. Chiles was deemed to have won the bronze medal after the judges changed their score following an appeal by US coach Cecile Landi. Romania successfully protested to CAS because Landi’s appeal was not lodged within a minute of Chile’s score being announced, and the panel ruled on Saturday that the bronze medal should go to Barbosu.

“I am at a loss for words,” Chiles wrote in an Instagram post. “This decision feels unfair and is a huge blow, not only to me but to everyone who has supported my journey. To add to the grief, the unsolicited racially motivated attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I have put my heart and soul into this sport and am so proud to represent my culture and my country.”

USA Gymnastics has stated that it will continue to work to ensure Chile retains the medal.

BROADCASTING

ESPN LAYOFFS: According to reports, ESPN has fired football commentator Robert Griffin III and Sunday NFL Countdown host Samantha Ponder as part of a surprise restructuring in an effort to cut costs.

Both presenters earned seven-figure salaries each and were still under contract with the network when they were informed of the decision on Thursday morning, The Athletic reported.

ESPN’s parent company Walt Disney is said to have made the cuts before the end of the current fiscal quarter at the end of September.

Universities

MEN’S SWIMMING: Notre Dame has suspended its men’s swimming program for at least a year after an outside review found numerous violations of NCAA rules prohibiting gambling and that team members “failed to treat each other with dignity and respect,” the school announced Thursday.

“To ensure this behavior comes to an end and to restore a culture of dignity, respect and exemplary behavior, we have decided to suspend the men’s swimming program for at least one school year,” athletic director Pete Bevacqua said in a statement. He added that not all team members were involved in the bad behavior and that coach Chris Lindauer and his team have fully cooperated with the review.

Team members are allowed to transfer, but anyone found to have violated gambling rules faces sanctions from the NCAA.

TENNIS

CINCINNATI OPEN: Defending champion Coco Gauff lost her opening match at the Cincinnati Open against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Thursday.

Gauff, then 19, became the youngest Cincinnati winner last year when she won the US Open a few weeks later. This time, the No. 2 seed, after a first-round bye, squandered a 4-2 lead in the third set to lose to Putintseva for the first time in four matches of her career.

The number 4 women’s singles player was also eliminated: Elena Rybakina lost to Leylah Fernandez 3:6, 7:6 (3), 6:4. The number 3 Aryna Sabalenka won her opening match against the Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6:3, 6:4.

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