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Webb Simpson up by 4 strokes in Las Vegas

Webb Simpson birdied four of the last seven holes at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas for a four-stroke lead in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Webb Simpson birdied four of the last seven holes at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas for a four-stroke lead in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
(Julie Jacobson / Associated Press)
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Webb Simpson maintained a four-stroke lead Saturday in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, birdieing four of the last seven holes at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.

Simpson shot a four-under 67 to reach 19 under. He opened with rounds of 64 and 63.

Chesson Hadley was second after a 67, reaching 15 under with an eagle on the par-five 16th. The Web.com Tour Championship winner last month, Hadley is making his fourth career PGA Tour start.

Jeff Overton was third at 14 under after a 68.

Anna Nordqvist of Sweden shot a two-under 70 to remain tied for the lead with Katherine Hull-Kirk of Australia after the second round of the KEB HanaBank Championship at Incheon, South Korea.

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Nordqvist had four birdies against two bogeys to move to seven-under 137 while Hull-Kirk had an eventful day with an eagle, a double bogey, five birdies and three bogeys.

Defending champion Suzann Petterson of Norway fired a 69 to move into a tie for third with South Korea’s Ju Young Pak and Amy Yang, who both shot 71.

Bernhard Langer was a little tense after bogeying the first two holes Saturday in the second round of the Champions Tour’s Greater Hickory Classic at Conover, N.C. But the German star overcame the shaky start and soggy course conditions to take a two-stroke lead.

Second behind Kenny Perry in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, Langer birdied six of the final 16 holes on the reconfigured Rock Barn layout for a four-under 66 and a 10-under 130 total.

Michael Allen, Brad Bryant and John Riegger were tied for second. Allen shot 65, Bryant had a 66, and Riegger a 67.

MOTOR RACING

At Talladega, a rainout and a wild finish

After qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway was rained out, the 43-car field for Sunday is based on speeds from the first practice session on the 2.66-mile track. That means Aric Almirola will start from the pole, with Jeff Burton claiming the outside spot on the front row. Almirola’s teammate, Marcus Ambrose, gets the third spot.

Series leader Matt Kenseth will start from the 12th spot. His closest challenger, Jimmie Johnson, is in the 11th position.

Officials attempted to dry the track, but the rain continued through midday. With a truck race scheduled for Saturday afternoon and no lights at Talladega, NASCAR ran out of time to get in the qualifying session.

In the Truck Series race, Johnny Sauter raced to his third victory of the season Saturday, surviving a huge crash on the final turn at Talladega that took out Kyle Busch and everyone else racing at the front of the pack .

Three sets of trucks paired up in the closing laps — Sauter with series leader Matt Crafton, Busch with Dakoda Armstrong, and Ross Chastain with Parker Kligerman.

Sauter was the only one to be spared from a 12-truck crash that occurred when pole-sitter Jeb Burton got tangled up with Busch, sending the Sprint Cup star slamming into both the inside and outside walls. Miguel Paludo’s No. 32 machine flipped and slid across the line upside down, before turning back over in the first turn, finally coming to a stop with flames flickering from the hood.

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Sauter took the checkered flag while David Starr weaved through the wreckage to claim second place. Chastain sustained heavy damage but slid across the line in third.

NFL

Von Miller is activated after suspension

The Denver Broncos activated All-Pro linebacker Von Miller following his six-game drug suspension. To make room, the team waived wide receiver Tavarres King, whom they’d promoted from their practice squad earlier in the week.

Miller will make his debut Sunday night when the Broncos visit the Indianapolis Colts.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was been listed as probable for Monday’s night game against the New York Giants after missing some practice time this week because of tightness in his hamstring. Left tackle Matt Kalil missed practice for the second straight day because of tightness in his back and was listed as questionable but was expected to play.

ETC.

Top-seeded David Ferrer became the first Spaniard in 37 years to reach the Stockholm Open final when he beat fifth-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

In Sunday’s title match, Ferrer will play seventh-seeded Grigor Dimotrov of Bulgaria, who defeated wild card Benoit Paire of France, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Robin Haase, a Dutchman ranked No. 63, upset top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-5, 7-6 (4), to set up a final against Tommy Haas at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The second-seeded Haas rallied past Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (0).

Samantha Stosur and Simona Halep advanced to the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow with straight-sets victories.

Stosur proceeded to her second straight final by beating her doubles partner Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2, 6-4. Halep routed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to her fifth final this season.

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