Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy miss the cut at Abu Dhabi

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, a woeful start to the season for the world’s top two golfers.

Woods missed it after he was penalized two shots for wrongly taking a free drop, while top-ranked McIlroy was frustrated trying to adjust to his new Nike clubs, even though he used his old Titleist putter in the second round. Both finished with three-over 75s.

“When you don’t hit fairways on this golf course, you can’t score,” McIlroy said.

Justin Rose played solid, mistake-free golf. The Englishman shot a 69 for a 136 total and a one-shot lead at the halfway point over Jamie Donaldson (70) of Wales, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (67) of Spain and Thorbjorn Olesen (69) of Denmark .

Woods and McIlroy were expected to contend for the lead but often looked like weekend golfers. Their struggles captivated the crowds and their departure means it is the first time the world’s top two players missed a cut in the same tournament since McIlroy and Luke Donald at the 2012 U.S. Open. The last time in a regular tournament came in 2005 by Woods and Vijay Singh at Disney World.

“I didn’t hit it particularly well. I putted great but just didn’t hit it very good. I was

David Frost of South Africa had a seven-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii.

The tournament opens the 34th Champions Tour season at Hualalai Golf Club.

Kirk Triplett, the 2012 Champions Rookie of the Year, bogeyed the last hole to fall into a six-way tie for second at 66 with Tom Kite, Willie Wood, John Cook, Fred Couples and Tom Lehman, the senior tour’s Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012.

ETC.

Pendergast is named USC defensive coordinator

As expected, USC Coach Lane Kiffin announced that Clancy Pendergast has been hired as defensive coordinator.

Pendergast, 45, was defensive coordinator at California the last three seasons.

“Clancy is a perfect fit for us,” Kiffin said in a statement. “He is a very experienced and successful defensive coordinator. He plays an attacking-style defense with multiple looks and, having spent the last three years in the Pac-12, he knows how to defend the various kinds of offenses that we see in this conference. “

At Cal, Pendergast oversaw a defense that ranked first in the Pac-12 Conference in 2010 and 2011 before falling to 10th last season.

Linebackers coach Scottie Hazelton will depart to become Nevada’s defensive coordinator, according to Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com.

Hazelton was formerly defensive coordinator at North Dakota State, which won the NCAA FCS title in 2011.

— Gary Klein

The Phoenix Suns say the team and coach Alvin Gentry have “mutually agreed to part ways.” The Suns said an interim coach would be named within the next 24 to 48 hours.

The Suns’ 13-28 record is the worst in the NBA’s Western Conference and fourth-worst in the NBA. Only Cleveland, Charlotte and Washington are worse.

Gentry, who was in the final year of his contract, has been in coaching for three decades, including stints as head coach of the Detroit Pistons, Clippers and Miami Heat.

Keith Brackpool has resigned as chairman of the California Horse Racing Board. He has taken an equity share in the Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields. He told the Daily Racing Form that he will direct the West Coast operations.

The Dodgers reached agreements on one-year contracts with their two arbitration-eligible players, signing catcher A.J. Ellis for $2 million and reliever Ronald Belisario for $1.45 million. In his first season as the starting catcher, Ellis batted .270 with 13 home runs and 52 runs batted in last year. Belisario returned from a year-long exile to post a 2.54 earned-run average in 68 appearances. Belisario will represent Venezuela at the World Baseball Classic.

— Dylan Hernandez and Steve Dilbeck

The Milwaukee Brewers offense is going to be missing a big bat when the season begins. First baseman Corey Hart will miss three to four months with an injured right knee that requires surgery, the team said. Hart’s knee started to swell up during off-season workouts, and an MRI exam revealed a torn meniscus and other damage to the joint that will be surgically repaired next week.

Nathan Adrian and Missy Franklin won gold in the 100-meter freestyle at the Austin Grand Prix at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.

Adrian set the pool record in the 100 free, finishing in 48.32 seconds. Matt Biondi held the previous record with 48.42 set in 1988.