Scott Piercy shoots 61, surges into lead at Reno-Tahoe Open

Scott Piercy reeled off eight consecutive birdies for a 28 on the front nine and eagled the 616-yard closing hole, breaking the course record with an 11-under-par 61 on Saturday and taking a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the Reno-Tahoe Open.

Piercy, winless in three years on the PGA Tour, enters the final round at 13-under 203, two shots ahead of Josh Teater (66) and three ahead of a group of six golfers.

Piercy’s birdie barrage on the front nine matched the longest such streak and the lowest nine holes in relation to par posted on tour this season. The 32-year-old Las Vegas native said he didn’t really think about shooting a 59, but he knew he was one shy of the PGA Tour record of nine consecutive birdies Mark Calcavecchia set in the second round of the 2009 RBC Canadian Open.

Piercy began the round at two under — tied for 45th and seven strokes off the lead.

Peter Senior shot a bogey-free 67 and John Huston birdied No. 18 for a 68 that left the two tied for the lead at 12 under after the second round of the Champions Tour’s 3M Championship at Blaine, Minn.

Jay Haas, who shared the first-round lead, shot a 69 and was one shot back.

SOCCER

Villa, Barcelona defeat Club America

David Villa scored on a header midway through the first half, and Barcelona picked up a 2-0 win against Mexico’s Club America at Arlington, Texas.

The win in Cowboys Stadium was the first for Barcelona in three tries in the World Football Challenge, an exhibition tournament featuring top club teams from European leagues, MLS and Mexico’s first division.

Barcelona lost 2-1 last week to Manchester United and 4-1 on Wednesday to Chivas of Guadalajara.

AC Milan won a record sixth Italian Super Cup, rallying past city rival Inter Milan 2-1 at the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing. With the score 1-1, Milan’s Alexandre Pato ran onto a through ball. His shot hit the post, but Kevin-Prince Boateng slid to knock in the rebound.

ETC.

Another national title for Franklin, 16

Missy Franklin won the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming championships in Palo Alto, defeating a field that included three Olympians with the fifth-fastest time in the world this year.

Franklin, the 16-year-old who won three gold medals at the world championships in China, won in 53.63 seconds for her second title of the U.S. meet. Olympian Amanda Weir took second in 54.14, and Dana Vollmer was third in 54.27.

Olympian Matt Grevers won the 200 backstroke in 1:57.26. Gillian Ryan, a 15-year-old from Allentown, Pa., won the 800 freestyle in 8:27.64.

Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic reached the final at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic with a 6-3, 6-3 win against American Donald Young at Washington.

Stepanek will play in his first final of the season against the winner of Saturday’s evening semifinal pitting top-seeded Gael Monfils against No. 11 John Isner.

Robin Haase of the Netherlands beat Albert Montanes of Spain, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, at the Bet-at-Home Cup in Kitzbuehel, Austria, winning his first ATP title.

Broad Bahn won the $1.5-million Hambletonian at East Rutherford, N.J., giving driver George Brennan a sweep of the two biggest races for 3-year-old trotters.

Brennan’s victory in the Hambletonian came a little more than 30 minutes after he guided Bold and Fresh to an upset victory in the Hambletonian Oaks for fillies.

Broad Bahn trotted the mile in 1 minute 53 seconds, getting to the wire 31/4 lengths ahead of longshot Whiskey Tax.

Ultra Blend rallied from last to win the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes by a neck at Del Mar. Ridden by Tyler Baze, Ultra Blend ran 1 1-16 miles in 1:42.28 and paid $23.60, $7 and $2.80 at 10-1 odds, the longest in the field of five fillies and mares.

Carmelita Jeter (100 meters) and Walter Dix (200) won the sprints, Sanya Richards-Ross took the 400 and triple jumper Christian Taylor upset the world champion in a strong showing by Americans at the Crystal Palace Diamond League meet in London.