On the links | Saturday’s professional golf resutls

MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

SAN FRANCISCO

Rory McIlroy had his own fight to worry about Saturday in Match Play Championship. It was such a tense battle with Paul Casey that both had chances to win, and they had to return today to see who gets to keep playing.

McIlroy has gone 17 holes without the lead, though the world’s No. 1 player had his chances.

With the match all square when Casey took three putts from the fringe on the 17th, McIlroy missed a 12-foot birdie putt for the win on the 18th. Casey left his winning birdie putt one turn short on the second extra hole.

Given another chance, McIlroy hit the lip on a 6-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole. Even by then, it was too dark.

They will resume at 6:45 a.m. today on the par-5 opening hole for the right to play Jim Furyk, who reached his first semifinal with a 4-and-2 victory over Louis Oosthuizen.

Gary Woodland got up big early against John Senden and coasted to a 5-and-3 victory, fueled by memories of a bad loss last year that the powerful Kansan is determined to not let happen again. He will face Danny Willett of England, who beat his third straight countryman with a 4-and-3 win over Tommy Fleetwood.

LPGA TOUR

IRVING, TEXAS

Lexi Thompson finished a round of 3-under 68 with a birdie after a fortunate ricochet Saturday to share the third-round lead with Inbee Park in the LPGA Tour’s North Texas Shootout.

The approach by the long-hitting Thompson at the par-5 18th was a screamer well left of the hole. But the ball struck the front facing of a temporary grandstand and ricocheted onto the green, skimming just over the top of a bunker. That set up a long two-putt birdie to get to 9-under 204.

Park, the 2013 North Texas winner, had a more conventional closing birdie, hitting her approach inside a foot for a round of 69.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS

Michael Allen birdied the final two holes for a 4-under 68 and a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Champions Tour’s Insperity Invitational.

The 56-year-old Allen had a 10-under 134 total at The Woodlands Country Club. He has seven victories on the 50-and-over tour, winning twice last season. Joe Durant was second after a 68.

Associated Press