The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page C5

INDY STAR 2ND C5 ColinMontgomerietookthe third-roundleadSaturdayin theSeniorPGAChampionship puttonthefinalholefora3-un- der68. ThankGodtheholegotinthe way.Itwasdownhill,down wentin.Itwasajoyousocca- Lookingtowinhisfirstma- oldScottooka7-under206total intothefinalroundatHarbor Shores. year-oldGermanstarwhohas wontwicethisseasononthe backaftera70.Hewillplay alongsideMontgomerieforthe fourthconsecutiveroundSun- day. andKiyoshiMurotaweretied forthirdat5under.Dawsonhad nament.BryantandMurota shot70. hasnothingtoprovetoanybody winanofficialeventforthe firsttimeonU.S.soil.Hedoes havevictoriesinthecountryin the1998AndersenConsulting WorldChampionshipand2000 SkinsGame.

towinwhereverthatmightbe. Itwouldbegreattotryandwin inAmerica.Ialwaysfelttowin inAmericaisaverydifficult golfcoursesthatareusually suitedtotheAmericanstyleof majorsatthe2010U.S.Senior OpenandSeniorBritishOpen. hasaplan. waytieforfirstthrough36 behind. COLONIAL DavidToms, CampbellandChrisStroud sharedthethird-roundleadat7- under203atColonialinFort werewithintwostrokesofthe leadingquartet.

Theclosestchasersinclude three-timewinnerthisseason andNo.1intheFedExCup standings. LPGA AnnaNordqvist movedintopositionforher inghersecondstraight6-under 66totakethethird-roundlead intheAirbusLPGAClassicat winnerinThailandandCarls- TheCrossingscourseatthe MagnoliaGrovecomplex. BMWPGACHAMPIONSHIP ThomasBjornbirdiedseven ofhislasteightholestotakea five-strokeleadafterthethird roundoftheBMWPGACham- land. The43-year-oldDanefought backfromadoublebogeyonthe firstholebymakingsixstraight birdiesfromthe11thandadd- inganotheroneatthelastfora 5-under67anda15-under201to- talatWentworth. GOLF Montgomeriegetsclose Bearsdownonfirst majortitleentering final-roundplay AssociatedPress ColinMontgomerietooka 7-under206totalintothefinal roundatHarborShores.

AP TheNo.24BobParker/Park- erMachinerydrivereasedto victoryintheU.S.AutoClub’s afterstartingfromthepoleat LucasOilRaceway. Machinerycarhasbeenex- tremelygoodoutherethepast fewyears.Ididn’treallyknow howthatwassupposedtoplay Hineswonthisraceprevi- from10lapsdowntovictory. beenaplacethatIstartedwin- Alotofitistheatmosphere bringsyoudown.Theatmos- phereoutheredefinitely TheUSACMidgetrace, alongwiththeCooperTires USF2000andtheProMazda racesthattookplaceearlierin 69thannualVisitHendricks CountyNightBeforethe500 lineup. openedthe2014USACPave- mentMidgetchampionship. terHinesinTurn1totakethe HinesandHoosierHundred winnerKodySwansonfollow- ingclosebehind.AustinProck jumpedtothirdonLap7as Swansonfellbacktofourth.

MichaelFanellispuninto theinsidewallenteringTurn3 lowflag.Hewasabletocon- tinuetheraceafterapushstart. AustinProcktookadvan- tageoftheslowerfieldand thecautionwaslifted.Hines jumpedintotheleadafterthe restartanddidnotsurrender hispositiontherestoftherace. thingIcouldnoticewasevery andseethelayover.Inever reallysawthemcomebackout, soIfiguredwehadadecent Swansonlostcontroland wassenttothepitstoendhis night.O’Gararegainedhispo- diumpositionwithlessthan17 DerekBischakinthirdplace. AaronTelitzwoninhisNo.5 ArmsUpMotorsportscar.Aus- tinCindricfinishedsecondand shipstandings. IntheProMazdarace, GarettGristheldonforhisfirst victorywithAndrettiAuto- sport.Heovercameanearwob- bleinTurn3abouthalfway throughtherace.

ScottHargrovefoughtoff third-placeSpencerPigotfor secondtocompletethepodium. NIGHTBEFORETHE500 MaineventbelongstoHines ByAutumnAllison autumn.allison@indystar.com Raceway.HineswonSaturdaynight’sUSACMidgetracefromthe poleinthethirdraceoftheNightBeforethe500. KurtBusch grewupglued herememberedthefervor causedin1993when Emerson Fittipaldi bypassedtheusual celebratorypost-racebever- ageforaswigoforangejuice insteadofmilk. hadachoice.I’ddrinkOJover TomBusch quicklysethim Itwasacrashcoursefora youngBuschonameaningful traditionwheneveryoneis watching. muchpeoplecareaboutwhat Fanscertainlycarethis weekendaboutKurtBusch, andsodohisfellowdrivers.

quertheMountEverestofmo- milesoftheIndianapolis500 andtheCoca-Cola600inCon- clockasmuchastheonetothe checkeredflags. DaleEarnhardtJr. said. tiresport.Whetherheknowsit everyoneontheinfieldpulling forhimtodowellbecauseheis Buschhasbeenautorac- readytorollforthefirstat- temptatTheDoublesince 2004. Foxwillhaveacamerain placeforhismade-for-TVland- ingatCharlotteMotorSpeed- SteveCraddock seniorvicepresidentofNAS- CARProduction.

majorstoryleadingintothe Whetherittranslatestothe bankforthetwoseriesorthe networksisanopenquestion. TheIndy500iseasilythe most-watchedraceinIndyCar andtheCoca-Cola600istradi- tionallyabigMemorialDay weekenddraw.Buschcould likelyputmoreeyesonthe NASCARracewithastrong noon.Anearlywreckinthe fadebeforethegreenflag dropsatCharlottesixhours later. dentandCEO MarcusSmith donethejoboftalkingabout Smithsaidtherewere BuschatCMSshouldhecom- rivalbyhelicopteratChar- reels.Foxwilluseablimpto trackBuschonhiswaytoCMS. NBCwillairanall-access inaspecialJune8. JEFFGORDON TheSprint Cuppointsleadercutshorthis practicebecauseofback spasmsandtheNo.24teamhas ReganSmith onstandby shouldthefour-timechampion notbeabletoruntheCoca-Cola 600tonight.

Gordonwentjust11lapsSat- urdaybeforehetoldhiscrew outofasidedoorofhishauler andwasescortedoutofthe tracktogettreatment. Crewchief AlanGustafson saidtheteamwouldnotrunthe carinthefinalpracticesession andinsteadwillgetitreadyfor NATIONWIDE KyleLarson racedtohissecondNationwide SeriesvictoryoftheSaturday, holdingoff BradKeselowski and KyleBusch atCharlotte MotorSpeedway.Larson passedKeselowskionthe118th lapinthe200-lapraceandled therestoftheway.Larsonalso wonatFontana. No.6ISBACK FormerDay- tona500winner TrevorBayne andRoushFenwayRacingare bringingtheNo.6carbackto SprintCupfulltimenext season.Bayneandowner Jack Roush announcedthemove Saturday. NASCAR coverboyformorethanamonth. Buschlaunches dauntingclimb TriestoconquerMountEverestofmotorsports AssociatedPress COCA-COLA600 Twoplayersman- ningverydistinctrolesfor theirrespectiveteamsentered EasternConferencefinalsun- deranaddedgazeofattention.

Paul George headconcussionsuffereddur- verylikelyluckedoutdueto thefactthattheteamshada rarethreedaysoffbetween games. return-from-concussionproto- col.HewasclearedbythePac- ersonFriday. Indianacoach FrankVogel theimpressionGeorgemay havebeenfurthertaxedfrom passingtheteststhanifhe wouldhaveundergonenormal workoutswiththeteam. ingthathislegsgotmoreofa workoutthanhetypicallydoes thanguyswouldtypicallysee Thereturn-to-concussion protocoltogothroughtoget aspossible.I’mnotinlovewith Georgescoredfourearly pointsbutbattledfoultrouble inthefirsthalf. Thesecondplayerinthe Greg Oden firsttimethisseries.Thefor- merIndyStarMr.Basketball andHeatreservehasnotseen thecourtinaplayoffgame since2009.

lastsummertobolsterafront- courtroutinelyovermatched RoyHibbert and DavidWest game.Miamicoach ErikSpoel- stra keptOdenoutofthelineup thispastweektorampupwork- whichhasgivenhimtroublein recentweeks. AccordingtoSpoelstraon play. benefitsofhavingacoupleof Odenplayedin23gamesthis aged2.3pointspercontest. Heatveteranforward ShaneBattier washonoredbe- NBAasitssecondannualrecip- ientoftheJackTwyman-Mau- riceStokesTeammateofthe Yearaward. announcehisretirementafter 12yearsintheleagueafterthe whatsecond-placevote-getter AlJefferson oftheCharlotte Bobcatsreceived.

ChaunceyBillups atAmericanAirlinesArenato presentBattiertheawardbe- foretipoff.Battiercalledit ofthecurrentplayersthatare bevotedonbymypeersasa CallStarreporterZakKeeferat PACERSNOTEBOOK ByZakKeefer zak.keefer@indystar.com Afterthreedaysofconcussion inthelineup..