Patrick Rodgers played some of his best golf when golf’s best were starting to falter Saturday. It ended with a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead going into a final round at Torrey Pines with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy lagging well behind.

The only downer for Rodgers on a tough day in the sunshine was hitting a gap wedge into the water on the par-4 18th and having to scramble for bogey.

He was at 8-under 208, one shot ahead of Denny McCarty (71). Ludvig Aberg, who had an ace on the par-3 third hole, had a 70 and was another shot behind.

Rodgers, who matched or broke some of Tiger Woods’ records at Stanford, has never won on the PGA Tour. Now he is one round away from Woods presenting him a trophy for his first PGA Tour title. But 18 holes can feel like a marathon for someone who is 0-for-283 on the PGA Tour since he turned pro, especially on a beast like the South course at Torrey Pines.

college hockey

Gopher women’s hockey tops Huskies

Minnesota’s women’s hockey team recovered from an overtime loss Friday in Minneapolis with a 2-1 victory over St. Cloud State on Saturday at Herb Brooks Arena in St. Cloud.

The victory was the 800th in program history, and the third-ranked Gophers rallied from a 1-0, third-period deficit to do it.

“It was a big win,” head coach Brad Frost said. “It was difficult, as we knew it would be, but coming back a goal-down in the third ... was huge. I’m really proud of the way our team played in the last 20 (minutes) in particular, finding a way to dig in and get the job done.”

The Gophers (23-9-1, 17-8-1 WCHA) got goals from Audrey Wethington and Emma Connor and snapped a four-game losing streak.

Emma Gentry scored for the 11th-ranked Huskies (15-11-7, 10-11-5).

“Throughout the WCHA and the country, there’s not many programs that have (800 wins),” Frost said, “and we’re super proud of everyone that’s come before us — Coach (Laura) Halldorson leading the way, and all those players and people that were involved in it.”

UST women’s hockey defeats Beavers

The St. Thomas women’s hockey team bounced back from Friday’s 5-0 loss to Bemidji State to defeat the Beavers 4-3 in Mendota Heights.

Bemidji State (6-26-1 overall, 4-22 WCHA) took a 2-0 lead by early in the second period before the Tommies charged back for four unanswered goals.

Chloe Boreen scored twice for St. Thomas (9-21-2, 6-19-1), with Nicole Vallario and Lauren Stenslie each lighting the lamp once in the win.

— From news services

ALPINE SKIING

Schiffrin takes fifth in world alpine slalom

All that talk about a record-breaking 16th medal. And extending her perfect run of six medals in six career slalom races at the world championships.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s array of international fans who gathered in the Austrian Alps may have entertained the thought of witnessing those achievements when the American stood third after the opening run.

Shiffrin herself never quite expected much of anything beyond where she ultimately finished in only her second full slalom race since her crash in November: fifth.

Shiffrin’s American teammate, Minnesota native Paula Molzan, finished fourth.

Moltzan won bronze in giant slalom and posted the second-fastest time in the final run to finish three-hundredths ahead of Shiffrin.

Tennis

Top-ranked Sinner accepts 3-month ban

Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner accepted a three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency and said the agreement ends a case that was “hanging over me” since his two positive doping tests nearly a year ago.

WADA, which was seeking to ban the three-time Grand Slam champion from the sport for at least one year, had challenged a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency not to suspend Sinner for what the ITIA judged was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March.

Sinner’s explanation — that trace amounts of Clostebol in his doping sample was due to a massage from a trainer who used the substance after cutting his own finger — had been accepted.

The timing means the 23-year-old Italian won’t miss any Grand Slam tournaments.

track and field

Gophers excel at Windy City Classic

The University of Minnesota track and field team posted five different program top 10 performances at the Windy City Classic at Gately Stadium in Chicago this weekend. In total, the Gophers women picked up a total of three event wins.

Erin Reidy posted a lifetime best 4:36.99 to win the women’s mile. Brooke Moore won the triple jump with a mark of 42 feet, 6 1/4). Kitania Headley won the 600-meter run with a 1:31.21.

Minnesota’s final indoor regular season meet is 2 p.m. Feb. 21 at the University Fieldhouse in Minneapolis.

soccer

Loons drop preseason finale to NYCFC

Minnesota United lost its preseason finale, 1-0, to New York City FC at the Coachella Invitational.

The game remained scoreless until the 78th minute when NYCFC logged the game’s lone and winning tally.

United opens the 2025 Major League Soccer regular season at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday against LAFC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Mexican league players banned for match fixing

Seven players from two clubs in Mexico’s third division were suspended for a combined 57 years for involvement in sports betting and fixing matches.

Six of them played for Real Apodaca, and the other for Correcaminos UAT.

Neither the Mexican Football Association disciplinary commission nor the two clubs revealed the names of the players and did not say which matches were manipulated.

— From news services