Nelly Korda put herself in position for a record sixth straight win on the LPGA Tour, shooting a relatively mistake-free 3-under 69 in the first round of the Cognizant Founders Cup on Thursday.

The round of four birdies and a bogey on the Upper Montclair Country Club left the 25-year-old American four shots behind early leader Madelene Sagstrom, who had a 65 on a course she loves.

Teeing off just before 8 a.m. EDT on the back nine with defending champion Jin Young Ko of South Korea and 2022 titlist Minjee Lee of Australia, Korda didn’t do much for the first eight holes and only seemed to get going when she rolled in a 10-foot birdie on her ninth hole to get to 1 under. She had short birdies on No. 2 and No. 9, both par-5s, to finish.

“There is still three more days,” said Korda, who used her short game to save par a couple of times. “You still have a lot of things that you — I know the weather is not supposed to be great and there is just different factors that go into the rest of the tournament. So it’s definitely nice to get a good round in. You know, still a long, long ways away from Sunday.”

Colleges

NCAA removes cap on official recruiting visits in basketball >> The NCAA has approved a waiver that will allow men’s and women’s basketball programs to pay for unlimited official recruiting visits to help teams deal with roster depletion caused by transfers, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.

The Athletic first reported the approval of a blanket waiver by the men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees.

Currently, men’s basketball programs are allowed 28 official visits over a rolling two-year period. The number for women’s programs is 24.

The waiver will cover a two-year period, starting Aug. 1, 2023, and run through July 31, 2025. The NCAA Division I Council in June will consider proposed legislation that would lift the limit on official visits in men’s and women’s basketball permanently.

NBA

Suns fire coach Vogel after getting swept out of the playoffs >> The Phoenix Suns have fired coach Frank Vogel after one disappointing season.

The team made the announcement on Thursday, less than two weeks after getting swept out of the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Suns finished the regular season with a 49-33 record. Vogel won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis sentenced to 40 months for defrauding league insurance plan >> Former Boston Celtics player Glen “Big Baby” Davis was sentenced to 40 months in a federal prison for his participation in a scheme New York prosecutors said defrauded an insurance plan for NBA players and their families of more than $5 million.

More than 20 people were convicted in the case, many of them onetime NBA players who submitted fictitious dental and medical claims to the NBA Players’ Health and Benefit Welfare Plan. A jury found Davis and former Detroit Pistons guard Will Bynum guilty in November.

Davis will have three years of supervised release after he serves his term, and he has been ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution.

Hornets hire Celtics assistant Lee to be next head coach >> The Charlotte Hornets named Charles Lee as their head coach on Thursday, hoping he’ll turn around the long-struggling NBA franchise.

The 39-year-old Lee joins the Hornets after serving as the Boston Celtics top assistant coach. Lee will complete the Celtics’ playoff run before joining the Hornets on a full-time basis. Lee spent five seasons under Mike Budenholzer before joining the Celtics last summer.

Lee received a four-year deal from the Hornets, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms of the deal were not made public.

Bucks’ Beverley suspended 4 games without pay >> Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley was suspended by the NBA for four games without pay to begin next season for his actions during and after the final game of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers.

The league announced the suspension and said Beverley was getting punished for “forcefully throwing a basketball multiple times at spectators and an inappropriate interaction with a reporter during media availability.”

This suspension was handed down one day after Indianapolis police said they were investigating an “NBA player and citizen” altercation that happened during that May 2 game without mentioning anyone by name.

Soccer

FIFA told to reschedule US-staged Club World Cup >> FIFA has been told to reschedule its expanded Club World Cup just over a year before the tournament is due to be staged in the United States.

World players’ union FIFPRO and the World Leagues Association are demanding reform of the international match calendar, which is controlled by soccer’s world governing body.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, FIFA has been accused of pushing players “beyond their limits, with significant injury risks” by expanding its competitions.

FIFPRO and the WLA say this is impacting players’ welfare and their “fundamental rights.”