CHARLOTTE, N.C. >> The strongest field of the majors gave way to a few surprises Thursday in the PGA Championship, starting with Jhonattan Vegas charging into the lead with a 7-under 64 and the top 10 players in the world nowhere to be found among the top 10 at Quail Hollow.

Vegas blazed his way to the finish with five birdies on his last six holes, ending with an 18-footer on No. 8 and a 25-footer on the rugged ninth.

It was Vegas’ best score in 45 rounds playing the majors.

He had a two-shot lead over Ryan Gerard, the PGA Tour rookie who grew up in North Carolina and was the only other player to reach 7 under until bogeys on his last two holes. He was joined at 66 by Cam Davis.

Scottie Scheffler and defending PGA champion Xander Schauffele had plenty to say about mud balls on tee shots, particularly on the 16th hole that sent both to double bogey. Scheffler at least holed two shots from off the green — one for birdie, one for eagle — and he finished with a 6-iron from 215 yards to 3 feet on No. 9 that sent him to a 69.

Pro football

Williams gets 4-year deal >> Mykel Williams is officially a San Francisco 49er after signing his rookie contract with the team.

The 49ers didn’t release terms of the deal, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported it is a four-year contract worth $25 million, fully guaranteed. NBC Sports reported he received a signing bonus of $14.78 million.

San Francisco drafted Williams 11th overall out of Georgia, where he starred for the Bulldogs over three seasons, won the College Football Playoff national title in January 2023 and was a two-time second-team All-SEC player.

Owners consider allowing players to compete in Olympics >> NFL owners will discuss a proposal to allow players under contract to participate in flag football when the sport makes its Olympic debut in 2028 in Los Angeles.

The issue will be considered next week at the spring meetings in Minnesota.

If the resolution is approved by at least 24 of the 32 team owners, the league would be allowed to negotiate with the NFL Players Association, Olympic officials and national governing bodies on the specifics of letting NFL players participate.

Baseball

Former A’s player Kemp retires >> Tony Kemp is calling it a career.

The veteran utility player announced his retirement on social media after nine seasons in the majors.

The 5-foot-6 Kemp hit .237 with 35 home runs and 184 RBIs in 739 games for the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles.

Motor sports

NASCAR hammers Buescher for illegal modifications >> NASCAR penalized driver Chris Buescher and his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team for illegal modifications to the bumper of his No. 17 Ford at Kansas Speedway.

The sanctioning body docked the team 60 driver points, 60 owner points, five driver playoff points and five owner playoff points for the level one violation. It also fined the team $75,000 and suspended crew chief Scott Graves from the next two races: the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.