Reuters Sports News Summary

Woods makes hot start to Masters title defence, Casey leads Defending champion Tiger Woods tied his best-ever opening round at the Masters and was three shots behind clubhouse leader Paul Casey on Thursday before play was suspended at Augusta National Golf Club due to darkness.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Djokovic leads cast as London bids farewell to ATP Finals

It will not be the party envisaged as London bids farewell to the ATP Finals but despite the strangest of circumstances the season-ender should provide an upbeat note on which to finish a difficult year for tennis. The ATP's blue-riband event has proved a huge success since it switched to London's cavernous O2 Arena in 2009, drawing sell-out crowds to watch the world's top eight singles players and doubles pairs go head-to-head. Titans WR Davis expected to play after brother's death

Wide receiver Corey Davis is expected to play Thursday night when the Tennessee Titans host the Indianapolis Colts, one day after the death of his brother, NFL reporter Paul Kuharsky said. Titus Davis, 27, passed away Wednesday of renal medullary carcinoma, a rare form of kidney disease. Athletics: Integrity Unit appeals decision to clear world champion Eid Naser

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has appealed against a decision to clear world 400 metres champion Salwa Eid Naser of committing an anti-doping violation by missing out-of-competition tests, it said on Thursday. The global athletics watchdog, which brought the initial case against the 22-year-old, said on Twitter that it would challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Doping: U.S. warns WADA to mind its own business

The United States warned the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to keep out of its sovereign affairs on Thursday, refusing to remove the threat of pulling funding from the body unless reforms it demands are enacted. Both WADA and U.S. officials expressed the need for cooperation and dialogue during a virtual Foundation Board meeting but it was clear WADA is taking the threat seriously, saying it had prepared two budgets for 2021, one that includes U.S. funding and another that does not. Golf: Nicklaus clubs away question about his support for Trump

Two weeks after wading into turbulent political waters by publicly supporting President Donald Trump in the U.S. election and warning the country against turning "socialist", Jack Nicklaus clubbed away a question about the matter on Thursday. The 80-year-old Nicklaus, the most prolific major winner of all-time with 18 titles in the four biggest championships, had earlier hit the ceremonial first tee shot with fellow great Gary Player at the Masters at Augusta National. Wayward DeChambeau escapes with an opening 70

Bryson DeChambeau smashed his tee shots massive distances but found his share of trouble en route to a two-under-par 70 in the opening round at the Masters on Thursday. Deciding against using the 48-inch driver he had been tinkering with on practice days, DeChambeau instead stayed with the more standard 45.5-inch shaft that he wielded so brilliantly to win the recent U.S. Open by six strokes. Silent Masters still special to players

There is something uniquely different about playing in silence at Augusta National, even for professional golfers who have quickly adjusted to life without spectators since the PGA Tour resumed in June after a three-month coronavirus shutdown. Without the famous gallery roars that usually echo through the pines and are inextricably linked to many famous moments at the Masters, there was no way of guessing what was happening on other parts of the course in the first round on Thursday. Champion Tsitsipas in Nadal's group at ATP Finals

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas was placed in the same round-robin group as Rafa Nadal when the draw for the ATP Finals was made in London on Thursday. The Greek will also face Austria's U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, who he beat in last year's final, and Russian debutant Andrey Rublev in the London group. Woods makes hot start to Masters title defence, Casey leads

Defending champion Tiger Woods tied his best-ever opening round at the Masters and was three shots behind clubhouse leader Paul Casey on Thursday before play was suspended at Augusta National Golf Club due to darkness. Five-times Masters champion Woods, who had struggled for form in 2020, suddenly looked revived and in command on his familiar Augusta National stomping ground as he carded a four-under-par 68. Red Sox P Rodriguez: Will be 100 percent by start of season

Boston Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez said Thursday that he will be fully recovered from a heart issue tied to his COVID-19 battle when the 2021 season commences. The 27-year-old Rodriguez missed the 2020 season due to his health issues, which included being diagnosed with myocarditis (heart inflammation) in July.