GOLF

Paul Lawrie is making his 620th appearance on the European Tour at the Scottish Open this week. It also will be his last.

The 1999 British Open champion is quitting the tour after the tournament at The Renaissance Club because of problems with his back.

Lawrie will play on the senior circuit instead.

“There are a lot of factors behind the decision, the main one being that I don’t feel I can be competitive week in, week out at this level,” Lawrie said after opening with a 2-over 73 at the Scottish Open. “My back is not very good. I’ve got a herniated disc and I struggle to practice enough. I’m not able to hit the amount of balls I need. I’m not particularly talented so I lose my game quite quickly.”

The 51-year-old Lawrie is exempt for the British Open until the age of 60 after lifting the claret jug at Carnoustie, but has yet to decide whether he will continue to compete in the oldest major.

Lawrie has seven other professional wins, and was a member of the Europe team that won the Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012.

SKIING

WORLD CUP: Organizers of Alpine skiing’s World Cup revealed a season schedule Thursday that limits the risk from the coronavirus pandemic but retains races in China to test a venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Two women’s races in Yanqing, northwest of Beijing, in February is the only stop outside Europe for men or women all season. Officials had previously ruled out having any races in the United States and Canada to minimize travel issues.

Still, men’s race director Markus Waldner cautioned officials “the chance is high that we cancel some events this season.”

“The general picture is not good,” Waldner told ski officials worldwide in an International Ski Federation online presentation. “It’s a very complicated equation.”

Athlete delegate Daniel Yule acknowledged some skiers “are going to be disappointed” by a testing and safety protocol that could prevent them starting races.

“But the most important thing is that races actually take place,” said Yule, a slalom standout representing Switzerland.

The season opens with the traditional giant slaloms at Soelden, Austria, brought forward one week to Oct. 17-18. It is scheduled to end March 21 at Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

SOCCER

AMERICAN JOINS BARCELONA:  Sergiño Dest became the first American player to join Barcelona’s top squad on Thursday after the young right back signed a five-year contract.

Barcelona paid Ajax $24.7 million plus an additional $5.8 million in add-ons to acquire the defender.

“I have no doubt that he will be a very useful player for Barça,” Coach Ronald Koeman said on Wednesday when Dest arrived at the club and passed his medical.

The 19-year-old Dest will replace Nelson Semedo after his move to Wolverhampton in England, and give Koeman another option beside Sergi Roberto on the right side of the defense.

AUTO RACING

HENDRICK-CHILDRESS: Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing will combine to establish one common Chevrolet engine specification.

Chevrolet is the only original engine manufacturer in NASCAR with two organizations building and supplying powertrains. Both Ford and Toyota have streamlined engine building to one supplier. But Hendrick and Childress have noted engine programs that neither wanted to relinquish. After the 2020 season, the two organizations will share research and development.

“While our two championship-winning organizations will collaborate on research and development, our respective engine shop operations will continue to function independently as they currently do,” the organizations said in a joint statement Thursday.

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