ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Justin Walters shot a 9-under 63 for his lowest score on the European Tour in six years, giving him a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday.

Walters, ranked No. 444, has not recorded a top-20 finish in 23 events on the tour this season but found some form on the Old Course at St. Andrews, one of three Scottish venues for the pro-am event.

Every player in the field plays 18 holes at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, before returning to the Old Course for the fourth and final round Sunday.

Three players - Victor Perez, Jordan Smith, and Ryan Fox - shot 64 at St. Andrews, with Adrian Otaegui shooting the same score at Kingsbarns.

The best score at Carnoustie, traditionally the toughest of the three courses, was a 65 by Matthew Southgate, who was in a six-way tie for sixth place overall.

Justin Rose, who was playing alongside singer Justin Timberlake, was in a large group on 4 under after a 68 at Kingsbarns. Second-ranked Rory McIlroy also played there and shot 70.

NAPA, Calif. – Don’t blame Francesco Molinari if he’s looking a little ragged this week while strolling the fairways at the Safeway Open.

Molinari arrived in wine country fresh off a title defense at the BMW PGA Championship in England, an intercontinental trek across eight time zones that didn’t land the former Open champ in California until Tuesday evening.

“I’m based in London, so it’s not the first time. I did it for the U.S. Open this year, but at least then I traveled on the Monday,” Molinari said. “I’m not sleeping great. I’m waking up early, but I had two early tee times yesterday and today, so that kind of helped.”

Molinari showed no signs of jet lag while making his first competitive start at Silverado Resort & Spa, shooting a 6-under 66 that left him one shot behind early leader Adam Scott. Molinari’s success came in spite of a wayward driver, as the Italian missed 11 of his first 12 fairways and found just three of 14 on the round.

But he made up for it in other ways, curling in more than 83 feet of putts including seven birdies to rank among the early putting leaders Thursday.

“I think the golf course, it’s really hard to hit the fairways, especially when you’ve got a breeze,” Molinari said. “I didn’t hit the ball great off the tee, so I had to do it from the rough. Short game was very good and I made a lot of putts, so obviously that helps a lot.”

While many players are easing their way into a new PGA Tour season, Molinari’s globetrotting campaign won’t let up anytime soon. Last week was his first European Tour start of the year, meaning he’ll play upcoming events in Italy, Turkey and Dubai to maintain his membership. Next month’s Italian Open made logistics for playing in the PGA Tour’s Asian Swing difficult, meaning he’ll skip that trifecta of lucrative events.

But the hectic schedule also opened up a window for him to make his first-ever trek to Napa, where he’s quickly found his footing despite a lack of sleep.

“I’ve only spent two days here, but so far I’m loving it,” he said. “I love California in general, and I’ve never been to this part so I wanted to see it as well.”

Nice forward Lamine Diaby-Fadiga has admitted to stealing teammate Kasper Dolberg's watch from a team dressing room last week, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC

The story was first reported by French outlet L'Equipe.

Diaby-Fadiga, 18, is one of the most promising prospects at the club, where he's been since joining the academy at age 13. Alongside his lawyers, he confessed his crime to the club, apologised to Dolberg and manager Patrick Vieira, and promised to reimburse his teammate for the full value of the watch.

The timepiece is worth €70,000.

Dolberg pressed charges against an unknown perpetrator he denoted as "X" last week after discovering the watch had been stolen during a training session. An official investigation was later opened by the police.

Nice are also investigating the matter on their side and Diaby-Fadiga risks having his contract terminated for gross misconduct as well as risking a criminal conviction.

The former France U16, U17 and U19 international made his debut for Nice as a 16-year-old and made six appearances for the first team last season.

Barcelona will appeal the €300 fine handed down by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) over alleged irregularities regarding the transfer of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid, sources have told ESPN FC.

The competition committee of the RFEF ruled on Thursday that Barcelona were guilty of a "minor infringement" of article 126 of the disciplinary code when negotiating the signing of Griezmann in the summer.

- ESPN La Liga fantasy: Sign up now!
- When does the transfer window reopen?

It ruled out giving Barcelona a one-match stadium ban and cleared Griezmann of any wrongdoing. Atletico reported Barcelona and Griezmann to the Spanish FA for negotiating with the France international while he was still under contract.

"This committee is aware that the payment of €300, beyond it's purely symbolic gesture, will not contribute to the club being punished in this case and probably other clubs that may be in this situation in the future, to fit their conduct within the required rules," the statement said.

However, sources have told ESPN FC that Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing. They do not believe there is any proof and suggest paying the fine would be an admission of guilt -- and will therefore appeal the decision.

Atletico, meanwhile, told ESPN FC: "It doesn't merit a comment. The club's legal services will continue to work to defend its interests."

Barcelona announced the signing of Griezmann in July for €120 million but Atletico complained that the Catalan club had not paid enough to trigger the player's buy-out clause.

The clause had dropped from €200m to €120m on July 1, but Atletico claim that Griezmann's May 14 announcement that he was leaving the club is proof a deal was struck between the player and Barcelona earlier.

However, the judge considered Barcelona only started negotiating with Griezmann after the player's announcement.

"It is important to highlight that the contacts between FC Barcelona occurred once the player had manifested his intention to leave Atletico Madrid," the statement added.

Atletico have 10 days to make their appeal.

The U.S. men's national team is making plans to hold its January training camp in Qatar, the host country for the 2022 World Cup, a source confirmed to ESPN.

Yahoo Sports was first to report the news.

- Pulisic Watch: Is lack of playing time at Chelsea worrisome?

The source also confirmed that no agreement has been finalized, though manager Gregg Berhalter did visit the country following the most recent international window. If the deal does go through, the U.S. is hoping to play a friendly in Qatar before returning stateside for another match.

The trip to Qatar would allow the U.S. to familiarize itself with a host of logistical issues, including training sites, stadiums, hotels and transportation.

The U.S. has long held the annual get-together in Southern California, usually in the Los Angeles area. It has usually featured MLS players just getting back to fitness ahead of their league seasons. But in terms of location, exceptions have been made in the past. In 2014, then-U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann opted to hold part of the camp in Sao Paulo ahead of that year's World Cup, which Brazil hosted.

Most recently, Berhalter held his first camp as U.S. manager at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., just outside of San Diego.

FIFA have denied allegations of foul play with regards to the voting as Lionel Messi was named Best Men's Player at the FIFA The Best awards in Milan on Monday.

Nicaragua captain Juan Barrera has said he did not vote for the Barcelona forward, who beat Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award, with votes cast by national team manager and captains as well as various media representatives.

- ESPN La Liga fantasy: Sign up now!
- When does the transfer window reopen?

"We have checked the voting documents submitted by the Nicaraguan FA and all documents are signed and confirmed with the official stamp of the Nicaraguan FA," A FIFA spokesperson told ESPN FC.

"Having compared with the vote sheets submitted by the federation and the ones we have published on FIFA.com, we confirm that we have the right votes signed by the player. We are asking the Nicaraguan Football Federations to inquire on this matter."

Barrera, who is recorded as having voted for Messi as his first choice with Sadio Mane as his No. 2 and Ronaldo in third place, said in a social media post he had not taken part.

"I did not vote in The Best 2019 awards," he wrote on Twitter. "Any information about me is false."

Barrera was asked why he voted for Messi by journalists in his homeland, where he again denied casting a vote.

"I did not vote for Messi," he told La Prensa. "Last year, I did vote, but this year I did not."

The report also added that Barrera said while last year he received an email with instructions on how to cast his vote, this time around he received nothing.

Meanwhile, FIFA said votes from Egypt for Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah did not count because signatures on the ballot "were in capital letters and thus seemed not valid (not authentic)," and "voting forms were also not signed by the (federation) general secretary which is mandatory."

The Egypt Football Federation had questioned why ballot papers on behalf of their national team coach and captain were not included in a FIFA document published after Monday's ceremony.

FIFA said their voting office is monitored by independent auditors. They noted Egypt were first contacted for confirmation of the ballots then "received two reminders to submit the properly signed voting forms on Aug. 19."

The Egyptian federation was in turmoil in July and August after their leadership resigned due to the national team's round of 16 exit to South Africa at the African Cup of Nations they hosted.

Later in August, FIFA sent an emergency management team to run the Egypt federation.

Information from Associated Press was used in this report

The Serie A leaders claim top spot in Shaka's latest countdown, while the European champions are on the up and there are five new entries!

Dropping out: PSG, Barcelona, Dortmund, Sevilla, Tottenham

Agree? Disagree? Let us know, and watch Shaka defend his picks on ESPN FC TV, which airs daily on ESPN+.

Leicestershire 155 (Gleeson 6-43) and 191 for 3 dec (Azad 83*, Gleeson 3-57) drew with Lancashire 170

Hassan Azad, with an unbeaten 83, finished as top run scorer in Division Two as the match between Leicestershire and Lancashire ended in a draw at the Fischer County Ground.

Damp areas on the outfield meant play began an hour late, meaning the game had already lost 173 overs to the weather before Leicestershire resumed their second innings on their overnight score of 40 for 1, a lead of 25.

The Foxes immediately lost captain Paul Horton, who had yet to add to his overnight 30 when he was comprehensively cleaned up by a Richard Gleeson delivery which removed both off and middle stumps.

With Azad playing an anchor role, Colin Ackermann came in and went for his shots, hitting eight fours in going to 37 from 47 balls at the interval, but his dismissal for 49, and that of Mark Cosgrove for just two soon afterwards, both edging Gleeson behind the wicket, signalled the end of any likelihood of Leicestershire declaring and offering Lancashire a late run chase.

Azad passed 50 for the eighth time this season, and was closing in on what would have been his fourth hundred and 1,200 runs for the Championship season - he finished with 1,189 - when the rain returned. Gleeson, who picked up six wickets in Leicestershire's first innings, finished with nine wickets in the match and 47 in the season.

Big Picture

It has been ten years since Karachi saw its last ODI. In that time, three World Cups have been staged, a generation has grown up, and the one-day game has been through a revolution. Sure, this is only a tender sapling of a tour, containing only limited-overs fixtures, with 10 Sri Lanka players having refused to travel. But we are at the start of the longest trip an international side has made to Pakistan since 2009, and the PCB hopes that top-flight cricket will really set about putting its roots down in the country this time. Could a home Test series be on the horizon?

It is difficult to put into words how much the resumption of a regular schedule could mean to Pakistan. Whole cities coming alive for matches, packed stadiums gasping at withering spells of fast bowling and spin-bowling wizardry, while tense battles play out in storied venues. Forget Pakistan; cricket needs this. It would also be fitting, of course, if Misbah-ul-Haq, who shepherded Pakistan so masterfully through their nomad years, gets this chance to shape the team's long-ached-for return home.

But perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves. Sri Lanka have sent a substantially weakened team, owing to 10 players' continued doubts over the security situation. Against a side missing the likes of Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews and designated captain Dimuth Karunaratne, the hosts start as strong favourites. What's more important than the runs or wickets, though, is that the tour is on. And that it goes well.

Form guide

Pakistan WWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri LankaWWWLW

In the spotlight

The old coach is gone, as are selectors and support staff, but Sarfaraz Ahmed is still around as captain, despite Pakistan's failure to make it to the World Cup semi-finals. But will it be the same old Sarfaraz? Will he still bat in the lower middle order? Will he employ the same tactics? How much will Misbah, in his powerful new avatar, change the way Sarfaraz approaches his job? And after a modest World Cup personally, can Sarfaraz lift himself into good form again?

Sri Lanka's top order is among the most brittle in ODIs at the best of times, and it is the batting that has been most weakened by the withdrawals. Their captain for this series, Lahiru Thirimanne, struggles to make the first-choice XI, for example. Nevertheless, Thirimanne is the most experienced batsman on tour, and if Sri Lanka are to make competitive totals here, he will probably be required to play the sorts of long, measured innings he specialised in at his best.

Team news

It is difficult to predict Sri Lanka's XI, but Nuwan Pradeep may get a game owing to his experience. Lakshan Sandakan, the only specialist spinner in the squad, is also likely to play.

Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Lahiru Thirimanne (capt), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Avishka Fernando, 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), 5 Oshada Fernando, 6 Shehan Jayasuriya, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Wanindu Hasaranga, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pakistan batsman Asif Ali played only two World Cup matches, but may get an opportunity in this game. Left-arm seamer Usman Shinwari, who last played an ODI in March, could also get a game.

Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 6 Asif Ali, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Usman Shinwari

Pitch and conditions

It has been raining heavily in the lead-up to the match, which means that there is a chance a wet outfield could frustrate play. When the game does start, a potentially undercooked surface could also be conducive to seam bowling.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan's most recent ODI in Karachi was also against Sri Lanka, in January 2009.

• Pakistan have won their six most recent (completed) matches against Sri Lanka - a streak that goes back to 2017.

• Thirimanne last captained Sri Lanka in ODIs in 2015, in New Zealand. Sri Lanka won one and lost two matches under his leadership.Babar Azam is ranked 3rd on the ODI batting charts, while Imam-ul-Haq is joint-11th. To find the best-ranking Sri Lanka batsman involved in this series, you have to go all the way down to No. 80 - Avishka Fernando

Quotes

"Since I came back into the team this year and my average has been over 40 and strike rate over 90, if you talk about the stats. I am right up there in the Sri Lanka team. It's about performing when I get the chance. It doesn't matter where I bat - if the team needs me to bat higher up the order I can do that, if the team needs me to bat in the middle, that's up to me to get that challenge and perform."
Sri Lanka captain Lahiru Thirimanne on his recent performances

"Whoever is part of the squad of 16 at the moment are all first-team players. We'll try to get the best 11 playing given the circumstances in every game, but any of them could step up when required."
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed

Even as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) made history by electing a woman president, a first for state associations, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has ruled that the TNCA's constitution does not comply with the one the BCCI registered last August. Without a certificate of compliance from the CoA, no state association can send a representative to the BCCI elections, which are scheduled for October 23.

The TNCA is one of only two state associations out of the BCCI's 37 members, along with the Haryana Cricket Association, to not comply with the BCCI constitution.

In May, the CoA had laid out a timeline for the state associations to put the nuts and bolts in place in order to carry out elections as per the new BCCI constitution. This week, the CoA revised the deadline for a second time, to October 4, for state associations to wrap up their elections. This was necessitated after several state associations including the TNCA were reluctant to comply with some of the structural reforms that were approved by the Supreme Court based on the recommendations of the RM Lodha Committee.

However, last Friday, the court ruled that the TNCA should go ahead with its elections and its results would be subject to the final order it would pass before the BCCI elections. Accordingly, the TNCA conducted its elections where Gurunath was elected unanimously along with other office bearers.

Around the same time, the CoA sent out a non-compliance notice. "The TNCA submitted its constitution on Wednesday. But our legal team has pointed out areas it is not compliant in," Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. "Only compliant state associations can nominate representatives to the BCCI general body. And the person they nominate should not be disqualified [as per the eligibility criteria]."

One of the key reforms as recommended by the Lodha Committee, which is part of the BCCI constitution, concerns former international players finding two seats on the Apex Council. Currently, the new TNCA administration has no cricketer, including in the Apex Council.

RS Ramasaamy, the newly elected TNCA secretary, said the necessary amendments to the state association's constitution, as desired by the CoA, were been looked after by the TNCA's legal team. "We submitted the amended constitution with the Registrar of Societies after which we sent it to the BCCI. But the CoA has said some minor amendments need to be carried out," Ramasaamy said. "That has been sent to the TNCA legal team. But to our knowledge we have complied with almost everything, but there may be one or two minor aberrations which the legal team will advise us on."

Ramasaamy said he was confident the TNCA would be able to send an eligible representative to the BCCI elections.