including the 16th hole that measures 303 yards and ca

PITTSBURGH -- The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates played to the first tie game in the major leagues since 2005 when rain forced the teams to stop in the sixth inning Thursday night with the score 1-all.The Cubs and Pirates arent scheduled to play again this season, and the game wont be made up because it doesnt affect postseason positioning. So instead of becoming a suspended game, the stats count and it was declared a tie -- the first since Houston and Cincinnati went seven innings on June 30, 2005, before rain halted them.Willson Contreras had two hits and scored for the NL Central champion Cubs, who have already clinched the best record in the majors. Josh Bell hit a sacrifice fly for the Pirates.The game was called in the top of the sixth after a delay of 1 hour, 23 minutes.Tim Federowicz hit a sacrifice fly in the Cubs second. Pittsburgh tied it in the third.Cubs rookie Rob Zastryzny gave up one unearned run in 3 2/3 innings in his first major league start after beginning his career with seven relief appearances.Manager Joe Maddon opted to use all relievers as he prepares his team for the postseason.After losing his previous two starts, Ivan Nova allowed one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and no walks.It was the final start of the season for Nova, who went 5-2 in 11 starts after being acquired Aug. 1 from the New York Yankees in a trade. He is eligible for free agency after the World Series.Pittsburgh is 78-80 and needs to sweep its season-ending three-game series at St. Louis that starts Friday night in order to extend its streak of winning seasons to four. The Pirates had 20 straight losing seasons from 1993-2012, the record for major North American team professional sports.FOOTBALL HEROMaddon wore a No. 12 Lafayette College football jersey during his pregame meeting with reporters. It was the same number he wore when he was a quarterback for Leopards.The Cubs traveling party planned to wear football jerseys for their flight to Cincinnati following the game.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RHP Jason Hammel (elbow tightness) has been scratched from his scheduled start Friday night at Cincinnati but may be able to pitch in a simulated game Tuesday and be ready for the NL playoffs next week. . LF Chris Coghlan (sprained left ankle) did not play after being injured Wednesday night when he crashed into the fence chasing a fly ball but could return Friday. . OF Jorge Soler (strained right side) will not play at Cincinnati but could participate in the simulated game.Pirates: RF Gregory Polanco (strained neck) missed his second game in a row.UP NEXTCubs: Undecided on who will start Friday against Reds RHP Josh Smith (5-2. 4.77 ERA).Pirates: Rookie RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-1, 4.91) faces Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (15-9, 3.15) and will be looking for his first major league win in his fourth career start. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Five Americans were together on the Olympic Golf Course, checking out everything from the three types of sand in the bunkers to which side of the fairway allowed for the best angle to the green during a practice round Tuesday.The group included Gil Hanse, who was not in a team uniform, didnt have clubs and wont be competing for a medal. And yet he still has plenty at stake.Hanse designed the golf course. And he had more than just the best players in mind when he created it.We needed to build a golf course for the competition, which we knew was how the golf course ultimately would be judged, Hanse said Tuesday. But we also had to help grow the game in Brazil, and it had to be playable for the public.The result was a 7,128-yard course tucked into 240 acres with no trees and no rough, with humps and hollows along the fairways that resembles a links course, and with native areas that make it seem as though it belongs in the famed sand belt region of Melbourne.Only in Rio are players warned about the capybara (a large rodent) and the caiman (a small crocodile) as part of the wildlife on the course, along with the corujas, an owl that burrows in bunkers and could lead to some rulings.So far, the reviews have been positive. Then again, scores dont count until Thursday.Its a fun golf course to play, said Rickie Fowler, who arrived in time for the opening ceremony and has been playing the course since Sunday. Gil did a good job taking nothing and turning it into a great golf course without having time to make any changes or adjustments. Theres a lot of fun characteristics.Hanse, however, is just as interested in what becomes of his course.The way he measures success does not end with the Olympics; thats just the starting point. Brazil has next to no golf heritage, and theres plenty of skepticism that two weeks of Olympic golf will change that.The course will be turned over to the Brazilian Golf Federation for at least 20 years to be a public course. The International Golf Federation is trying to stoke interest over the next two weeks by offering an area where fans can get swing tips and hit into nets, simulators with a closest-to-the-flagg and long drive competition, and a six-hole putting course.ddddddddddddWhat happens during the Olympics is going to be the engine for what happens after the Olympics in the success of this golf course, Hanse said. They are inexorably linked. If we have a great champion and a great competition, thats going to bode well. The long-term success of his golf course is probably more important.Theres a chance these players -- 60 men this week, 60 women next week -- might never see this golf course again unless the PGA Tour stages a big event in South America down the road and picks Rio. This is the only continent where the Presidents Cup has not been played. So it would help for golf to put on a good show.That starts with more birdies than bogeys.Hanse did his part with a clever layout in which four of the par 4s are at least 479 yards, and the other par 4s are no more than 412 yards, including the 16th hole that measures 303 yards and can be reached off the tee.Thats the start of a three-hole finish designed to inject some excitement into an Olympic sport that takes four days to find a winner. The par-3 17th is a wedge, and the par-5 18th can be reached in two by every player in the field.We want it to be an exciting course, Hanse said. You look at the last three holes, those guys can go eagle-birdie-eagle to finish. If we wanted it to be difficult and impose our will on the field, we would have done something different. From our standpoint, we want to see scoring.Hanse wants a good winner, too. Most golf architects do, believing the quality of the champion is a reflection on the golf course. More than anything, he wants a finish that will be remembered for years to come -- for the sake of the sports future in the Olympics and the future of his golf course.I think its a success if we get a great winner, Hanse said. Its a home run if we get one of those iconic Olympic moments. If we get that image, that people think five to 10 years from now about Rio 2016 and its a golfer ... if we get one of those moments, its a great thing. ' ' '