Watson wins in LA again
Bubba Watson ended two years without winning a golf tournament with his third victory at Riviera.
Watson seized control yesterday in Los Angeles with two par putts as everyone around him was dropping shots, then pulling ahead by holing a bunker shot on the par-3 14th hole. He closed with a 2-underpar 69 for a 2-shot victory at 12-under 272 in the Genesis Open over Kevin Na and Tony Finau, and more tears on the 18th green.
It was his first victory since he won at Riviera two years ago. Watson is coming off a frustrating 2017 that included talk of retiring. He joined Ben Hogan and Lloyd Mangrum as three-time Riviera winners (Hogan’s include a U.S. Open) . . . .
Jin Young Ko, playing in her first event as an LPGA Tour member, closed with a 3-under 69 to complete a wire-to-wire win in the Women’s Australian Open in Adelaide. Hyejin Choi was 3 shots back of Ko . . . .
Joost Luiten won the inaugural Oman Open in Muscat. Luiten shot a 4-under 68 to finish on 16-under 272, 2 shots ahead of Chris Wood. Julien Guerrier was another shot back in third place . . . .
Joe Durant won the PGA Tour Champions’ Chubb Classic in Naples, Fla., by 4 shots over Steve Stricker, David Toms, Lee Janzen, Billy Mayfair and Tim Petrovic.
Tennis: Kvitova rolls on
Petra Kvitova continued her remarkable comeback by beating Garbine Muguruza in the Qatar Open final in Doha for her 13th straight win and second consecutive title. The two-time Wimbledon champion prevailed 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was Kvitova’s sixth win over a top-10 player in 2018.
Kvitova, who beat top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in the semifinals, will return to the top-10 rankings for the first time since she was the victim of a knife attack in her home in December 2016 that led to a lengthy layoff . . . .
Top-seeded Kevin Anderson won the first New York Open in Uniondale, N.Y., beating No. 2 seed Sam Querrey 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1) for his fourth career ATP Tour title. The U.S. Open runner-up from South Africa dominated the tiebreaker after a tight third set.
Soccer: Juventus wins, loses
Juventus’ 1-0 derby win against Torino came at a high cost with both prized striker Gonzalo Higuain (ankle) and replacement Federico Bernardeschi (knee) coming off with injuries. The status of each player will be big concerns for Juventus’ pursuit of a seventh straight Serie A title as well as the return leg of the Champions League last 16 against Tottenham.
Before exiting, Bernardeschi set up Alex Sandro’s goal . . . .
Diego Costa and Kevin Gameiro scored second-half goals to give Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao and keep it within seven points of Spanish league leader Barcelona. Atletico will visit Barcelona on March 4 in what could be its last chance to inject some drama into the race.