McIlroy earns milestone win
LAS VEGAS — Rory McIlroy capped a big weekend by surging past Rickie Fowler and holding off Collin Morikawa to win the CJ Cup at Summit for his 20th PGA Tour title. McIlroy seized control by holing a 35-foot eagle putt from just off the green on the par-5 14th and avoiding mistakes down the stretch for a 6-under-par 66 and a one-shot victory Sunday as he finished at 25-under 263. The 32-year-old McIlroy, a four-time major winner from Northern Ireland, is the 39th player to win at least 20 times on the PGA Tour, and it’s his fifth straight season with at least one title on the circuit; he also has 14 career victories on the European Tour. Morikawa shot 29 on the front nine Sunday and capped his 62 with an eagle but wound up second. Fowler, who started the final round with a two-shot lead as he tried to end nearly three years without a victory, faded with a pair of three-putts and shot 71 to tie for third at 22 under with Chattanooga native Keith Mitchell (67), who had a five-shot lead going into the weekend until a 73 in the third round.
NASCAR
› FORT WORTH, Texas — Kyle Larson
clinched the first of four championship-contending spots in next month’s NASCAR Cup Series season finale with a dominating victory Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway to start the round of eight in the playoffs. Larson led 256 of 334 laps and earned his eighth points win this season — he also won the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas in June — with the 29-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver leading the final 218 laps and staying in front through seven restarts in the final stage that included three in the final 34 laps after incidents involving playoff contenders Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. This was the first chance for anyone to guarantee a shot at racing for the season title Nov. 7 in Phoenix, and Larson — already with a significant points lead and coming off a win on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval course a week earlier to close out the second elimination round — left no doubt about the No. 5 Chevrolet being part of the final four. There were two laps remaining on the final restart, and Larson was able to stay out in front of teammate William Byron.
The seven remaining playoff contenders exited Texas with two more chances to get into the championship four, with races at Kansas Speedway next Sunday and at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 31 remaining before the finale. Ryan Blaney, Hamlin and Kyle Busch are above the cutline going to Kansas, while reigning Cup Series champion Chase Elliott is fifth, ahead of Brad Keselowski, Truex and Logano.
BASKETBALL
› CHICAGO — Candace Parker came home to bring the Windy City a basketball championship and did just that, leading the Chicago Sky to the franchise’s first title. Allie Quigley scored 26 points and Parker added 16 with 13 rebounds and five assists as the sixth-seeded Sky beat the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury 80-74 on Sunday in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, wrapping up the best-offive series in which Chicago’s loss came in overtime in Game 2. Courtney Vandersloot added 10 points and 15 assists Sunday as the Sky rallied from a 72-65 deficit with 4:42 left. As the final buzzer sounded, Parker, who helped lead the University of Tennessee to two national championships, sprinted to a corner of the court and hugged her family with tears in her eyes. “It was just an amazing feeling to be from here and see so many people in the stands that have been supporting you since you started,” said Parker, who grew up nearby Naperville, Illinois, and joined the Sky this year after spending her first 13 WNBA seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks.