Rory snaps victory drought
Rory McIlroy put on a finishing charge that would have made Arnie proud. He ran off five birdies over his last six holes to close with an 8- under 64 and win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, for his first victory since Sept. 25, 2016, the day Palmer died.
“I wish I walked up that hill and got a handshake from him,” McIlroy said. “But I’m so happy to put my name on that trophy.”
McIlroy rolled in a 25- foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that gave him a three- shot victory over Bryson DeChambeau. Tiger Woods ( 3- under 69) put on a charge of his own and was one shot out of the lead until hitting out ofbounds on the 16th hole to fall back into a tie for fifth.
Inbee Park spoiled Laura Davies’ bid to become the oldest winner in LPGA Tour history, pulling away from the 54- year- old Englishwoman in the Founders Cup in Phoenix. Park ( 19- under 269) closed with a 5- under 67. Davies was three strokes behind Park entering the round, but shot a 69 to finish five strokes back in a tie for second with Ariya Jutanugarn and Marina Alex.
AUTO RACING Truex tops at Fontana
Martin Truex Jr. cruised to victory at Fontana in California, claiming the first win of the season for last year’s NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Kevin Harvick’s quest for a fourth consecutive victory essentially ended with an early smack into the wall. Defending Fontana champ
Kyle Larson was 11 seconds behind in second.
“I just had to take care of my tires, and once we got out in clean air, this car was unbelievable,” Truex said.
TENNIS Del Potro upsets Federer
Juan Martin del Potro rallied from three match points down in the third set and tripped top- ranked Roger Federer 6- 4, 6- 7 ( 8), 7- 6 ( 2) to win the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, handing the Swiss superstar his first loss of the year.
Naomi Osaka of Japan won the women’s title 6- 3, 6- 2 over Russian Daria Kasatkina.
MISCELLANEOUS Wolves go wild on Wild
Forward Teemu Pulkkinen scored two goals as the Wolves ripped the Iowa Wild 7- 3 at Allstate Arena. The victory gave the Wolves a three- point cushion over the Wild for second place in the Central Division standings.
Jason Garrison, Tomas Hyka, Keegan Kolesar,
Tobias Lindberg and Stefan Matteau also scored as the hosts ( 34- 20- 7- 2) snapped a three- game losing streak.
† The Oakland Raiders reportedly are trading star kick returner Cordarrelle
Patterson to the New England Patriots. The Raiders will receive a fifth- round pick in the deal and send one of their six sixth- round picks to the Patriots.
† The Pittsburgh Steelers signed inside linebacker
Jon Bostic, 26, to a two- year contract. Bostic played two seasons for the Bears after being taken in the second round of the 2013 draft. † Russell Westbrook had 37 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds for his fifth consecutive triple- double as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors 132- 125, snapping the host’s winning streak at 11.