Champions Tour:
Marc Leishman ORLANDO, FLA. — holed a 50-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole to take the lead Sunday, and he stayed there with two tough pars at the end to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational and earn a trip to the Masters.
In a final hour that featured four players having at least a share of the lead, Leishman is the only one who didn’t blink.
His final act was a pitchand-run from 45 yards away on the closing hole at Bay Hill that ran out to 3 feet. He calmly made the par putt for a 3-under 69 and one-shot victory over Kevin Kisner and Charley Hoffman.
The only thing missing was a handshake from the King. This was the first Arnold Palmer Invitational since the September death of the beloved tournament host.
“You see guys win and he’s waiting there on the back of the green,” Leishman said. “And to not have that is obviously very sad, but to win here is just a dream come true.”
Rory McIlroy had as good a chance as anyone, storming into a share of the lead by hooking a wedge around a tree, over the water and over the green on the 16th, then nearly holing the eagle chip.
He had a 30-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead on the 18th, and after seeing that Leishman had made eagle on the 16th, gave it a good run. The putt went 8 feet by and three-putt for a 69 to finish two shots back.
“These things happen,” McIlroy said. “But I’m pleased with how I went. Ten under for the weekend around here is good scoring, and I can take a lot of positives from it going into next week.”
Kisner and Hoffman also squandered their chances.
Kisner had a three-shot lead at the turn, but failed to made another birdie the rest of the way. His lead began slipping away when Kisner missed the green on the par-5 12th with a sand wedge, pitched over the other side of the green and took bogey. He closed with a 73.
“I had it right there in the palm of my hand to win, and I didn’t get it done,” Kisner said.
Hoffman rallied from a 39 on the front nine to catch Kisner for the lead, only to three-putt for par on the 16th and then drop another shot from the bunker on the 17th. He made birdie on the 18th that gave him a tie for second.
“Proud of fighting back and making a birdie on the last to finish second, but obviously not what I wanted,” Hoffman said.
The timing was ideal for Leishman, beyond what he described as an honor to win at Bay Hill in the first tournament without Palmer. Instead of a blue blazer, the winner this year received a red cardigan sweater that Palmer favored.
He was No. 62 in the world and had only two weeks left to secure a spot in Augusta National. The victory takes care of that.
Tom Lehman took advantage of senior newcomer Steve Stricker’s late mistakes Sunday to win the Tucson Conquistadores Classic for his 10th PGA Tour Champions victory.
Two strokes behind Stricker with three holes to play, Lehman closed with two birdies and a par for a 7-under 66 and a one-stroke victory over playing partner Stricker.
LPGA Tour:
Anna Nordqvist hot a 4-under 68 on Sunday to hold off fellow major champions Ariya Jutanugarn, Stacy Lewis and In Gee Chun by two strokes in record 96-degree heat at Desert Ridge in Phoenix.
Nordqvist finished at 25-under 263, two strokes off the LPGA Tour record that Sei Young Kim matched last year at Desert Ridge.
When the NEWARK, N.J. — Blue Jackets reached the dressing room after Sunday’s 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils, coach John Tortorella delivered a postgame speech that was mostly a reminder.
The Blue Jackets reached the century mark in the standings — 100 points — and clinched the third postseason berth in franchise history with the victory, but it was celebrated as just the next step for an organization trying to raise its standards.
“It’s a great feeling, and it’s well-deserved,” said left wing Matt Calvert, the longest-tenured Blue Jacket. “Guys have worked hard all year.
“Torts said it at the end of the game: It’s just start of things for us, the start of our new road. We have to finish off the regular season hard and get ready for the playoffs.”
Boone Jenner had two goals to lead the Blue Jackets, while Lukas Sedlak and Brandon Dubinsky each scored penalty shot goals — only the third time in NHL history that a club has scored two penalty-shot goals in the same game.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had 35 saves for his league-leading 39th victory, leading the Jackets to their fourth straight win and seventh win in eight games.
It kept them in a dead heat with Washington (100 points) for first place in the Metropolitan Division and the overall NHL lead.
But the biggest issue on Sunday was the Jackets’ first playoff berth since 2013-14.
Gentlemen, start your beards.
“Right from the get-go, in the summertime, we set the tone and we worked our asses off in training camp and the start of the season to get where we’re at,” Dubinsky said. “It’s one stepping stone. We have a lot ahead of us, still here in the regular season and once we get into the playoffs.
“We’re excited right now. We’re going to enjoy this tonight and tomorrow, then get back to work and continue to climb the ladder.”
The Blue Jackets scored two short-handed goals in the first 10:23 of the first period on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead against the Devils.
Jenner assisted the first one, jarring the puck loose to spring Sedlak on a breakaway before he was hauled down and awarded a penalty shot, which he buried.
Jenner scored the second shorty on his own with a monster shift in the Devils’ zone.
After taking a beating to pin the puck deep in New Jersey’s zone, Jenner pounced on a rebound off a Jack Johnson shot and fired it into the net off New Jersey goaltender Cory Schneider.
“Jens was tenacious,” Tortorella said. “He deserved to score that empty goal late, with the work he’s done.”
The Jackets were awarded another penalty shot early in the second when Josh Anderson was dragged down by Devils defenseman Dalton Prout.
Anderson came up gimpy on the play, heading to the dressing room for a check and allowing Tortorella to select another player on the ice to take the shot.
Dubinsky buried it, giving the Jackets a 3-1 lead at 6:28 of the second.
“I saw Dubi and Jens just staring at me on the bench,” Tortorella said. “I had to pick one of them. Dubi gets the chances. It’s a big goal.”