Kokrak comes on strong at finish to win Houston Open
HOUSTON » Jason Kokrak had reason to believe he shot himself out of the Houston Open on the back nine Saturday morning. He played it 10 shots better when it counted Sunday afternoon, making four straight birdies for a 5-under 65 and a two-shot victory.
Two shots behind with six holes to play, Kokrak delivered all the right shots to pull away from a fading Scottie Scheffler and Martin Trainer and win for the third time in the last 13 months.
Kokrak couldn’t help but think back to Saturday morning, when he returned to complete the second round and went the other direction. He played seven holes in 7-over par for a 41 that left him 10 shots behind after 36 holes.
KORDA WINS IN PLAYOFF » An epic duel between Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson turned into a stunning meltdown by both of them. Korda at least managed to recover and win a four-way playoff in the Pelican Women’s Championship.
Korda won for the fourth time this year on the LPGA Tour, none of the others this wild.
Korda fell out of the lead on the 17th hole at Pelican Golf Club by chopping her way to a triple bogey to fall two shots behind. She answered with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 1-under 69 and got into a playoff when Thompson made a second straight bogey for 69.
MICKELSON WINS FINALE, LANGER TAKES TITLE » Phil Mickelson stood on the 18th green at Phoenix Country Club, a wide smile across his face as he held yet another PGA Tour Champions trophy.
Next to him was 64-yearold Bernhard Langer, grinning just as broadly as he hoisted the Charles Schwab Cup trophy at an age when most players are playing from the front tee boxes, not fighting for championships.
One ceremony, two champions with vastly different styles.
Mickelson birdied three of the final holes to win the season-ending Charles
Schwab Cup Championship, and Langer held on to win his sixth PGA Tour Champions season points title.
Motor sports
HAMILTON STUNS VERSTAPPEN » Ending a turbulent weekend with a stunning victory, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Brazilian Grand Prix and gained momentum in his Formula One title fight with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, beat Verstappen despite starting from 10th position on the grid due to a penalty — the second Hamilton faced this weekend in Sao Paulo.
Verstappen, the winner of the race’s previous edition in 2019, finished second and saw his lead in the driver’s championship shrink to 14 points, with three races left. The winner of a race gets 25 points. NHRA CROWNS SEASON CHAMPS » Steve Torrence, Greg Anderson and Matt Smith raced to season championships and race victories in the seasonending Auto Club NHRA Finals.
Torrence raced to his fourth Top Fuel championship, Anderson won his fifth Pro Stock crown, and Smith his fifth Pro Stock Motorcycle title. Ron Capps won his second Funny Car season championship.
Torrence secured the title with a first-round victory. In the final, he beat Antron
Brown with a 3.759-second pass at 317.12 mph. Torrence had 11 victories this season to push his career total to 51.
College football
ALABAMA JUMPS CINCINNATI
Alabama jumped Cincinnati to No. 2 behind Georgia in The Associated Press college football poll and Oklahoma dropped eight spots to No. 12 after losing for the first time this season.
Georgia is a unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank for the sixth consecutive week and the Southeastern Conference has the top two teams in the poll for the sixth time this season.
Alabama and Georgia were flip-flopped at Nos. 1 and 2 for five weeks in September and early October.
The switch from Cincinnati to Alabama at No. 2 was more about the Bearcats than the Crimson Tide, which closed the gap on UC to four points last week. WASHINGTON FIRES COACH » Washington fired head coach Jimmy Lake, less than two years after he was chosen to succeed Chris Petersen.
Lake’s firing concluded a stunningly fast fall with a team that began the season ranked in The AP Top 25 and stumbled through embarrassing losses that raised discontent in the fan base.
Athletic director Jen Cohen said the school will honor the terms of Lake’s
contract, which puts Washington on the hook for more than $9 million dollars. AUBURN’S NIX OUT FOR SEASON » Auburn quarterback Bo Nix will miss the final two games of the regular season with an ankle injury.
Nix was injured in a 4334 loss to Mississippi State Saturday that represented the program’s biggest collapse after leading 28-3. A team spokesman confirmed that the Tigers quarterback is scheduled to have surgery on Monday.
Nix, a three-year starter, stayed in the game before getting replaced by LSU transfer T.J. Finley in the final minutes. Auburn visits South Carolina on Saturday and closes the regular season against No. 2 Alabama.
Soccer
SANDS ADDED TO U.S. ROSTER » Defender James Sands of Major League Soccer’s New York City team has been added to the U.S. roster for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier at Jamaica.
The U.S. will be without defender Miles Robinson and midfielder Weston McKennie because of onegame suspensions. Robinson was given two yellow cards in Friday night’s 2-0 win over Mexico, and McKennie received his second yellow card of qualifying after getting one in the opener at El Salvador on Sept. 2.
Both left camp before the U.S. traveled to Jamaica.