Rickie Fowler drives away a winner in the Honda Classic in Florida.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Rickie Fowler made it interesting Sunday for as long as it took him to make two big putts to pull away in the Honda Classic.
Staked to a four-shot lead, Fowler hit one putt into a sprinkler hole, put a tee shot into the water and watched a big lead shrink to one over Gary Woodland early on the back nine. Fowler answered with consecutive birdie putts of 40 and 25 feet and closed with a 1-over-par 71 for a four-stroke victory.
“If I don’t make those putts, I’ve got a pretty tight race,” Fowler said.
Instead, those chasing him had the biggest problems with the closing stretch at PGA National.
Fowler effectively ended it with a shot over the water to within three feet that stretched his lead to five shots with two holes to play. Woodland appeared to have second place wrapped up until he threeputted the 17th. He then tried to lay up on the par-5 18th and came up short into the water. He closed with another bogey for a 69. He had to share second place— the difference of $128,000 — with Morgan Hoffmann, who missed a four-foot birdie putt on the 18th and settled for a 68.
Fowler, who finished at 12-under 268, had gone 13 months and 25 starts worldwide without a victory. It was his first PGA Tour victory since the Deutsche Bank Championship in September 2015. In other golf news: • Amy Yang of South Korea won the Thailand LPGA for the second time in three years, finishing with a 4-under 68 for a five-stroke victory. Yang played the final five holes of the third round Sunday morning, completing a 65 to take a five-stroke advantage into the final round. Yang finished at 22-under 266 on Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course. South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu was second after a 68.
• South Africa’s Darren Fichardt won the rainshortened Joburg Open at Johannesburg, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Wales’ Stuart Manley (67) and England’s Paul Waring (69). Fichardt rebounded from a bogey on 17 with a birdie on 18 to finish at 15 under at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.
BASEBALL Hamilton’s knee to get new look
Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers is in Houston, where he will be examined Monday by Dr. Walter Lowe, who performed reconstructive surgery on the former AL MVP’s left knee last June.
The Rangers acknowledge Hamilton, 35, might require arthroscopic knee surgery. If he does, Hamilton likely would be out four to six weeks and then need a minor league rehab assignment as he tries to make a return to the majors.
“We’ll know once Dr. Lowe sees him,” Rangers assistant general manager Mike Daly said. “Josh felt and Dr. Lowe felt that he needed to go back down and get an evaluation.”
Hamilton was examined by Lowe at Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center last Wednesday after his knee flared up in running drills. He was given a platelet-rich plasma injection to alleviate the discomfort. Hamilton returned to camp at Sunrise, Ariz., on Thursday but experienced discomfort after riding a stationary bike for two days. In other news: • Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis has a strained rotator cuff and will stop throwing for a couple of days. He received a cortisone shot Saturday.
• Michael Bourn had a major setback in his attempt to make the Baltimore roster, breaking a finger while playing catch with a football during a recent team workout at Bradenton, Fla.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Bourn will miss about four weeks. The 34-year-old outfielder injured his right ring finger Friday after signing a minor league contract with the team last Monday.
WINTER SPORTS Stirring slalom powers Shiffrin
A stunning slalom run helped Mikaela Shiffrin clinch her first Alpine combined victory to extend her advantage in the World Cup overall ski standings.
Shiffrin was seventh after the super-G portion but knew she could make it up in her favorite discipline. The American blew away her rivals on the final third of the course at Crans Montana, Switzerland, to finish 0.7 seconds above Italy’s Federica Brignone and 0.85 seconds ahead of Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec, who is the American’s closest challenger for the overall title. In other news: • Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud secured the men’s World Cup super-G title on home snow at Kvitfjell as Peter Fill of Italy won the race. Fill won by 0.1 seconds over Austrian Hannes Reichelt, and Canadian Erik Guay was third, 0.23 seconds off the lead.
Reigning Olympic super-G champion Jansrud finished seventh to secure the super-G title with a race to spare.
MOTOR SPORTS Pritchett wins Top Fuel again
Leah Pritchett raced to her second consecutive Top Fuel victory to start the season and successfully defended her NHRA Arizona Nationals title.
Pritchett beat Brittany Force in the final for the second year in a row at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports in Chandler, Ariz., finishing in 3.705 seconds at 328.22 mph. Force ran a 3.704 at 330.39, losing on a holeshot.
Matt Hagan won in Funny Car, and Greg Anderson topped the Pro Stock field.
BOXING Pacquiao, Khan ready to rumble
World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan say they have agreed to the terms for a fight April 23.
The boxers’ promoters have yet to announce any details, and Golden Boy Promotions, Khan’s promoter, didn’t reply to a request from the Associated Press for confirmation.
Pacquiao, who came out of retirement to win the WBO belt by beating Jesse Vargas in November, said on his Twitter account that he is fighting Khan because “this is what the fans wanted.”
Pacquiao’s followers on Twitter recently voted for Khan to be the 38-year-old Filipino’s next opponent, ahead of Jeff Horn of Australia, Terence Crawford of the United States or Kell Brook of Britain. Khan has not fought since stepping up to middleweight and getting knocked out by World Boxing Council champion Canelo Alvarez in May.
SOCCER Dynamo strong in preseason
Romell Quioto scored two goals as the Dynamo concluded the preseason with a 2-0 victory over Colorado on Saturday night to win the Desert Diamond Cup at Tucson, Ariz.
Quioto scored three goals in three tournament appearances, earning the tournament MVP and Copper Boot awards. The Dynamo finished 3-0-1 in preseason.
The Dynamo hope to carry their momentum into the regular-season opener Saturday when they play reigning MLS Cup champion Seattle at BBVA Compass Stadium. In other news: • Zlatan Ibrahimovic powered in a late header to win the League Cup for Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in London, sealing a 3-2 victory over Southampton.