Spieth ends drought with victory at Texas Open
Jordan Spieth ended a slump that lasted nearly four years, closing with a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Valero Texas Open for his first victory since the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale.
Now he heads to Augusta Nationalasoneofthefavorites at the Masters.
“This is a monumental win for me,” Spieth said. “It’s been a long road. There were a lot of times that I didn’t know I would be here.”
Spieth sealed it with a 5-foot birdie putt on the 17thhole,andhewonbytwo shots over Charley Hoffman.
Spieth went 82 starts on the PGA Tour without a victory since Royal Birkdale. He missed the Tour Championship the past two years and nearly fell out of the top 100intheworldatthestart of this year.
But the 27-year-old from Dallas showed signs of turning it around. He was tied for the 54-hole lead in Phoenix. He led by two going into the final round at Pebble Beach. He was two behind going into the last day at Bay Hill.
Tied for the lead with Matt Wallace going into Sunday at the TPC San Antonio, Spieth moved out in front and didn’t let anyone catch him. He built a threeshot lead with a birdie on the 12th hole, when Hoffman made him sweat.
NHL
PLAYERS REACT TO CANUCKS’ TROUBLES » The Vancouver Canucks’ season being brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic makes players and coaches
elsewhere in the all-Canadian North Division uneasy for that team and their own.
Sixteen of the 22 players on the Canucks’ active roster were on the NHL’s protocol list with Sunday’s additionofforwardMarcMichaelis and defenseman Jalen Chatfield. A member of the coaching staff had alsobeenaffected.
The Canucks are off the ice at least until Tuesday and have had four games postponed because of the virus.
NBA HOLIDAY SIGNS EXTENSION WITH BUCKS »
Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday followed up his biggest game of the season by making a long-term commitment to his new team.
Holiday agreed to a fouryear contract extension that wouldbeworthatleast$134 million if he exercises his option for the final season. The Bucks announced the agreement.
The announcement came one day after Holiday had a season-high 33 points as
well as 11 assists and seven rebounds in a 129-128 victory at Sacramento.
Tennis HURKACZ WINS MIAMI OPEN »
With the Big Three absent at the Miami Open, and tennis’ next generation scrambling to fill the void, it was Hubert Hurkacz of Poland who made a breakthrough.
The 24-year-old Hurkacz won the biggest title of his career by beating 19-yearold Jannik Sinner of Italy 7-6(4),6-4.
Hurkacz improved to 10-0 in Florida this year, including the Delray Beach title in January. Ranked 37th, he is projected to climb to a career-high 16th in next week’s rankings.
Soccer
VALENCIA ‘FORCED TO PLAY’ AFTER INSULT »
Valencia stopped playing its Spanish league game at Cádiz and walked off the field after one of its players said he was racially insulted by an opponent. The club said it resumed the game after feeling threatened by the referee with the loss of points.
Valencia left the field after Mouctar Diakhaby said he was insulted by Cádiz defender Juan Cala, who denied any wrongdoing.
The team returned more than 20 minutes later.
“The referee told the players about the potential consequences of not returning to the field,” the club said in a statement. “The players were forced to play after the threat of punishment.”
SOUTHAMPTON 3, BURNLEY 2 » Southampton eased its relegation concerns by coming from two goals down to beat Burnley for just a second win in the Premier League since the start of January.
Nathan Redmond completed the comeback in a thrilling game at St. Mary’s Stadium by volleying home the winning goal in the 66th minute, following strikes before halftime by Stuart Armstrong and Danny Ings.
TOTTENHAM 2, ARSENAL 2» Tottenham was denied a place in the Premier League’s top four by a player on loan from fierce rival Arsenal as Joe Willock’s late goal earned Newcastle a draw.
MANCHESTER UNITED 2, BRIGHTON 1 » Mason Greenwood completed a strong comeback by Manchester United in a win over Brighton that strengthened the team’s grip on second place in the Premier League.
ASTON VILLA 3, FULHAM 1 » Trezeguet came off the bench to score two goals in three minutes as Aston Villa rallied late for a win over Fulham to leave the beaten visitors in the Premier League’s relegation zone.