Zardes to miss Cup qualifiers
Midfielder Gyasi Zardes will miss the United States’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers after he was injured during a Major League Soccer game.
Already without forward Clint Dempsey as he undergoes evaluations for an irregular heartbeat, the Americans won’t have Zardes for their final two games of the CONCACAF semifinals. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann is mostly sticking with the squad that finished fourth in the Centennial Copa America this summer.
“They deserve to come back and confirm what they did in the tournament,” he said.
ARIYA TAKES CANADA
Ariya Jutanugarn ran away with the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open on Sunday at chilly Priddis Greens in Priddis, Alberta for her LPGA Tour-leading fifth victory of the year.
Nine days after withdrawing from the Rio Olympics because of a left knee injury, the 20-year-old Thai player made a 12-footbirdie putt on the final hole for a 6-under 66 and a four-stroke victory while bundled up in a winter jacket between shots with the temperature in the lows 50s on the overcast afternoon. South Korea’s Sei Young Kim, a twotime winner this year, was second after a 65.
LARSON WINS NASCAR
Kyle Larson raced to his first Sprint Cup victory, taking the lead on a restart with nine laps remaining and holding off Chase Elliott at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., in a duel between two of NASCAR’s up-and-coming standouts. Elliott had a comfortable lead before a tire problem on Michael Annett’s car brought out the yellow flag. Larson had the better restart and went on to win by 1.48 seconds. Brad Keselowski finished third. Larson secured a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup with two races left in the regular season. Elliott remains winless, but is in solid shape to make the Chase field on points if need be.
KERRI, APRIL WIN
Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross rebounded from a third-place finish in the Olympics to win the Long Beach Grand Slam. The top-seeded Americans beat Spain’s Liliana Fernandez and Elsa Baquerizo, 21-16, 21-16, in the ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball’s regular-season finale.