Off the wire

GOLF Ancer finishes in front

Abraham Ancer went into the final round of the Australian Open in Sydney with a fivestroke lead. With a few ups and downs along the way, he won it by the same margin. The Mexican golfer, making his first trip to Australia, shot a final-round 69 Sunday to finish with a 16-under total of 272 at The Lakes. Another major prize for Ancer’s win is a trip to next year’s British Open at Royal Portrush for finishing among the top three at the Australian Open who weren’t already exempt. His lead was reduced to four strokes a few times. But Ancer’s shot of the day came on the fourth hole where he hit his pitch shot from just off the green well left of the flag, then watched it hit a slope and roll back down to finish in the hole for a birdie. Australian Dimitrios Papadatos (67) also qualified for the British Open after finishing in second. Jake McLeod, who shot a 66 for the low round of the day Sunday, finished third to also qualify for the Northern Ireland tournament next year. Matt Kuchar and Keegan Bradley finished well off the pace with final-round 75s after being among the leaders for three rounds.

Thompson wins by 4

Lexi Thompson was the best this week, and Ariya Jutanugarn was the best all season. Neither left any doubt about that Sunday. Thompson shot a final-round 70 to finish at 18-under 270 and win the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship at Naples, Fla., by four strokes over Nelly Korda. The victory makes this the sixth consecutive year that Thompson has won at least once, extending the longest such active streak on the LPGA Tour. Among other notables, Brittany Lincicome (67) tied for third at 13-under with So Yeon Ryu (68), and Lydia Ko went 68-68 on the weekend to finish 12-under alongside Jutanugarn, Marina Alex (69) and Carlota Ciganda (70). Nasa Hataoka finished alone in ninth at 10-under, and first-round leader Amy Olson shot a 4-under 68 to finish at 9 under and in a group with Henderson and Sei Young Kim. Jutanugarn took the other two big prizes that were up for grabs this week, clinching the yearlong Race to the CME Globe prize — and the $1 million bonus that comes with that — as well as the Vare Trophy for winning the season’s scoring title. Jutanugarn shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday, finishing the week tied for fifth at 12-under 276.

Willett wins in Dubai

Danny Willett ended his title drought in thrilling fashion, winning the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai by two shots despite a last-hole blunder on Sunday. It was the 31-year-old Englishman’s first victory since the 2016 Masters, secured with a final-round 4-under 68 for an 18-under total of 270. Francesco Molinari finished in joint 26th place to win the European Tour’s Race to Dubai. Molinari, winner of the Open Championship and the BMW PGA Championship this year, secured the title when his closest rival Tommy Fleetwood failed to win the tournament. Willett held a two-shot lead on the 18th tee after making a birdie on the 17th, but pushed his tee shot slightly into the bank of a creek that divides the 18th fairway, and then hit a brave second shot from the rocks before making par. England’s Matt Wallace (68) and American Patrick Reed (70) were joint runners-up at 16-under 272.

TENNIS Zverev beats Djokovic

Alexander Zverev upset Novak Djokovic to claim the biggest title of his career with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at the ATP Finals in London on Sunday. Zverev, 21, is the youngest champion of the season-ending event since Djokovic claimed the first of his five titles a decade ago, and the first from Germany since 1995. Top-ranked Djokovic was attempting to tie Roger Federer’s record of six titles but followed the same path as the Swiss great, who lost to Zverev in the semifinals at the O2 Arena. Djokovic’s serve hadn’t been broken all tournament until the final. Zverev did it once in the first set and three times in the second, completing the victory with a spectacular backhand winner up the line. Earlier, American pair Mike Bryan and Jack Sock saved a match point in the deciding tiebreaker to beat Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 5-7, 6-1, 13-11 for their first ATP Finals doubles title together.

FOOTBALL Colorado fires coach

Colorado has fired coach Mike MacIntyre after the team lost six consecutive games in his sixth season at the school. Athletic Director Rick George released a statement Sunday saying he informed MacIntyre that the coach would not return and then met with the coaching staff and players. George said he will name an interim head coach for Colorado’s final game against California on Saturday. MacIntyre was voted AP college football coach of the year in 2016 after he led the Buffaloes to a Pac-12 South title and 10 victories. That was his only winning season at Colorado, going 20-40 and 6-38 in the Pac-12 in the other five. The Buffs started this season with five consecutive victories and moved into the AP Top 25. They have not won since and lost Saturday to Utah 30-7.

Va. Tech plans extra game

Virginia Tech and Marshall have agreed to play on Dec. 1 if the Hokies need an additional victory to become bowl eligible. The schools made the announcement Sunday, saying the game will take place only if Virginia Tech (4-6) beats Virginia on Friday. It would be played at Lane Stadium at noon local time. Both schools lost games on Sept. 15 because of Hurricane Florence. The Hokies were scheduled to play East Carolina, but the Pirates decided not to make the trip amid concerns of the storm’s impact on their community. The Thundering Herd (7-3) were scheduled to play at South Carolina, but that game was canceled. Virginia Tech has been to a bowl game for the last 25 seasons, the longest active streak recognized by the NCAA. An additional bowl appearance this season would give the program the third-longest bowl streak in NCAA history. The Hokies have won 10 of 12 all-time meetings with Marshall, including the last eight.

Ancer

Zverev