Horschel outlasts Scheffler, wins title
Billy Horschel had just enough left in the tank to win the Dell Technologies Match Play with plenty of help from Scottie Scheffler in a sloppy end to the longest week in golf.
Horschel made only one birdie in the championship match, chipping in from 40 feet on the fifth hole, and left the big mistakes to the 24-year- old Scheffler in winning 2 and 1.
Horschel, who had never reached the weekend in four previous appearances at this World Golf Championship, won six out of the seven matches over 122 holes he played at Austin Country Club. He won for the sixth time on the PGA Tour, and his fifth individual title.
DAHMEN WINS FIRST PGA TITLE >> Joel Dahmen won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship for his first PGA Tour victory, avoiding a playoff when the wind pushed playing partner Rafael Campos’ final birdie try to the left.
Dahmen closed with a 2-under 70 on the windswept seaside course. He started fast with birdies on three of the first four holes and added another on the par-5 seventh, then played the last 11 in 2 over with bogeys on par-3 11th and par-5 14th and a series have hard-earned pars.
The 33-year- old Dahmen finished at 12-under 276. He didn’t get into the Masters with the victory because the tournament was played opposite the WGC Match Play event in Texas, but did wrap up a PGA Championship berth and a spot at Kapalua in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. PARK WINS LPBA EVENT >> Inbee Park opened her LPGA Tour season with a wire-to-wire victory in the Kia Classic on the eve of the first major championship of the season.
The Hall of Famer finally put it all together at Aviara Golf Club, winning her 21st LPGA Tour title after finishing second on the scenic course in 2010, 2016 and 2019. She tied LPGA Founder Marilynn Smith for 25th place on the victory list and moved within four of matching Se Ri Pak for the South Korean mark.
Park closed with a 2-under 70 for a five- stroke victory — the same margin she took into the day — over Lexi Thompson and Amy Olson. Park finished at 14-under 274, opening with rounds of 66, 69 and 69.
FROM PAGE 1 Motor sports
RAIN POSTPONES NASCAR >> NASCAR’s hyped return to dirt is instead a muddy mess on hold at least until Monday.
Torrential rains flooded campgrounds and parking lots surrounding Bristol Motor Speedway and created a rut for NASCAR far deeper than anything the Cup Series drivers encountered on the track.
NASCAR canceled all activity because even if Bristol’s converted dirt track could eventually be readied for night racing, the entire facility was a swampy mess. Grandstand seats that had been covered in dust were caked in mud, while pit road and the apron around the 0.533mile bullring held several inches of standing water.
After 2 ½ inches of rain fell across “Thunder Valley,” NASCAR made an atypical decision to call an early washout. The first Cup Series race on dirt since 1970 was rescheduled for 4 p.m. Monday; trucks were set to run at noon. HAMILTON WINS F1 OPENER >> World champion Lewis Hamilton just managed to hold off Max Verstappen to win the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and clinch the 96th Formula One win of his career.
The race was effectively decided when Verstappen overtook Hamilton on Lap 53 of 56 but went too wide on a turn and off track limits. He was told by his team to give Hamilton the position back, as he risked a time penalty.
Verstappen still had a few laps to catch Hamilton and he almost did, finishing .74 seconds behind the Mercedes driver.
With 22 races still to come, F1 fans could be in for a treat this season if Verstappen takes the title challenge to Hamilton.
College basketball
INDIANA TO HIRE WOODSON >> Indiana will hire former star player Mike Woodson as its new coach, a person with knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Associated Press.
The person requested anonymity because no official announcement had been made.
Woodson has spent 22 of the past 23 seasons coaching in the NBA. He was head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10 and the New York Knicks from 2012-14. He went 315-365 in those nine seasons.
Men’s soccer
U. S. BEATS NORTHERN IRELAND >> Gio Reyna scored on a deflected shot in the first half, Christian Pulisic converted a penalty kick in the second and the United States beat Northern Ireland 2-1 in an exhibition at Belfast for the Americans’ first win at a European opponent since 2015.
Reyna received a pass from Tim Ream and took four touches with no pressure. His right-footed shot from 24 yards deflected off a leg of Ciaron Brown and over goalkeeper Conor Hazard in the 30th minute for his second international goal.
Pulisic, captaining the U. S. for the fourth time, made it 2- 0 when he slid the ball to the left of Hazard in the 59th minute for his 15th international goal. Playing just his second match for the Americans since October 2019, Pulisic had taken a pass from Reyna and was tripped by Daniel Ballard.