Scheffler wins Players Championship
Scottie Scheffler took on the scary TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Verda Beach, Fla., as if he was playing alone. And by the time he got done with a masterful performance Sunday in The Players Championship, that’s about how it looked.
Scheffler ran off five straight birdies in the middle of his round, built a sixshot lead and left all the drama to everyone else on his way to a 3-under-par 69 to win the richest prize on the PGA Tour by five shots.
The victory was worth $4.5 million and sent Scheffler back to No. 1 in the world for the second time this year. He now has six victories in his last 27 starts on the PGA Tour, including the four wins he had last year culminated by his Masters title. Tyrrell Hatton birdied his last five holes for a 65, finishing when Scheffler was making the turn. Viktor Hovland (68) and Tom Hoge (70) were seven shots behind in a tie for third, each making nearly $1.5 million from the $25 million purse.
Scheffler, who finished at 17-under 271, became only the third player to win at the TPC Sawgrass with all four rounds in the 60s.
Other golf
Jorge Campillo held onto his overnight lead to win the DP World Tour’s Kenya Open in Nairobi, Kenya, by two shots with a 5-under 66. The Spaniard put together six birdies and dropped just one shot in the final round at Muthaiga Golf Club to go 18 under overall and stay ahead of Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.
College basketball
Duquesne men’s basketball will play in the College Basketball Invitational. Duquesne (20-12) will make its sixth postseason appearance in 42 years when it heads to Daytona Beach, Fla., to face Rice (18-15) at the Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational. The Dukes, seeded fifth, will take on the 12th-seeded Owls at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Discount Tire CBI, which originated in 2008, features 16 teams competing in a single-elimination format with all games played at Daytona Beach’s Ocean Center from Saturday through March 22. This will be Duquesne’s first postseason appearance since 2016.
• Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self was discharged from a Kansas Cityarea hospital, and the Hall of Famer plans to rejoin the No. 3 Jayhawks as they begin defense of their NCAA championship this week.
Auto racing
William Byron won his second straight NASCAR Cup Series race, taking advantage of a pair of late cautions to give the rolling Hendrick Motorsports team a victory in overtime at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet got a great start in overtime with two laps left, and just like he did a week earlier at Las Vegas, he overtook teammate Kyle Larson for the win. He also had to hold off Ryan Blaney, who finished second, while Tyler Reddick was third. Byron denied Kevin Harvick a chance to win his 10th race at Phoenix. Harvick’s Stewart-Haas No. 4 Ford assed Larson for the lead with 44 laps remaining, taking advantage of the long run under green-flag conditions that favored his car all afternoon.
Pro football
Two people with knowledge of the deal say the Miami Dolphins are acquiring All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles will get Miami’s thirdround pick in the 2023 NFL draft and tight end Hunter Long for Ramsey. Both people spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because neither team had announced the deal.
• The New York Jets and linebacker Quincy Williams agreed on a three-year deal, a person with knowledge of the contract told The Associated Press. The deal is for $18 million, and includes $9 million in guarantees.
Soccer
A Swiss newspaper says a spying operation on behalf of World Cup host Qatar bugged a 2017 hotel meeting between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Switzerland’s then-attorney general. They met during a years-long investigation of soccer officials. The probe had begun by looking for financial wrongdoing linked to World Cup host candidates including Qatar’s winning 2022 bid. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung daily says intelligence operatives linked to a former CIA officer wiretapped Infantino and Swiss federal prosecutor Michael Lauber at a Qatari-owned hotel in Bern in June 2017. The Qatari government’s international media office called the NZZ report “another attempt to spread false information about Qatar.”
• Robbie Mertz scored the tying goal in the 71st minute, and Riverhounds SC opened their 24th season with a 1-1 draw against Birmingham Legion FC in Birmingham, Ala., late Saturday night. The Riverhounds opened a season with a draw for the first time since 2018. Alex Crognale had given the Legion (0-0-1) the lead when he scored off a corner kick in the first half.
World Baseball Classic
Shohei Ohtani hit a threerun homer that landed just below his image on a video advertising board, sending Japan to a 7-1 victory against Australia in the World Baseball Classic. Japan won Group B with a 4-0 record and will play a quarterfinal Wednesday against Italy, which advanced along with Cuba from Group A on tiebreakers. Matt Harvey got the win as Italy defeated the Netherlands 7-1, causing all five teams to finish 2-2. South Korea beat the Czech Republic 7-3 in the day’s other Group B game, and Cuba defeated Taiwan 7-1 in Group A.