Lindberg survives eight extra holes to win first LPGA title
Pernilla Lindberg made a 30-foot birdie putt on the eighth extra hole to win the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage on Monday for her first professional victory.
Lindberg finished off Inbee Park on the par-4 10th, the fourth playoff hole Monday at Mission Hills after they played until it was too dark to see and then played some more Sunday night.
Park had a chance to force another, but her 20-footer stopped on the edge of the cup.
The 31-year-old Swede, with fiance Daniel Taylor at her side as her caddie, won the major championship in her 250th start on the LPGA, Ladies European and Symetra tours.
“I can’t believe that I can call myself a major champion,” Lindberg said.
“I just know I’m a grinder, and I just felt: ‘This is mine. I’m going to do this,’ ” she said. “I just knew I could, and I just kept fighting away. I couldn’t believe when that last putt went in.”
Obituary
SKI RACING PIONEER BEATTIE DEAD AT 85 >> Bob Beattie, a ski racing pioneer who helped launch the Alpine World Cup circuit more than 50 years ago, has died. He was 85.
His son, Zeno, said Beattie died Sunday in Fruita, Colo., after dealing with health issues.
Known as “Beats” or “Coach” to friends, Beattie’s career included stints as coach of the U.S. ski team and at the University of Colorado, where he led the Buffaloes to a pair of national titles. He also was a commentator at the Olympics and authored several books.
In the mid-1960s, Beattie partnered with journalist Serge Lang and French coach Honore Bonnet to create the World Cup, with racers traveling the globe to compete.
Jurisprudence
SETTLEMENT IN STEWART WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT >> The family of a race car driver fatally injured when struck by Tony Stewart’s sprint car apparently reached a settlement in its wrongful death lawsuit against the former NASCAR star.
According to a notice posted in federal court records, Judge David Hurd set an April 12 settlement hearing in Utica, N.Y.
Kevin Ward Jr. was killed in August 2014 at Canandaigua Motorsports Park after he exited his car following a crashed into the wall lining the dirt track in upstate New York following a bump from Stewart’s vehicle. Ward was walking in the direction of Stewart’s car when he was struck and killed by the veteran driver.
The family claimed Stewart caused the collision by improperly maneuvering toward the victim after the race was placed under caution.
A trial had been scheduled to begin May 7. MARINOVICH BACK IN JAIL >> Former Raiders and USC quarterback Todd Marinovich is back in jail after being arrested in Orange County recently, according to the Palm Springs Desert Sun.
Marinovich, 48, was arrested March 19 and released after posting bail, according to Orange County jail records. He was arrested again March 23 and remains in custody at the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana, the same city where he was a high school football star at Mater Dei.
Marinovich, who played with the Los Angeles Raiders from 1991-92, was in the middle of a two-year probation sentence handed down last March after his August 2016 arrest after he was found naked in a stranger’s backyard in Irvine with a paper bag full of drugs and syringes and his wallet.
NFL
RAIDERS SIGN PRO BOWL RETURN SPECIALIST >> The Raiders signed free-agent wide receiver/return specialist Dwayne Harris.
Harris, 30, was named to the Pro Bowl as a special teamer with the New York Giants in 2016.
Harris essentially takes the roster spot of kick returner/wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson after the Raiders traded him to the Patriots last month.
JETS CLAIM EX-RAIDERS TIGHT END WALFORD >> The New York Jets claimed tight end Clive Walford off waivers from the Oakland Raiders. The move provides New York depth at tight end after Austin Seferian-Jenkins recently signed with Jacksonville as a free agent. TITANS ADD LINEBACKER >> The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms on a oneyear deal with linebacker Will Compton, who spent the last five seasons with Washington.
Women’s basketball
UCONN LOSES STEVENS TO WNBA DRAFT >> UConn forward Azura Stevens is giving up her last year of eligibility and entering the WNBA draft, the school said.
The 6-foot-6 junior played just one year at UConn after transferring from Duke, averaging 14.7 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Huskies.
Tennis
STEPHENS PULLS OUT OF VOLVO CAR OPEN >> U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens withdrew from the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, S.C., citing mental and physical exhaustion after her run to the Miami Open championship this past Saturday. Stephens was seeded fourth in the season’s first clay-court event.
Soccer
NGO CLAIMS ALLEGED SEXUAL ABUSE AT RIVER PLATE >> River Plate says it will collaborate with authorities after a local NGO reported minors were allegedly abused in the club’s youth divisions.
The AVIVI Association for Victims of Rape made a formal complaint before a local prosecutor on Monday. AVIVI said the three minors were allegedly abused from 2004-11.
Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper reported the complaint was based on information provided by an unnamed doctor who worked at the club for several years.
Weightlifting
TROUBLE FOR UKRAINIAN CHAMPION >> Double European weightlifting champ Oleksandr Pielieshenko of Ukraine is facing the second doping ban of his career. The International Weightlifting Federation said Pielieshenko had tested positive for chlorthalidone, a diuretic which can mask the presence of other banned substances.