Upstart makes McIlroy put in extra work for victory

Rory McIlroy thought he did everything he needed to win the HSBC Champions on Sunday, and then Xander Schauffele made him do a little more.

McIlroy delivered all the right shots in the playoff, smashing driver down the fairway and hitting 4-iron into 25 feet on the par-5 closing hole at Sheshan International to set up a two-putt birdie. Schauffele, who birdied the 18th in regulation to force a playoff, had to lay up from the rough near a bunker, and his 12foot birdie putt stayed just right of the hole.

McIlroy won for the fourth time this year. It was his third World Golf Championships title. McIlroy played bogey-free over the last 39 holes and closed with a 4-under 68.

“Bogey-free on the weekend. I thought it would be enough to get the job done,” McIlroy said.

Two shots behind with four to play, Schauffele birdied two of the last four holes for a 66, calmly making the 5-footer to force overtime at Sheshan for the second straight year.

They finished at 19-under 269. TODD ROLLS TO SECOND PGA TOUR TITLE >> Brendon Todd ran away with the Bermuda Championship for his second PGA Tour title, shooting a 9-under 62 after flirting with a sub60 round at mostly calm Port Royal Golf Club.

“I’m thrilled, over the moon,” said Todd, his career once nearly ended by full-swing yips.

AMERICAN KORDA DEFENDS CROWN >> American Nelly Korda successfully defended her title in the LPGA Swinging Skirts, birdieing the first hole of a playoff with Australia’s Minjee Lee and Germany Caroline Masson.

The 21-year-old Korda reached the par-5 18th in two in the playoff and two-putted for her third LPGA Tour victory.

MONTGOMERIE WINS PLAYOFF >> Colin Montgomerie won the Invesco QQQ Championship with a par on the first hole of a playoff after Bernhard Langer took four strokes to get out of a greenside bunker.

With Langer finally on the par-4 18th green in six shots, Montgomerie two-putted for the victory, with the 56-year-old Scot tapping in from 2 feet to end the second of three events in the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup playoffs.

College football

FLORIDA STATE FIRES TAGGART >> Florida State fired second-year football coach Willie Taggart, less than 24 hours after the Seminoles lost to rival Miami and with the team in danger of missing a bowl game for the second consecutive season.

Taggart was 9-12 at Florida State, which won the national title in 2013 and has been in a freefall for the last three seasons.

The school said longtime Florida State assistant Odell Haggins has been asked to take over as interim coach for the remainder of the season.

Motorsports

HARVICK CHALKS UP ANOTHER TEXAS TRIUMPH >> Kevin Harvick won the fall Cup race at Texas for the third year in a row, again taking one of the championship-contending spots for NASCAR’s season finale.

Harvick won from the pole, leading 120 of 334 laps in the No. 4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. He took the lead for the seventh and final time on lap 255, and finished 1½ seconds ahead of teammate Aric Almirola. Daniel Suarez, another StewartHaas driver who is still unsigned for next season, finished third.

With Martin Truex Jr. already locked in for the final four on Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the final two spots for the title run will be determined next week at Phoenix.

Tennis

DJOKOVIC CRUISES TO FIFTH PARIS MASTERS TITLE >> Novak Djokovic looked imperious in beating an overawed Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 to win his fifth Paris Masters final, clinching a 34th overall Masters title in fine style to move one behind record holder Rafael Nadal.

At 32 years old, Djokovic has already won 77 titles in a stellar career and fully intends to add many more.

Running

JEPKOSGEI WINS FIRST MARATHON >> Joyciline Jepkosgei arrived in New York with a modest goal for her first marathon ever.

“My focus was to finish the race,” she said, a gold medal hanging around her neck.

Not bad for a novice. Jepkosgei upset four-time champion Mary Keitany to win the New York City Marathon with a historic debut seven seconds off the course record.

Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won the men’s event for the second time in three years.