Presidents Cup stays in U. S. hands— barely
The Presidents Cup finally got the drama it desperately needed. The result, however, was the same.
Bill Haas, a captain’s pick and son of U. S. captain Jay Haas, secured the final point the United States needed Sunday to defeat the International team and win the trophy for the ninth time in 11 matches.
Haas, playing in the anchor match, was conceded his birdie putt on the 18th hole by Sangmoon
Bae for a 2- up victory to cap a stirring 15 ½ - 14 ½ triumph in Incheon, South Korea.
‘‘ Before Bill played 17, I said: ‘ Come on, Bill, win one for your mom here. Your mom deserves this,’ ’’ Jay Haas said.
His son did just that. And he won for team, country and captain.
‘‘ That was the hardest position I’ve felt on the golf course in my career, so it feels good to hang on and hit some good shots down the stretch,’’ Bill Haas said. ‘‘ I shouldn’t even be getting emotional; it’s just golf. But to be in that team room with all those guys, it means a lot to me.’’
The United States entered the 12 singles matches with a one- point lead and retained that edge after each team won five matches and two were halved.
Other than Haas’ clincher, the biggest point the United States earned came when Chris Kirk sank a 15- foot birdie putt on the 18th before watching Anirban Lahiri miss his four- footer for birdie.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
USC’s Sarkisian takes leave
USC coach Steve Sarkisian is taking an indefinite leave of absence, athletic director Pat
Haden said. Haden announced the decision after Sarkisian didn’t attend practice Sunday.
Haden wasn’t specific about the reasons for Sarkisian’s leave, saying only, ‘‘ It was very clear to me that he is not healthy.’’ Haden said he spoke with Sarkisian by phone and asked him to take a leave.
Sarkisian publicly apologized before the season after he showed up drunk at a pep rally and made a slurred public statement. At the time, he said he didn’t think he had a drinking problem. Offensive coordinator Clay Helton will take charge of the Trojans, who have lost two of their last three games, in Sarkisian’s absence. USC visits Notre Dame on Saturday.
AUTO RACING
Hamilton wins F1 race in Russia
Lewis Hamilton earned his ninth Formula One victory of the season and the 42nd of his career by capturing the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi by 5.9 seconds over Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton started the race second behind pole- sitter Nico Rosberg, but a throttle problem forced Rosberg to slow to a crawl and then brought him into the pits to retire on the seventh lap. Hamilton, who is on the verge of wrapping up his third Formula One title, coasted from there.
TENNIS
Djokovic crushes Nadal in final
Top- seeded Novak Djokovic routed third- seeded Rafael Nadal 6- 2, 6- 2 to win the China Open in Beijing for the sixth time and improve his record in the tournament to 29- 0.
Nadal still leads the all- time series against Djokovic 23- 22, but he hasn’t beaten him since the French Open final in June 2014.