Kitayama survives wild finish for Bay Hill victory
ORLANDO, Fla. — Kurt Kitayama let an All-Star cast of contenders back into the tournament with a triple bogey, only to beat them all with a clutch birdie and the best lag putt of his life to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday.
With five players tied for the lead with only three holes left, Kitayama pulled ahead with a birdie putt from just inside 15 feet on the par-3 17th hole for the lead. Then his 50-foot putt on the last hole stopped an inch from the cup.
Rory McIlroy roared into the mix with four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn, only to miss a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole for the lead. He had a 70 and finished one shot behind. So did Harris English, who went bogey-free on the weekend at crusty, windy Bay Hill for a 70.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler was a foot away from a close look at birdie and chance at the lead. Instead, his ball spun back into the rough on the 18th.
Jordan Spieth was among six players who had at least a share of the lead over the final two hours. Spieth (70), Scheffler (73), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (72) all finished two behind.
Kitayama finished at 9-under 279 and earned $3.6 million.
Ko holds on for Singapore title: Jin Young Ko answered an early charge by Nelly Korda and closed with three straight pars for a 3under 69 and a two-shot victory in the LPGA’s HSBC Women’s World Championship at Singapore.
Ko finished at 17-under 271 and earned $270,000.
Toms holds on at Tucson: David Toms
got up-and-down for his third bogey of the week on the par-4 18th hole at Tucson National to beat Robert Karlsson by one stroke in the Cologuard Classic on the PGA Tour Champions.
Echavarria nails down first title: Colombian rookie Nico Echavarria closed with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory in the Puerto Rico Open at Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, for his first PGA Tour title.
SKIING Shiffrin misses out in super-G
Mikaela Shiffrin was in third place after the top 20 starters at a World Cup super-G as the American skier missed out on a record-tying 86th career victory at Kvitfjell, Norway. Shiffrin trailed leader Sofia Goggia of Italy by 0.29 seconds.
Jasmine Flury of Switzerland was 0.10 seconds back in second.
AUTO RACING Byron surges to Las Vegas win
William Byron took the lead on the second-tolast lap of overtime to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas and put an exclamation mark on a dominant day for Hendrick Motorsports. The top three drivers were from Hendrick, with Byron beating teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman. Byron led 176 laps for his fifth win in six seasons.
Verstappen wins at Bahrain: Max Verstappen cruised at the Bahrain Grand Prix well ahead of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso.
Ericsson triumphs in IndyCar opener: Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson won the IndyCar season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla.
RUGBY SaberCats move to 3-0 with rally
The Houston SaberCats improved to 3-0 for the first time in their Major League Rugby history with a 31-26 comeback victory over the San Diego Legion at SaberCats Stadium.
Gideon Van Wyk
scored the winning try in the final three minutes.