Match play title extends Johnson’s run
Dustin Johnson became the first player to complete a career sweep of the four World Golf Championships, weathering some late drama Sunday to win the Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin, Texas, his third consecutive PGA Tour victory.
Johnson withstood a furious charge by Jon Rahm when the 22year-old Spaniard failed to birdie the 18th hole, clinching a 1-up victory that completed a week in which Johnson never trailed in his seven matches and led in 105 of the 112 holes he played. He is just the second player in the 19-year history of this event to never trail the entire week. Luke Donald did it in 2001.
Johnson’s 15th career title consolidated his No. 1 world ranking and makes him the clear favorite at the Masters in two weeks. A victory at the Houston Open this week would make him the first tour player since Tiger Woods in 2008 to win four straight tournaments.
Johnson previously won the Mexico Championship earlier this month (and its earlier incarnation, the Cadillac Championship at Doral, in 2015), the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in 2013 and the Bridgestone Invitational last summer at Firestone.
D.A. Points opened the final round with five straight birdies on his way to a six-under 66 and a twoshot victory in the Puerto Rico Open, his third PGA Tour title. Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, Bill Lunde and former U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau tied for second at Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
Mirim Lee shot a seven-under 65 to win the Kia Classic at Carlsbad by six strokes over fellow South Korean So Yeon Ryu and Austin Ernst of Greenville, S.C. It was Lee’s third LPGA Tour victory and first since she won twice in 2014, her rookie year. She tied the tournament record of 20 under set in 2015 by Cristie Kerr.
Sprint car veteran David Steele died during a race Saturday in Florida. A Manatee County Sheriff ’s report said Steele, 42, was racing in a sprint car at Desoto Speedway in Bradenton when his left front wheel struck the right rear wheel of another car. Steele’s vehicle went up in the air, spun 180 degrees and hit the retaining wall.
Authorities in Cedar Falls, Iowa, said Chicago Bears cornerback Deiondre Hall and Green Bay Packers cornerback Makinton Dorleant were arrested after allegedly being involved in a fight outside a bar. Hall was cited for disorderly conduct, public intoxication and interference with official acts; Dorleant for interference.
New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz was scratched from his next start because of tenderness in his left elbow, putting his status for opening day in doubt. Matz was shut down in September last season and had surgery to remove bone spurs from his left elbow.
Venus Williams, playing for the 18th time in a tennis tournament she’s won three times and considers a hometown event, reached the fourth round of the Miami Open by beating qualifier Patricia Maria Tig, 6-3, 6-0. Top-ranked Angelique Kerber rallied to beat American Shelby Rogers, 6-4, 7-5.
In men’s play, No. 2-seeded Kei Nishikori beat No. 25 Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 6-1; No. 5 Rafael Nadal defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, 0-6, 6-2, 6-3; 13thseeded American Jack Sock beat Jiri Vesely, 6-3, 7-6 (0); and No. 3 Milos Raonic pulled out after aggravating a hamstring injury.
Germany, England and Poland took another step toward World Cup qualification, but the Netherlands’ failure to do so cost national team coach Danny Blind his job.
Germany stayed perfect in Group C qualifying with a 4-1 victory at Azerbaijan, Poland consolidated its top spot in Group E with a 2-1 win at Montenegro, and England extended its Group F lead to four points with a 2-0 victory over Lithuania in London.
The Dutch football association fired Blind one day after a humiliating 2-0 loss at Bulgaria left the 2014 World Cup semifinalists in danger of missing out on a second successive major tournament after watching Euro 2016 at home.