NOTEWORTHY
Late birdie lifts Kitayama
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 in Orlando, Florida.
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.
The tap-in par for an even-par 72 might have been the easiest shot he had all day. Kitayama finished at 9-under 279 and earned $3.6 million.
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 having a close look at birdie on his approach shot on 18 but his ball spun back into the rough and he finished with a bogey.
Jordan Spieth was among six players who had at least a share of the lead over the final two hours. He missed four straight putts inside 8 feet from the 14th through the 17th holes – three of them for par. He took the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt, then played his last five holes in 3 over.
Spieth (70), Scheffler (73), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Tyrrell Hatton (72) all finished two shots back.
SPEEDSKATING
Jordan Stolz of Kewaskum capped his memorable weekend at the world single distance champioinships by winning the 1,500 meters Sunday in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
Stolz had a winning time of 1 minute 43.59 seconds as he became the first man to win three individual gold medals at the championships.
Stolz previously won the 500 on Friday and 1,000 on Saturday
“I felt really good this weekend, better than I have all year, and also peaking too,” Stolz said in a phone interview with the Journal Sentinel on Sunday morning. “With all the races earlier in the year, and a lot of hard training, I came here and I just rested for 10 days. And I just felt super good on the ice. So technically, yeah, I think it was the best time ever skated, especially in the 500 and 1,000. The 1,500 was pretty good - near perfect.”
AUTO RACING
Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson won the IndyCar season-opening race Sunday.
Ericsson outlasted the carnage on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg for a surprise victory for Chip Ganassi Racing on a swampy Sunday in Florida. It was the fourth career IndyCar victory for the Swedish former Formula One driver.
A seven-car accident on the very first lap knocked five cars out of the race, including Andretti driver Devlin DeFrancesco, who was sent airborne when rookie Ben Pedersen slammed directly into his stopped car.
Helio Castroneves, a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, limped away from the accident while his Meyer Shank Racing teammate Simon Pagenaud clutched his hand.
Jack Harvey wasn’t so lucky and was briefly seen at a local hospital after Kyle Kirkwood became the second Andretti driver to go airborne and sailed directly over Harvey’s head. Rinus VeeKay had slid into a tire barrier, Harvey ran into the back of VeeKay and Kirkwood launched over both cars.
MLB
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper says he will report to spring training on Wednesday as he continues recovering from elbow surgery and then determine when he can return full time.
The two-time National League MVP was injured in April and last played right field on April 16 in Miami. He underwent reconstructive right elbow surgery in November, causing him to miss the beginning of spring training.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Marquette women’s basketball team couldn’t repeat history.
The Golden Eagles were routed by No. 9 Connecticut, 81-52, in the semifinals of the Big East tournament Sunday in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The Huskies (28-5) broke open the game with a 12-2 run to take a 37-22 lead into halftime.
Liza Karlen scored 18 points to lead the Golden Eagles (21-10) and Kenzie Hare added 15 off the bench.