Off the wire

GOLF

Opener delayed again

Another attempt to start the PGA Tour season was blown away Sunday in Kapalua, Hawaii. Just more than an hour into the opening round of the Tournament of Champions, play was suspended when more 40 mph gusts came roaring down the Plantation Course at Kapalua and left officials no choice but to wipe out yet another round. Rickie Fowler will hit the opening tee shot of the 2013 season today — for the third time this week. Andy Pazder, the tour’s chief of operations, said earlier Sunday that the decisions not to play “were not hard” because the wind was severe. The evidence from one hour of golf was overwhelming.

Matt Kuchar’s golf ball blew off the tee twice before he could even hit his first tee shot. Charlie Beljan played six shots before he reached his first green. Ben Curtis had birdie putts on the first two holes and played them in 5 over par. The winners-only tournament was supposed to begin Friday, but the round was scrapped by high wind after no one had played more than eight holes. It tried to start Sunday — the day most golf tournaments end — and it was clear early on there would be trouble. “We need to try to put the show on,”

Ian Poulter said. “Hyundai spent a lot of money. We want to play. Fans want to see us play. TV wants to see us play. We’re backed into a corner. I don’t think they understand how windy it really is. Now they’ve seen it.” It was comical from the start, with Kuchar having to tee it up three times before he could hit, and removing his cap the rest of the way. Jonas Blixt had a 1-foot par putt on the 10th hole and took about two minutes. He had to wait as a cup and someone’s hat blew across the green. The final blow came at the 12th hole. Scott Stallings had a tap-in and as he approached the ball to take his stance, it blew some 8 feet away. “It’s crazy. That’s the only way to describe it,” Curtis said. “I’ve never hit two greens in regulation at the start and walked away at 5 over. But, hey, at least we had to try.” And they will try again, playing 36 holes today when the forecast is for less wind, followed by an 18-hole finish Tuesday. That puts a crimp on the next tournament, the Sony Open in Honolulu, which starts Thursday. Pazder had said the Sony Open would have a limited television production because it’s at least a 16hour trip by barge to get the equipment over to Oahu.

HORSE RACING

Stevens third in comeback Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens finished third in the first race of his comeback after a seven-year retirement at Santa Anita race track in Arcadia, Calif. He was aboard Jebrica in the sixth race Sunday, a $45,000 claiming race at a mile on the turf. They were running second late in the race before finishing a nose behind second-place Deacon

Speakin’. “I thought, ‘Man, this is going to be a storybook comeback.’ It wasn’t meant to be, but it was close enough,” he said. “That’s the first time I’ve knuckled down on one in seven years, and it felt good.” Aaron Gryder rode the winner, Maybe Tuesday. “Gary looked good, and it was fun to have him back in the jocks’ room,” Gryder said. It was Stevens’ only mount on the card. Afterward, he hurried off to shower, changed and made it to the HRTV booth in time to analyze the featured Monrovia Stakes. “It feels good to get the cobwebs out, and I feel good,” said Stevens, who had battled knee pain for the last several years of his career. Stevens announced last week he was launching a comeback because he still has a passion for riding. The jockey, who turns 50 in March, plans to juggle his TV work with the horse racing channel and NBC Sports while riding. He said he will be selective in how many races he rides in.

TENNIS

Murray defends title

Andy Murray kicked off 2013 with a successful defense of his Brisbane International title, holding off the up-and-coming Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (0), 6-4 in Sunday’s final in Brisbane, Australia. Dimitrov, 21 raced to a 4-1 lead in his first ATP World Tour final, stunning Murray with some impressive single-handed backhands, but lost his nerve and was broken when serving for the set at 5-3. After getting back on serve, the third-ranked Murray saved a set point with an ace and forced a tiebreaker, which he dominated. Murray began his breakthrough season in 2012 by winning in Brisbane and followed that up later with career-changing titles at the London Olympics and U.S. Open. He heads into the Australian Open, starting Jan. 14, as the reigning major champion. Second- seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia won the Chennai Open title Sunday in Chennai, India, by beating Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Tipsarevic, who lost to Milos Raonic in last year’s final, dominated the second set and then broke early in the third. Bautista-Agut, who beat top-seeded

Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, seemed to struggle with a leg injury and needed on-court treatment during the second set.