Run of bad luck over for Spieth
Harkins ties for 26th in Korn Ferry event
Jordan Spieth ended a slump that lasted nearly four years, closing with a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Valero Texas Open for his first victory since the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale.
Now he heads to Augusta National as one of the favorites at the Masters.
“This is a monumental win for me,” Spieth said. “It’s been a long road. There were a lot of times that I didn’t know I would be here.”
Spieth sealed it with a 5-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, and he won by two shots over Charley Hoffman.
Spieth went 82 starts on the PGA Tour without a victory since Royal Birkdale. He missed the Tour Championship the past two years and nearly fell out of the top 100 in the world at the start of this year.
But the 27-year- old from Dallas showed signs of turning it around. He was tied for the 54hole lead in Phoenix. He led by two going into the final round at Pebble Beach. He was two behind going into the last day at Bay Hill.
Tied for the lead with Matt Wallace going into Sunday at the TPC San Antonio, Spieth moved out in front and didn’t let anyone catch him. He built a threeshot lead with a birdie on the 12th hole, when Hoffman made him sweat.
TAVATANAKIT WINS MAJOR TITLE » Patty Tavatanakit survived Lydia Ko’s final-round charge to win the ANA Inspiration for her first LPGA Tour victory.
Five strokes ahead entering the day and six in front after a chipin eagle on the par-5 second, Tavatanakit shot a 4-under 68 in 100-degree heat to beat Ko by two strokes in the first major championship of the year.
JAEGER WINS KORN FERRY EVENT » Stephan Jaeger closed with a 4-under 66 and beat David Lipsky in the playoff by making par on the first extra hole to win the Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Former Chico State standout Brandon Harkins also shot a 66 in the final round to tie for 26th at 4 under and earn $4,660.
NHL
PLAYERS REACT TO CANUCKS’ TROUBLES » The Vancouver Canucks’ season being brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic makes players and coaches elsewhere in the all- Canadian North Division uneasy for that team and their own.
Sixteen of the 22 players on the Canucks’ active roster were on the NHL’s protocol list with Sunday’s addition of forward Marc Michaelis and defenseman Jalen Chatfield. A member of the coaching staff had also been affected.
The Canucks are off the ice at least until Tuesday and have had four games postponed because of the virus.
“It’s something that we’ve talked about all season long, is keeping it (COVID) out,” Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid said Sunday.
NBA
HOLIDAY SIGNS EXTENSION WITH BUCKS » Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday followed up his biggest game of the season by making a long-term commitment to his new team.
Holiday agreed to a four-year contract extension that would be worth at least $134 million if he exercises his option for the final season. The Bucks announced the agreement.
The announcement came one day after Holiday had a season-high 33 points as well as 11 assists and seven rebounds in a 129-128 victory at Sacramento. Holiday’s performance enabled the Bucks
to withstand the absence of reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out with a sore left knee.
Tennis
HURKACZ WINS MIAMI OPEN » With the Big Three absent at the Miami Open, and tennis’ next generation scrambling to fill the void, it was Hubert Hurkacz of Poland who made a breakthrough.
The 24-year-old Hurkacz won the biggest title of his career by beating 19-yearold Jannik Sinner of Italy 7- 6 (4), 6- 4.
Hurkacz improved to 10- 0 in Florida this year, including the Delray Beach title in January. Ranked 37th, he is projected to climb to a career-high 16th in next week’s rankings.
MLB NATS
TO OPEN SEASON
TUESDAY » The Nationals will begin their season Tuesday by hosting the Atlanta Braves after Major League Baseball postponed Monday’s opener of the teams’ three-game series because of a coronavirus outbreak that involves 11 of Washington’s players.
“The most recent round of test results of Nationals personnel included no new positives,” said an MLB statement sent Sunday night. “All of ( Washington’s) eligible personnel will be able to participate in baseball activities at Nationals Park on Monday.”
Four Nationals players have tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week and are isolating, while another seven are under quarantine because contact tracing determined they might have been exposed to the illness.