Malnati's great shot earns Valspar, berth in Masters
PALM HARBOR, FLA. >> Peter Malnati got a great break with the tournament on the line and followed that with an even better shot, making a late birdie on his way to a 4-under 67 to win the Valspar Championship on Sunday and earn his first trip to the Masters.
Malnati tapped in that yellow golf ball for par on the final hole for only his second PGA Tour victory. He won by two over Cameron Young, who made it easier on him by taking bogey on the final hole for a 68. Young now has seven runner-up finishes without a win.
On a wild day of rallies and meltdowns, it came down to Malnati and Young playing a group apart as they headed into the tough finishing stretch at Innisbrook known as the “Snake Pit.”
Malnati's approach on the 16th went long and left into gnarly rough some 50 feet from the pin, leaving him a tough chip to try to save par and stay tied. But his foot was on a sprinkler head, which entitled him to a free drop. With the extra club length, he was able to drop it on the fringe and use putter, which he sent down to short range for par.
MLB
OHTANI TO SPEAK TO MEDIA >> Shohei Ohtani plans to speak to the media Monday for the first time since the illegal gambling and theft allegations involving the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his interpreter emerged during the team's trip to South Korea.
The interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers last week when the team opened the season with two games against the San Diego Padres in Seoul.
Manager Dave Roberts endorsed Ohtani addressing the matter publicly. He said it was the two-way superstar's decision to do so. UNION MEMBERS SQUABBLE >> Baseball players' union head Tony Clark made his first public response to an effort aimed at ousting his chief negotiator, calling it a secret campaign with an outside agenda.
Clark issued a statement in response to a statement by Harry Marino, a former union official who hopes players will remove Major League Baseball Players Association deputy director Bruce Meyer, the union's chief negotiator of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement.
Marino, a former minor leaguer who headed successful efforts to unionize players with minor league contracts, claimed union members are being bullied and retaliated against for expressing their opinions for change.
College football
GEORGIA RUNNING BACK ARRESTED >> Georgia running back Trevor Etienne was arrested early Sunday on drunken driving, reckless driving and other charges, jail records show.
Etienne, the Bulldogs' projected starting running back, was booked into the Athens-Clark County Jail at 4:35 a.m. and released less than an hour later on bonds totalling about $1,800. The other charges include failure to maintain a lane or improper driving as well as affixing materials that reduce visibility through the windows or windshield, according to the records.
It was not immediately clear if Etienne had obtained a lawyer.
Fencing
HARVARD DENIES NOTRE DAME >> Harvard held off reigning three-time champion Notre Dame 169-161 to win the NCAA Fencing Championships at French Field House.
Harvard's men did not win any individual titles on the final day but did enough to hold off Notre Dame. Columbia was third with 149 points. Princeton (131) and Penn State (130) rounded out the top five in the 27-team field.
The Crimson women beat runner-up Columbia 87-81 in the first two days of the event to win the title.