Jim Furyk claims U.S. Senior Open by three strokes
Jim Furyk recovered from a rough start Sunday in the final round of the U.S. Senior Open to hold off Retief Goosen and Mike Weir by three strokes.
Making his debut in the event, Furyk closed with a 1-over 71 to become the eighth player to win both the U.S. Open and Senior Open, joining Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and Gary Player.
Furyk finished at 7-under 273 at Omaha Country Club.
He won the regular Open in 2003, is a 17-time winner on the PGA Tour and won his first two PGA Tour Champions events upon turning 50 last year. This was the third senior major he’s played. He tied for 16th in the Senior PGA and was sixth in the Senior Players Championship.
Furyk played the first three holes in 3 over, finding the unforgiving rough three times on the second hole and a tricky lie in the greenside bunker on the third. Suddenly, his fourshot lead was down to one.
Furyk righted himself with a birdie on the par-5 sixth and, after going out in 2 over 37, regained the four-shot lead by the time he made the turn.
It wasn’t until he stuck his 109yard approach to 3 feet to birdie the par-5 16th that he put away his closest pursuers, major champions Goosen and Weir. That put him three up with two holes to play.
Furyk played his final 15 holes in 2 under and finished at 7-under 273 to win the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy and $720,000.
Weir tied for lowest round of the day with a 67, and Goosen shot 69. GLOVER WINS JOHN DEERE CLASSIC >> Lucas Glover ended 10 years without a victory when he birdied five of his last seven holes for a 7-under 64 to win the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., by two shots.
Glover won for the fourth time in his career, the most recent in 2011 at Quail Hollow. He finished at 19-under 265.
Kevin Na (68) and Ryan Moore (68) finished runners-up.
LEE WINS SCOTTISH OPEN IN PLAYOFF >> Australia’s Min Woo Lee won a threeway playoff against Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry at the Scottish Open to clinch his second European Tour title. Lee birdied the first extra hole after the trio had finished tied on 18-under par at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
HATAOKA DECLARED WINNER IN RAINED-OUT LPGA EVENT >> Nasa Hataoka of Japan was declared the winner of the Marathon LPGA Classic when the final round was washed out by relentless, heavy rain in Syl
vania, Ohio.
Hataoka had a six-shot lead over Elizabeth Szokol and Mina Harigae. She won for the fourth time on the LPGA Tour, and her first LPGA title in two years.
DEL NEGRO WINS CELEBRITY TOURNEY >> Vinny Del Negro became the first basketball player to win the American Century Championship, birdieing the par-5 18th hole twice Sunday to beat John Smoltz.
Del Negro, the 54-year-old former NBA player and coach making his 20th appearance in the celebrity
tournament in South Lake Tahoe, Nev., birdied the 18th in regulation to force a playoff and won with another birdie on the first extra hole.
Del Negro had a 20-point round at Edgewood Tahoe in the modified Stableford scoring event to match Smoltz (18) with a three-day total of 69.
The Warriors’ Stephen Curry finished ninth with 56 points.
Motorsports
KURT BUSCH WINS CUP RACE IN ATLANTA >> Kurt Busch passed brother Kyle with 24 laps left and won the NASCAR Cup Series race to complete a sibling weekend sweep at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Kurt Busch raced to his first victory of the season, 33rd overall and the fourth of his career at Atlanta. He locked up a spot in the playoffs and possibly improved his chances of securing a new ride next season.
Kyle Busch reclaimed the lead with 47 laps remaining, but couldn’t hold off his older brother on Lap 236. Kurt
Busch took advantage of lapped traffic to pass his brother.
Kyle Busch pushed for the lead with eight laps remaining, but 42-year-old Kurt pulled away in the final laps to win by 1.237 seconds.
Kyle Busch won the Xfinity Series race Saturday, giving him five wins in his maximum five races in the series this season.
Kurt Busch’s contract with Chip Ganassi Racing expires at the end of the year.
Mixed martial arts
POIRIER BEATS MCGREGOR AGAIN >> Dustin Poirier beat Conor McGregor for the second time in six months when McGregor was unable to continue after the first round at UFC 264 late Saturday night in Las Vegas.
McGregor (22-6) fell to the canvas and never got up after a punch by Poirier (28-6), who will get the UFC’s next lightweight title shot. McGregor’s leg and ankle buckled when he stepped back from the blow, and Poirier finished the round raining blows down on the former two-division UFC champ.
UFC President Dana White said he was told McGregor broke his shin near the ankle. McGregor was to have surgery on Sunday morning.
Soccer
U.S. TOPS HAITI IN GOLD CUP >> Sam Vines scored in the eighth minute and the U.S. held on to defeat Haiti 1-0 in Kansas City, Kansas, in its Group B opener in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The U.S. plays Martinique on Thursday.