Gaby Lopez wins LPGA tourney in 7-hole playoff
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. >> Having already battled for five extra holes into darkness without producing a champion a day earlier, Gaby Lopez and Nasa Hataoka showed up to work at 8 a.m., just like regular folks. The early wake-up call and extra golf was worth it for Lopez, who rolled in a 30foot birdie putt to prevail on the seventh playoff hole Monday and capture the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
It was the second LPGA title for Lopez, who 14 months ago became the second player from Mexico to win on tour, joining World Golf Hall of Fame member Lorena Ochoa. She earned $180,000 for the victory.
The elite field featured 26 players who had won tournaments in the last two seasons.
This was the LPGA’s fourth-longest playoff. The longest was 10 holes at the 1972 Corpus Christi Civitan Open, where Jo Ann Prentice beat Hall of Famers Sandra Palmer and Kathy Whitworth.
Lopez and Hataoka wound up playing the difficult 197-yard 18th hole at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando eight times over two days, with two birdies from Lopez the difference.
Lopez birdied from 18 feet on her final hole of regulation Sunday to earn a spot in the playoff alongside Hataoka and Inbee Park, who was eliminated on the third playoff hole.
Hataoka, who made a deft up-and-down from 30 yards for par to extend the playoff to a seventh hole as play resumed Monday, had the edge on the final hole after hitting a 4-hybrid that rode a slope along the right side of the green and curled to 12 feet from the hole.
But Lopez, whose ball barely made the putting surface, went first, her putt up the hill slowing and tumbling into the cup on its last rotation. Hataoka, ranked sixth in the world, made a poor stroke, pulling her birdie attempt left.
MLB
EX-M’S ACE FÉLIX HERNÁNDEZ HAS MINOR LEAGUE DEAL WITH BRAVES >> Longtime Seattle Mariners ace Félix Hernández reached a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves on Monday that includes an invite to big league spring training.
The right-hander would get a $1 million, one-year contract if added to Atlanta’s 40-man roster.
Hernández, who turns 34 in April, is coming off his worst season in the majors. King Felix went 1-8 with a 6.40 ERA in 15 starts for the Mariners and lost his place in the rotation.
Hernández was among
Nasa Hataoka reads the green during a playoff in the Tournament of Champions LPGA golf tournament, Monday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Gaby Lopez ran in a 30-foot putt for birdie, to defeat Nasa Hataoka in a seven-hole playoff that took an extra day to finish after play was halted Sunday because of darkness.
the best and more durable pitchers in the majors for more than a decade, a stretch that included six All-Star selections and the 2010 AL Cy Young Award. He was a huge crowd favorite at Safeco Field, with fans holding up K cards in The King’s Court to mark his many strikeouts.
The two-time NL East champion Braves hold their first workout for pitchers and catchers on Feb. 13.
NFL
SNOW REJOINS RHULE AS PANTHERS NEW DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR >> Phil Snow is rejoining head coach Matt Rhule in Carolina as the new Panthers defensive coordinator.
Snow previously served as defensive coordinator under Rhule at Baylor from 2017-19 and Temple from 2013-16.
Snow has spent 37 seasons coaching college football, serving as a defensive coordinator at seven previous schools, including UCLA, Washington, Arizona State and Boise State. He also worked as an assistant coach with the Detroit Lions for four seasons (2005-08).
Under Snow, Baylor ranked 41st in the nation in total defense last season, and finished second in takeaways with 30, third in interceptions with 17 and eighth in sacks per game at 3.3.
Tennis
DJOKOVIC CEDES AUSTRALIAN OPEN SET IN 1ST RD FOR 1ST TIME SINCE 2016 >> Novak Djokovic did something he hadn’t in 14 years: He dropped a set in a firstround match at the Australian Open.
That didn’t bother him, though. He actually looked upon the challenge he faced Monday night under the closed roof at Rod Laver Arena as a good thing.
Djokovic last ceded a set in an Australian Open opener all the way back in 2006, during a loss to Paul Goldstein. Since then, the 16-time Grand Slam champ had produced 13 consecutive straight-set wins in the hard-court tournament’s
first round; add in the initial pair of sets against Struff, and the streak was at 41.
Soccer
CRISTIANO RONALDO’S RETURN TO FORM >> Ronaldo’s return has coincided with Juventus taking a firm grip on Serie A.
Ronaldo did not score at all in November, but he scored twice as Juventus beat Parma 2-1 on Sunday to take his tally to 11 in his last seven league matches.
The win also put Juventus on course for a recordextending ninth straight Serie A title as the Bianconeri moved four points above Inter Milan. They were two points behind the Nerazzurri a month and a half ago.
Ronaldo has struggled with injury this season and missed three Serie A matches, playing through pain in others.
The 38-year-old Portugal forward has nevertheless scored 16 goals in 17 matches, becoming the first Juventus player to have that many goals after 20 matches since Omar Sivori in 1960.
Ronaldo is also the only player to have scored at least 15 goals in one of Europe’s top five leagues in each of the last 14 seasons. BECKHAM’S MLS TEAM IN MIAMI TAKES FIELD FOR FIRST TIME >> David Beckham’s new soccer team finally got to play soccer.
After more than six years of planning — and a process that was at times brutally difficult — Inter Miami took the field for the first time Monday. The expansion MLS club’s inaugural training camp opened at Barry University, with about two dozen players on the field.
Beckham wasn’t at the workout and is not expected in town for a few more weeks. McDonough has been with the club for the last year and a half or so and is still working on a final roster, with about a half-dozen more signings expected in the coming weeks. He watched much of the session from a far corner.
Green Bay, Jones 12-56, J.Williams 3-6, Rodgers 1-0. San Francisco, Mostert 29-220, Samuel 2-43, Coleman 6-21, Breida 1-2, Garoppolo 4-(minus 1).
Green Bay, Rodgers 31-39-2326. San Francisco, Garoppolo 6-8-0-77.
Green Bay, D.Adams 9-138, Jones 5-27, Graham 4-59, Lazard 3-36, Lewis 2-14, Sternberger 2-13, Allison 2-8, J.Williams 2-1, Kumerow 1-23, Ervin 1-7. San Francisco, Samuel 2-46, Mostert 2-6, Kittle 1-19, Bourne 1-6.
None.
Passing —
Receiving —
Missed field goals —
FG Joseph 30, 11:29.
Henry 4 run (Joseph kick), 5:52. Hill 8 pass from Mahomes (Butker kick), :46.
Second quarter Ten —
Kelly 1 pass from Tannehill (Joseph kick), 6:39.
Hill 20 pass from Mahomes (Butker kick), 4:03.
Mahomes 27 run (Butker kick), :11.
KC —
KC —
Fourth quarter KC —
D.Williams 3 run (Butker kick), 14:50.
Watkins 60 pass from Mahomes (Butker kick), 7:33.
Firkser 22 pass from Tannehill (Joseph kick), 4:18.
73,656.
KC —
Ten —
A—
First downs 20 Total net yards 295 Rushes-yards 23-85 Passing yards 210 Punt returns-yards 1-9 Kickoff returns-yards 4-61 Int-return yards 0-0 Comp-att-int 22-32-0 Sacked-yards lost 3-27 Punts-average 3-46.3 Fumbles-lost 0-0 Penalties-yards 8-85 Time of possession 30:10
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing —
Tennessee, Henry 19-69, Tannehill 3-11, Mariota 1-5. Kansas City, Mahomes 8-53, D.Williams 17-45, Hill 1-7, Thompson 1-7.
Tennessee, Tannehill 2131-0-209, Kern 1-1-0-28. Kansas City, Mahomes 23-35-0-294.
Tennessee, C.Davis 5-65, Humphries 4-25, A.Brown 3-51, J.Smith 3-38, Henry 2-(minus 8), Hooker 1-28, Firkser 1-22, Pruitt 1-9, Lewis 1-6, Kelly 1-1. Kansas City, Watkins 7-114, Hill 5-67, D.Williams 5-44, Kelce 3-30, Robinson 2-31, Hardman 1-8.
Passing —
Receiving —
Missed field goals —
L.A. Lakers L.A. Clippers Phoenix Sacramento Warriors
None.
SOUTHWEST DIVISION
Dallas Houston Memphis San Antonio New Orleans
NORTHWEST DIVISION
Denver
Utah Oklahoma City Portland Minnesota
Toronto Boston Philadelphia Brooklyn New York
SOUTHEAST DIVISION
Miami Orlando Washington Charlotte Atlanta
CENTRAL DIVISION
Milwaukee Indiana Detroit Chicago Cleveland
Ten
34 30 18 15 10 27 26 20 18 17 29 29 25 18 15 29 27 29 18 12 30 21 14 15 10
8 13 24 28 34 15 16 23 23 27 13 13 19 26 27 14 14 16 24 32 13 23 28 30 34
27 404 27-112 292 2-7 5-105
0-0 23-35-0
2-2 3-40.7
1-0 9-61 29:50 .810 .698 .429 .349 .227 .643 .619 .465 .439 .386 .690 .690 .568 .409 .357 .674 .659 .644 .429 .273 .698 .477 .333 .333 .227
— 41⁄2 16 191⁄2
25
— 1 71⁄2 81⁄2 11
— — 5 12 14
— 1 1 101⁄2 171⁄2
— 91⁄2 151⁄2
16 201⁄2
1. South Carolina (17-1) did not play.
2. Baylor (15-1) did not play.
3. Stanford (16-2) beat No. 8 Oregon State 61-58.
4. UConn (16-1) beat Tulsa 92-34.
5. Louisville (18-1) beat North Carolina 74-67.
6. Oregon (15-2) beat California 105-55.
7. UCLA (16-1) did not play.
8. Oregon State (16-2) lost to No. 3 Stanford 61-58.
9. N.C. State (17-1) beat Wake Forest 59-45.
10. Mississippi State (16-2) did not play.
11. Kentucky (15-3) lost to LSU 65-59.
12. Texas A&M (15-3) beat Florida 69-42.
13. Florida State (15-3) did not play.
14. DePaul (17-2) beat Butler 80-65.
15. Indiana (14-4) did not play.
16. Gonzaga (18-1) did not play.
17. West Virginia (13-3) did not play.
18. Arizona State (15-4) beat Washington State 65-56.
19. Missouri State (14-3) did not play.
20. Maryland (13-4) did not play.
21. Arizona (15-3) beat Washington 66-58.
22. Iowa (15-3) beat Wisconsin 85-78.
23. Arkansas (15-3) beat Vanderbilt 100-68.
24. Tennessee (14-3) did not play.
25. South Dakota (18-2) beat South Dakota State 83-48.
Arizona 66, Washington 58 Arizona St. 65, Washington St. 56 Oregon 105, California 55 Stanford 61, Oregon St. 58
Vancouver Edmonton Calgary Vegas Arizona Sharks Anaheim Los Angeles 49 49 50 51 51 50 48 50
CENTRAL DIVISION
St. Louis Colorado Dallas Winnipeg Chicago Nashville Minnesota
Boston Tampa Bay Florida Toronto Buffalo Montreal Ottawa Detroit 27 26 26 25 26 21 19 18
GP W
49 49 48 49 50 47 48 50 48 47 49 49 50 48 50
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
GP W
Washington 49 33 11 5 71 177 144 Pittsburgh 49 31 13 5 67 168 133 N.Y. Islanders 48 28 15 5 61 139 130 Columbus 50 26 16 8 60 134 127 Carolina 49 28 18 3 59 155 131 Philadelphia 49 26 17 6 58 155 150 N.Y. Rangers 47 23 20 4 50 156 155 New Jersey 48 17 24 7 41 126 173 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.
Sunday's games
L OT Pts
Pittsburgh 4, Boston 3 Carolina 2, N.Y. Islanders 1, SO Chicago 5, Winnipeg 2 Columbus 2, N.Y. Rangers 1
Monday's games
Colorado 6, Detroit 3 Florida at Minnesota, n.
Tuesday's games
Vegas at Boston, 4 p.m.
Winnipeg at Carolina, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. Florida at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday's games
Winnipeg at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Thursday's games
30 28 27 25 24 22 22 28 29 26 25 22 22 17 12
No games scheduled 18 18 19 19 20 25 24 27 11 15 17 20 20 18 20 10 15 16 17 20 21 23 34 4 5 5 7 5 4 5 5 8 6 4 4 6 7 6 12 4 5 7 7 7 8 4 58 162 149 57 155 153 57 135 147 57 159 156 57 146 138 46 130 167 43 122 150 41 125 158 68 158 134 62 179 143 58 125 120 54 148 152 54 152 157 51 156 154 50 148 159 68 166 133 62 175 137 57 174 156 57 176 165 51 145 152 51 155 157 42 130 163 28 107 195
GF GA
Sam Querrey, United States, def. Borna Coric (25), Croatia, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Matteo Berrettini (8), Italy, def. Andrew Harris, Australia, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.
Ricardas Berankis, Lithuania, def. Roberto Carballes Baena, Spain, 6-4,
6-2, 6-2.
Guido Pella (22), Argentina, def. JohnPatrick Smith, Australia, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan, def. Laslo Djere, Serbia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (1).
Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, def. Denis Shapovalov (13), Canada, 6-3, 6-7 (7),
6-1, 7-6 (3).
Daniel Evans (30), Britain, def. Mackenzie McDonald, United States, 3-6, 4-6,
6-1, 6-2, 6-3.
Gregoire Barrere, France, def. Mohamed Safwat, Egypt, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (5). Roger Federer (3), Switzerland, def. Steve Johnson, United States, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Grigor Dimitrov (18), Bulgaria, def. Juan Ignacio Londero, Argentina, 4-6, 6-2,
6-0, 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (6), Greece, def. Salvatore Caruso, Italy, 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, def. Marcos Giron, United States, 7-5, 6-1,
6-2.
Novak Djokovic (2), Serbia, def. JanLennard Struff, Germany, 7-6 (5), 6-2,
2-6, 6-1.
WOMEN'S SINGLES
FIRST ROUND
Paula Badosa, Spain, def. Johanna Larsson, Sweden, 6-1, 6-0.
Julia Goerges, Germany, def. Viktoria Kuzmova, Slovakia, 6-1, 6-2.
Zheng Saisai, China, def. Anna Kalinskaya, Russia, 6-3, 6-2.
Petra Martic (13), Croatia, def. Christina McHale, United States, 6-3, 6-0.
Sofia Kenin (14), United States, def. Martina Trevisan, Italy, 6-2, 6-4.
Naomi Osaka (3), Japan, def. Marie Bouzkova, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4.
Ekaterina Alexandrova (25), Russia, def. Jil Teichmann, Switzerland, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Zhu Lin, China, def. Viktorija Golubic, Switzerland, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
Serena Williams (8), United States, def. Anastasia Potapova, Russia, 6-0, 6-3. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Barbora Strycova (32), Czech Republic, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Tamara Zidansek, Slovenia, def. Han Na-lae, South Korea, 6-3, 6-3.
Ann Li, United States, def. Lizette Cabrera, Australia, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (10).
Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, def. Kristie Ahn, United States, 6-1, 6-3.
Barbora Krejcikova, Czech Republic, def. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3. Petra Kvitova (7), Czech Republic, def. Katerina Siniakova, Czech Republic,
6-1, 6-0.
Cori Gauff, United States, def. Venus Williams, United States, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Caty McNally, United States, def. Sam Stosur, Australia, 6-1, 6-4.
Ashleigh Barty (1), Australia, def. Lesia Tsurenko, Ukraine, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
Zhang Shuai, China, def. Sloane Stephens (24), United States, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
NHL
Golf
Odds
at Dallas at Villanova at Kansas at Purdue Maryland
Akron at LSU at Kentucky at Kent St. Wichita St. at B. Green at Buffalo Toledo
Texas Tech at Iowa St. at Clemson VA Common at Duke at Marquette at Wisconsin at Tennessee at Missouri at New Mexico at Utah St. at San Diego St.
Tuesday
Favorite
Off (Off) 21⁄2 17
7
61⁄2
5
3 101⁄2 10
4
7
10 11⁄2 11⁄2
5
81⁄2 111⁄2 181⁄2 9
15 71⁄2 91⁄2 121⁄2 111⁄2 23
LA Clippers
Butler Kansas St.
Illinois at N'western at Miami (Ohio) Florida Georgia N. Illinois at So. Florida E. Michigan W. Michigan at Ohio at TCU Oklahoma St. Wake Forest at St. Joseph's
Miami St. John's Nebraska Mississippi Texas A&M San Jose St. Air Force Wyoming