golf
Reed snatches first PGA win from the jaws of defeat
GREENSBORO, N.C. – In the span of a couple of strokes, Patrick Reed went from almost certain disaster to his first PGA Tour victory.
Reed won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his first title, beating Jordan Spieth with a most improbable birdie on the second hole of a playoff.
Reed recovered from a drive on the par-4 10th that came a few feet from going out of bounds and stopped in some pine needles in the woods near a television cable.
Reed pulled out his 7-iron, uncorked a baseball swing from an uphill lie and sent the ball under a tree branch – yet away from the tree trunk – to land his second shot 7 feet from the pin.
Spieth, who called it “one of the best shots I’ve ever witnessed,” had reached the green in two strokes, but his 10-foot birdie putt trickled wide of the cup.
Reed then sank his short birdie putt that “felt like it was 40” feet to end it.
Bryant edges Cochran, Pavin to claim first Champions title
ENDICOTT, N.Y. – Bart Bryant has his first victory on the Champions Tour, and it’s a cinch he’ll never forget it.
Bryant, who shot a tournament record-tying 10-under 62 in the second round, closed with a 72 on Sunday and finished at 16-under 200 to beat Russ Cochran (67) and Corey Pavin (69) by one shot.
Duffy Waldorf (69) and Gene Sauers (67) tied for fourth, another shot back.
First-round leader Kenny Perry shot a 68 to tie for seventh at 12 under. He was one shot better than Bernhard Langer and extended his lead over Langer in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
It was a special moment for Bryant and for the senior tour. He became the 1,000th champion in the history of the Champions Tour, which began in 1980 at the Atlantic City Country Club in Atlantic City, N.J. Don January, who won that first tournament, was on hand to congratulate Bryant.
tennis
Nadal continues hot summer; Williams wilts in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI – Rafael Nadal extended his sizzling’ summer with another title in Cincinnati. Serena Williams wilted.
Nadal withstood John Isner’s steamy serves and ground out a 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3) win over the top-ranked American in the finals of the Western & Southern Open on Sunday.
He won the title in Montreal a week ago and has back-to-back hard-court championships for the first time in his illustrious career. His strong showing this season – a 53-3 match record – makes him a favorite to win the upcoming U.S. Open.
The top-ranked Williams faded after the first set and lost to No. 2 Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (6), ending her 14-match winning streak. Williams beat Azarenka to win the U.S. Open last year.
track and field
Bolt world championships’ most decorated athlete
MOSCOW – Usain Bolt is perfect again.
And with three gold medals in Moscow, the Jamaican great became the most successful athlete in the 30-year history of the world championships.
The 4x100-meter relay gold Sunday erased the memories of the 100 title he missed out on in South Korea two years ago because of a false start. And, combined with an identical 100-200-relay triple from Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Bolt was instrumental in giving Jamaica the first sweep of the six sprint events.
Bolt still was trailing Justin Gatlin when he got the baton on the anchor leg, but a botched U.S. handover and his superior speed were enough to carry him, and Jamaica, to victory.
Bolt had already won the 100 and 200 meters. It was his second such sprint triple at the world championships, matching the two he has achieved at the Olympics.
With his victory, Bolt moved to the top of the all-time world championships medals table with eight gold and two silver, edging Carl Lewis, who has eight gold, one silver and one bronze.
Associated Press
