Golf
Jimmy Walker dyn-o-mite on the PGA Tour in 2014
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The finish wasn’t what Jimmy Walker wanted. The result is what he’s come to expect.
It was more exciting than Walker would have preferred, but the victory was his third this season on the PGA Tour, a streak that began in October about an hour away at the Frys.com Open. Walker became only the fourth player in the last 20 years to win three times in his first eight starts to a season.
JOHANNESBURG – George Coetzee, a 27-year-old South African, came from four shots back to win the Joburg Open, his first European Tour title, and a place at the British Open, with a 19-under 268 total.
GOLD COAST, Australia – Cheyenne Woods, the 23-year-old niece of Tiger Woods, won the Australian Ladies Masters on Sunday at 16-under 276 for her first major professional tour victory, holding off 17-year-old Australian amateur Minjee Lee by two strokes.
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Michael Allen won the Allianz Championship on Sunday for his sixth Champions Tour title, beating Duffy Waldorf with a two-putt birdie on the second hole of a playoff to finish at 18-under 198 on The Old Course at Broken Sound.
NBA
Pistons give coach Cheeks the cold shoulder
DETROIT – Even by the Detroit Pistons’ recent standards, this was an abrupt change: Detroit fired head coach Maurice Cheeks on Sunday after less than a year as coach, with the Pistons languishing well below .500.
Detroit is 21-29.
A person with knowledge of Detroit’s plans said assistant John Loyer will take over as interim coach.
College Basketball
Big 12 suspends Smart 3 games for the shove
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart was suspended three games Sunday by the Big 12 for shoving a fan in the closing seconds of the Cowboys’ loss at Texas Tech only hours earlier.
The Big 12 acted swiftly in banning the All-America guard, saying in a statement the penalty was handed down for “inappropriate conduct with a spectator.”
Smart, who apologized to his family, the fan and his team Sunday, will miss games against Texas, Oklahoma and Baylor. He can return for the Cowboys’ home game against Texas Tech on Feb. 22.
NFL
Lions rumored to have lured Broncos’ assistant coach
DENVER – A person with knowledge of the situation said Denver assistant coach Jim Bob Cooter is expected to leave the Broncos to coach quarterbacks for the Detroit Lions.
Cooter was an offensive assistant for the staff that led Denver to the AFC championship.
Tennis
United States wins doubles, but Italy wins the Fed Cup
CLEVELAND – Karin Knapp won her second match of the weekend and gave Italy a 3-1 win over the United States in their Fed Cup first-round match Sunday.
Knapp defeated American Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5 to give Italy the victory in the best-of-five series.
Lauren Davis and Madison Keys of the United States earned a 6-2, 6-3 win in the doubles match against Nastassja Burnett and Alice Matteucci.
Monfils wins all-French final; Cilic wins No. 4 at Zagreb
MONTPELLIER, France – Gael Monfils beat top-seeded and French countryman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday in the final of the Open Sud de France to claim his fifth career title.
ZAGREB, Croatia – Fifth-seeded Marin Cilic from Croatia overcame problems with his serve to win the Zagreb Indoors tournament Sunday and his fourth Zagreb title and 10th overall, defeating top-seeded Tommy Haas from Germany 6-3, 6-4.
Associated Press
