GOLF

Three shots behind with six holes to play, Kevin Na birdied three straight holes and finished with an up-and-down birdie from behind the 18th green for a 5-under 65 and a one-shot victory in the Sony Open in Honolulu.

Na finished one shot ahead of Joaquin Niemann and Chris Kirk. Kirk, playing his final event while on a medical extension after getting treatment for alcoholism and depression, closed with his fourth straight round of 65 and earned enough FedEx Cup points to regain full status on the PGA Tour.

Na won for the fifth time in his PGA Tour career, and this one looked unlikely when he three-putted for bogey on the 12th hole at a time when there was little room for mistakes.

He answered with birdie putts of 15, 10 and 6 feet. The winning shot was out of the right rough on the par-5 closing hole at Waialae and ran just over the back of the green. He chipped to tap-in range for his last birdie.

FOOTBALL

Advertisement

NFL: The Los Angeles Chargers hired Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Brian Staley as the team’s head coach.

Staley, 38, has been an NFL assistant for only four years. He joined the Rams this past season after being a linebackers coach with the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos.

TENNIS

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: The number of players in hard quarantine swelled to 72 ahead of the Australian Open after a fifth positive coronavirus test was returned from the charter flights bringing players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne for the year’s first grand slam event.

That means they won’t be allowed to leave their hotel rooms or practice for 14 days, creating a two-speed preparation period for the tournament. Other players in less rigorous quarantine will be allowed to practice for five hours daily.

Some players have expressed anger at being classified as close contacts merely for being on board flights with people who tested positive. Players have been warned that if they try to breach quarantine regulations, there’s the prospect of heavy fines or being moved to a more secure quarantine complex with police stationed at their doors.

Advertisement

FIGURE SKATING

U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS: Even with an error at the beginning of his free skate in Las Vegas, Nathan Chen easily won his fifth straight U.S. championship.

Chen put his hands down and stepped out of a quad lutz, but then hit four more quads, three in combination, and a triple axel deep into his program.

Only Dick Button, with seven titles from 1946-52, has won more consecutive U.S. men’s championships.

SOCCER

ITALY: Juventus’ nine-year stranglehold on the Serie A title is at risk after a 2-0 loss at Inter Milan.

Advertisement

Nicolo Barella scored one goal and set up another by former Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal as Inter moved level on points with city rival AC Milan atop the table.

Juventus is in fifth place, seven points behind the leaders – and the deficit could stretch to 10 points if AC Milan wins at Cagliari on Monday.

ENGLAND: Manchester United stayed atop the Premier League by drawing 0-0 at Liverpool, extending the defending champion’s winless run to four matches.

John Stones scored his first Premier League goals for Manchester City in a 4-0 victory at home against Crystal Palace to help his team leap up to second place, two points behind Manchester United with a game in hand.

SKIING

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: Marta Bassino of Italy earned second giant slalom victory in two days in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, while first-run leader Mikaela Shiffrin dropped to sixth.

MEN’S WORLD CUP: Sebastian Foss-Solevaag of Norway got his first slalom win in dominating style, clocking the fastest time in both runs to beat Austria’s Marco Schwarz by 0.76 seconds in Flachau, Austria.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.