Chris Kirk hits from a shot from bunker onto the third green during the final round of the Honda Classic on Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
GOLF
Chris Kirk waited nearly eight years to win a PGA Tour event again. Waiting one more hole on Sunday was no problem.
Kirk stuck his approach to the par-5 18th to tap-in range, and his birdie on the first hole of a playoff lifted him past Eric Cole for the victory at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Cole had a chance, playing his third shot from the sand to just outside of 10 feet for a birdie that would have extended the playoff. But it lipped out, and Kirk nudged his ball in for his fifth career win – his first since prevailing at Colonial in 2015.
“I was obviously very, very nervous today having not won in so long,” Kirk said. “Coming down the stretch, I felt good.”
And he’ll be the last Honda winner. The car company is ending its title sponsorship of the event after 42 years, with a new sponsor set to be in place – the PGA Tour hopes, anyway – in the coming weeks.
They finished 72 holes tied at 14-under 266, Kirk shooting 69 on Sunday, Cole shooting 67.
LPGA: American Lilia Vu rode a hot putter to claim her maiden LPGA crown with a one-shot victory over home favorite Natthakritta Vongtaveelap at the LPGA Thailand in Pattaya, Thailand.
Trailing the local rookie by six strokes at the start of the day, 25-year-old Vu unleashed eight impressive birdies, including five straight from the eighth hole to end her campaign with an immaculate round of 8-under 64 for a 22-under 266 total at Siam Country Club Old Course.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Marcel Siem ended his long wait for a fifth European tour title with a victory at the Hero Indian Open by a single shot in New Delhi.
The German’s last win on the tour came eight years and 116 days ago at the 2014 BMW Masters but a closing 68 saw him edge out countryman Yannik Paul to return to the winner’s circle with a 14-under 274.
LIV: Charles Howell III finally made winning feel easy at Mayakoba when his putter came to life for an 8-under 63 to win the LIV Golf Invitational in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico by four shots for his first title in the Saudi-funded series.
Howell had seven birdies through 10 holes to take control at El Camaleon, and then got some help when Peter Uihlein had to hit three tee shots on the 12th hole in a triple bogey that removed any drama from the final round.
SOCCER
LEAGUE CUP: Manchester United’s six-year wait for a trophy is over after beating Newcastle 2-0 to win the League Cup.
United Manager Erik ten Hag has wasted no time in guiding the club to silverware just 10 months after being hired.
Casemiro headed United in front in the 33rd minute of the final at Wembley Stadium and Sven Botman’s own-goal made it 2-0 in the 39th.
It is United’s first trophy since winning a League Cup and Europa League double under Jose Mourinho in 2017.
PREMIER LEAGUE: Chelsea’s troubles deepened with a 2-0 loss to fierce London rival Tottenham in the Premier League.
Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane scored to pile the misery on Chelsea Manager Graham Potter, whose team cannot seem to turn its form around.
FRENCH LEAGUE: Kylian Mbappé scored twice and Lionel Messi got the other goal as the World Cup final stars combined to give French league leader Paris Saint-Germain a 3-0 win at title challenger Marseille.
Mbappé tops the league’s scoring charts outright with 17 goals, and he matched Edinson Cavani’s PSG club-record tally of 200 in the process.
SKIING
MEN’S WORLD CUP: Norwegian ski racer Alexander Steen Olsen earned his first World Cup win after AJ Ginnis of Greece was disqualified for missing a gate in a slalom event held on a snowy day at the Palisades Tahoe resort in Olympic Valley, California.
With the visibility deteriorating as the snow picked up intensity, Olsen turned in a clean pass through the tricky course set to finish in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 47.47 seconds. Fellow Norwegian racer Timon Haugan was 0.05 seconds behind in second. There was a tie for third between Bulgaria’s Albert Popov, who made a charge from well back in the pack, and first-run leader Clement Noel of France.
The podium took several minutes to sort out as officials reviewed the run of Ginnis, who came down in first place but appeared to straddle a gate. In one video angle, it was tough to tell due to a cloud of snow near his carving ski. The missed gate was eventually confirmed.
TENNIS
RIO OPEN: Cameron Norrie waited a week for his revenge against top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, rallying from a set and 3-0 down to beat the Spanish teenager in the final in Rio de Janeiro for his first title of the year.
Second-seeded Norrie won 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 to win the fifth title of his career after defeats in the final to Richard Gasquet in Auckland in January and to Alcaraz in the Argentina Open championship match last weekend.
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