Goosen prevails in PGA Transitions
GOLF
Retief Goosen took an important step toward rejoining the elite in golf yesterday by closing with a 1-under-par 70 in Palm Harbor, Fla., for a one-shot victory in the Transitions Championship, his first PGA Tour win in nearly four years. Goosen had a two-shot lead with three holes to play on the demanding Copperhead Course at Innisbrook when, just like everyone else, he struggled to hang on. The two-time U.S. Open champion, 40, from South Africa barely made it. His 5-foot putt for par on the final hole curled in the side of the cup, giving him a one-stroke victory over Charles Howell III (68) and Brett Quigley (69). "Eventually, you wonder if you can still do it," said Goosen, who finished at 8-under 276 and won for the seventh time on the PGA Tour. Tom Lehman, 50, trying to become the seventh player in his 50s to win on the PGA Tour, shot a 75 to tie for eighth.
LPGA MasterCard Classic: : Pat Hurst shot a 4-under 68 to beat top-ranked Lorena Ochoa and Yani Tseng by one stroke in Huixquilucan, Mexico. Hurst sank a long putt on the 18th green to finish at 10-under 206. Ochoa, a Mexico native ranked No. 1, shot a 69, and Tseng had a 70.
Nadal, Zvonareva win Indian Wells titles
tennis
Rafael Nadal, ranked No. 1, powered his way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Andy Murray on a windy afternoon at the BNP Paribas Open, winning his second title in Indian Wells, Calif., in three years. Nadal's low, hard groundstrokes gave him an edge in the gusty conditions over No. 4 Murray, whose game relies more on pace and a mix of shots. Nadal, a Spaniard, 22, added the championship to the Australian Open title he won earlier this year and avenged a loss to Murray in the Rotterdam final. No. 6 Vera Zvonareva defeated No. 7 Ana Ivanovic, the defending champion, 7-6 (5), 6-2, to win the women's title. Zvonareva a day earlier teamed with Victoria Azarenka to take the women's doubles.
Overtime change? Not likely this year
nfl
Fans overwrought by the NFL's overtime system likely won't be getting any relief this year. Overtime probably won't be discussed at the league meetings that began in Dana Point, Calif., after the NFL competition committee came up with no proposals to change it. The players support the current system - coin flip and all - so the owners will consider other issues: rules changes regarding player safety; the collective bargaining agreement with the players; and the state of the economy. Those aren't hot-button topics for most NFL fans, who saw 43 percent of overtime games won on the first possession by the team that won the coin toss in 2008. "[The players] were pretty adamant an extended playing time would expose you to injury risk," Ray Anderson, the league's vice president of football operations, said.
