Lakers sink even further, booed at home in lossLakers sink even further, booed at home in loss
The Lakers season found a new low Sunday as their path forward only gets more difficult.
The Lakers season found a new low Sunday as their path forward only gets more difficult.
Georgetown fell to UConn on Sunday, giving Patrick Ewing’s team its first last-place Big East finish since the conference began in 1979 and raising doubts about whether Ewing will be coach next year as the once-proud program tries to right the ship.
Georgetown fell to UConn on Sunday, giving Patrick Ewing’s team its first last-place Big East finish since the conference began in 1979, and raised doubt about whether or not Ewing will be coach next year as the once-proud program tries to right the ship.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The Honda Classic beckoned Sunday morning with the potential to be a runaway, with Daniel Berger, a local boy, in the lead by five. That’s a pretty commanding advantage at most places. The Champion Course at PGA National, though, stands as a brutish bouncer at the door. It simply wouldn’t allow such a thing. RELATED: Full leaderboard | What’s in Straka’s bag? Instead, we got drama – heaps of it, in fact – and a late rain shower, an uncharacteristic off-day from Berger (74) and a first-time winner in Sepp Straka. Straka, a Georgia Bulldog by way of Austria – how many Austrians do you know with a Southern drawl? – started terribly with a missed 2-footer for par at the first hole, but finished brilliantly. He made birdies on three of his last five holes, played the Bear Trap in 1 under, shot 4-under 66 and became the first Austrian-born player to win on the PGA TOUR. Oh, and now a Masters invitation beckons, as well. It was a lot to take in for a 28-year-old who moved to Valdosta, Georgia, at age 14 and later became a Georgia Bulldog. “It’s crazy,” Straka said. “It’s a lifelong dream of mine just to be heading to Augusta in a month or so. It’s still surreal. I’m sure it’ll sink in here before long, but yeah, it’s just crazy.” Tied with Shane Lowry as he arrived at the par-5 18th hole in the day’s penultimate group, Straka ripped a 334-yard bullet off the tee, hit 6-iron from 192 yards safely onto the putting surface in a sudden downpour, and cozied his 48-foot putt for eagle just 9 inches short of the hole. He tapped in for birdie to finish at 10-under 270. Behind him in the wet left-side rough stood Lowry, the gritty Irishman who captured the 2019 Open Championship at Portrush. He had done so much good all day, played so well, but Lowry struggled in the rain, a poor third shot leaving him 43 feet to try to force extra holes. The birdie putt drifted off short. Lowry shot a bogey-free 67. Afterward, he accepted his ill-timed fate, chalking it up to that lottery we know as golf. But he did say having to play the entire 72nd hole in a driving rain – there was no electricity in the storm, so golfers played on – was “as bad a break as I’ve got in a while.” Lowry turned in a beautiful card – 15 pars and three birdies on a golf course where danger lurks at every corner – but in the end he failed to make birdie over his final seven holes, and therein was the difference. In the end, it was hard to figure out who was happier: Straka, the first-time winner in his fourth TOUR season, or all of his fellow Bulldogs who stuck around to watch him win. “I think it validates a lot for him,” said fellow Bulldog Chris Kirk, who is Straka’s standing partner in Tuesday practice games on TOUR. Kirk was in the mix until he was derailed by a triple bogey at the 15th hole, the start of PGA National’s Bear Trap. He tied for seventh. “Obviously, he knows how great of a player he is – we all know how great of a player he is – but getting that first win, it’s unreal, for sure. Making it to the PGA TOUR is one thing. Winning out here is a completely different story. It’s incredible.” Kirk said Straka is one of the best driver and 3-wood players that he knows, and winning was just a matter of time. Straka tied for 10th at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition last summer, representing Austria, where his father is from, and hoped to ride some momentum out of that. But his fall wasn’t very good. He started working with instructor John Tillery in December, just to “fine-tune” some things. And his play of late has been much better. Starting five shots back on Sunday did little to slow him. “This course is crazy,” Straka said. “There are no gimme holes at all. … You want to stand on that 15th tee with a chance to win, and we were there.” Straka would birdie the par-4 16th (19 feet) to tie for the lead, and he then made one final birdie at the last. He led the Honda field in driving accuracy (47 of 56 fairways), hit 15 greens on Sunday, and when he missed, scrambled well all week (13 of 17, which ranked third). Berger’s five-shot cushion heading into Sunday was the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history. By the time he and Lowry stood on the sixth tee, they were tied. Lowry got there with birdies on the first and fourth holes, and Berger got there with a double bogey at the par-5 third and bogeys at the fifth and sixth. The goal for Lowry was to slowly cut into Berger’s big lead. When Berger played his first six in 4 over, Lowry was a co-leader. It came a lot sooner than he had expected. “I was ready for anything out there today,” Lowry said. “I feel like mentally, I’m very good at the minute. And yeah, before I knew it, I was leading the golf tournament. It was great. I really enjoyed it. Quite nerve-wracking.” Berger can be tougher than sandpaper, too, a competitor who loves the arena, much like Lowry. He holed a bunker shot for birdie at the par-3 seventh and, as hard as he fought, he would not make another until he holed a 28-foot chip at the par-4 14th. He went down swinging, hitting 3-wood right into the water guarding the par-5 18th, which led to bogey and a fourth-place finish. It was Berger’s third top-four at his hometown TOUR event. “I didn’t play well, so I didn’t win the golf tournament,” Berger said. “That’s unfortunate, but I actually felt good. I just didn’t hit the shots that I needed to at the right time. “That’s the way golf goes. There are plenty of guys that hit great shots today, and that’s why they’re winning golf tournaments.”
Robert Hight raced to his second straight Funny Car to open the NHRA season on Sunday.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Sepp Straka is going back to Georgia in a few weeks. He’s headed to the Masters, after pulling off a huge comeback to win the Honda Classic. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Sepp Straka, The Honda Classic Straka, now 14th in the FedExCup standings, trailed by five shots entering the final round and tapped in for birdie in the rain on the final hole to beat Shane Lowry by one shot to become the first Austrian winner in PGA TOUR history. He shot a 4-under 66 on Sunday to finish at 10 under and earn $1.44 million. Lowry shot his third consecutive round of 67, his 9 under total for the week coming up one short. First-round leader Kurt Kitayama (68) was alone in third at 8 under, and Daniel Berger — who led by six shots with 19 holes left in the tournament — simply fell apart Sunday, his round of 74 leaving him 7 under for the week and three shots behind Straka. Lowry needed to make a 45-footer for birdie on the final hole to force a playoff. It missed, and with that, The Honda Classic had a new champion — one who came into the week ranked No. 176 in the world, has never been higher than No. 129 on that list, and whose claim to fame as a pro probably was being the first round leader at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. He’s a PGA TOUR winner now. “The third round, I definitely didn’t have my best stuff,” Straka said. “I just hung in there and grinded out a good round. I hit the ball really nice today and really could take advantage.” The victory ensures that Straka — who played his college golf at Georgia — will play the Masters in April. His wife took a flight in to be at the course on Sunday, just in case, and Straka hadn’t even seen her until he got to the practice green before teeing off. They’ll have quite a bit to celebrate, after Straka matched the biggest come-from-behind win this season. Luke List was also down by five entering the final round at San Diego last month. Berger needed a miracle at the end, and it didn’t happen. His second shot at the par-5 18th went into the water, and with that his hopes were officially gone. Lowry also trailed by five shots entering the day; that deficit was gone after just five holes. The undoing for Berger truly began Saturday when he went to the 18th tee with a six-shot lead, then made bogey. Still, the five-shot lead through 54 holes matched the biggest in Honda history and for a hometown guy the ingredients were in place for a memorable win. Sunday had different ideas. He was paired with Lowry for the final round, and it didn’t take long for the leaderboard to considerably tighten. Lowry made birdie on the first; the lead was down to four. Berger put a tee ball into the pine straw on the par-5 third, then had a ball buried in the sand of a greenside bunker and made double-bogey 7 to see the lead trimmed to two. Lowry tapped in for birdie at the fourth. Lead down to one. Berger three-putted from 60 feet on the fifth for bogey. The lead was gone. And when Berger missed a 15-footer for par at the sixth, Lowry was suddenly up by one. Straka was in the group five shots back to start the day, then made bogey on the opening hole. But slowly and steadily, he clawed back — a birdie on the par-4 ninth got him to 7 under, followed by another birdie on the 14th. A 20-footer on the 16th pulled him into a tie. That’s when weather decided to show up, too. As if the finish needed more drama, it simply started pouring as the final groups were finishing. Kitayama and Straka were camped out on the 18th fairway, neither wanting to emerge from under their umbrellas to play their second shots into the par-5 finishing hole. Both eventually did, each hitting to about 50 feet and setting up eagle putts. Straka two-putted, then waited to see if Lowry could get to 10 under. He couldn’t. And Straka is on his way back to Georgia.
Joel Embiid and James Harden combined for 37 free throws in a dominant showing Sunday against the Knicks.
Scott McLaughlin earned his first IndyCar Series win Sunday in the season-opening race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.
Langston Galloway and Joe Johnson led the U.S. in a romp against Mexico in World Cup qualifying. The U.S. lost its last game against Mexico in November.
Sepp Straka became the first Austrian to win on the PGA TOUR after his Sunday charge at The Honda Classic. It’s the 28-year-old’s first TOUR title. Check out the clubs he used to get it done. RELATED: Final leaderboard Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (9 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Kai’li White 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (19 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana DF 80 TX Irons: Srixon ZX7 (4-9) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Wedges: Cleveland RTX4 (46, 52, 56, 60) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Putter: Odyssey Stroke Lab Tuttle Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet