Off The Wire

Chella Choi of South Korea tosses her ball to the gallery Sunday after winning the Marathon Classic golf tournament at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.
Chella Choi of South Korea tosses her ball to the gallery Sunday after winning the Marathon Classic golf tournament at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.

GOLF

Choi wins in playoff

Chella Choi won the Marathon Classic for her first LPGA Tour title, beating fellow South Korean player Ha Na Jang with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff in Sylvania, Ohio. Choi, 24, won in her 157th start on tour. Choi closed with a 5-under 66 to match Jang at 14-under 270 at Highland Meadows. Jang, the leader after each of the first three rounds, shot a 68. In the playoff on the par-5 18th, Choi chipped onto the green from 87 yards and two-putted from 25 yards for the par -- holing a 1-footer. Jang bogeyed the hole after hitting her approach long into high rough. Second-ranked Lydia Ko, the winner last year, had a 67 to tie for second with Shanshan Feng at 13 under. Feng also shot 67. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 3-under 68 to finish six strokes back at 8 under and won $21,570.

Mark Mulder won the American Century Championship in Stateline, Nev., holding off fellow former major league pitcher Eric Gagne by a point in the celebrity event. Mulder finished with 82 points at Edgewood Tahoe in the modified Stableford event. Players receive six points for eagle, three for birdie, one for par, none for bogey and minus-2 for double bogey or worse. Mulder had seven birdies and two bogeys for a 67 and a 30-point round. He earned $125,000. Gagne also had a 30-point day, making an eagle on the par-4 10th in a 67.

BASEBALL

Soriano to join Cubs

Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon said reliever Rafael Soriano will join the team today in Cincinnati, and Edwin Jackson will be designated for assignment. Following Sunday's 4-1 victory over Atlanta, Maddon said Soriano will return to the majors after pitching a combined seven games at Class AA Tennessee and Class AAA Iowa. Chicago signed the 35-year-old Soriano to a prorated contract on June 12. Jackson went 16-34 with a 5.37 ERA in 82 games, including 58 starts, after signing a four-year, $52 million contract with the Cubs in January 2013. Soriano, a former closer with the Braves, Yankees, Rays and Nationals, is 22-28 with a 2.85 ERA and 207 saves in 585 career games. He saved 32 games in 39 chances last year for Washington. Jason Motte is Chicago's current closer.

TENNIS

Davis Cup semifinals set

Andy Murray came from a set down to beat France's Gilles Simon 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday and put Britain into the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time in 34 years. Murray, who won his opening singles on Friday and then teamed up with his brother Jamie to win Saturday's doubles, gave Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five series on grass at the Queen's Club. The final scheduled match between James Ward and France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was not played. Britain's first World Group semifinal since 1981 will be at home against Australia on Sept. 18-20. "The whole weekend has been fantastic," Murray said. "This team has done amazing things. We're punching above our weight here. We're in the semifinals now of the biggest competition in tennis. "I'm just proud to get here and hopefully we can do well against Australia in September." Murray wrapped up victory when a Simon backhand flew wide and the Scot could hardly hold back the tears as he leapt about the court with the Union Jack flag in hand, before embracing team captain Leon Smith. The Australians rallied from 2-0 down on Friday to edge Kazakhstan 3-2 on Sunday, with Lleyton Hewitt winning the decider. Australia's Sam Groth opened play by beating Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-6 (6) to make it 2-2 and Hewitt followed up with a stirring 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Aleksandr Nedovyesov. Belgium had no such difficulty against a Canada team that arrived without injured top-30 players Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil and that had already lost the series on clay in Ostend after Saturday's doubles. Kimmer Coppejans rallied to beat Frank Dancevic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Steve Darcis then defeated Filip Peliwo 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday as Belgium headed for its first semifinals since 1999. Argentina had also wrapped up qualification a day early, taking a 3-0 lead against Serbia after the doubles in Buenos Aires. Serbia, which was missing top-ranked Novak Djokovic, claimed a consolation point from Sunday's opening singles when Dusan Lajovic beat Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-4. But his teammate Filip Krajinovic retired from the final match, trailing 6-1, 3-0 to Carlos Berlocq.

HOCKEY

Devils re-sign Helegeson

The New Jersey Devils have re-signed defenseman Seth Helgeson to a two-year contract. General Manager Ray Shero announced the deal, noting that Helgeson got a two-way deal this season and a one-way contract in 2016-2017. Helgeson will make $575,000 if he plays in the NHL next season and $75,000 in the minor leagues. His contract for the following season is $600,000. The 24-year-old Helgeson is entering his third full year with the Devils after playing at the University at Minnesota. He split last season between Albany and the Devils, playing 49 games in the AHL and 22 in the NHL. Helgeson was New Jersey's fourth choice in the 2009 NHL Draft.

Sports on 07/20/2015

Upcoming Events