GOLF
Kuchar ends drought
Matt Kuchar ended more than four years without a PGA Tour victory Sunday by closing with a 2-under 69 and holding up through a few nervous moments down the stretch to win the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Kuchar had a four-shot lead going into the final round. But after making two bogeys over the first 67 holes in the tournament, he made two bogeys in two holes on Nos. 14 and 15, and his lead shrunk to one shot when Danny Lee made a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 16th hole. Lee finished with two pars for a 65. Kuchar, 40, had gone 115 starts on the PGA Tour since his last victory in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head in April 2014. It comes at the end of what had been a disappointing year in which Kuchar finished out of the top 70 on the PGA Tour money list for the first time since 2007, and he failed to make the Ryder Cup team for the first time in 10 years.
Westwood rallies
Lee Westwood came from behind to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, South Africa, on Sunday, overturning a three-shot deficit at the start of the final round to deny Sergio Garcia a wire-to-wire victory and Louis Oosthuizen success at his home tournament. Westwood closed with an 8-under 64 at Gary Player Country Club to take him to 15 under and a three-shot win over Garcia (70). Oosthuizen (69) was third at 11 under. It was Westwood's third Nedbank title after back-to-back wins in 2010-11, before the event was part of the European Tour. Westwood made birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to settle what was a fascinating final-round battle among him, Garcia and Oosthuizen. The Nedbank Challenge also had repercussions for the Race to Dubai, with Rory McIlroy, Li Haotong and Lucas Bjerregaard eliminated going into the season-ending DP World Tour Championship next week in Dubai.
Singh wins in Phoenix
Vijay Singh rallied from six shots behind with his career-best round on the PGA Tour Champions, a 10-under 61 that gave him a four-shot victory in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix and gave Bernhard Langer the season title and $1 million annuity. Langer won the Schwab Cup for the fifth time, and fourth time in the last five years. Scott McCarron was in position to capture the Schwab Cup for the first time, needing only to win the final tournament of the season provided Langer didn't make a big run and finish among the top three. Langer tied for 13th. McCarron closed with a 72 and tied for third.
BASEBALL
All-Stars win one
Yadier Molina had three hits, including a three-run home run, and J.T. Realmuto also went deep to lead the MLB All-Stars over Japan 7-3 on Sunday for their first victory of the six-game exhibition series after a pair of defeats. Realmuto hit an opposite-field solo home run to right in the fourth at Tokyo Dome, and Mitch Haniger scored the go-ahead run from second in a four-run fifth when Japan starter Shinsaburo Tawata threw wildly for an error on Haniger's bunt. One out later, Molina chased Tawata with an opposite-field, three-run home run to right for a 5-1 lead. The nine-time Gold Glove catcher picked off Seiji Uebayashi in the fourth inning. Rookie Juan Soto hit a fly ball in the fourth that was headed for the seats but hit the roof and was caught by right fielder Shogo Akiyama. Soto also hit the roof in Thursday's warmup game against the Yomiuri Giants. Winner Scott Barlow allowed 1 run and 5 hits in 41/3 innings and 65 pitches, striking out 4. The teams play Tuesday at Hiroshima, then conclude the following two days at Nagoya.
MOTOR SPORTS
Hamilton wins Brazil GP
Ten years after securing his first Formula One title at Interlagos, five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo on Sunday and helped his Mercedes team take the Formula One constructors' title for the fifth consecutive year. It was Hamilton's 10th victory of the season, finishing 1.4 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. But it could have been a very different outcome for the British driver, who struggled with engine problems and medium tires as he waited for rain that never came. Hamilton's second victory in Sao Paulo was only possible after Force India's Esteban Ocon refused to let then leader Verstappen pass on lap 44, causing both cars to spin. At the time, the Red Bull driver led Hamilton by five seconds. Verstappen managed to stay in the race after the incident and get closer to Hamilton in the final laps, but it wasn't enough for his second consecutive victory. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen completed the podium. His teammate Sebastian Vettel, who is second in the overall standings, finished sixth.
TENNIS
Czechs beat U.S. in final
Katerina Siniakova won the first reverse singles on Sunday to lead the Czech Republic to its sixth Fed Cup title in eight years. Siniakova saved two match points before defeating Sofia Kenin 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 to give the Czechs an insurmountable 3-0 lead over defending champion United States in the best-of-five final at Prague. It was the first victory for the Czechs over the United States -- since the country was created after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993 -- after four defeats in the Fed Cup.
Nishikori beats Federer
Roger Federer lost his opening match at the ATP Finals in London for the first time since 2013 as he went down 7-6 (4), 6-3 to Kei Nishikori on Sunday. Six-time champion Federer will now likely need to win his remaining two round-robin matches to keep alive his chances of claiming the 100th title of his career. Earlier, Kevin Anderson made a confident start to his ATP Finals debut with a 6-3, 7-6 (10) victory over Dominic Thiem.
BASKETBALL
Anthony report denied
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey has denied a report that said Carmelo Anthony's time with the team will end soon. Anthony, who was out for a second consecutive game Sunday night with an illness, is in his first season with the Rockets after one year in Oklahoma City. The New York Times had a sourced report on Sunday saying that Anthony has been notified that he will soon be waived. When asked about that report before Sunday night's game, Morey said: "That's inaccurate." The Rockets, who reached the Western Conference finals last season, are off to a disappointing 4-7 start, with many outsiders blaming Anthony for the struggles. Morey said he wanted to speak to reporters, in large part, to defend Anthony. "It's unfair that there's all this speculation on just one person," Morey said. "I understand it, he's obviously a Hall of Famer. But it's unfair."
Sports on 11/12/2018