PENSACOLA, Fla. – Augie Grill kept his impressive Snowball Derby week going on Saturday afternoon at Five Flags Speedway by winning the pole for the Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 100.

Grill, a three-time Snowflake 100 winner, topped qualifying for the pro late model division with a lap of 16.662 seconds (108.030 mph) in his white-and-red No. 112 car. It’s Grill’s second Snowflake 100 pole.

He won the modified feature on Friday night and is seeking the ninth Derby Week victory of his career.

Snowball Derby polesitter Derek Thorn timed in second-fastest with his Campbell Motorsports-prepared entry and will seek his first Derby weekend win of any kind on Saturday night.

Brandon Oakley impressed with the third-fastest lap of the session at 16.748 seconds, followed by two-time Snowflake 100 winner Bubba Pollard and Sammy Smith.

Justin South, Ryan Paul, Kyle Plott, Jackson Boone and Mason Keller filled out the first five rows of the grid, with young gun Connor Okrzesik starting 11th in his quest to honor late crew member Michael Beasley.

Carson Hocevar, an expected pre-race favorite, qualified 19th on Saturday afternoon.

The Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 100 is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT green flag at Five Flags Speedway.

QUALIFYING RESULTS: Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 100; Five Flags Speedway; Dec. 7, 2019

1. Augie Grill, 16.662
2. Derek Thorn, 16.740
3. Brandon Oakley, 16.748
4. Bubba Pollard, 16.762
5. Sammy Smith, 16.767
6. Justin South, 16.771
7. Ryan Paul, 16.797
8. Kyle Plott, 16.811
9. Jackson Boone, 16.840
10. Mason Keller, 16.846
11. Connor Okrzesik, 16.871
12. Mason Diaz, 16.875
13. Perry Patino, 16.918
14. Jake Johnson, 16.939
15. Dustin Smith, 16.945
16. Jett Noland, 16.960
17. Wayne Anderson, 16.964
18. Dylan Fetcho, 16.969
19. Carson Hocevar, 16.972
20. Stephen Nasse, 17.003
21. Daniel Dye, 17.005
22. Kyle McCallum, 17.014
23. JoJo Wilkinson, 17.020
24. Stacey Crain, 17.022
25. Jarrett Parker, 17.025
26. Mike Garvey, 17.039
27. Rodrigo Rejon, 17.043
28. Brandon Curren, 17.097
29. Chris Hacker, 17.145
30. Dan Leeck, 17.172
31. Jake Griffin, 17.254
32. Justin Bonnett, 17.276
33. Bill Melvin, 17.348
34. Elliott Massey, 17.423
35. Trever McCoy, 17.587
36. Cody Brake, 18.542
37. Jacob Beasock, NT

NASSAU, Bahamas – Tiger Woods dazzled during the final round of the Hero World Challenge, but he couldn’t quite keep pace with the leaders down the stretch. Here are some thoughts from wandering the sandy fairways alongside Woods one last time at the Hero World Challenge:

• There was a brief moment where it seemed like Woods would find his way to a sixth Hero title. Birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 gave him a one-shot lead at Albany, and he made the turn without dropping a shot. But he faltered on the easier inward half, shooting a final-round 69 to finish alone in fourth place and four shots behind winner Henrik Stenson.
• After four birdies over his first 11 holes, he didn’t make any over the last seven holes while playing the stretch in 1 over par.
• Woods was in the midst of what seemed like a three-man race with Stenson and Justin Thomas when things went awry on the 14^th hole. A misplaced drive and two poor chips led to a bogey on the short par-4, and another errant drive on the next hole meant a par on the easy 15^th. By that point, his title chances were toast.
• Woods’ late misses off the tee were magnified by his earlier accuracy. The shots at 14 and 15 were his first two missed fairways on a day when the more lingering sense of frustration came from his inability to convert birdie chances from a variety of lengths.

• It’s still a solid week for the tournament host, who broke 70 three straight rounds after an opening-round 72. “I had my chances,” Woods said. “I just didn’t make a lot of putts or birdies on the weekend.” 
• One silver lining to Woods’ afternoon: he finally got the best of Justin Thomas. Paired together for the third straight day, Thomas’ closing double bogey meant a 70 to Woods’ 69. It’s the first time Woods has beaten Thomas in the 14 times they’ve played together on Tour (Thomas was 10-0-3).
• Tiger lamented his inability to hit it close, and that bogey-double finish to the opening round surely looms large. But he really let a few get away on the greens Saturday, missing several birdie putts from the 15-foot range and a couple from even closer. The 25-footer he made on No. 6 was the only notable putt of length that went in all afternoon.
• With the result Woods is expected to move up one spot to No. 6 in the world rankings, ahead of Patrick Cantlay but still behind Dustin Johnson and Thomas.
• Woods will now turn his attention to his captaincy for next week’s Presidents Cup, with the U.S. team boarding a charter from the Bahamas Saturday night that will land in Australia Monday morning. “We’re going to be locked in a tin can for 23 hours,” said Woods, who added that he’ll have meetings and discussions with the team members on the lengthy flight.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Patrick Reed says he stayed off social media Friday evening after being the subject of a rules controversy and subsequent two-shot penalty earlier that day at the Hero World Challenge.

Probably a wise decision.

Not only was the Twitterverse up in arms, but several of Reed’s fellow Tour pros, including Marc Leishman and Eddie Pepperell, and former players chimed in on Reed’s infraction during Friday’s third round where Reed brushed back sand twice with his club before playing his third shot from the waste area on Albany’s par-5 11th hole. He was docked two shots after the round for improving his lie.

“If that’s not improving your lie, I don’t know what is,” said Golf Channel analyst Paul Azinger. “He knows better. I don’t know why that happened or what he was thinking.”

Reed was adamant that it was an honest mistake, though also blamed the television camera for portraying a different perspective of events.

“I think with a different camera angle they would have realized that … it was not improving the lie because it was far enough away from the golf ball,” Reed said Friday.

Rickie Fowler had a different opinion. After walking out of scoring Friday, Fowler caught a glimpse of the replay on a nearby television. Told that officials were reviewing the tape to decide whether or not it was a penalty, Fowler responded: “I don’t even know what you have to review.”

While Reed accepted the penalty and was prepared to move on, social media was not.

“What the [expletive] were you thinking?!” tweeted Pepperell.

“Scroll through your Twitter feed. They will tell you,” said Harold Varner III in response to Zac Blair’s tweet asking his followers what they thought of the Reed situation.

The outrage was widespread among golf fans. Some called for Reed to be disqualified. One Twitter account dug up a video from the 2015 Hero World Challenge where Reed appeared brush sand away in similar fashion before playing a shot from the waste area.

Reed said he didn’t see the video and couldn’t comment specifically on it. “I have no clue what you're talking about from the past,” he said. He did, however, add that he would be more careful when playing shots from the sand.

“The whole thing is everyone's careful in not breaking the rules, that's the name of the game,” Reed said. “You go out there and play golf, you don't go out there to play golf to break rules. You know, at the end of the day, would I have liked to have those two shots back? Of course. But at the end of the day, you know, I mean, it happened, and you have to move on.”

Reed shot 6-under 66 Saturday to finish solo third at 16 under … two shots behind winner Henrik Stenson. Aware of the final difference, Reed continued to stress the point that, “you can't dwell on the past.”

But this won’t be the final time Reed hears about the matter. Media at next week’s Presidents Cup in Australia are sure to ask Reed about the potential distraction.

“Of course, we're going to be asked,” said U.S. captain Tiger Woods, “but when it comes right down to it, we'll just get ready to play and play.”

International fans, though, might not make it easy on Reed and Team USA.

“It didn’t look too good for him,” Leishman told reporters Saturday at the Australian Open. “There are opportunities there [for the crowd], put it that way. I think he’s definitely opened a door there, that he’s brought on himself. … As long as it’s not disrespectful. You never want to cross the line, but I think there is some pretty good ammo there, isn’t there?”

Reed, who has been a lightning rod at recent international events, isn’t concerned.

“There's not really anything that's going to be said or done that's going to really derail me at the end of the day when I go out there to play golf, especially next week,” Reed said. “I'm playing with my team and for the whole country, and at the end of the day nothing's going to get in my way.”

Not fans. Not sand.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Through three rounds of the Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods had played the back nine at Albany in 11 under, with 10 birdies and two eagles.

But Saturday, Woods suddenly went cold on the closing stretch, and it cost him a chance at winning his own tournament for the sixth time.

“It wasn’t good enough,” said Woods, who made just one birdie and made some costly mistakes late in a closing 3-under 69 to finish fourth at 14 under, four behind winner Henrik Stenson.

Woods led by a shot after back-to-back birdies, at Nos. 6 and 7, and reached 15 under after a birdie at the par-5 11^th hole. But he failed to put another circle on the card after that.

His bogey at the drivable par-4 14^th hole delivered a crushing blow to his winning hopes. Woods drew a tough lie in the waste area after missing his drive left. He ended up blading the chip through the green and then hitting the next chip heavy, his ball rolling back to his feet.

He did make a 20-footer for bogey, but at that point he was two back of Stenson.

“That wasn't a very good lie,” Woods said. “I was trying to leave it in the rough just out of the bunker and leave it short of the flag, and it just bounced and skidded. I wasn't trying to hit the ball anywhere near that flag, I was just trying to take my medicine, try and get up and down for par and move on. The next thing you know, I'm down the hill and in this sandy lie, nasty little shot and it didn't work out.”

Three holes later, a missed 5-footer for birdie at the par-3 17^th sealed the deal.

“I blocked a couple [putts] today and I can't stand that feeling,” Woods said. “I'd much rather hook the hell out of a putt than hit some kind of block.”

But overall, Woods is pleased with his game heading into next week’s Presidents Cup in Australia.

“I think it was more of a continuation of what I did in Japan,” said Woods, who won the Zozo Championship in October, his previous start. “I hit the ball about as well and I didn't quite hit it close enough, you know? I had some short irons into the greens this week that I wish I could give myself some better looks, just outside that range of making putts. Consequently, I ended up short.”

Now, Woods and his team will board their charter Saturday night and head Down Under.

“We've got 23 hours in a tin can, so we've got a long way to go down there,” Woods said. “The guys will be relaxing, doing whatever we need to do. We've got a bunch of stuff to sign for the tournament, so the guys will be taking care of that.

“Lots of reading, lots of card playing and lots of needling.”

Just no admiring the Hero trophy. Sweden’s Stenson – and Woods’ back nine – made sure of that.

NASSAU, Bahamas – As Jon Rahm debated whether to proceed with his media obligations or wait until play had completely finished Saturday afternoon at the Hero World Challenge, a nearby television showed Henrik Stenson hitting the fairway at Albany’s par-4 18th hole.

The shot made up Rahm’s mind for him. Rahm had closed with a 6-under 66 to finish at 17 under, but Stenson was a shot better and unlikely, Rahm said, to bogey the last.

“I’ll just do it now,” Rahm conceded, before explaining.

“It would take a bad shot from Henrik, who's clearly playing beautiful and hitting really, really good iron shots all week. I saw two days of that, so I'll be surprised if that second shot goes outside 20 feet, to be honest.”

Stenson hit his approach outside of that but was still able to two-putt for the victory and deny Rahm a chance at back-to-back Hero titles.

The young Spaniard, though, gave it a run, going birdie-eagle-birdie on Nos. 14-16 to take the outright lead. Rahm thought he held the lead two holes later when he hit a safe shot from 168 yards into the final green, leaving himself 30 feet short of the hole.

Only he was wrong. Two groups behind, Stenson, playing in the final pairing, had eagled No. 15 to pull one shot ahead of Rahm. Instead of an easy par, Rahm actually needed a birdie at the last.

“I wish I would have had a scoreboard on 18 to know that I was one back because I definitely played it 20 feet short of the pin thinking I was at least tied for the lead, so I wanted to give myself a chance,” Rahm said. “But had I known I would have been a little bit more aggressive. It is what it is. I still hit a good shot, I just mis-hit it a tiny bit and came up shorter than I wanted it.”

Still, Rahm had no reason to hang his head. He’s slated to marry fiancée Kelley Cahill next week in Spain, and Rahm’s runner-up finish at Hero was his fourth finish of solo second or better in his past five starts. That stretch includes two wins. 

He finished 2019 with three victories, four other top-3 finishes and nine other top-10s in 24 worldwide starts.

“It was the best year I've had,” said Rahm, who didn’t win a major, however. “I'm not going to give it a 10 because I don't think anybody would give it a 10, but close to a nine out of 10.”

Manchester United midfielder Fred blamed an alleged racial incident that marred the Saturday's Manchester derby on "a backward society."

Television images circulating on social media showed a Manchester City fan making a gesture in front of United's Fred during the Premier League game. The player also appeared to have been struck by at least one object.

"Unfortunately, we are still in a backward society. [It is a shame] we still have to live with that in 2019. On the field, I didn't see anything. I saw it only in the locker room afterwards," Fred told ESPN Brazil.

"The guys showed me. He even threw a lighter and it hit me. I try not to care about that. I try to look ahead.

"Unfortunately, this is happening in some stadiums. It happened here, it happened in Ukraine with some friends. It's sad, but we have to keep our heads up and forget about that. We can't give them any attention because that's all they want. I spoke to the referee after the match, they will do something about it and that's all.

"We are all the same regardless of skin color, hair and gender. We came from the same place and we all go to the same place when it's all said and done. Thank God I have a lot of friends here in the locker room who hugged me, like Lingard. I don't want to think about it. I just want to move on."

Manchester City said they were investigating a fan for the incident, releasing a statement saying: "Manchester City FC are aware of a video circulating on social media which appears to show a supporter making racial gestures during the second half of the match against Manchester United this evening," the club said.

"Officials from the club are working with Greater Manchester Police in order to help them identify any individuals concerned and assist with their enquiries.

"The club operates a zero tolerance policy regarding discrimination of any kind, and anyone found guilty of racial abuse will be banned from the club for life."

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said midfielder Jesse Lingard had also been targeted.

"I've seen it on the video; it was Jesse and Fred and the fella must be ashamed of himself. It's unacceptable and I hope he will not be watching any football anymore."

Anti-racist campaign group Kick it Out said on Twitter that they had received a high number of complaints about incidents at the game.

"We have been inundated with reports of alleged racist abuse from a number of individuals during this evening's Manchester Derby," said the group.

"We will be contacting both clubs to offer our support and hope swift action is taken to identify the offenders."

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

MANCHESTER, England -- Old and slow: They are two adjectives you do not usually associate with Manchester City, but as Manchester United inflicted the champions' fourth Premier League defeat of the season with a 2-1 victory at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola's players suddenly looked like precisely that.

That City looked so out of character was largely down to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his young United team, who, in the first half in particular, tore Guardiola's side apart with their blistering pace on the counterattack in the form of Marcus Rashford, Daniel James, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial. United, whose goals came from Rashford and Martial before half-time, were dominant in midfield too, with Scott McTominay outstanding once again as a defensive shield in front of the back four.

But while every visiting player produced arguably their best performance of the season, this was still a day when City looked like a shadow of their true selves.

Yet are their "true selves" now what we saw during the 179th Manchester derby? The evidence of the 90 minutes against United suggested that the City of the past two seasons -- the team that won the title with 100 points in 2017-18 before winning a domestic treble last term -- is no longer the one that we see out on the pitch.

For two seasons, Guardiola's City were incredibly consistent and one of the best teams of the Premier League era, but they now sit third in the table, 14 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool. The 32 points that City have banked so far is the lowest points total of Guardiola's managerial career after 16 games, so these are strange times for City and their manager.

"We need to keep clean sheets and strikers maybe need to put more away," City defender Kyle Walker said after the United defeat. "[United] had a game plan and it worked.

"You can't fault [Guardiola]. He has won numerous trophies. I can't put my finger on it."

Every team has its own cycle or shelf life, so perhaps we are now seeing the end of City's period of dominance. Liverpool look set to dethrone them as champions this season -- Jurgen Klopp's team are already European champions following last season's Champions League triumph -- and for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, United look like they may finally be on an upward trajectory again.

Tellingly, both Liverpool and United have beaten City this season by playing with pace on the counter. City remain a team that tries to beat opponents with a possession-based game, but their rivals have found a way to beat them, and that has coincided with Guardiola's team showing signs of wear and tear.

They failed to replace captain Vincent Kompany following the defender's summer move to Anderlecht -- a mistake that has haunted City since Aymeric Laporte was ruled out for six months with a knee injury earlier this season -- and this defeat against United also exposed the absence of a top-class left-back in Guardiola's squad. Benjamin Mendy's performances have led to Guardiola lacking trust in the Frenchman's defensive discipline, and neither Angelino nor Oleksandr Zinchenko has measured up in his place.

Fernandinho (34) and David Silva (33) are both expected to leave at the end of the season, while Sergio Aguero (31) is injured again and his replacement, Gabriel Jesus, has repeatedly shown himself to be incapable of filling in for the prolific Argentine. Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne are still world-class performers and both players are approaching the peak years of their careers, but two years ago, City had six or seven world-class players.

Now, they need to start planning for a rebuild because they cannot rely on Fernandinho, Silva and Aguero for much longer, and the youthful energy of United's players exposed the lack of zest within the City side.

Replacing personnel is one thing, but maintaining motivation is another challenge, and even the best managers have struggled to keep players hungry once they have won repeatedly. Ferguson achieved it at United for more than 20 years, but the Scot rebuilt his team perhaps four or five times. Guardiola has never stayed at a club long enough to do that even once, but if he remains at City beyond the end of this season, he will have to find a way to rebuild and ensure the desire is there to catch Liverpool and fend off a United revival.

Despite this defeat, the gap to Liverpool and his team's performances this season, Guardiola insisted after the game that he still believes in his City squad.

"I know who we are as a team," he said. "I am delighted to work with these guys. We have to think about what we have to do and think about the next game.

"It doesn't matter if it's six, eight or 14 points [behind Liverpool], we have to continue. We are a fantastic team."

Guardiola is right. This remains an outstanding City team, but perhaps their best days are behind them and a rebuild is needed.

United waited too long to build again at Old Trafford once Ferguson retired, and they are still paying the price for that. City need to heed the warning of their neighbours' mistake and avoid repeating it themselves.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Winless in more than two years, Henrik Stenson found himself in the middle of a wild chase to the finish Saturday with Tiger Woods and the elite in golf all around him.

Five players had a chance to win in the final hour. Four had at least a share of the lead at one point.

One swing changed everything.

"The shot of the day," Stenson said.

He drilled a 5-wood from 259 yards to within inches of the hole for a tap-in eagle on the par-5 15th, going from a 1-shot deficit to a 1-shot lead. Three pars gave him a 6-under 66 and a victory in the Hero World Challenge he might not have seen coming.

Stenson tied for 44th two weeks ago in Dubai and spent a few hours on the range that afternoon with swing coach Pete Cowen. He carried some of that to the Bahamas, and his nerves held up at Albany Golf Club.

"Sometimes, just keep on working hard and grinding it out," Stenson said. "Confidence can still be a little higher, but I'm really happy with the way I hung in there."

Woods fell out with a chip that didn't make it up the slope on the 14th hole, and he had to scramble for bogey. Justin Thomas had a pair of 12-foot birdie putts burn the edge. Defending champion Jon Rahm, in his final event before getting married in Spain, appeared to seize control with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch to take the lead on the 16th hole.

And then Stenson struck the decisive blow with his 5-wood. He knew it was good. He couldn't see beyond a dune as it bounced onto the green, tracked toward the hole and settled about 8 inches away for eagle.

That took him to 1 shot ahead, and he closed with three pars.

Rahm had to settle for two pars to close out his 66.

Stenson won for the first time in 50 tournaments worldwide, a drought dating to the Wyndham Championship in August 2017. His world ranking plunged from No. 6 to No. 40.

"It's down, but it's not a disaster," Stenson said of his ranking. "I can compete with the best, and I guess I showed that."

Patrick Reed, under scrutiny for improving his line of play in a waste area Friday, leading to a 2-shot penalty, shook that off for a 66 to finish alone in third.

Woods hasn't won his holiday event since 2011, and he put himself in position with timely birdies while playing alongside Thomas. It looked like quite a battle, with Woods setting the pace early and Thomas catching and passing him with an 8-foot eagle putt on the 11th hole.

But that was as good as it got for both of them.

Woods tried to drive the par-4 14th hole and wound up in the waste area with a bad lie. He sent that over the green, and his chip up the slope wasn't hard enough and came back down the hill. His fourth shot barely made it onto the green and he holed a 15-foot putt to escape with bogey.

But he spent more time in the waste area on the par-5 15th and had to scramble for par, and that was the end of his chances. Woods closed with a 69.

His only victory -- a hollow one -- was finishing with a lower score than Thomas for the first time in some 15 pairings together. Even that required a double-bogey by Thomas on the last hole, giving him a 70.

"I don't think that's how we wanted it to end up," Woods said with a laugh. "If I was going to get him, it would have been nice for either of us to have a chance to win the tournament."

U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, who started the final round with a 1-shot lead, ran into trouble chipping up the slope on the par-5 third hole and made double-bogey. He never recovered, shot 73 and tied for seventh.

The World Challenge was just the first stop for 11 of the Americans in the field.

They had a few hours to get changed for a charter flight from the Bahamas to Australia for the Presidents Cup, which starts Thursday with Woods as the first playing captain in 25 years.

Stenson and Rahm finished 1-2 with no interest in the matches between Americans and players from countries outside Europe.

Stenson wants to patch up his game, and this was a big step. After five straight years in the top 10, the 43-year-old Swede is eager to get back.

The New York Jets' disappointing season took another bad turn Saturday, as they ruled out running back Le'Veon Bell for Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins.

Bell became ill this week, the team said, and he didn't practice Thursday and Friday, when he was listed as questionable. Coach Adam Gase didn't give any specifics as to the nature of the illness.

"He's sick, probably the same thing that is going around a lot of these other teams," Gase said. "[The] biggest thing was getting him checked out and then get him out of the building so nobody else gets sick."

The Jets (4-8) will lean on backups Bilal Powell and Ty Montgomery, with Powell to get most of the carries. They also have Josh Adams on the roster.

This will be Bell's first missed game with the Jets. He had been durable, if not productive. Statistically, this has been the worst season of his career, as he's rushed for only 589 yards, three touchdowns and a career-low 3.2 average.

Last week was particularly frustrating for Bell, who had only 10 carries in a 22-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bell signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract in free agency. He drew interest at the trading deadline, and there's a chance the Jets could move him in the offseason.

ATLANTA -- LSU quarterback Joe Burrow set an SEC single-season record with his 45th touchdown pass, throwing a 23-yard strike in the first quarter of the SEC championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.

The record-setting pass went to Ja'Marr Chase and gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 9:09 remaining in the first quarter.

The previous record of 44 was set by former Missouri quarterback Drew Lock in 2017.

Burrow began his career at Ohio State but went to LSU as a graduate transfer prior to the start of last season. He started every game in 2018 and finished with 16 passing touchdowns.

Aided by the addition of new passing game coordinator Joe Brady, Burrow surpassed last season's total just four games into this season.