Regret from an uncharacteristically careless early swipe in the first innings led Babar Azam to a second Test hundred, cementing his growing reputation among the world's foremost all-format batsman. Azam's hundred, alongside Mohammad Rizwan's 95, provided some resistance on the fourth day at the Gabba, though ultimately not nearly enough to prevent an innings defeat, and a 13th straight loss in Australia.

Azam drove expansively at a wide delivery from Josh Hazlewood just four balls into his innings on the first day, part of a post-lunch collapse that wasted a sound start and eventually saw Pakistan fall to a distinctly underwhelming 240 all out. That dismissal was not only out of sync with his white-ball prowess but also a burgeoning body of Test performances.

So good has his white-ball game been that it sometimes overlooks his steady rise in Tests. Since the start of 2018, he is Pakistan's leading scorer in the format. An overall Test average of 36.21 masks that surge: he is averaging 50.88 since 2018 and has seen his Test average rise from less than 24 at that point. No Pakistani batsman has more than his nine 50-plus scores in that run, which includes two hundreds, a 99 (also against Australia, last season) and an electric battle or two with Dale Steyn.

He came to these shores as Pakistan's T20I captain and runs in the three-match series as well as in the warm-up games meant expectations going into Brisbane were high. No less an authority than Ricky Ponting had identified him as the one batsmen he wanted to watch this series.

"There was no pressure [around the hype]," Azam said. "That is my shot [the drive he edged first up] but I went and played it too early, which I shouldn't have done. I had a lot of regrets about that. So I practiced a lot on leaving balls that are slightly wide, and I applied it to my second innings. I went and took an unnecessary chance early on in my first innings and I shouldn't have done that."

The discipline second time around was notable, not least in surviving a testing early spell from Hazlewood, who has dismissed him five times so far in Tests. But for much of the rest of it, he moved unperturbed to a second hundred, an innings stuffed full of not only the off-side whips and drives on which he has built his reputation but also an accomplished technical base.

"I focussed a lot on my concentration, especially after I reach 50," Azam said. "I want to look at how I can make it a big knock. So I try to maintain the same focus for the second 50 as I do for the first. I didn't work separately with anyone. Test cricket teaches you all this. When I was failing to convert [earlier in his career], I sat and analysed why I am flopping. I just changed my mind-set and have given 200% on my concentration."

Inevitably and understandably given he is Pakistan's best batsman, there will be discussion at some point about Azam moving up the order. He has moved up and down, beginning his Test career at No. 4, moving up one spot immediately before eventually moving down the order to where he is now: mostly at No. 5, with occasional forays at six. His highest average is from six - nearly 45 - but he won't stay down there long.

"When I started Test cricket I had no number since Younis bhai and Misbah bhai were still around," Azam said. "At times I would also bat five or six. I batted No. 3 when I came to Australia last and then went off to No. 4. It's not like they didn't give me a number. It was based on the team's requirement and the plan. I don't ask for a number to bat at. My job is to perform regardless of where I bat."

Not that there is much of a sample yet to pick from but Azam did agree his hundred here was his best - or, more accurately, the better of his two Test hundreds thus far. "You can say that (it was my best). Scoring runs in Australia is very difficult. They play very well and bowl really well in their home conditions. To perform against them you get extra confidence, which I've got from scoring this hundred."

In the week since Colin Kaepernick worked out for seven NFL teams at Charles R. Drew High School in Riverdale, Georgia, no teams have reached out to work him out, visit with him or sign him, league sources told ESPN.

Kaepernick, 32, remains unemployed, and NFL teams remain uninterested in his services -- the same story that has followed the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback for almost three years.

Kaepernick's representatives sent video of their client's workout to the 25 NFL teams that did not attend last Saturday, but that has not led to any interest, either.

The fact that the NFL tried to spark interest in Kaepernick last week, and could not, and that his reps made sure that video of the workout was delivered to every team, are just the latest signs that the chances are bleak that a team will step forward and sign him.

Some sources speculated that there had been teams interested in making a move with Kaepernick, and could in the weeks after his workout. But nothing has materialized, and nothing is expected to at this time.

After completing his 40-minute workout on Nov. 16, Kaepernick said he's ready for another opportunity and wants the league to "stop running'' from him.

"I've been ready for three years,'' Kaepernick said. "I've been denied for three years. We all know why I came out here. [I] showed it today in front of everybody. We have nothing to hide. So we're waiting for the 32 owners, 32 teams, Roger Goodell, all of them to stop running. Stop running from the truth. Stop running from the people."

Kaepernick, who in 2012-13 quarterbacked the 49ers to an appearance in the Super Bowl, protested police brutality and social injustice by kneeling during the pregame national anthem and has been out of football since 2016.

The NFL originally scheduled the workout to take place at the Falcons' facility, but Kaepernick's camp switched venues after a disagreement between the two sides on the quarterback's liability waiver and media availability, among other factors.

In a statement, the NFL said it was "disappointed that Colin did not appear for his workout.''

The change in venue interrupted schedules for many of the 25 teams that were set to watch Kaepernick at the original site, but Kaepernick still threw in front of representatives from the Niners, Eagles, Chiefs, Jets, Redskins, Lions and Titans.

ESPN's Vaughn McClure contributed to this report.

To help you set your lineups and avoid starting a player who won't take the field, we will post fantasy-relevant updates and analysis here as NFL teams release their inactives lists, typically about 90 minutes before kickoff. Any rankings cited in this column come from our ESPN Fantasy staff ranks.

Refresh often for the latest information.

1 p.m. ET games

Offense

Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL: Foot -- OUT
Impact: Brian Hill gets another bite at the proverbial apple, with Kenjon Barner and Qadree Ollison also in the mix.

Austin Hooper, TE, ATL: Knee -- OUT
Impact: Luke Stocker starts again for Atlanta, but shouldn't factor into fantasy lineups.

Adam Shaheen, TE, CHI: Foot -- OUT
Impact: Ben Braunecker could be an interesting play in a very heavy week for injured TEs.

A.J. Green, WR, CIN: Ankle -- OUT
Impact: Stanley Morgan might see some action, if he gets over an illness.

Auden Tate, WR, CIN: Concussion -- Questionable
Impact: Damion Willis might enter the flex conversation if Tate doesn't clear protocol.

Tim Patrick, WR, DEN: Shoulder -- Questionable
Impact: Did well in his 2019 debut last week. Might be able to repeat numbers if he can play.

Jeff Heuerman, TE, DEN: Knee -- Questionable
Impact: Even if he can play, Noah Fant has surpassed him on the depth chart.

Matthew Stafford, QB, DET: Back -- OUT
Impact: Jeff Driskel starts again, with a good chance to shine against Washington.

T.J. Hockenson, TE, DET: Shoulder -- Questionable
Impact: Very late add to injury report, which is not a good sign. Game-time call.

Deonte Harris, WR, NO: Hamstring -- OUT
Impact: Tre'Quan Smith possible for some No. 3 WR targets.

Evan Engram, TE, NYG: Foot -- OUT
Impact: This could have been an opportunity for Ellison, but ...

Rhett Ellison, TE, NYG: Concussion -- OUT
Impact: ... he's hurt, too. Kaden Smith is huge reach.

Demaryius Thomas, WR, NYJ: Hamstring -- Questionable
Impact: Questionable is normal for Thomas. He should play.

Jordan Howard, RB, PHI: Shoulder -- Questionable
Impact: Miles Sanders/Jay Ajayi would handle matters in his absence.

Alshon Jeffery, WR, PHI: Ankle -- Questionable
Impact: Jordan Matthews might see a pass or two sent his way.

Nelson Agholor, WR, PHI: Knee -- Questionable
Impact: Greg Ward Jr. promoted from practice squad, so it's not looking good.

James Conner, RB, PIT: Shoulder -- OUT
Impact: Benny Snell Jr. is healthy and should support Jaylen Samuels.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, PIT: Concussion -- OUT
Impact: James Washington/Diontae Johnson get bumps in value.

Luke Willson, TE, SEA: Hamstring -- Doubtful
Impact: Jacob Hollister to start and will likely do quite nicely.

Chris Thompson, RB, WAS: Toe -- Questionable
Impact: Derrius Guice to handle primary back duties, either alone ...

Adrian Peterson, RB, WAS: Toe -- Questionable
Impact: ... or with Peterson, if he can make the start.

Defense

Takkarist McKinley, DE, ATL: Shoulder -- Questionable

Kemal Ishmael, LB, ATL: Concussion -- OUT

Danny Trevathan, LB, CHI: Elbow -- OUT

Olivier Vernon, DE, CLE: Knee -- OUT

Joe Schobert, LB, CLE: Groin -- Questionable

Trey Flowers, DE, DET: Concussion -- OUT

Tracy Walker, S, DET: Knee -- OUT

Taco Charlton, DE, MIA: Elbow -- Questionable

Marshon Lattimore, CB, NO: Hamstring -- Questionable

Steve McLendon, DT, NYJ: Neck -- Questionable

Henry Anderson, DE, NYJ: Shoulder -- Questionable

C.J. Mosley, LB, NYJ: Groin -- OUT

Neville Hewitt, LB, NYJ: Neck -- Questionable

Brandon Copeland, LB, NYJ: Hip -- Questionable

Darryl Roberts, CB, NYJ: Calf -- Doubtful

Lamarcus Joyner, S, OAK: Hamstring -- Questionable

Jadeveon Clowney, DE, SEA: Knee -- Questionable

Carl Nassib, DE, TB: Groin -- Questionable

Daron Payne, DT, WAS: Ankle -- Doubtful

Josh Norman, CB, WAS: Team decision -- Inactive

4 p.m. ET games

Offense

Seth DeValve, TE, JAX: Oblique -- OUT
Impact: Ben Koyack becomes a last-minute option if you've got nothing but goose eggs from which to choose.

Tom Brady, QB, NE: Elbow -- Questionable
Impact: Expected to play, but see below for the bevy of WR injuries in his huddle.

Julian Edelman, WR, NE: Shoulder -- Questionable
Impact: No reason to think this is anything but a "we have to report it" designation.

Mohamed Sanu Sr., WR, NE: Ankle -- Questionable
Impact: Not guaranteed to play, though there's still a chance. N'Keal Harry might be able to step in.

Phillip Dorsett II, WR, NE: Concussion -- Questionable
Impact: Still not out of protocol. Jakobi Meyers can be the fill-in option here.

Delanie Walker, TE, TEN: Ankle -- Doubtful
Impact: Jonnu Smith has handled the position for the last month-plus.

Defense

Leighton Vander Esch, LB, DAL: Neck -- OUT

John Simon, DE, NE: Elbow -- Questionable

Patrick Chung, S, NE: Heel -- Questionable

Jason McCourty, CB, NE: Groin -- Questionable

Official Sunday inactives should begin coming in at approximately 11:30 a.m. ET for the early games and 2:30 p.m. ET for the late games.

Former Euro Cross U23 champion moves to third on the UK marathon all-time list with an impressive run in Italy

Jess Piasecki (née Coulson) has become the third fastest female in British marathon history after winning Sunday’s Florence Marathon in 2:25:29.

Passing halfway in 74:31, the 29-year-old went on to run an impressive sub 71-minute second half to win the women’s race by 78 seconds and finish 11th overall, with the men’s race won by Ethiopia’s Sahlesilassie Bekele Nigussie in 2:10:14.

It is Piasecki’s first full marathon, with the 2012 Euro Cross under-23 champion having made her debut in Frankfurt in 2015 but been forced to drop at out 32km after tearing her plantar fascia while well on target for a Rio Olympic qualifying time.

The Nottingham Trent University exercise physiology lecturer and researcher has spoken openly about her struggles with injuries related to RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport) in the past but has returned to have a fine 2019.

Coached by Robert Hawkins, the father and coach of world marathon fourth-placer Callum, Piasecki ran 15:51 at the 5km Long Eaton parkrun at the beginning of March for a time which puts her second in the parkrun all-time rankings and went on to captain the GB team at the World Cross in Aarhus, where she placed 37th.

In September she won the Mattoni Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon in a PB of 71:34.

“Isn’t it great when a long term plan comes together,” she wrote on social media. “Thanks to all who have helped along the way.”

Isn’t it great when a long term plan comes together.

Thanks to all who have helped along the way pic.twitter.com/ouzyIdab4c

— Jessica Piasecki (@JessCoulson90) November 24, 2019

In what is proving to be a great year for British female marathon running, Piasecki’s performance follows Charlotte Purdue’s 2:25:38 in London in April and Steph Twell’s 2:26:40 in Frankfurt last month.

Only Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25) and Mara Yamauchi (2:23:12) have run quicker than Piasecki and Purdue, with Twell now sitting sixth behind Veronique Marot (2:25:56) on the UK women’s marathon all-time list.

Piasecki’s time is the second quickest ever at the Florence Marathon, with Lonah Chemtai Salpeter’s course record of 2:24:17 having been set last year.

Behind the Briton on Sunday was Ethiopia’s Dinknesh Mekash Tefera, who ran 2:26:47 for the runner-up spot, and Kenya’s Salina Jebet, who clocked 2:30:28.

Behind men’s race winner Bekele Nigussie, Kenya’s Asbel Kipsang was second in 2:11:55 and Morocco’s Hicham Bofars third in 2:13:29.

Britain’s Paul Molyneux was eighth in 2:22:56.

LAS VEGAS — Saturday was a day of ET assaults and surprise runs at the COMP Cams Street Car Super Nationals 15 Presented by FuelTech. Qualifying at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway wrapped up Saturday afternoon with the first round of eliminations beginning immediately after.

Ronnie Hobbs and his ’17 Mustang continued their hot streak with a 3.736-second run in E1 of Crower Radial vs. The World, beating his own qual-topping ET of 3.766 seconds set earlier in the day. The pass also set a new event radial tire record.

In Precision Turbo Pro Mod, Randy Merick’s 5.55 flat from Friday night was felled in dominating fashion by Justin Jones. Jones raced his 2018 Corvette to a blazing 5.518-second lap at 259.71 mph, more than enough to gain top qualifier honors.

Both Merick and Jones would advance to E2 on bye runs, with Jones losing traction early and wisely lifting to save his car during his pass.

One of the most entertaining pairings of the day occurred in the first round of No Time Big Tire when Gilly Bobby Hildrebrand and Joe Loch engaged in an old-fashioned burndown. For well north of a minute, the two cars remained motionless on the line. Loch finally broke the stalemate and staged first. Unfortunately, Hildebrand crossed the finish line first, taking the win light.

Hildrebrand, entered in multiple categories, also laid down a 3.935-second lap at 200.65 mph in a winning effort in MagnaFuel Outlaw 10.5 eliminations Saturday night. In addition, the time resets the class ET record.

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — After wiring the field on Friday night, R.C. Whitwell upped his game with an even more dominant performance in Saturday’s second leg of Central Arizona Speedway’s sixth annual Desert Thunder Nationals by romping to IMCA Modified victory lane in a non-stop 25-lapper.

Whitwell wasn’t the only one to make it two-for-two in the three-race set with Cody Thompson besting the IMCA Sport Modifieds again and Zach Tate repeated in the Bombers.  R.J. Johnson and J.W. Henderson were victorious in Power 600 Micro Sprint Non-Wing and Restricted “A” Class competition, respectively.

Whitwell, Thompson and Tate will each vie for a three-race sweep of the Desert Thunder Nationals finale that fires off Sunday at 1 p.m.

After drawing the front row outside for Friday night’s preliminary feature, Whitwell landed on the pole of Saturdays’ 25-lap IMCA Modified feature.  “My cousin has been drawing for me, and she has done pretty well,” Whitwell said.

With Tucson’s Whitwell on the pole, he jumped out front at the drop of the green flag and never looked back in the caution-free event.

Whitwell reached traffic prior to the midway point and was able to successfully navigate his way through it to a straightaway victory over Chaz Baca, Jr.

“We tried a bunch of different stuff from yesterday,” Whitwell commented.  “It was a lot better.  Lapped traffic was pretty treacherous at times, but it was a great race track that you could really move around on.”

While Baca, Jr., settled for runner-up honors for the second night in a row, Christy Barnett claimed the show position with Mike Wedelstadt and Jason Noll rounded out the top five as only ten cars remained on the lead lap as the checkered flag flew.

After winning Friday night’s opener, Sioux City, Iowa’s Cody Thompson had to work harder to make it two in a row on Saturday night but ultimately made it happen.

Thompson spent the early portion of the race chasing Ty Weidner before finally slipping past for the lead at the midway point of the 20-lapper.  Thompson ultimately slipped away to secure the triumph.

“I tried once earlier to slide him (Weidner) for the lead and it didn’t work,” Thompson said in victory lane.  “Fortunately, I was able to get back to him and get by.”

Cole Carver briefly battled past Weidner for second only to slip off the track, with Weidner reclaiming second all the way to the stripe with tenth-starter Cory Hemphill, Dixon Tipton and Jimmy Terstriep rounding out the top five.

Coolidge’s Zack Tate saved the best for last in the 20-lap Bomber feature, pulling alongside race-long leader Nick Posey as the white flag flew and edging ahead to make it two wins in as many nights by only 0.041 seconds.  Posey settled for second with Aaron Collier on the podium as well in third.

In the Power 600 Non-Wing Micro Sprint feature, Sprint Car ace shook off Micro rust of approximately 10 years to edge Friday winner Colton Hardy at the line with Dale Eliason Jr., while fellow Phoenix shoe J.W. Henderson topped the Power 600 Restricted “A” Class Micro Sprints ahead of Cali racer Brandon Reveira and Grant Schaadt.

The finish:

Feature (25 Laps):  1. 96t-R.C. Whitwell, 2. 75jr-Chaz Baca, 3. 44-Christy Barnett, 4. X-Mike Wedelstadt, 5. 44n-Jason Noll, 6. 5m-Zachary Madrid, 7. 18k-Jacob Pace, 8. 5T-Jeff Taylor, 9. 44k-Kelsie Foley, 10. 27-Mark Carrell, 11. 71az-Tyler Mecl, 12. 82w-Eston Whisler, 13. 75-Spencer Wilson, 14. 26-Trevor Miller, 15. 14a-Chase Alves, 16. 71s-Brent Schlafmann, 17. 82-Sherman Barnett, 18. 28-Jim Whisler, 19. 10g-Don Geist, 20. 85T-Roy Meeks, 21. 36-Bill Miller, 22. 1x-Don Earven, 23. 98-Alex Stanford, 24. 271-Chris Carroll, 25. 292-Tony Martin.

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Troy DeCaire took advantage of a late-race error by leader Joey Aguilar to capture his seventh Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series victory of the season Saturday night at 417 Southern Speedway.

It was also his 10th pavement sprint car feature win of the season.

Tommy Nichols took the lead at the start of the 40-lap feature but quickly surrendered the lead to Aguilar on lap nine. It appeared Aguilar would be the man to beat as he began to build a sizable lead until a lap 16 caution.

The restart found DeCaire lined up beside Aguilar on a double-file restart. When the race resumed, Aguilar took the lead and began to build another sizable lead over the next 10 laps.

The finish:

Troy DeCaire, Daniel Miller, Scotty Adema, Tommy Nichols, Travis Bliiemeister, Phil Haddad, Rex Keene, Charles Hambling, Joey Agulier, Clayton Donaldson, Ty DeCaire.

LAS VEGAS — Derek Thorn and Cole Moore will remember Saturday night in Las Vegas for quite some time.

Thorn, of Bakersfield, Calif., won the $10,000 SPEARS Southwest Tour Retro Custom Metals 150 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after crossing the line .844 of a second ahead of Tyler Fabozzi at the West Coast Short Track Championships.

It was the first time Thorn, a regular at The Bullring’s Winner’s Circle, had won the track’s season-ending event.

“These guys are good,” Thorn, who won five of the eight races he ran this season, said of his team. “Mike, I don’t know what he did at the halfway break, but he took us from a fourth- or fifth-place car to a first-place car. It’s been a good season, but unfortunately we missed a race and were out of the points contention.

“I’m always contending for the championship and finish like third, fifth or second at this event. We didn’t win the championship, but did win the race.”

Moore, of Granite Bay, Calif., finished fifth, 3.296 seconds behind Thorn, in the 150-lap feature to secure the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series season championship. He entered the race 19 points ahead of Linny White, who finished in third place, 1.384 seconds back.

“This year was insane,” said Moore, who overcame a head injury earlier in the week to run the season-ender. “We were right there so many times and almost won so many races, but I kept telling myself it was about the war and not the battles. It really came all the way to the end, and my hat’s off to Linny (White), Derek (Thorn) and all the competitors.

“I had some real adversity with a head injury this week, and I’d like to thank my team for everything. They put their heart and soul into it, and I don’t even know what to say right now.”

Jeremy Doss from Upper Lake, Calif. – who won last November’s SPEARS Southwest Tour Series race at The Bullring – won the SPEARS Modified Series 75-lap feature from the pole after withstanding a plethora of re-starts. He finished 1.242 seconds ahead of Ryan Partidge for the win.

“This thing’s got so much power, it’s kind of hard to re-start,” Doss said of his car. “I knew after we made it through Turn 1, we had such a great car, we were able to walk away with it. I’ve just got to give it up to Eddie Wilcox for giving me the opportunity to drive here, and I’d like to thank everyone who helps with this thing. I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Dylan Cappello won the 2019 SPEARS Modified Series season championship and ended his campaign with a fourth-place finish in Las Vegas.

“It’s awesome,” Cappello said. “We had (the title) clinched coming in here, but we just wanted to end the year with a win. Jeremy (Doss) was really, really good tonight, and I think we had a second- or third-place car. I just want to thank this RVK Racing team. They’ve done a heck of a job all year.”

Phoenix’s Ricky Bogart raced to his second consecutive Late Model Truck Series victory, crossing the line 3.033 seconds ahead of Andrew Porter. Bogart made his way through lapped traffic to take the checkered flag.

“I had to give it 100 percent, and I knew traffic was going to be an issue at some point,” Bogart said. “I want to thank Sean Davis, Brian and Fisher Industries for giving me a great truck. This thing’s awesome, and I can’t wait for next year.”

Lee Keach was third, Bill Black fourth and Mark Allison finished fifth to clinch his second straight season championship.

Jadan Walbridge, who won The Bullring’s Jr. Late Models season title, led the 40-lap feature at the midway break, then held off Tyler Reif by .397 of a second to put an exclamation point on his year.

“It’s been a great year, especially this being our rookie year,” Walbridge said. “To come out here, get four wins and a championship and top it off like this is great. It’s just been a great year for our rookie season, and I can’t wait to get back next year.”

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The third try was the charm for Kyle Larson Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway, as he finally got past Michael Pickens and then led the final 20 laps of the November Classic en route to victory.

After passing Pickens on laps six and 10, only to see the moves wiped out by untimely yellows, Larson made the winning move stick on the 11th round and never looked back after that.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series star then pulled away over the remaining distance in his No. 1k Lucas Oil/iRacing King-Speedway Toyota to take his 18th career NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series win.

Saturday night’s performance was Larson’s third win of the season and second in a row, making him the first driver since J.J. Yeley in 2003 to win back-to-back USAC national midget races in the state of California.

“Once again, my car just felt really good up against the cushion,” Larson said in victory lane. “I knew I was quite a bit better than he was when I was behind him. I kept thinking he’d move up in front of me, so my entry speed was a little bit slow, but we were finally able to get by him there on one of the restarts and run some really good laps out in the lead.

“It’s just a cool deal, to go back to back in my home state and have some great runs with this new program,” Larson added. “We weren’t sure what to expect starting off, but Paul Silva (crew chief) has had this thing right since we got to Placerville and it’s firing on all cylinders. We’ve brought it out five times and won four of them, so that’s a pretty good record and one we’re really proud of as a team.”

Pickens led the field off from the pole while Larson fought forward from sixth on the grid, but it was less than a lap before Larson found himself in a three-wide battle for second with Jesse Colwell and Jason McDougal.

A caution shortly after, for the flipping cars of Chris Windom and Cory Elliott in the first turn, set up a lap-two restart that saw Larson go rim-riding to take third away from McDougal off turn four.

One lap later, he used a bomb of a slide job to wrest second from Colwell before setting his sights on Pickens for the lead, running the New Zealand native down in just three revolutions.

From there, Larson laid in wait briefly before firing his car to the bottom of turn three and diving past Pickens for the top spot, but a flip by Zeb Wise in turn one negated the pass and sent Larson back to work.

Larson slid Pickens for the lead on the ensuing restart, but Pickens turned back to the left and drove back around Larson exiting turn four to hold the spot on the seventh round.

Still, though, Larson was there and made sure Pickens knew it – especially after Cannon McIntosh slowed for a yellow with nine laps scored. The restart after that incident saw Larson again get past Pickens, this time off turn two, but a Spencer Bayston spin again put the lead back in Pickens’ hands.

Finally, the lap-11 green flag was where Larson took command for good, going high off turn two and driving past Pickens down the backstretch. Once out front, Larson opened up a half-second lead in the blink of an eye as he took off coming to the halfway point and left the field in his dust.

Not even two cautions in the final 10 laps – one for a stopped Logan Seavey with nine to go and the other for the slowing car of Aaron Reutzel with two laps left – could keep Larson from taking the trophy.

On each of those restarts, Larson pulled away effortlessly and fended off everything Pickens could throw at him, including a Hail Mary slider attempt on lap 22 that fell short of the mark.

Even with only two green-flag laps at the end, Larson ran off to a 1.978-second margin of victory, while Pickens had to settle for second and lauded his rival after climbing from his RMS Racing No. 1nz.

“We were just talking, a second to Kyle Larson is like a win. He’s so damn good; one of the best in the world,” Pickens said with a laugh. “These guys have worked their butts off. Matt and Dave (Estep), my car owners, just said to go with whatever we needed … to do it, and they haven’t let us down.

“It’s a (shame) we couldn’t get them a win, but second’s pretty neat and I just have to thank them once again for the opportunity.”

Rico Abreu completed the podium as the highest-finishing Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports entry, with recently-crowned series champion Tyler Courtney crossing fourth and Colwell finishing fifth.

McDougal, Gio Scelzi, hard charger Thomas Meseraull, Jerry Coons Jr. and Tanner Carrick completed the top 10.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

Jon Rahm birdied the final hole of the final event of the season to win the European Tour's DP World Tour Championship and secure one of the biggest paydays in golf.

Rahm's 4-foot birdie on the 72nd hole broke a tie with Tommy Fleetwood, and it gave him the edge over the Englishman both in the season finale and in the season-long Race to Dubai title, meaning the Spaniard will leave Dubai $5 million richer.

Rahm and Fleetwood were two of only five men who could have won the season-long prize this week in Dubai, and both knew that a tournament title would likely do the trick. Two years after Rahm's tournament win in Dubai gave Fleetwood the Race to Dubai honors, this time it was Rahm who captured both trophies after closing with a 4-under 68.

Rahm appeared to have things wrapped up early, building a six-shot lead thanks to birdies on five of his first seven holes. But a quartet of bogeys followed and allowed Fleetwood and Mike Lorenzo-Vera back into the mix as the dual titles remained up for grabs until the very end.

"At some point, you're bound to have some bad stretch of golf. Unfortunately for me it happened from 8 to 15 in the final round instead of earlier in the tournament," Rahm said. "I've cruised to a win before, luckily enough. But I've never had to grind out after losing a lead like that. So it was meant to be to happen like this."

Rahm collected $3 million for winning the tournament and another $2 million as the Race to Dubai champion, while Fleetwood finished second in both. Fleetwood earned his first win of the year last week at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and remained optimistic after closing with a 65 despite coming up just short of catching Rahm.

"Couldn't have done much more, really," said Fleetwood, who closed with five birdies over the last seven holes. "Proud really of the way I played those last few holes. Proud of the end of the season. And these last two weeks, they just make the season seem in a different light than it seemed two weeks ago."

Rahm hadn't played since winning the Open de Espana last month, and this marks the first time in his career he has won consecutive starts. The victory is expected to lift Rahm to No. 3 in the world rankings and has now won three times in Europe in 2019, plus a team title with Ryan Palmer at the Zurich Classic. 

Rahm has now won six times on the European Tour, including four Rolex Series events, and he joins Seve Ballesteros as just the second Spaniard to win the European Tour's season-long prize.

"It's still something I can't really process right now. Seve's such an icon for all of us, especially in Spanish golf, and such an icon for me," Rahm said. "Anytime you can join your name to a list where the only name in Spanish golf is Seve Ballesteros, it's a pretty big deal."

Lorenzo-Vera faced a lengthy eagle putt on No. 18 that would have tied Rahm, but after a closing par he finished third and came up short of his first victory. Rory McIlroy finished fourth after a final-round 73, while Bernd Wiesberger, who led the Race to Dubai standings to start the week, finished T-28 in the tournament and dropped to third place in the season-long race.