MARTINSVILLE, Va. – One year ago at Martinsville Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. lost the battle after a final-lap, final-corner scuffle with playoff rival Joey Logano.

However, at the end of Sunday’s First Data 500, Truex both won the battle and gave himself another shot at winning the war.

In a performance even more dominant than Brad Keselowski’s spring victory at the .526-mile paper clip, Truex led a staggering 464 of 500 laps en route to his first win at Martinsville and the 26th of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career.

After an early debris caution led to pit stops, Truex beat polesitter Denny Hamlin off pit road to gain control of the race at lap 31 and never gave up his stranglehold after that.

Aside from laps 254 through 259, when Kyle Larson stayed out under caution to try and steal the win in the second stage, Truex led the rest of the way for his seventh trip to victory lane this season.

“I can’t believe we just won Martinsville, man. Miami is awesome, but we’ve wanted to win here for a long time,” said Truex, who swept both stages and the race for a perfect 60-point haul, but more importantly guaranteed himself a berth in the Championship 4.

“I used to just be terrible here, and today we just dominated the dang thing. I don’t think anyone expected that,” Truex added. “(At) this racetrack in general, you don’t see that.  Hats off to my guys. Our pit crew was stellar today, and we didn’t make many adjustments. We adjusted on it early and it came to life.

“That was a lot of fun. Maybe now I’ve got this place figured out, who knows?”

Though Truex’s performance may have appeared easy just by looking at the box score, he had to hold a hard-charging William Byron at bay in the final laps.

After three cautions in the final 52 laps bunched the field up and gave Byron a fighting chance, the 21-year-old Charlotte, N.C., native stayed within a half second of Truex’s No. 19 Auto Owner’s Insurance Toyota Camry for the duration of the final run – a 24-lap sprint set up by a crash between Michael McDowell and Daniel Hemric in turn four on lap 472.

However, Truex knew that a win meant both a guaranteed trip to Miami and a little redemption for his loss in the same race 12 months earlier, even if he didn’t see as much of the latter in the moments after climbing from his car.

“Man, I don’t know (if this is redemption); that was completely unrelated to today in my opinion,” Truex noted. “We were just able to do all the right things. I didn’t feel great about our car after practice, but we made a lot of changes on it. … I’m just proud to win here.  This is a big, big race for anyone in this sport. A grandfather clock coming home with me, baby. I never would have thought it.

“I’m a lucky guy to drive for these (Joe Gibbs Racing) guys, and hopefully we can spend the next two weeks getting ready to go to Homestead and do this again.”

Byron hung on to second, finishing .373 seconds back of Truex at the checkered flag.

Keselowski followed that pair home in third, with Hamlin and Ryan Blaney filling out the top five.

Kurt Busch was sixth, ahead of Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman.

Logano and Hamlin ended up in a heated discussion after the race that devolved into a fight between both drivers and a majority of their crews on pit road, though all parties walked away from the melee.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue on Nov. 3 at Texas Motor Speedway, where Harvick is the defending race winner.

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

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – A late-race battle between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano turned into a full-on, post-race brawl between the pair and their crews on pit road after Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Hamlin and Logano were scrapping for position on lap 458 when Hamlin squeezed Logano up into the outside wall exiting turn four, leading to a major right-side tire rub on Logano’s No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang.

The defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion spun moments later in turn two with a flat left-rear tire, drawing the 10th of 11 cautions in the race. Logano came down pit road for repairs but never lost a lap and stayed in position to rally at the end.

Hamlin ended up finishing fourth after leading the first 30 laps from the pole, while Logano rebounded to an eighth-place finish that kept him above the elimination cut line heading into next weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

However, after the race was when things got dicey.

Hamlin and Logano engaged in a feisty conversation after climbing from their race cars, which led to Logano giving a push off Hamlin’s right shoulder as he began to walk away.

Hamlin quickly went to follow after Logano, and moments later the situation escalated into pushing and shoving between the two drivers and a myriad of crew members from both the Nos. 11 and 22 teams, with Hamlin ending up getting shoved to the ground in the chaos.

Take another look at the altercation between @joeylogano and @dennyhamlin following tonight’s #NASCARPlayoffs race at @MartinsvilleSwy. pic.twitter.com/6CjGOxwou3

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 27, 2019

“We were having a discussion; everything was civil, and then Joey does … he does a little push and then runs away,” Hamlin told NBCSN. “So that’s Joey. Scared ‑‑ he said, ‘Do you want to go?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m here,’ but then he runs away.

“I got close (to him) off of turn four. It looks like we got together, and it looks like collateral damage,” Hamlin added, referencing the lap-458 incident. “He blew a tire. I mean, he would probably say, ‘oh, short track racing.'”

Logano didn’t speak to TV or reporters until after changing in his team hauler, but did admit afterward that perhaps his shove to Hamlin’s shoulder wasn’t the best course of action.

He did, however, defend his initial frustration in regards to the incident that ended with his car in the outside wall.

“I just wanted to talk to him about it and, yeah, I was pretty frustrated,” said Logano. “He just came off the corner like there wasn’t another car on the outside of him and ruined our day, or at least our shot at the win. We probably weren’t going to beat the 19 (Truex), but we had a top five (car) for sure, and we just were able to survive there at the very end.

“I don’t really know what happened, because once he started hitting me he didn’t lift; he just kept finishing me off. We ran each other fine all day, so I don’t know,” Logano added. “I don’t really know what happened. He just kind of sent me up there and kept on going with it. It cut down my tires and left fender rubs everywhere.

“At the end of the day, we still got a decent finish out of it and some points in the stages at least, but I’m a little frustrated with the situation. I wanted to talk to him about it, and maybe I shouldn’t have shoved him at the end. It may have escalated it a little bit more,” Logano noted. “It’s frustrating. There’s a lot of passion out there.”

Logano leaves Martinsville on the bubble, 14 points clear of elimination, while Hamlin is 24 points above the cut line and second in points – only marginally safer with two races to go.

That means that the intensity to try and lock into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway will continue to be on display over the next two weeks, just as it was on Sunday night.

Logano spoke to that point briefly at the post-race media bullpen.

“It’s just the playoffs. It just happens,” Logano said. “It’s part of it. Emotions run high.”

For his part, Hamlin was quick to note that he wasn’t worried about talking things down as he left pit road after his television interview.

“I don’t need to find him,” Hamlin said before walking off.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue Nov. 3 at Texas Motor Speedway.

We go a touch slower yet again next week, down to 43 NHL games on the week. Once again we have another team with only a single game on the schedule, however, this time it probably doesn't greatly impact your fantasy grand plans.

The Ottawa Senators are off until a Saturday matchup against arguably the best home team so far this season. It's not a pretty picture. Given the Boston Bruins are 3-0 with an 18-6 goal differential at home this season, you can take the Sens right out of consideration for the week.

But, to be fair, that was probably already the case.

Thomas Chabot is, rightly so, on rosters in 90 percent of leagues. He hasn't been a letdown, with seven points in nine games. He's third in the NHL in average ice time, only has a minus-3 rating (solid given situation) and is tied for 12th in shots among defensemen. But outside of Chabot, the outlook on these Senators for fantasy is grim.

Brady Tkachuk started strong with the first goal of the NHL season and two goals in his first two games, but in seven games since then he's accounted for a lone assist. His most-frequent linemate, Colin White, has also been knocked out for three to five weeks with a lower-body injury. Tkachuk is still rostered in 80 percent of leagues and I wouldn't dream of cutting bait in a league with hits as a category, but in a 10-teamer standard league? I think he can go to the waiver wire for a while.

After those two, no one else on the Senators is rostered in more than 10 percent of leagues. Vladislav Namestnikov has been a pickup this past week thanks to four goals in five games and some big minutes, but it's not something we should expect to last. Connor Brown has a respectable seven assists this season and is somehow plus-4, so could be worth rostering in deeper leagues. Jean-Gabriel Pageau may be a short-term add with White on the sidelines, as he'll probably be the team's top pivot in that stretch. But, at the same time, that role will likely expose his plus-8 to some damage, which is the main fuel for his value so far this season.

In net, Craig Anderson is doing about as well as a 38-year-old goaltender on a tanking team can be expected to do - which is to say not great for fantasy. However, Anders Nilsson, who is still listed as the backup for now, is actually somewhat intriguing. Doing his best mid-2000s Roberto Luongo impression, Nilsson has faced a minimum of 36 shots in all four of his starts - and as many as 54! His .935 save percentage is third in the NHL at this stage. While that may be useful for fantasy, it's tricky to use him as the wins won't come and the goals-against average isn't exactly stellar at 2.73. Still, it's worth taking stock of Nilsson and keeping him on the radar.

After losing the draft lottery despite the best odds last season, the Sens seem to determined to take another swing this season. At least this time they would get to keep the pick! For fantasy purposes, things are about as bleak as outlined above, but that doesn't mean there won't be stretches where individual pieces have value.

Just, you know, not next week.

Fantasy Forecaster: Oct. 28 to Nov. 3

The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks are the only teams with the enhanced four-game schedule next week, so take advantage of it. The fewer teams with the extra game, the greater the advantage is when you can find a way to use the players.

Aside from the Senators one game, the Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights all only play twice.

For those new to the forecaster chart, here are some explanations: "O" (offense), which is on the left for each game, and "D" (defense), on the right, matchup ratings are based upon a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup) and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the team's season-to-date statistics, their performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played, as well as their opponents' numbers in those categories. The "Ratings" column lists the cumulative rating from 1 to 10 of that week's offensive ("O") and defensive ("D") matchups.

In the notes below, the focus every week will be mainly on players that are available for potential use. Ownership below 50 percent of ESPN leagues is a good generalized cutoff. I'll try to also include players below 10 percent ownership whenever possible to cater to deeper formats.

Team notes

Calgary Flames: By virtue of one of two four-game schedules, some of the Flames offense should come out on top next week. If you've been passive about Mikael Backlund until now, that's fine, but get him into lineups for next week. He has goals in two straight as the line of Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk and Michael Frolik are heating up. T.J. Brodie is available in most leagues and could be used on the blue line for a boost. He has six assists and a plus-4 in 12 games.

Vancouver Canucks: The other four-game set next week belongs to the Canucks. J.T. Miller is scooped up in most leagues, but may be available in shallower formats (72 percent rostered). He's been doing what one might expect on a top line and power play with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, with four goals and 10 points in nine games. And don't forget Alexander Edler (71 percent rostered) and his six points. Quinn Hughes (48 percent rostered) is also worthy of a roster spot in most leagues, playing big minutes for a rookie (heck, 20:26 is good for anyone, not just a rookie). He has six points, with four of them on the power play and is currently rolling on the top unit.

Minnesota Wild: The Forecaster likes the Wild next week, despite the team's rough showing thus far. While the team is still - yes, still - juggling its lines to find the right combination, it should be safe to follow the power play in roster decisions. That means starting Jason Zucker, Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu up front, while going with Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon on the point. The nice part about those combinations is that they stay together on and off the power play. Admittedly, this recommendation doesn't feel great - but I'm trusting in the Forecaster here. Outside of Parise and Suter, the other three players are available in more than 50 percent of leagues.

Player notes

J.T. Compher, W/C, Colorado Avalanche: A must-add in all formats, Compher will get first crack at winging Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog while Mikko Rantanen sits on a week-to-week basis.

Kirby Dach, C, Chicago Blackhawks: The 18-year-old rookie is certainly getting his feet wet in the NHL in good company. He's skated with Patrick Kane and Dylan Strome at even strength for his minutes in the past two games and has a goal and assist to show for it.

Joel Armia, W, Montreal Canadiens: After spreading things out to start the season, the Habs are stacking the box on offense now. Armia is the third man out with Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin of late, which is a fine situation to be in for the team's surprising leader in goals at this stage.

Quick hits (from the AHL)

• Keep Vegas Golden Knights prospect Lucas Elvenes on your radar. In his first year in North America, the 20-year-old fifth-round pick is leading the AHL in scoring by factoring in on 11 of the Chicago Wolves 15 total goals this season.

• Goals against haven't been devastating for the New York Rangers so far, but they are in the bottom-third of the league with 3.38 goals allowed per game. If it becomes a bigger issue, Igor Shesterkin is waiting in the wings with a 1.34 goals-against average in the AHL so far.

Tiger Woods captured his 82^nd PGA Tour victory Monday in Japan, tying Sam Snead for the all-time PGA Tour wins record. Woods finished off a final-round 3-under 67 at the weather-delayed Zozo Championship. Here’s how things played out at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club:

Leaderboard: Woods (-19), Hideki Matsuyama (-16), Rory McIlroy (-13), Sungjae Im (-13), Gary Woodland (-12), Billy Horschel (-11), Corey Conners (-11)

What it means: In the first start of his 24^th season, Woods has officially won as many Tour events as any man who has ever lived. What long seemed a formality became reality at an inaugural event contested 5,500 miles from where Woods captured win No. 1 in Las Vegas. Woods won’t play another Tour event in 2019. If he tees it up at his traditional yearly lid-lifter, the Farmers Insurance Open in late-January, Woods will vie for win No. 83 at the site of seven of his Tour titles.

Round of the day: Woods only played seven holes on Monday, and didn’t play those very well – at least to start. He bogeyed his first hole upon the resumption of play and missed an 8-foot birdie putt on his second (No. 13). But a birdie at the par-5 14^th re-upped his advantage to three strokes and that was that. Woods parred Nos. 15-17 and closed with a birdie at the par-5 18th. As he has  done now 82 times on Tour, Woods did everything that was necessary in order to win.

Best of the rest: There was only one storyline of significance in the final round, but Im will quietly leave Japan a happy man. Last season’s Rookie of the Year closed in 65 to tie for third. It’s his second top-3 finish in six starts to the new wraparound campaign.

Biggest disappointment: Matsuyama birdied his final two holes Sunday night, prior to the stoppage of play, to cut his deficit to three strokes. After Woods’ sluggish start Monday morning, the local favorite had this 5-foot putt for birdie at the 14^th to get within one. He missed.

Moments later, Woods birdied the same hole and Matsuyama’s fate was sealed. While that short miss was a disappointment, Matsuyama was not. He was the perfect supporting act for the Japanese faithful this week. He shot no worse than 67 over four rounds, but, like so many before him, he couldn't apply enough pressure on Woods when it mattered most.

Quote of the day: “I know how it feels to have this game taken away from you, where I couldn’t participate the way I wanted to. I’m just so happy and so fortunate to have this opportunity again.” - Tiger Woods

Shot of the day: Watch as the person recording this video quickly pans to the left to show you where the hole ACTUALLY GOES. Then watch the line Bubba Watson takes – not just down another hole, but through the trees.

For the record, Bubba made a par-5 on the sixth, en route to a 5-over 75.

CHIBA, Japan – It was a short work day at the Zozo Championship, but one of the most historic of my Tracker career. Here are my thoughts from watching Tiger Woods hunt down Sam Snead and win his 82^nd PGA Tour title.

• In his first start in nine weeks, in his first start since offseason knee surgery, Tiger shot 19 under par and no round worse than 67. Sheesh.

• Was there any doubt that Tiger was going to roll in that 8-footer on the last, to make an indelible moment that can run on a loop for the next six months? Of course not. 

• Tiger only had seven holes to finish up in his final round, which began at 7:30 a.m. local time Monday. For such a historic moment, it was a sparse crowd – only about 3,000 fans were let into the gates, and many of them were rooting on local hero, Hideki Matsuyama. A kinda-sorta weird vibe for such a big day in golf history.

• This thing could have gotten a whole lot more interesting early in the restart. Tiger bogeyed his first hole out of the gates (hey, 12 is tough!) and then Matsuyama stuffed it to 5 feet on 14. That could have cut the deficit to just one shot with four holes remaining. Instead ... Matsuyama shoved it, and Tiger rolled in a 20-footer for birdie. He never trailed by fewer than two the rest of the morning. 

• I’m old enough to remember when people were wondering whether Tiger, U.S. Presidents Cup captain, should pick himself for the team. Laugh. Out. Loud. The only question now is who the other three picks will be.

• Here’s a statistical oddity: Tiger’s last four wins have come against limited fields.

• This is the last time we’ll see Tiger play until his own Hero World Challenge at the beginning of December. That gives him ample time to get in the gym, test equipment, spend time with the family, whatever else it is you do when you’re one of the richest and most famous people on the planet.

• This victory – have you heard, the 82^nd of his Tour career? – moved Woods to No. 6 in the world ranking. That’s significant for two reasons: It marks a big move considering where he ended 2018 (No. 13). And he’s now in position, with a lot of golf left to play, for the U.S. Olympic team. The top four ranked Americans in the top 15 in the world will get a return trip to Tokyo. Tiger is now that fourth guy.

• Some writers last week wrote that Justin Thomas is the best current closer in golf. Um ... Tiger is now 44-for-46 with an outright 54-hole lead on Tour. That’s 96 percent. Get outta here with that nonsense.

Tiger Woods won his 82nd PGA Tour event to tie Sam Snead for the all-time record at the Zozo Championship on Monday at the Narshino Country Club in Japan. Fellow players and friends on social media were the first to congratulate him on the feat: 

NORWICH, England -- This season, Manchester United's defence has been wobbly, their midfield virtually non-existent and their squad depth akin to a paddling pool. But while a long, hard winter might still lay ahead, their attack might be the one thing to give fans hope.

The first time Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Daniel James have started together since Aug. 24 was the 3-1 win over Norwich, and they were the driving forces behind the club's first victory since the middle of September.

Rashford, back in the left-flank role that still feels like his best, was a buzzing menace cutting in. He took advantage of slack defending to clinically score United's second -- adding to Scott McTominay's opener, which was United's 2,000th in the Premier League -- from James' fine pass.

Martial was making his first league start since the third game of the season and scored the third after collecting a glorious backheel from Rashford; the French international matched the assist for delicacy with a beautiful dinked finish over the otherwise excellent Tim Krul.

Afterward, it was put to Solskjaer that the Rashford-Martial link-up -- for the third goal, in particular -- resembled Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke in their pomp.

"Or Solskjaer and [Teddy] Sheringham!" the manager replied. "It was great to see them link up. We've missed Anthony, and that partnership will grow and grow. It was a great finish [for the third goal]."

James, meanwhile, did not score but fizzed up and down the right wing, winning a penalty, as well as creating Rashford's goal. United scored more than once in a game for the first time since the opening weekend of the season, when Rashford, Martial and James all netted against Chelsea.

Their most recent display makes Solskjaer's enthusiasm and optimism about his players, which verges on the delusional at times, feel more realistic. If nothing else, United are fun to watch with three young, dynamic forwards, who are up with the most exciting attacking lines in the league when they combine well. Not the best, nor the most reliable, but thrilling in their own way.

The appropriate caveats must be applied about the opposition. Injury-hit Norwich kept their first clean sheet of the season only last week and have now conceded two or more times in eight of their 10 games; were it not for Southampton's nine-goal calamity against Leicester on Friday, Daniel Farke's side would have the league's worst defensive record.

It should also be remembered that this was United's first away win in league play since Solskjaer was appointed permanent boss in March, since when they have lost at Newcastle and West Ham and could not even beat Southampton. Their problems have not been solved by this win, but it was a step in the right direction.

- Man United ratings: 8/10 James stars at Norwich
- VAR wrong on first penalty - Solskjaer

"When we play on the front foot like we did today, we can beat anyone away," said Solskjaer, who pointed out just how different his side looks with Martial, who has four goals in just over 400 minutes this season.

"He's vital for us. He's a top striker, and to have him back fit, smiling and enjoying his football. He's clever in his movement, and what he's not given credit for is his defending. He's an important player, and we've felt the effect of him not being there."

Moreover, if they could take penalties, United would be even better. After long waits for VAR to confirm infringements each time, Rashford and Martial were both denied by Krul, who was approximately 3 yards off his line on each occasion.

It means the Old Trafford club have spurned four of six spot kicks in the league already this season although, even despite Onel Hernandez's late goal for the hosts, it did not matter on this occasion.

"It's been too long, but of course the performance was the most pleasing thing," Solskjaer said.

For once, that is something upon which everyone can agree. This victory, earned by their attacking trio, brings hope. United need at least one more striker in January, not least because Martial's fitness cannot be relied upon, Rashford can be inconsistent and James is a 21-year-old who was not a regular in the Championship this time last year.

Those three, though, are a good start.

Almost everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Sri Lanka in Adelaide. And the one thing that went right for them, turned out badly.

Lasith Malinga called correctly at the toss and put Australia in. Twenty overs later they had 233 against them. The chase was equally, if not more, one-sided as Sri Lanka limped to 9 for 99 to suffer their heaviest runs defeat in T20Is by a considerable margin.

On a short tour they have just 48 hours to pick themselves up before the second match in Brisbane on Wednesday if they are to take the series to a decider in Melbourne - a ground where they have a 2-0 record over Australia in T20Is.

Bowling first in T20Is does not always come down to conditions if it is genuinely the preferred way of a team going about their game plan, but there seemed very little in favour of the decision on Sunday. It was a mid-afternoon game, so no early-morning movement, a mild, clear day and a pristine-looking surface.

It also went against Sri Lanka's route of recent success in Pakistan where they defended totals through the T20I series to win 3-0 - on two occasions having won the toss and batted first.

The Sri Lankans cited uncertainty around how the pitch would play as the reason for putting Australia in, but two years ago they played at the ground and did the same thing. Malinga was part of that team as was Kusal Mendis and Dasun Shanaka. That day Aaron Finch and Michael Klinger started with a 79-run opening stand and the eventual margin was a 41-run defeat, albeit in a series they had already won.

"It was a short stay for us in Adelaide, so we didn't know what sort of wicket it would be and we knew it wouldn't be bad for us to bat second," batsman Bhanuka Rajapaksa, said. "So we didn't want to take a chance, and that was a collective decision of the players and we decided to bowl first and look at how the bowlers would go. But it was clinical to us."

"We had some plans to keep them under a good score but things didn't come off for us as well as we planned during the tour. But we don't want to lose our hope and we don't want to put our heads down."

It was a surprise to see allrounder Isuru Udana left out of the XI. He took 3 for 11 and 2 for 38 in the two matches he played against Pakistan and his left-arm angle would have provided some variety while he also has a batting strike-rate of 131.78. After the treatment handed out to Kasun Rajitha, who conceded the most runs in a T20I, there would appear a good chance of a change for Brisbane.

However, it won't matter what type of bowling attack Sri Lanka put out if they are unable to challenge Australia's bowlers.

"Looking at Warner, Finch and Maxwell and how they batted, I think there's a lot to learn," Rajapaksa said. "Especially the way they ran between wickets, and I'm sure we got a lot to learn a lot about that. In Australia it's about hitting the gaps and getting the doubles. There's a lot of runs on the boundaries.

"We'd like to have another couple of days to practice on, but we've got so much travelling as well so we need to adapt really soon. So we're hoping to get ourselves back together and deliver better."

CHIBA, Japan -- The journey to Japan was ostensibly about fulfilling corporate obligations, participating in a made-for-TV exhibition and getting in some reps following knee surgery and physical challenges that dogged Tiger Woods' throughout the summer.

Nobody -- including Woods, if he is honest -- was thinking about a victory, or a record-tying one at that.

Nonetheless, Woods finished the final round of the Zozo Championship on Monday, holding off Hideki Matsuyama to win his 82nd career PGA Tour title, matching a 54-year-old record long-ago credited to Snead, who notched the final victory of his Hall of Fame career in 1965 at age 52.

The victory came in Woods' first start of the 2019-20 season at the first PGA Tour event contested in Japan. Despite his summer physical woes, Woods has three PGA Tour victories in his past 14 starts.

Woods shot a final-round 67 to complete the tournament at 19-under 261. Matsuyama was 3 shots back. Rory McIlroy and Sungjae Im tied for third.

That Woods managed to pull it off at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is just as extraordinary -- in its own way -- as his winning last year's Tour Championship and capturing the Masters for his 15th major title.

Those tournaments are bigger and carry far more weight in the game, but Woods was trending toward those triumphs. He showed plenty of form going into each tournament, and it was hardly a surprise at the time that he won either event.

A week ago, nobody knew what kind of game he had, least of all himself. Woods opened 40-1 at Caesars and closed at 30-1 when the tournament started.

It was only a month ago that he began playing golf again after arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 20. Woods admitted that all of his golf in recent weeks was in a cart. "It's a little bit different than when you have to walk out here,'' he said.

When he competed in the skins game challenge along with Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day on Oct. 21, his game was so sketchy early on that he missed a par-3 green so badly his ball hit a cart path and rolled halfway back to the tee.

Then he opened the tournament Thursday with three consecutive bogeys -- according to Elias, no player dating to 1983 had won a tournament after doing that -- and it seemed that it might be a struggle for him to be respectable.

But Woods turned it around in a big way. He made nine birdies in his final 14 holes to tie Gary Woodland for the first-round lead with a 64. After a day off due to storms, he had seven more birdies in round two to take a 2-shot advantage through 36 holes. A third-round 66 meant a 3-shot lead over Matsuyama after 54 holes; he had won all 24 previous times that he held an advantage that large.

"I wasn't sure I'd be able to score as well as I have,'' Woods said. "It normally takes some time to do that.''

When play was suspended Sunday, Woods still led by three. But the temperature was considerably cooler than it had been all week, and he appeared to be a bit stiff, certainly compared to the fluid movement he had shown throughout the tournament.

He bogeyed the tough par-4 12th, the lead dropped to two, and Matsuyama missed a 3-footer for birdie on the 14th that would have cut Woods' lead to 1. Instead, Woods made a nice birdie putt at the 14th to increase his lead back to three.

When Matsuyama birdied the 16th, Woods again led by just two. But a miss from 15 feet at the 17th by Matsuyama meant a 2-shot cushion with two holes to play.

"If I do what I'm supposed to do and get the job done, then I get a W,'' Woods said prior to the final seven holes. "I guess that will add up to the number 82, but my main focus is to do what I need to do and get the W first.''

Woods, at age 43, got the Tiger WW for the 82nd time on the PGA Tour -- some 23 years after he got his first as a 20-year-old in his first few weeks as a pro when he won the Las Vegas Invitational in a sudden-death playoff over Davis Love III.

HOUSTON -- Texans defensive end J.J. Watt confirmed on social media that he is done for the year after injuring himself in Sunday's 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders.

"This game can be beautiful and it can also be brutal," Watt tweeted on Sunday. "Absolutely gutted that I won't be able to finish the season with my guys and give the fans what they deserve. I truly love this game and can't stand letting you guys down. Thank you for all of the thoughts & well-wishes."

The Texans fear that Watt tore his pectoral muscle, sources confirmed to ESPN's Dianna Russini. Watt also referenced his pec in another tweet after Sunday's game.

Shoulda told my pec to look out lol https://t.co/LQDVoSheEr

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 28, 2019

"It's tough," quarterback Deshaun Watson said of losing Watt. "That's a big part of this team. But he knows that this locker room, this organization, this town, this city, the Houston nation is definitely going to support him through his recovery. We always love him. He's going to be right there with us. Important, helping us out. You hate to just see, not just him, but anybody go down and any injury, especially a season-ending injury. All the work that he put in to get to this point. It's crazy and it sucks, but we all send our prayers towards him. We love him and we're definitely going to support him."

Watt appeared to injury his pectoral muscle while tackling Raiders running back Josh Jacobs for a six-yard loss in the second quarter. Watt left the field for the Texans' blue medical tent before running to the locker room. The Texans first announced he was questionable to return to the game before later ruling him out at the start of the third quarter.

"We feel terrible for him. He works so damn hard, and he's such a good person. Can't replace him on or off the field," a source told Russini.

Before he left the game, Watt had three tackles, a tackle for a loss and a pass defended. Watt has four sacks this season, but ESPN's pass rush win rate powered by NFL Next Gen Stats shows the impact Watt has had on the field. Watt created the first pressure on 62 pass rushes, easily the most in the NFL. No other player had more than 49 first pressures created.

Watt also created 19 incompletions via first pressure, which is the most of any player in the NFL. Watt was able to have that success despite being double-teamed on 29.8% of his pass rushes as an edge rusher. Only Jadeveon Clowney was double-teamed at a higher rate as an edge rusher this season.

Watt did not miss a single game in the first five seasons of his career, but has finished the year on injured reserve in three of his last four seasons. In 2016, Watt only played in three games before needed season-ending back surgery. The following year, Watt broke his leg in Week 5.

Last season, Watt played in all 16 regular games, finishing the season with 16 sacks, which ranked second in the NFL.

Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus is the only other proven pass rusher that Houston has right now, after trading Clowney to the Seahawks before the start of the season. Mercilus has had a strong first half, with 5.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.

"We've had moments like these," Mercilus said. "It's nothing new to us. When we have situations where it might seem like we're down and people are counting us out, all we do is put our heads down and keep trucking down and make plays."

"As you've seen out on the field you've seen guys stepping up and making plays you see the depth the guys are good enough to start in this league. It's the next man up mentality. We've had injuries in the back end. Those guys have done a great job stepping up making plays for us. It just means we've got to double down on some efforts."