Justin Thomas picked up his 11^th career PGA Tour title – and second CJ Cup victory in three years – on Sunday at Nine Bridges. Here’s how it happened in the final round on Jeju Island:

Leaderboard: Justin Thomas (-20), Danny Lee (-18), Hideki Matsuyama (-15), Gary Woodland (-15), Cameron Smith (-15), Byeong Hun An (-13), Tyrrell Hatton (-13)

What it means: A day after losing a three-shot lead on Nine Bridges’ par-5 18^th, Thomas arrived at the finishing hole Sunday with a two-shot advantage. This time, he didn’t let go of it, converting his eighth 54-hole lead or co-lead into victory in just 11 opportunities. Thomas entered the final day tied with Lee, who eagled his final hole Saturday to draw even with Thomas, and after birdies on two of his first three holes, Thomas led by two. But Lee and his deft short game battled back, taking the lead with a long birdie make at the par-4 seventh. However, back-to-back bogeys, at Nos. 15 and 16, cost Lee, and Thomas didn’t make many mistakes of his own. A brutal lip-out and bogey at the par-3 17^th cut into Thomas’ lead, but he made a routine birdie at the last to seal the deal with a final-round, 5-under 67. Thomas is now equal with Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy in number of Tour wins before the age of 27. In the past 60 years, only Tiger Woods (34) and Jack Nicklaus (20) had more. (Thomas turns 27 on April 29.)

Round of the day: One of just three players in the field who played the week before in Houston, Jhonattan Vegas eagled both par-5s on the front nine and birdied five of his last seven holes to cap his tournament with a 9-under 63.

Best of the rest: Matsuyama will ride some momentum into Monday’s Skins Game and following Zozo Championship in Japan. Matsuyama birdied three of his last four holes as part of a bogey-free 65. Corey Conners, who is looking to join Matsuyama on the International Presidents Cup team, improved his chances of earning a captain’s pick with a final-round 66. However, with still just one top-10 since winning the Valero Texas Open last season, Conners likely needs a big week at the Zozo to warrant a pick. Woodland, though, has a much better chance of earning a U.S. pick, as the U.S. Open champion also closed in 66 to finish T-3.

Biggest disappointment: With opportunities running out to impress U.S. Presidents Cup captain Tiger Woods, Collin Morikawa saw his already slim chances of earning a pick dwindle further after a closing 3-over 75, which tied his worst score on the PGA Tour. It wasn’t all bad, though, as Morikawa capped his day with eagle.

Shot of the day: This 3-wood into the par-5 ninth helped set up birdie and keep Thomas in a tie for the lead.

Quote of the day: "I don't know, there's something about Asia that I like." – Thomas, who has now won four times in Asia

Jefferson Savarino scored his first career MLS postseason goal in the 87th minute to lift Real Salt Lake to a 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs in Sandy, Utah on Saturday.

Damir Kreilach also scored his fourth playoff goal in as many postseason appearances for third-seeded RSL, who advanced to face second-seeded Seattle next Wednesday night. All four playoff games Saturday were won by the home team.

Nick Rimando made three saves in the victory, prolonging his career by at least one more game in what is his 20th and final MLS season.

Dairon Asprilla scored for sixth-seeded Portland, the defending Western Conference champion, who fell to RSL after winning both of the teams' regular-season meetings.

Savarino struck the winner on a sequence created by Joao Plata, who cut inside from the left and drove a slow, low cross toward Albert Rusnak. After Portland defender Bill Tuiloma mistimed a clearance attempt and narrowly nicked the ball, Rusnak let the ball roll past him to Savarino, who was unmarked at the back post and drove a low finish between Steve Clark and his left post.

Asprilla pulled Portland level just two minutes after halftime, finding a sliver of space at the back post and rising to head Sebastian Blanco's cross from the right back across goal and inside Rimando's left post.

The equalizer came on Portland's first goal-bound attempt of the evening, and set off a sequence of plenty of opportunities for both teams.

For RSL, Marcelo Silva flashed his header of Kyle Beckerman's cross just wide of the left post in the 62nd minute.

On the other end, Rimando sprawled left to palm away Sebastian Blanco's effort from distance in the 66th minute, then lunged to his right to corral Diego Valeri's strike from a similar position in the 68th. And Rimando could only watch as Blanco's overhead kick deflected off Nedum Onuoha and just outside his left post.

Just before Savarino's winner, both Portland's Valeri and Salt Lake's Rusnak dragged low efforts just wide of the post.

Salt Lake dominated the first half, outshooting Portland 9-0 and leading 5-0 in efforts on target, but held only a 1-0 advantage after Kreilach's opener.

Corey Baird provided the service, cutting in from the left before delivering a right-footed cross, and Kreilach slipped his defender to nod a header past Clark in the 28th minute.

Clark made a remarkable save in the 14th minute. After getting caught out of his net on a clearance attempt, he raced back to leap and push Aaron Herrera's slicing attempt -- from more than 40 yards away -- over the bar.

Dinesh Karthik, who has been out of India's limited-overs squads since after the 50-over World Cup in England and Wales, is hoping to take the finisher's route back to the national T20I side. Karthik has been in stellar finishing form for Tamil Nadu in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 50-over tournament, and with the men's T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in Australia late next year, he feels he has hit the right zone to do the job MS Dhoni used to do.

"It's [The T20 World Cup] a year away but if I feel I can keep performing and have a good [domestic] tournament, I'm sure I will go out there and play," Karthik, 34, told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the Hazare knockouts. "Because, I feel it's a key part that the Indian team is looking out as well - closing out matches and have someone who can understand those situations and do the best at that point of time.

"And I feel I've done that in the short time I'd played T20s [for India]. But, post the World Cup, I didn't play; they clubbed it [poor run at the World Cup] with the T20 part of it and removed me from the team as well. But I feel that I'm well-suited to play that role Dhoni has played for so many years now. I feel I can do something like that and I've been doing that for KKR and Tamil Nadu. So, if a slot opens up there, that's something I'll be really looking forward to. The T20 World Cup is definitely something I'd want to play."

Karthik's T20I career peaked when he cracked a stunning 29 off eight balls, including a last-ball six, in the Nidahas Trophy tri-series final in Colombo last year. In all, in the past two years in T20Is, nobody has chalked up more not outs than Karthik in a successful T20I chase.In the seven innings he has batted in when India have won chasing, Karthik has been there till the end on each occasion, making 141 runs at a strike rate of 142.42.

Karthik has fallen out of favour in ODI cricket after managing just 14 in two innings in the World Cup earlier this year, but he has been in excellent form as Tamil Nadu's finisher in the Hazare Trophy, scoring 349 runs in six innings at an average of 87.25 and strike rate of just over 135. His big-hitting has been central to Tamil Nadu notching up nine wins as many games in the Group C league phase in Jaipur.

He has made four fifties so far in the tournament, all coming at Nos. 5 or 6. He said that he relished the challenge of batting in the slog overs and hoped to draw from his vast experience at the domestic level.

"I want to bat in the toughest conditions and in the place where I can give others the opportunity to play and in the hardest times in the match I think I can use my experience," he said. "As someone who has been with Tamil Nadu for so long, I feel all the tough moments could be handled by somebody like me. And in those moments I could have somebody young with me and I could guide him along those lines. So, that's the role I'm doing here."

Hobart Hurricanes 5 for 137 (Carey 60*, Beams 2-23) beat Melbourne Stars 7 for 136 (Lee 25, Vakawera 2-22) by five wickets

Nicola Carey proved why she has been become a key part of the Australian squad after guiding Hobart Hurricanes to victory over Melbourne Stars with a phenomenal all-round display at the Junction Oval.

Carey took 2 for 27 with the ball including the key wickets of Lizelle Lee and Emma Inglis to help restrict the Stars to 7 for 136, before producing a clinical unbeaten 60 from 46 balls to guide the Hurricanes home after all looked lost when they fell to 5 for 73. The Hurricanes have won two from two to start the new WBBL season after winning just two games last season.

Carey got support from South African Chloe Tryon who backed up her match-winning 46 not out from 18 balls against on Saturday with a 29 not out off 18 balls. The pair came together needing 64 from 46 balls and in the end made light work of the chase, getting home with nine balls to spare.

Carey targeted Erin Osborne in the 15th over. Osborne had earlier claimed two wickets, but Carey twice lofted her over mid-off for boundaries. Tryon then launched Kristen Beams onto the hill at deep midwicket with a massive slog sweep.

Stars' youngster Tess Flintoff was thrown into the fire to bowl the 18th over and Carey thumped three more boundaries to all but seal the game.

The Stars would have been concerned having posted just 7 for 136 from their 20 overs. They had three players reach 20 but none of Lee, Inglis or Mignon du Preez could pass 25. They were unable to get away against the Hurricanes attack. Inglis took 27 balls for her 20 while Lee struck five boundaries in her 25 but scored just five runs from the other 16 balls she faced. Carey forced mistakes from both of them, Inglis was bowled swiping across the line while Lee holed out to long on.

The Stars then lost 3 for 8 in two overs to slump to 6 for 98 with 30 balls left in the innings. Annabel Sutherland and Flintoff showed composure in the late overs. They only found the boundary twice between them but some smart placement and running ensured the Stars posted something to chase but in the end, it wasn't enough as the home side start the season with two straight losses.

Sydney Thunder 3 for 153 (Litchfield 52*, Blackwell 42*) beat Brisbane Heat 9 for 150 (Jonassen 42, Bates 3-33)

Remember the name. Phoebe Litchfield followed her impressive WBBL debut with a matchwinning performance two days later, becoming the youngest player to score a fifty in the WBBL, as the Sydney Thunder bounced back from their opening defeat with a seven-wicket victory against defending champions the Brisbane Heat.

It was a case of youth and experience combining for the Thunder as 16-year-old Litchfield again joined forces with Alex Blackwell in a match-defining stand of 97 in 12 overs to follow their 68-run partnership in the defeat to the Sydney Sixers.

They had come together with the chase wobbling on 3 for 52 after three wickets had fallen for eight runs. In the early stages of the stand the required rate pushed towards ten an over, but Blackwell kept Litchfield calm and a brace of late cuts broke the shackles.

Each time the Heat started to squeeze again Litchfield or Blackwell were able to find a boundary. Litchfield's half-century came from 47 balls in what became the final over of the match with Blackwell securing victory with a six.

"Alex was just saying keep calm because I was getting a bit nervous and I put us in a bad position but managed to get us out of there," Litchfield told ESPNcricinfo. "I can't believe the weekend, I didn't know I was playing and I'm just really happy to be here."

The Thunder had been poor against the Sixers on opening night, but were far sharper all-round in this display. The Heat again made a positive start in the powerplay but lost their way after Beth Mooney was bowled sweeping at Samantha Bates who later struck twice in the 11th over to claim 3 for 33.

Grace Harris launched her first ball for six but was run out after facing her next delivery after trying to run around Hannah Darlington who collected the ball in her follow through. Laura Harris couldn't produce repeat of her powerful display against the Sixers, picking out mid-on after managing one boundary and it needed Jess Jonassen's 41 to help the Heat scramble to 150

HOUSTON -- There were moments early in the American League Championship Series when it felt like the Houston Astros were one play away from stumbling into a serious hole against the New York Yankees. But the final moment belonged to Jose Altuve, and the Astros are AL champions.

Altuve blasted a two-run, walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, igniting a raucous crowd and sending Houston to the World Series for the third time in franchise history and second time in three years. The Astros won 6-4, clinching the pennant in six games.

Altuve said the homer was probably his best career moment to date, but he still wouldn't take credit for the win.

"I have to say No. 1 because we're going to the World Series," Altuve said. "But we're not going to the World Series because of me. We're going to the World Series because of everybody inside of the clubhouse."

It was not easy.

With the Astros two outs from the flag, Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu battled closer Roberto Osuna for 10 pitches before finally lofting a high-arching fly ball that just cleared the right-field fence. It was a two-run shot, and it knotted the score at four. As it turned out, LeMahieu was only setting the table for Altuve's heroics.

The game marked the first time in postseason history that a team hit a game-tying or go-ahead home run in the top of an inning, then allowed a game-ending homer in the bottom of the same inning. It made for a whirl of emotions, but when you've got Altuve on your side, managing those emotions is a bit easier.

"I was sitting on the stairs and I looked at [Michael Brantley] after the 2-0 pitch and said 'Jose is gonna win it for us,'" Astros outfielder Josh Reddick said. "He's the glue to this team. He holds us all together and gets us going."

The clincher fueled a sellout crowd at Minute Main Park under the roof on an autumn night in Texas. The pregame whistles and train toots and towel waves had barely subsided when, after a snappy 1-2-3 first inning for Houston opener Brad Peacock, Yuli Gurriel lined a three-run homer into the Crawford Boxes in left field.

The quick start left the Yankees scrambling to catch up all night in what turned out to be a futile effort to save their campaign. Finally, LeMahieu's great at-bat brought New York even -- at least for a few minutes.

For Altuve, the storybook finish provides another shining bullet point on a career résumé that already seems stacked enough to eventually land him in the Hall of Fame. If it takes one Hall of Famer to know another one, count Astros great Craig Biggio as a believer.

"The greatest thing about Jose is Jose," Biggio said amid the celebration on the field after the game. "He's just a great human being. He gets in the heat of the moment and rises to the occasion. He's an incredible player."

The Astros capped their third straight 100-win season with another AL title, and in doing so, they ensured that the Yankees go without a pennant in the 2010s -- their first decade without a league title since before they acquired Babe Ruth in 1920.

Instead, it's Houston that might someday be remembered as the team of the decade that's coming to a close.

For that to happen, Houston needs to take one more step, and the Astros are well aware that they have unfinished business.

"We're not done yet," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "This series could have gone either way. The last series could have gone either way. We knew we had built a team to win, now we get a chance to prove it."

Houston defeated the Yankees in the ALCS for the second time in three seasons. In doing so, the Astros knocked New York out of the postseason for the third time in five years -- something no other team has done to the Bronx Bombers.

As for those moments of vulnerability: Initially in the series, the Yankees seemed poised to knock off the top-seeded Astros. They routed Houston 7-0 in Game 1. In Game 2, the teams battled in a grueling 4-hour, 49-minute affair that finally ended when Carlos Correa homered on the first pitch of the 11th inning. The Astros never trailed in the series again. The Yankees missed their opportunity, which may have been the theme of the series for them.

"It's the biggest thing I look back on is that we left eight or nine in this game on base," Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said after his team was eliminated. "Even throughout the whole series, we left a lot of guys on base and had a lot of missed opportunities."

After 107 regular-season wins, the Astros ended up where the consensus figured them to be -- at least, the consensus of baseball pundits and the betting markets. Their path was rocky at times -- the five-game AL Division Series against Tampa Bay, the early struggles against New York -- but that's how October baseball goes. Now Houston is positioned to stake claim to the dynastic throne the Yankees have occupied so often in baseball's history.

"We said all along our goal was to win multiple championships," Luhnow said. "We're not there yet. We've won one. We're going back to another. Hopefully, we'll get that done."

With the pennant secured, the Astros will open the World Series at home on Tuesday against the well-rested Washington Nationals. Washington completed its four-game sweep of St. Louis on Oct. 15 -- the night Houston and New York played Game 3 of their six-game tussle. The Nationals are making their World Series debut.

Game 1 of the Fall Classic should be a premium pitching matchup: Houston figures to send Gerrit Cole to the mound, now that he won't have to start Game 7 against the Yankees on Sunday.

Of course he was happy about it. When asked if this was the happiest he'd ever been to not get to make a start, Cole leaned back and issued an emphatic, "Yes!"

The Nationals will likely counter with Max Scherzer, making the Series opener the first of a series of high-profile pitching confrontations.

"It's incredible," Astros starter Justin Verlander said. He's lined up to start Game 2, likely against Washington's Stephen Strasburg. "I keep saying incredible, but it really is. The Nationals have a great rotation, have a great four starters. I like our rotation as well. It should be a great series."

The starting pitching will be the initial dominant storyline of the World Series, but ironically, the Astros clinched the pennant on a night when both managers went to a bullpen day in lieu of a traditional starter. Peacock opened for Houston, giving up one run in 1⅔ innings. Meanwhile, Chad Green threw the first inning for New York and gave up Gurriel's home run. The Yankees fell to 12-6 in opener games, including the postseason, and Houston won one for the first time in three tries.

The strategy smacked of 2019 baseball: According to Elias, the most recent postseason game in which neither starting pitcher threw at least two innings was Game 4 of a 1999 ALDS between the Red Sox and Indians.

That the Astros won a bullpen game against a Yankees team with one of the most feared relief staffs in baseball is hardly a surprise. That's the Astros: They win in ways old and new and in ways big and small.

"It was fun," Luhnow said. "It was a fun baseball game for a lot of reasons. I don't know how many pitchers we used in total, but it meant that the managers had to be really wise about when to take their pitchers out. This game could have gone either way, but we had Altuve and they didn't. That ended up being the difference."

Now, things are about to get as big as they get in baseball: the World Series. This time, it's between a team trying to secure its place atop the mountain and another trying to ascend to that peak for the first time. The bad news for the Nationals is that the moments of vulnerability for the Astros might have already passed.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa of the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide suffered a high ankle sprain during Saturday night's 35-13 win over Tennessee, coach Nick Saban told ESPN's Molly McGrath, and will "probably be out for a week or two."

Tennessee defensive tackle Greg Emerson sacked Tagovailoa for a 5-yard loss at the Alabama 16 on the first play of the Crimson Tide's second possession of the second quarter. Replays showed that Emerson rolled over Tagovailoa's feet as he took him down.

Tagovailoa didn't come out immediately. On the next play, the Alabama junior threw a screen pass to running back Brian Robinson Jr. for 5 yards. But something was amiss. As the play clock ticked down, Alabama called a timeout with 6:03 left in the first half. Tagovailoa left the field and went into the injury tent.

With four minutes left in the half, Tagovailoa, showing a slight limp, walked under his own power into the Tide locker room. He was ruled out at halftime.

Alabama didn't announce which ankle Tagovailoa injured. The Heisman contender has a history with ankle injuries. He required surgery last December to recover from a high ankle sprain he suffered in the SEC championship game.

Tagovailoa threw only one incompletion in his quarter and a half, going 11-for-12 for 155 yards. He threw his second interception of the season in the first quarter, on a first-and-goal pass from the Vols' 2 that safety Nigel Warrior returned 59 yards down the sideline.

"The biggest play in the game was the first-and-2 at the 2," Saban said at halftime. "We throw an interception, and they end up scoring, so it's a 14-point swing and we've got total control of the game."

Sophomore Mac Jones replaced Tagovailoa in the second half. He was 6-of-11 passing for 72 yards.

With 4:55 to play in the third quarter, Alabama receiver Slade Bolden threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Miller Forristall out of the Wildcat. It was the Crimson Tide's only touchdown pass of the night.

Alabama hosts No. 2 LSU in three weeks.

MIAMI -- Shooting guard Dion Waiters has been suspended by the Miami Heat for their season opener against Memphis on Wednesday night for what was described as "conduct detrimental to the team.''

"There were a number of unacceptable incidents this week, culminating with his unprofessional conduct on the bench last night,'' Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement Saturday night. "As a consequence, I feel we had to suspend him.''

Waiters got into a discussion with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra during Friday night's game, though the Heat did not specifically address what any of the incidents were.

Waiters played only 10 minutes in Friday night's preseason finale -- nine players got more, not even including Jimmy Butler, who got the night off for rest. Waiters averaged 14.3 minutes per game in four preseason appearances.

Waiters is the second player to face publicly announced punishment from the Heat this season. James Johnson was not permitted to attend training camp because his level of conditioning was not at the team's standards, and he returned to practice late in the preseason.

The one-game suspension will cost Waiters $83,448. There is no tax relief, since it was a team-issued suspension.

Waiters is entering his fourth season with the Heat. He has missed 126 of a possible 246 games over the past three years, largely because of ankle injuries and a subsequent surgery on his foot and ankle.

Waiters averaged 12.0 points last season in 44 games. The Heat said he will be permitted to return to the team on Thursday.

ESPN's Bobby Marks and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jose Altuve's walkoff home run sent the Houston Astros to the World Series on Saturday night and also clinched the AL Championship Series MVP for the veteran second baseman.

Altuve's two-run shot to left-center field with two outs in the ninth inning off New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman gave the Astros a 6-4 Game 6 win in Houston. Minutes later, Altuve was handed his first ALCS MVP award, a no-doubter given his ninth-inning theatrics.

"The only thing I remember is just thanking God for the opportunity to go to another World Series," Altuve, who called his teammates "the MVPs" of the game, said of his thoughts while running around the basepaths.

Altuve had a big series with the bat in general.

He had a solo home run in the top of the first inning of Game 3, propelling the Astros to a 4-1 win as the series shifted to New York. He finished the series hitting .348 (8-for-23) with six runs scored and three RBIs.

"I get asked to describe Jose Altuve all the time,'' manager AJ Hinch said of the team's 5-foot-6 sparkplug. "I think MVP is what he is.''