I Dig Sports
MONTEREY, Calif. – Chaz Davies led from start to finish to capture his first World Superbike win of the season during Sunday’s conclusion to the GEICO U.S. Round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Davies took command from the moment the lights went out and never gave it up en route to the checkered flag, winning for the factory Ducati team as his teammate – Alvaro Bautista – crashed during the Superpole race earlier in the day.
The Welshman took the advantage at turn one and held it through turn two, while racing into third place behind was Toprak Razgatlioglu, who made a brisk start.
Saturday winner Jonathan Rea tried once to get ahead of Davies on lap two at the entrance to turn five, but ran wide and allowed Davies to take the lead back.
It would stay like that for the entire distance thereafter, with Rea unable to match Davies, who was in a class of his own at the head of the field.
Razgatlioglu ultimately hung on for the final podium spot behind Rea, with Alex Lowes finishing fourth and Tom Sykes completing the top five.
Sixth through 10th were Leon Haslam, Loris Baz, Jordi Torres, Marco Melandri and Michael Ruben Rinaldi.
Bautista, who injured his shoulder in the Superpole crash, saw his luckless weekend come to a premature end when he retired following the second lap of the race.
PORTLAND, Ore. – Michael Hurczyn won Sunday’s abbreviated TC America TCR/TCA race at Portland Int’l Raceway, part of the 59th Annual Rose Cup Races presented by Fastlife.TV.
Bryan Putt won for the second straight day in the TCR Cup division, while Mark Pombo won in TCA.
At the green, polesitter Hurczyn led the pack to the line and led through the first lap over teammate Nate Vincent. In TCR Cup, polesitter Putt grabbed the lead over Stephen Vajda and in TCA, polesitter Nick Wittmer held the lead over Chris Haldeman and Mark Pombo.
By lap three, Hurczyn had a 1.2 second lead over Vincent, while Putt held a 2.5 second lead over Vajda. Haldeman would pass Wittmer on the same lap, and then Pombo also moved past into second on lap four.
While the TCR and TCR Cup leaders held their positions through lap five, Wittmer reclaimed second from Pombo to pursue Haldeman.
Race Control then issued a full-course yellow on lap seven, as Robert Crocker went off into the tire wall between turns two and three. Crocker was not injured, but there was a considerable amount of repair required to the tire wall and a red flag was issued.
After the repairs were completed, the green flag flew for a five-minute shootout to the checkered. Hurczyn once again led the pack to the green ahead of Vincent and Filippi. In TCR Cup, Putt led Vajda and Cole, with Cole moving past Vajda for second.
With the leaders in TCR and TCR Cup slotted, the action focused on a heated scrap among the top four in TCA.
Haldeman led Wittmer, Maxson and Pombo on the restart. Maxson would move past Wittmer into second through turn 10. Then on the white flag lap, Maxson and Haldeman went side by side through turn seven, contacting slightly and slowing Wittmer, allowing Pombo to move up alongside Haldeman down the backstraight into turns eight and nine.
Pombo would carry the momentum through turns 10, 11 and 12 to take the lead on the front straight. At the checkered it was Pombo over Haldeman, Maxson and Wittmer.
Hurczyn, Vincent, Filippi completed the overall top three in TCR, with Putt, Cole and Vajda as the top three in TCR Cup.
“Got out front early, it’s really hard to pass here,” said Hurczyn in victory circle. “I was able to stay in front of Nate (Vincent). Nate had a great battle with Mason (Filippi) behind us. We are both going to need new bumpers after the race! After the restart it was hit your marks, keep it clean and bring it home to the finish … which is what we did.”
TORONTO – French driver Simon Pagenaud of Team Penske showed the NTT IndyCar Series how to celebrate Bastille Day.
Pagenaud capped a near-perfect weekend in Canada by dominating the Honda Indy Toronto, scoring his third victory of the season – and the 14th of his career – on France’s national day.
The pole sitter led 80 of the 85 laps at Exhibition Place and held back five-time series champion Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing in the late stages to score his first victory on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street circuit.
“I’m very proud to fly the French flag here in a cousin country, which is Canada,” said Pagenaud, the winner of this year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. “I guess (countryman Julian Alaphilippe) is leading the Tour de France today on the bike. I felt like I had to do the same.”
Pagenaud was only threatened a couple of times, the first being in the opening-lap dash to turn one. Dixon challenged him but couldn’t execute the pass. From there, Pagenaud began building a lead, which became eight seconds before he incurred traffic in the final laps.
“We took off and the car handled really well,” Pagenaud said. “We definitely had an advantage on the tire wear. I knew we had a really good race car. We were able to match the Honda power (of Dixon) pretty well; (it) helped us to perform even better, so thanks to Chevy.”
Added Dixon, “(Pagenaud’s) straight-line speed was ridiculous today, to be honest.”
Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Honda was also hampered by wall contact early in the race. He drove the rest of the way with the steering wheel misaligned.
“I made a mistake, a pretty big mistake, probably around lap 12 or 15 where I hit the inside wall on (turn) 9,” he said. “Bent the suspension pretty bad. I thought I had a (tire) puncture.”
Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport finished third, one position ahead of series points leader Josef Newgarden of Team Penske. The first four finishers are the top four drivers in the standings heading to Saturday night’s Iowa 300, a short-oval race at Iowa Speedway.
With Rossi, Dixon and Rossi finishing ahead of Newgarden, the championship race tightened. Rossi drew to four points with six races remaining. Pagenaud, who scored the maximum number of points in this race, is 39 points of the lead with Dixon 86 back.
Ontario native James Hinchcliffe of Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports finished sixth in his home race. He was the driver who advanced the highest number of positions (eight) among the entire field.
Another Toronto-area native – driver Robert Wickens, who finished third at Toronto last year – gave the race an inspirational start by driving a specially prepared Acura NSX.
Wickens, who is rehabilitating the use of his legs following a racing accident 11 months ago at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, used hand controls developed by Arrow Electronics to drive around the track, as well as gave the command to start the race.
Wickens’ fiancé, Karli Woods, rode with him during the two laps around the track.
The results:
1. (1) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 85, Running
2. (2) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
3. (4) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 85, Running
4. (5) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
5. (3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 85, Running
6. (14) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 85, Running
7. (16) Colton Herta, Honda, 85, Running
8. (8) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 85, Running
9. (12) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
10. (7) Marco Andretti, Honda, 85, Running
11. (17) Santino Ferrucci, Honda, 85, Running
12. (6) Ed Jones, Chevrolet, 84, Running
13. (18) Zach Veach, Honda, 84, Running
14. (13) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 84, Running
15. (9) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 84, Running
16. (11) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 84, Running
17. (22) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 84, Running
18. (15) Will Power, Chevrolet, 83, Contact
19. (19) Matheus Leist, Chevrolet, 83, Running
20. (20) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 81, Running
21. (21) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 79, Running
22. (10) Takuma Sato, Honda, 67, Mechanical
Frittelli earns spot in Open with first Tour win at John Deere Classic
SILVIS, Ill. - While the rest of the leaders faltered, Dylan Frittelli surged to his first PGA Tour title.
Frittelli won the John Deere Classic on Sunday, closing with a 7-under 64 for a two-stroke victory over Russell Henley. The South African earned a spot next week in The Open, finishing at 21-under 263 after the bogey-free final round at TPC Deere Run.
One of eight players within two strokes of the lead entering the lead, Frittelli was looking forward to the tournament's charter flight to Royal Portrush.
''I'm sure it's going to be a fun flight,'' Frittelli said.
A two-time winner on the European Tour, Frittelli birdied the par-5 17th after blasting out of a greenside bunker to 11 feet, and closed with a par on the par-4 18th.
Frittelli had tied for 46th in each of his last two starts.
''I don't want to say it was easy out there. It just felt a whole lot easier than it has been the last few weeks,'' Frittelli said. ''I calmed my nerves down.''
Henley shot a tournament-best 61. Andrew Landry, who opened Sunday in a two-way tie for the lead, was 18 under after a 69.
Rookie Collin Morikawa (66), the runner-up last week in Minnesota, and Chris Stroud (67) followed at 17 under. Morikawa hit all 18 greens in regulation.
Henley's career-low effort included six birdies on the back nine, capped by one on No. 18 - the same hole he double-bogeyed Friday. Henley made six putts of at least 7 feet, including 26- and 46-footers.
''If you would have told me at the start of the day, 'We'll give you 66,' I'd have said, 'That's pretty good.' So to get five better than that is really awesome,'' Henley said.
But Henley, who finished well before Fritteli hit the turn, could only watch from the clubhouse as Frittelli surpassed him and everyone else in the field.
Frittelli, who opened with rounds of 66, 68 and 65, started the final round with three straight birdies. He matched Henley with a chip-in on No. 10 and took the lead for good with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole.
Landry birdied No. 14 to pull within two shots. But Landry went with his putter 30 feet from the pin while off the green on the par-4 15th hole, and left his try short on his way to his third bogey of the day.
Moments later, Frittelli got out of a bunker by using the green's downward slope to his advantage, where he made a birdie putt that effectively ended the drama in the Quad Cities.
''You can't give up shots to the rest of the field,'' Frittelli said. ''When I saw the leaderboard, putting downhill, I thought, if I make this (I'll get) a little bit of breathing room with Russell in the clubhouse already.''
Frittelli, who made the winning putt for the University of Texas in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, became the second player from that Longhorns team to win at TPC Deere Run. Jordan Spieth won in 2013 and 2015.
Morikawa clinches Tour card for next season; Hovland, Redman add to FedExCup hauls
The kids continue to be more than alright.
A week after Matthew Wolff earned his PGA Tour card by winning the 3M Open, Collin Morikawa locked up membership for next season.
The 22-year-old Cal product, in just his fifth pro start, tied for fourth Sunday at the John Deere Classic to collect 122.5 non-member FedExCup points and run his season total to 456.5. With just three weeks left in the regular season, that number, which currently would slot Morikawa at 88th, will assuredly be more than No. 125 in the final standings, meaning Morikawa can count on earning his card for the 2019-20 season.
“I had the confidence to know I was going to do it,” Morikawa said. “… I knew it was going to take a low score today if I was going to move up. Even [par] wasn't going to do you good, and everyone was making birdies out there. It feels really good and it's definitely a little weight off the back.”
Morikawa opened the week with a 1-under 70 but followed with 66-65-66. He didn’t make a bogey on the weekend and eagled twice on Sunday. He now has two straight top-3 finishes after tying for second last week.
“It doesn't stop here,” Morikawa said. “I have two more starts at the Barracuda and Wyndham [and] really I want to get into those playoffs, and the only way I can do that is if I win.”
Morikawa wasn’t the only youngster to add to his FedExCup haul at TPC Deere Run. Doc Redman, who turned pro last summer after two seasons at Clemson, tied for 37th to earn 14.5 points and increase his non-member total to 358.5.
He is 34.5 points clear of No. 125 Danny Willett’s total, but unlike Morikawa his spot inside that top 125 is not guaranteed yet. If he fails to earn more points than No. 125, Redman will still qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
Oklahoma State product Viktor Hovland shot 64 Sunday to climb to T-17, which netted him 52 points. He now has 173 for the season. With just one more start remaining, he’ll likely need something special to earn his card for next season, though he’ll get another chance via the KFT Finals.
Goosen birdies final two holes to win Senior Players Championship
AKRON, Ohio - Retief Goosen birdied the final two holes to win the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship on Sunday at Firestone Country Club for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
The 50-year-old Hall of Famer from South Africa broke a tie for the lead with a 15-foot putt on the par-4 17th and made a 10-footer on the par-4 18th for a 2-under 68 and a two-stroke victory over 65-year-old Jay Haas and Tim Petrovic.
Three strokes ahead after opening rounds of 69 and 62, Goosen dropped a stroke behind Scott Parel on Saturday with a 75. The two-time U.S. Open champion rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 first with an eagle on the par-5 second, then parred the next eight. He offset a double bogey on the par-4 11th with birdies on the par-3 12th and par-4 13th, but dropped another stroke on the par-4 14th.
Haas closed with a 67, and Tim Petrovic shot 68.
Parel had a 73 to tie for fourth with Kent Jones (71) at 2 under.
Steve Stricker, the first-round leader after a 64, shot a 72 to finish sixth at 1 under. He was coming off a victory two weeks ago in the U.S. Senior Open at Norte Dame, and also won the major Regions Tradition in May.
Romo earns back-to-back victories at American Century Championship
STATELINE, Nev. - Tony Romo completed a wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the American Century Championship for his second straight victory in the celebrity tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.
The former Dallas Cowboys and current CBS analyst closed with a 2-over 74 and scored 20 points to finish at 71 in the modified Stableford scoring system. Former pitcher Mark Mulder, the winner from 2015-17, was 10 points back after a 71 and a 24-point day.
Romo became the fourth player in tournament history to successfully defend the title. With Romo an amateur, the $125,000 first prize was donated to official tournament charity Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
''It's an honor to win this tournament,'' Romo said. ''I came in with confidence and this is some of the best golf I've played these past few weeks. When I won last year, every shot mattered. This year, it was easier. That's why we practice so much.''
With T-5 finish at Marathon Classic, Kupcho earns spot in AIG Women’s British Open
Jennifer Kupcho came up short in a weekend bid to win the Marathon Classic, but she got a nice consolation prize.
With her T-5 finish Sunday, Kupcho earned one of five qualifying spots for players who weren’t already qualified for the AIG Women’s British Open in three weeks.
“It's great, just coming off two missed cuts,” Kupcho said. “Obviously, I wanted to come out and play strong.”
Kupcho, the 2018 NCAA champ, winner of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur and former world amateur No. 1, earned $52,798 with her best finish since turning pro this summer. She will jump from 124th on the money list to 94th with $89,459 through six starts as a pro. At year’s end, the top 80 in money earn Category 1 status for next year, which is the tour’s equivalent of fully exempt status.
“It's definitely great to get a little bit of confidence going and see my game on the upswing,” Kupcho said.
Tiffany Joh, Linnea Strom, Pavarisa Yoktuan and Mariajo Uribe also earned spots into the Women’s British Open.
Daniel Royer scored his sixth and seventh goals of the season in the New York Red Bulls' 2-1 win over New York City FC on Sunday in a game rocked by controversy.
Royer scored from the penalty spot before half-time to tie the match at one-all. He then scored quickly after a disputed throw-in in the 60th minute for his first multi-goal game of 2019. The win lifted the Red Bulls (9-7-4, 31 points) three spots to third in the Eastern Conference standings.
Royer headed the Red Bulls into the lead in the 60th minute on a sequence that left NYCFC protesting the decision to award the hosts a throw-in instead of a corner.
After the visitors cleared the ball, assistant referee Corey Rockwell appeared to point his flag downward toward the corner flag, the signal for a corner kick. Instead, the Red Bulls' Marc Rzatkowski took the throw-in quickly and Cristian Casseres Jr. crossed into the box, where Royer headed it beyond goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
Johnson and several of his teammates pleaded with referee Alan Kelly after the goal, and Kelly and Rockwell held a discussion, but the goal stood. According to the telecast on FS1, Rockwell had in fact ruled for a corner, but Kelly then overruled the decision.
Earlier, Royer's penalty kick leveled the match in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. Kelly immediately pointed to the spot as NYCFC's Maxime Chanot caught Brian White with an outstretched leg as White tried to take down Alex Muyl's cross from the right. Royer ripped his spot kick into the top left corner beyond Johnson's dive.
NYCFC had the lead after seven minutes. After a give-and-go with Heber, Maxi Moralez sprayed the ball wide right to Anton Tinnerholm, who curled in a cross toward goal with his first touch. Heber ran onto it, side-footing it with his first touch off the underside of the crossbar and over the goal line.
It was Heber's seventh goal for New York City FC (7-3-8, 29 points), which fell one spot to sixth in the East with their second consecutive defeat.
Before those losses, NYCFC had gone 12 games without a defeat, but they fell to 1-5-1 all-time in away matches against their Hudson River rivals.
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