Sports Briefs June 7, 2010
Golf
Justin Rose joined the English revival in golf Sunday, rallying from a four-shot deficit to win the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, with a flawless final round for his first victory in seven years on the PGA Tour.
It was the second straight year the Memorial winner came from four shots behind. Tiger Woods did it a year ago, and the 29-year-old Rose was equally impressive. He played bogey-free at Muirfield Village for a 6-under 66 and a three-shot victory over Rickie Fowler.
Fowler, the 21-year-old rookie trying to become the youngest winner on the course Jack Nicklaus built, fell apart briefly on the back nine to fall three shots behind. He closed with a 73 to finish runner-up for the second time this year.
Tiger Woods hit fans at the first, second and 15th holes - the first two far left of the fairway, the third to the right.
The defending champion ended up shooting an even-par 72 to finish at 6 under, a dozen shots behind Rose. Woods tied for 19th, his worst finish since 2002 at the Memorial.
When it was all over, he joked that he was lucky that he gets his golf gloves, that he give out to fans he hits, free. Yet he wasn't disappointed and declared himself on track for his next big test - the U.S. Open on June 17-20 at Pebble Beach.
• Nick Price won the Principal Charity Classic in West Des Moines, Iowa, shooting a 4-under 67 to beat Tommy Armour III by four strokes for his second Champions Tour win of the year and third overall.
The 53-year-old Price, a three-time major champion, finished at 14-under 199 on the Glen Oaks Country Club course. Price won after coming up short the previous two years in Iowa after taking at least a share of the lead in the final round.
Armour (71) finished second for the third time this year.
College
The Big Ten did not take formal action during a meeting in Park Ridge, Ill., about conference expansion, although officials say their timeline may change after the Pac-10 revealed plans for their own expansion.
The 11 school presidents and chancellors met for about 4 1/2 hours, and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said the majority of time was spent on expansion dialogue.
"One of our options was not to act, the other option was to act with a single member and another option would be acting on multiple members," Delany said. "There could be a decision not to act. That's always been on the table."
The Big Ten has been examining possible conference expansion since December, when it revealed a study that is expected to take anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
Each of the current schools is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) - the only Division I conference to have all its institutions affiliated - and also form the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) along with the University of Chicago. If the Big Ten expands, it is presumed to be looking at schools that are also members.
Delany declined to identify potential candidates, but names that have surfaced include Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
Soccer
Thousands of soccer fans stampeded outside a stadium in Embisa, South Africa, before an exhibition game between Nigeria and North Korea, leaving 15 people injured, including one police officer who was seriously hurt.
Several fans fell under the rush of people, many wearing Nigeria jerseys. The Makhulong Stadium in the Johannesburg suburb seats about 12,000 fans.
The mayhem happened only five days before the start of the World Cup, the first to be held in Africa.
"At this moment we have 14 civilians that were slightly injured in the process, one policeman seriously injured," police spokesman Lt. Col. Eugene Opperman said outside the stadium. The injured were being treated at a hospital, he said.
Opperman said tickets for the game were given out for free outside the stadium.
"What then occurred was large groups of people gathered outside the gates wanting to come in and wanting to get free tickets. Unfortunately in the process, the gates were opened and there was a stampede," Opperman said.
Soccer's international governing body said it had nothing to do with the ticketing.
"FIFA and the OC (local organizing committee) would like to reiterate that this friendly match has no relation whatsoever with the operational organization of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, for which we remain fully confident," FIFA said in a statement.
- The Associated Press