Sports Briefs April 18, 2011
PGA Tour rookie Brendan Steele shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday, overcoming relentless wind and fellow prospect Kevin Chappell to win the Texas Open in San Antonio.
The leader by one stroke heading into the final round, the 28-year-old Steele stayed steady throughout the day and pumped his fist before thrusting his arm downward and smiling to celebrate his first Tour victory.
He moved to 8 under after putting his tee shot within three feet on the par-3 No. 7, and finished the tournament with 12 straight pars. Chappell was tied for the lead through seven holes, but missed a 6-foot putt on 17 to slide back to 7 under.
• John Cook birdied the first playoff hole to win the Outback Steahouse Pro-Am in Lutz, Fla., edging Jay Don Blake.
Cook, who shot 9-under for the tournament, picked up his second Champions Tour win this season after winning the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January.
• Italian teenager Matteo Manassero won the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to capture his second European Tour title after Rory McIlroy's three-putt on No. 18 dropped him to third.
Tennis
The United States failed to win a single match against Germany in Stuttgart, Germany, and was knocked from the top tier of the Fed Cup for the first time.
The Americans were blanked 5-0 in the playoff and will no longer be among the top eight nations in the World Group.
Germany delivered the decisive blow when Andrea Petkovic beat Melanie Oudin 6-2, 6-3 in the first reverse singles. That gave the Germans an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
• Rafael Nadal won his seventh straight Monte Carlo Masters title in Monaco by beating David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5 in an all-Spanish final. This was his first tournament victory since October, ending a run of three consecutive defeats in title matches.
NHL playoffs
Canucks 3, Blackhawks 2: Mikael Samuelsson scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and visiting Vancouver beat Chicago to take a 3-0 lead in their best-of-7 series.
Rangers 3, Capitals 2: Brandon Dubinsky broke a tie with 1:39 left and host New York, cutting Washington's series lead to 3-2.
Predators 4, Ducks 3: Mike Fisher scored the go-ahead goal at 10:21 of the third period, and host Nashville beat Anaheim to take a 2-1 series lead.
Volleyball
U.S. Olympic volleyball player Stacy Sykora is recovering well from the head injury she sustained in a bus crash in Brazil, but doctors in Sao Paulo said it is too soon to know whether she will be able to play professionally again.
There are no signs Sykora will have brain damage, and will likely recover full movement and have no speech impairments, doctors said, while adding that it will take time to determine whether she will be able to play at a high level again.
Auto racing
Del Worsham edged teammate Larry Dixon by 0.0048 seconds - about 6 inches - in the Top Fuel final in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
Jack Beckman (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also won in the event featuring racing in four lanes instead of the traditional two.
Running
After Kara Goucher last ran the Boston Marathon, she was so fresh - and frustrated - at the finish that she begged her coach to let her run another 26.2 miles a week later in London.
Goucher insists she has calmed down, helped in part by the perspective she gained after giving birth, in the two years since she finished third in 2009 and missed the olive wreath by nine seconds. But when she lines up in Hopkinton for the 115th Boston Marathon today, her goal remains the same.
In her first race back after childbirth, she finished second in the Arizona Half Marathon but her time of 1 hour, 14 minutes, 2 seconds showed her that she wasn't really ready for the race.
- The Associated Press