MORNING BRIEFING Aug. 29, 2011
Mark Calcavecchia won the Champions Tour's Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash., on Sunday for his first Champions Tour title, beating Russ Cochran with a two-putt birdie on the first hole of a playoff.
Calcavecchia and Cochran shot 7-under 65s to finish at 14 under at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
Calcavecchia, a 13-time PGA Tour winner making his 31st career start in two seasons on the 50-and-over tour, almost wrapped up the title on the par-5 18th in regulation, but his lengthy eagle putt came up a few inches short. Cochran, who nearly aced the par-3 17th, made a 12-foot eagle putt on 18 to force the playoff.
Brittany Lincicome sank a par putt on the 18th hole in a driving rain Sunday to win the Canadian Women's Open by one stroke in Mirabel, Quebec.
Lincicome closed with a 2-under 70 to edge defending champion Michelle Wie and Stacy Lewis, claiming her fifth LPGA Tour victory and second this year. Lewis had the low round of the day with a 67 to finish tied with Wie at 12 under.
Fears that the tournament would not be concluded because of remnants of tropical storm Irene did not pan out. It rained heavily on the back nine for the leaders and there were gusting winds, but nothing that forced a stoppage of play.
Kelly Kraft took the lead when Patrick Cantlay bogeyed the 16th hole, then hung on for a 2-up victory in the 36-hole U.S. Amateur final at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.
Kraft is an accomplished college player who just finished his senior season at SMU, but he definitely was the lesser-known player in the final. Cantlay, a star at UCLA, is the world's No. 1-ranked amateur and is considered a rising star with a promising future in the professional ranks.
Baseball
An American flag draped around his shoulders, Braydon Salzman couldn't contain his glee when he found California teammate Nick Pratto to give him a postgame hug.
The boys from Huntington Beach are headed home with a Little League World Series championship.
Pratto singled in the winning run with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of sixth inning, and Salzman pitched a complete-game three-hitter in a 2-1 victory Sunday over Hamamatsu City, Japan, and the tournament title in South Williamsport, Pa.
"USA! USA," yelled fans before Pratto's single.
"I was just thinking. 'Oh God, Oh God,' Before I was getting in the box," the 12-year-old Pratto said. "But once I got into the box, I calmed myself by telling myself to just look for a good pitch."
Pratto's clutch hit returned the World Series title to the United States with the type of victory even the big leaguers dream about. A U.S. team has now won six out of the last seven World Series, with Japan's win last year the exception.
Track and field
Usain Bolt again did the unbelievable when it mattered most in the 100 meters.
This time, no gold medal or world record, but a false start and straight elimination from the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, in a race he has regally reigned over for three years.
In a stunning few seconds, Bolt's showboating turned into disbelief when he jumped the gun and was led away from the track before Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake won gold ahead of American rival Walter Dix.
"Looking for tears?" Bolt asked as a small group of reporters followed him around. "Not going to happen."
Bolt was in no mood to talk, and instead of wide smiles, he snapped at anyone who tried to ask him about the disqualification.
Tennis
The U.S. Open will begin today in New York with tweaks to the day's original schedule, including a two-hour delay for the start of play at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The U.S. Tennis Association said Sunday that the site of the year's last Grand Slam tournament had "minimal damage" from Tropical Storm Irene.
NFL preseason
Drew Brees threw for 189 yards and led New Orleans to scores on all three drives he played in the visiting Saints' 40-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night.
-Wire and news services