Sports Briefs March 19, 2012
Golf
Luke Donald rallied from a three-shot deficit Sunday with a 5-under 66 to get into a four-man playoff at the Transitions Championship at Palm Harbor, Fla. He won on the first extra hole with a 6-foot birdie putt that curled in the left side.
Donald ends the two-week reign of Rory McIlroy at No. 1.
He first got to top of the world ranking last May by winning a playoff over Lee Westwood at Wentworth. This time, he had to beat Jim Furyk, Robert Garrigus and Bae Sang-Moon.
• Yani Tseng two-putted for par from 40 feet in fading light to hold off Ai Miyazato and Na Yeon Choi by a stroke in Phoenix in the LPGA Founders Cup.
• Loren Roberts shot a 69 to win the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif., by two strokes over Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Kite and Bernhard Langer.
Roberts made a 5-foot birdie putt on the final hole to ensure the victory after bogeys on three of the previous four holes.
Football
With all signs pointing to the 49ers being a serious player in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes, San Francisco QB Alex Smith, who had a three-year offer on the table to return, traveled to Miami to meet with the Dolphins.
Baseball
Seattle's game with the Colorado Rockies was called in the fifth inning due to rain with the Mariners leading 3-2 in Peoria, Ariz.
Hector Noesi allowed two runs in four innings of work and Kyle Seager hit a two run home run in the fourth for Seattle, which hosts the Chicago Cubs today in Peoria.
NBA
Clippers 87, Pistons 83, OT: Chris Paul scored nine of his 19 points in overtime and added a season-high 15 assists, carrying host Los Angeles over Detroit.
Heat 91, Magic 81: Dwyane Wade scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, Chris Bosh added 23 points and host Miami beat Orlando to extend its home winning streak to 13 games.
Grizzlies 97, Wizards 92: At Memphis, Tenn., Rudy Gay scored 27 points, including five in the final 23.9 seconds, to lift Memphis over Washington.
Kings 115, Timberwolves 99: Marcus Thornton scored 24 points and host Sacramento used a strong second half to beat slumping Minnesota.
Hawks 103, Cavaliers 87: Joe Johnson scored 28 points to lift short-handed Atlanta at Cleveland.
Suns 99, Rockets 86: Michael Redd scored 25 points off the bench to lead host Phoenix to victory.
Thunder 111, Trail Blazers 95: A quick start and a 25-point night from Kevin Durant led host Oklahoma City to the win.
Jazz 103, Lakers 99: Paul Millsap scored 24 points and Utah handed LA only its second home loss since Christmas.
Flyers 3, Pengiuns 2: Scott Hartnell scored his second goal of the game with less than 1 second left in overtime to lift host Philadelphia over Pittsburgh.
Blackhawks 5, Capitals 2: Rookie Andrew Shaw recorded his first two-goal game, and host Chicago beat Washington.
Blue Jackets 2, Flames 1, SO: Cam Atkinson scored the shootout winner to lift Columbus at Calgary.
Coyotes 3, Oilers 2, SO: Ray Whitney scored the shootout winner to help Phoenix win at Edmonton.
Predators 3, Ducks 1: Patric Hornqvist, Mike Fisher and David Legwand scored third-period goals to lift Nashville at Anaheim.
Hurricanes 4, Jets 3: Eric Staal scored twice to help host Carolina beat Winnipeg.
Tennis
Roger Federer defeated John Isner 7-6 (7), 6-3 to win his record fourth BNP Paribas Open title in Indian Wells, Calif., avenging a loss to the American who beat him in Davis Cup play.
Victoria Azarenka routed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-3 for the women's title in the WTA Tour's first final between the No. 1 and No. 2 players since 2008.
Auto racing
McLaren driver Jenson Button won the Formula One season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia.
- The Associated Press