GOLF: O’Hair sinks Cink
Sean O’Hair took advantage of a stunning collapse by Stewart Cink to win the PODS Championship, closing with a 2-under 69 yesterday in Palm Harbor, Fla., to earn a trip to the Masters. Cink, who led by four shots after two holes, lost the outright lead when his tee shot rolled up against a tree on the par-5 14th, leading to bogey. The only consolation was making a 50-foot birdie on the 17th hole and that allowed him to join a six-way tie for second, two shots back.
* Bernhard Langer birdied the seventh playoff hole to beat Jay Haas and win the Champion Tour’s Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif. . . . Arjun Atwal of India won the Malaysian Open yesterday, beating defending champion Peter Hedblom of Sweden on the second playoff hole.
NASCAR: Busch wins
Kyle Busch gave Toyota its first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory, driving away from the pack in the waning laps to win the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. Busch, winning for the first time since last March 25 at Bristol, took the lead for good with 50 laps to go when Carl Edwards, trying for a third straight victory, went out with a broken transmission.
Jimmy Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. both passed Greg Biffle in the final laps to take second and third, respectively, with pole winner Jeff Gordon fifth.
HOOPS: Rutgers women lose
Angel McCoughtry had 20 points, seven rebounds and stripped the ball from Epiphany Prince at the buzzer as Louisville upset No. 4 Rutgers 57-56 yesterday in the second round of the Big East women’s tournament in Hartford. The Cardinals (23-8) will play West Virginia in today’s semifinals. Prince scored 13 points for Rutgers (24-6).
TENNIS: Serena wins title
Serena Williams won her first title in 11 months, defeating Patty Schnyder 7-5, 6-3 yesterday in the Bangalore Open final.
* Sam Querrey won the Tennis Channel Open for his first ATP title yesterday in Las Vegas, rallying to beat South African qualifier Kevin Anderson 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
SOCCER: Riot in Colombia
A stadium brawl at a soccer rivalry game left about 80 people wounded in the Colombian city of Cali late Saturday, 18 of them with stab wounds, emergency officials said. Clashes broke out among America de Cali’s “Red Baron” fan club in the 82nd minute of the match with Deportivo de Cali and spread onto the field and around the Pascual Guerrero stadium. Police fired tear gas as the brawlers lit firecrackers and tried to tear down fencing separating the stands from the field. Sixty fans suffered bruises and other minor injuries.
NFL: Steeler arrested
Steelers linebacker James Harrison has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. He was arrested Saturday after hitting 29-year-old Beth Tibbott at her home. Harrison was arraigned on charges of simple assault and criminal mischief.
IDITAROD: King mushes on
Four-time winner Jeff King surged ahead of defending champion Lance Mackey early yesterday in the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. King shot past Mackey after leaving the checkpoint at Kaltag, 351 miles from the finish line in Nome on Alaska’s western coast.