ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JUNE 4-5, 2021 SPORTS 15

Feagler delivers Waves’ NCAA Championship-winning point Pepperdine beats Oklahoma 3-2 for second national golf title SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, June 3, (AP): Clay Feagler two-putted from 35 feet on the 18th hole to wrap up Pepperdine’s fi rst men’s golf national championship in 24 years, a 3-2 vic- tory over Oklahoma at Grayhawk Golf Avalanche top Golden Knights with OT Club. Pepperdine took an early lead on a sizzling day in the desert, allowed Oklahoma to rally, then closed with a fl ourish for its second national cham- pionship. power-play goal to take 2-0 series lead Oklahoma’s Jonathan Brightwell won the opening match 1 up over Dy- lan Menante, but Pepperdine won the next two matches, setting up Feagler Canadiens’ Game 1 win tempered by late hit on Evans to close out the championship and his senior season. Leading 1 up, Feagler had to back DENVER, June 3, (AP): Mikko Rantanen scored a power-play goal 2:07 Rantanen took a cross-ice pass from Nathan MacKinnon and sent a liner over the glove of off when some- into overtime, Philipp Grubauer outdueled fellow Vezina Trophy fi nalist Fleury. The goal came with Reilly Smith in the penalty box for slashing Rantanen. one popped open Brandon Saad and Tyson Jost also scored for the Avalanche, who’ve won six in a row to start the a drink before his Marc-Andre Fleury and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vegas Golden postseason, tying the franchise mark set in 1987 when the team was based in Quebec. approach shot, but Knights 3-2 to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series. Grubauer had 39 saves in becoming the fi rst Colorado/Quebec goaltender to pick up six straight gathered himself postseason victories. and hit a 7-iron Alec Martinez and Smith had from 195 yards to the front of the goals for the Golden Knights. A fresh green. He coz- Fleury provided a big boost. He didn’t ied the putt close play in the series opener following a enough that Okla- grueling seven-game series with Min- homa freshman nesota. Fleury stopped 22 shots. Feagler Ben Lorenz con- The series heads to Vegas for ceded the match Game 3 on Friday. - and the title. Canadiens 5, Jets 3 The Waves raced onto the green to celebrate with Feagler. Joey Vrzich, In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jesperi playing in the group behind, sprinted Kotkaniemi and Eric Staal scored up the No. 18 fairway carrying his bag. early goals and Montreal beat Win- Logan McAllister, who had his second nipeg in Game 1, a victory tempered ace in three days to take an early lead, by a scary late-game hit on Canadiens won the fi nal match 1 up over Vrzich, center Jake Evans. but it didn’t matter. Pepperdine had its fi rst national title since 1997. ICE HOCKEY The Waves needed a huge rally on the fi nal day of qualifying to go from outside the cut line to the No. 3 seed in Evans was taken off the ice on a match play. The Waves rolled into the stretcher with 57 seconds left after be- title match, beating Florida State in the ing crushed in the head and shoulder quarterfi nals and powerhouse Okla- area by Jets center Mark Scheifele an homa State in the semifi nals. instant after tucking in an empty-net goal. Evans chased down the puck be- hind the net, tightly circled back around GOLF the goal cage and scored just before Scheifele’s sent him crashing to the ice. Scheifele was given a major for Oklahoma edged Illinois, then closed out Arizona State 3-2 in the charging and a game misconduct. semifi nals Pepperdine jumped out to Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gal- a quick early lead in the title match, lagher also scored for Montreal, Joel leading in three matches. Edmundson and Jeff Petry each had The Sooners earned the fi rst point in two assists and Carey Price made 27 a back-and-forth match. saves. Adam Lowry, Derek Forbort Brightwell rallied from an early and Kyle Connor scored for Winni- defi cit to tie with consecutive birdies peg, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped and went 1-up with a kick-in birdie on 28 shots. the 390-yard par-4 10th. Menante tied Game 2 is Friday night in Winni- it with consecutive holes, Brightwell peg. Fans were allowed inside Bell answered with two straight birdies on MTS Place for the fi rst time this sea- Nos. 15 and 16 to go back 1 up, then son, with the Manitoba government closed it out by getting up and down Colorado Avalanche left wing Andre Burakovsky (95) moves the puck against Vegas Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy (10) during the fi rst period in allowing 500 fully vaccinated health- short of No. 18. Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series on June 2, in Denver. (AP) care workers to attend. One match for the Sooners, but the Waves were leading the other four. Joe Highsmith started strong and just missed a birdie putt on No. 15. never stopped rolling against Garett That gave Pepperdine a 2-1 lead and Japanese city cancels Kenya training camp over virus Reband. The Pepperdine junior won the last two matches were close. three straight holes, the fi rst two on McAllister seemed to take control bogeys by Reband - he hit near the of his match with the fi fth hole-in-one 10,000 volunteers drop out; Tokyo Olympics open in 50 days 12th fairway on No. 11 - then a 10-foot of the tournament on No. 8 - he aced birdie on the 12th to go 5-up. the 205-yard fi fth hole Monday - and TOKYO, June 3, (AP): The count- Highsmith closed it out with a par stretched his lead to 3-up on a bogey down clock for the Tokyo Olympics on the par-4 15th. Pepperdine’s Wil- by Vrzich on No. 9. The Pepperdine hit 50-days-to-go on Thursday, and the liam Mouw wanted to face Quade senior still had some fi ght in him. day also brought another problem for Cummins, a member of OU’s 2017 the delayed games. national championship team, in the Vrzich won four straight holes and went 1-up with the only birdie of the About 10,000 of 80,000 unpaid vol- anchor match and made the most of it. unteers for the Tokyo Olympics and Mouw made 15-foot birdie on No. day on the fi rm-greened, 230-yard 13th hole. McAllister tied it with a Paralympics have told organizers they 9 to go 1-up and dropped a 4-foot will not participate when the games birdie putt to make it 2-up up on the short birdie on No. 16 and two-putted par-5 11th. He won consecutive holes for birdie to go 1-up on No. 17, but the open on July 23. starting at No. 13 and clinched Pepper- match ended on the 18th tee after Fea- Organizers said some dropped out dine’s second point when Brightwell gler won his match. because of worries about COVID-19. Few volunteers are expected to be vac- cinated since most will have no contact FIA introducing new tests with athletes or other key personnel. Only about 2-3% of Japan’s general population has been fully vaccinated in a very slow rollout that is just now Verstappen leads F1 title race, speeding up. Conversely, the IOC expects at least 80% of athletes and residents of the Olympic Village to be with focus on Red Bull’s wings fully vaccinated. BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 3, (AP): low point came in 2018, when he tried Max Verstappen heads into his first to block then-teammate Daniel OLYMPICS race as Formula One leader looking Ricciardo at the end of the long for his first podium finish at a previ- straight. The pair collided and both “We have not confi rmed the indi- ously troublesome circuit, and with drivers were out of the race. vidual reasons,” organizers said in a the focus on his Red Bull car’s rear Verstappen said he believes statement. “In addition to concerns wing. Mercedes still has a faster car overall. The 23-year-old Dutch driver has “I do think they are still on normal about the coronavirus infection, some been a potential championship con- tracks ahead of us but I think for us, so dropped out because they found it tender since he made his debut in 2015 far this season, we’ve had a great start would be diffi cult to actually work af- Olympic fan Kyoko Ishikawa, (right), cheers to the South Sudan team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralym- when he was only 17. This season, he compared to the other seasons and we ter checking their work shift, or due to pics in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on June 3. (AP) has a car capable of challenging seven- just need to keep it up,” he said. changes in their own environment.” time champion Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren driver Lando Norris is Organizers said the loss would not veiled the podiums, costumes and billion to organize the Olympics, and lose in a qualifi er, it feels really hard title. third in the standings - already 49 affect the operations of the postponed music that will be used during the several government audits say it’s right now.” much more. All but $6.7 billion is pub- Winning the last race in Monaco put points behind Verstappen - and leads a Olympics. medal ceremonies. Organizing com- Also: Verstappen four points ahead of chasing pack that includes Mercedes Unpaid volunteers are a key work- mittee president Seiko Hashimoto lic money. The IOC’s contribution is Hamilton heading into the Azerbaijan rival Valtteri Bottas, the second Red force in running the Olympics and again promised the Olympics will be about $1.5 billion. NAIROBI, Kenya: A Japanese city due Grand Prix. Bull of Sergio Perez and both Ferraris. save organizers millions of dollars in safe for the athletes. Japan has attributed just over 13,000 to host Kenya’s team for a pre-Olym- Some rivals, Bottas has shown flickers of pace salaries. Volunteers typically get a uni- “The Tokyo 2020 organizing com- deaths to COVID-19, far lower than pics training camp has canceled it be- particularly with a pole position and two fastest laps form, meals on the days they work, and mittee will absolutely make sure to most comparable countries, but higher cause the coronavirus situation there is Mercedes, have this season. But the Finn has yet to finish have daily commuting costs covered. protect the health of the athletes,” she than many Asian neighbors. “critical,” the Kenyan Olympic com- argued Red Bull’s higher than third in a race and has less They pay their own lodging. said. On Thursday, the Japanese soc- mittee said Wednesday. rear wing flexes than half of Hamilton’s points tally. A study done for the International Support for the Olympics continues cer association said a member of the City offi cials from Kurume in the too much at high Olympic Committee on volunteers at to lag in Japan with 50-80% - depend- Ghana team had tested positive upon Fukuoka Prefecture near the southern speed and reduces the 2000 Sydney Olympics said their ing how the question is phrased - say- arrival in Tokyo. The player was sepa- tip of Japan had informed Kenya on drag. That would MOTOR RACING value was at least $60 million for ing the games should not open on July rated from the team and placed in quar- Tuesday that they were canceling, the be a particular 40,000 volunteers. 23. antine. committee said. benefit in To mark 50 days, organizers un- Tokyo is offi cially spending $15.4 Earlier in the week, soccer players The Kenyan Olympic committee Azerbaijan, which His weekend got off to a bad start from Jamaica were unable to go to Ja- said the letter from Kurume reported has the longest when flight delays left him stuck at the pan because of issues with coronavirus that “COVID-19 infections have rap- straight of any Verstappen airport in Finland on Thursday as other testing. They were to have played the idly spread in Kurume since mid-April circuit on the cal- drivers were out walking the Baku Japanese national team in a friendly. and the situation has been recognized endar. track. Meanwhile, three-time beach vol- as critical.” Governing body FIA is introducing Still, Bottas has been something of a leyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jen- The letter from Kurume also stat- new tests to measure how rigid wings Baku specialist in the past. He won the nings was defeated in her bid to reach ed, according to Kenyan Olympic are. However, they only take effect last race in 2019 - the Azerbaijan GP a sixth Olympics when she and part- officials, that “the nationwide spread from June 15, ahead of the French was canceled in 2020 amid the corona- ner Brooke Sweat lost in a qualifying of infection (in Japan) did not sub- Grand Prix. virus pandemic - and was on course to match Wednesday in Ostrava, Czech side even in May, and in Fukuoka Hamilton was vocal last month of win in 2018 before a puncture ended Republic. Prefecture the number of new infec- what he called the “bendy” Red Bull his race. The early-round loss to the Neth- tions and the number of hospitalized wing and previously said it made the Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is erlands means the U.S. pair could patients both have reached a record rival cars faster at the Spanish Grand coming off disappointment in Monaco not overtake fellow Americans Kelly high.” Prix, which he won. when he qualified on pole position Claes and Sarah Sponcil on the in- The city told Kenya’s team that the “Regardless of what I think, it only for his car to break down before ternational tour point list. Two-time sports facilities it had set aside to be doesn’t really make a difference,” the start of the race. He said Ferrari Olympic medalist April Ross and her used by the visiting athletes for their Hamilton said Thursday. “The fact is will struggle to repeat its “one-off” partner, Alix Klineman, have already pre-games preparations had now been they passed the tests that are given for Monaco pace, given Baku’s long clinched a berth in Tokyo, and there turned into vaccination centers. this weekend so we proceed in the way straight. is a quota of two teams for each coun- Kenya’s team was due to spend 12 things are. Of course it is an advantage “Even though there are quite a lot of try in each of the women’s and men’s days in Kurume from July 7 to ac- on the straight.” slow-speed corners,” Leclerc said, “I fi elds. climatize before the Tokyo Olympics Verstappen has struggled in Baku in believe we will be back to the normal A medal tray that will be used during the victory ceremonies at the To- “It’s a terrible, terrible feeling,” open on July 23, Olympics Kenya act- the past, with no podium finishes and competitiveness that we had before kyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games is displayed during its unveiling Walsh Jennings said after the match. ing secretary general Francis Mutuku two retirements in his four races. The Monaco.” event at the Ariake Arena, in Tokyo, on June 3. (AP) “It’s been a really rough year, and to said.