ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2021 SPORTS 15 Spieth struggles, finishes two birdies for a 70 Berger has the final say and wins at Pebble Beach PEBBLE BEACH, California, Feb 15, He finished at 18-under 270 for his (AP): For all the stunning views at fourth career victory. Pebble Beach that can be so soothing, Berger started his final round with a Daniel Berger couldn’t escape the ten- 4-iron to 20 feet for eagle on the par-5 sion when he arrived at the final hole second hole to catch up to Jordan in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Spieth in no time at all. And while the He was tied for the lead, needing a cast of contenders kept changing, birdie on the par-5 18th to win. Off to Berger was never out of the mix until his right was out-of-bounds markers he had the final say with one last eagle, below a row of hedges, where Berger his fourth of the week. hit his drive on Saturday that led to He won for the second time since double bogey. To his left was the the PGA Tour Tour returned to golf in Pacific Ocean. June from the COVID-19 pandemic, “I was going to go down swinging,” starting with a playoff victory at he said. Colonial, where a half-dozen players Two of the best swings of his career, had a chance to win over the final a driver into the fairway and a 3-wood hour. from 250 yards away in the cool air at sea level, left him 30 feet and two putts GOLF away. Berger capped it off with an eagle putt for a 7-under 65 and a two- shot victory over Maverick McNealy. “To step up there and hit a great This wasn’t much different. Spieth went from leading to lagging drive and then one of the best 3-woods behind. He started with a two-shot lead I’ve ever hit in my life, and then to and was three shots behind after six make that putt is just as good as it gets holes, wasting the scoring stretch at for me,” Berger said. Pebble Beach. He finished with two birdies for a 70 and tied for third with Patrick Cantlay (68), who made all his putts at Pebble on Thursday. He had 10 birdies in the opening round when he tied the course record with a 62. He made seven birdies and an eagle in two weekend rounds. Berger saw a leaderboard leaving the 18th green and knew he was tied. He just figured it would be with Nate Lashley, unaware of the sad turn of events on the 16th. Lashley, playing in the final group with Spieth, nearly holed his wedge on the 11th for a tap-in birdie that took him to 16 under and leading by one shot. He Colorado Avalanche left wing Brandon Saad (20) skates between Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault (81) and defenseman Alex was tied with Berger with three holes to Pietrangelo (7) during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Feb 14, in Las Vegas. (AP) play when Lashley went long on the 16th hole. He pitched out to 12 feet, missed the par putt and then missed the Daniel Berger poses with his trophy next two putts from the 3-foot range. on the 18th green of the Pebble That gave him a triple bogey from Beach Golf Links after winning the which he could not recovery. Lashley AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf jammed the bottom of his putter into tournament, on Feb 14, in Pebble Pens roll past rusty Caps the green and left without speaking to Beach, California. (AP) the media. Baylor women extend Big 12 lead Golden Knights down Avs Drake pips Loyola in OT PITTSBURGH, Feb 15, South Carolina topples LSU, (AP): Bryan Rust scored Back from layoff, No. 3 Michigan two goals and added an rallies to ‘beat’ No. 21 Wisconsin wins 31st straight SEC game assist as the Pittsburgh MADISON, Wisconsin, Feb 15, (AP): in the final 15 seconds before Murphy COLUMBIA, SC, Feb 15, (AP): Penguins remained unbeat- Isaiah Livers scored 20 points and made the clinching steal and was Destanni Henderson scored 19 points en at home with a 6-3 vic- Hunter Dickinson had a double-double fouled. and Aliyah Boston added 12 points, 13 tory over the Washington as No. 3 Michigan returned from a Drake (20-2, 11-2 MVC) won rebounds and six blocks as No. 1 three-week layoff and rallied from a despite shooting 33.3%. Loyola (18-4, South Carolina beat LSU 66-59 for its Capitals. 14-point deficit to beat No. 21 13-2) shot 35.1%. 31st straight Southeastern Conference Brandon Tanev, Jake Guentzel, Wisconsin 67-59. Cameron Krutwig and Aher Uguak victory. Zach Aston-Reese and Sidney Michigan (14-1, 9-1 Big Ten) scored 11 points apiece for the The Gamecocks (17-2, 12-0 SEC) Crosby also scored for Pittsburgh scored the game’s final eight points Ramblers. haven’t lost in league play since fall- while Tristan Jarry made 28 saves and pulled ahead for good with 1:46 N. Iowa 74, Valparaiso 60 ing to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament and assisted on Aston-Reese’s left on a tie-breaking putback from Dickinson, who had 11 points and 15 In Cedar Falls, Iowa, Trae Berhow quarterfinals in March 2019. score as the Penguins beat the Noah Carter each scored 17 points and Boston finished with her 10th dou- Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jason Zucker rebounds. Wisconsin (15-7, 9-6) rusty Capitals for the third time in (16) checks Washington Capitals’ missed its last seven shots. Northern Iowa defeated Valparaiso ble-double this season and 23rd of her three meetings this season. Brenden Dillon (4) along the boards 74-60. career as South Carolina won its 12th The Wolverines hadn’t played since a during the third period of an NHL 70-53 victory at Purdue on Jan. 22. Nate Heise added 15 points, Austin straight over LSU. Zia Cooke added hockey game, on Feb 14, in Phyfe 12 and Northern Iowa (7-14, 13 points for the Gamecocks. Michigan announced the next day that it ICE HOCKEY Pittsburgh. (AP) was pausing all athletic activities after 5-10 Missouri Valley Conference) several people linked to the athletic snapped a two-game losing streak. highlighted another shaky afternoon department tested positive for a COVID- Heise’ 3-pointer with 10:40 remain- BASKETBALL Tennessee’s Tamari Key (20) fouls Nicklas Backstrom collected his ing ended a 10-0 run which put the Texas A&M’s Aaliyah Wilson (2) by Malkin, whose play has been 19 variant that transmits at a higher rate. 250th career goal for Washington uneven at best through the first month D’Mitrik Trice scored 16 points, Panthers up 58-41. Northern Iowa shot during an NCAA college basketball and Jakub Vrana and Evgeny 52.8% (28 for 53) and made all 10 of Jailin Cherry had a career-high 19 game at Reed Arena in College of the season. Aleem Ford had 15 and Jonathan Station, Texas on Feb 14. (AP) Kuznetsov also scored, but the The Penguins have rarely played Davis had 11 for Wisconsin. their foul shots. points to lead LSU (8-10, 6-6). Capitals couldn’t rally back while Ben Krikke scored 12 for Valparaiso Faustine Aifuwa had 11 points and 12 with the lead in the third period - they The Badgers shot 7 of 28 in the playing for the first time in a week entered the third period of each of their second half and missed their last 11 (8-14, 5-8), Sheldon Edwards 11 and rebounds, her ninth double-double this Texas was held to single-digit scor- thanks a series of COVID-19-related Donovan Clay 10. season for the Tigers. ing in the first three quarters and first 12 games tied or trailing - but 3-point attempts after leading 42-32 postponements. Vitek Vanecek fin- Pittsburgh withstood some extended early in the period. Maryland 72, Minnesota 59 Texas A&M 80, Tennessee 70 Charli Collier, the potential No. 1 ished with 32 stops but Washington overall WNBA pick who entered the Washington pressure thanks in part to Drake 51, Loyola 50, OT In College Park, Md., Aaron In College Station, Texas, Destiny - finally at full strength after three- Jarry. Aston-Reese’s long heave into game averaging 22.3 points and 12.8 plus weeks of COVID-19 roster dis- In Des Moines, Iowa, Tremell Wiggins scored 17 points, and Pitts had a season-high 18 points and rebounds, was held to two points on the empty net with 1:03 to go for his Maryland cruised to a 72-59 victory Texas A&M used strong free throw ruptions - remained winless this second score in two games since Murphy scored 17 points, including 1-of-3 shooting and five rebounds month (0-4). the go-ahead basket in overtime, as for a sweep of the season series. shooting late to hold on for a win over before fouling out. returning from shoulder surgery last Tennessee. Kuznetsov showcased the firepower week. Drake rallied to win despite a poor It’s the seventh straight victory for Maryland 95, Huskers 73 of the NHL’s top-ranked power play Crosby followed with his own emp- shooting performance. BASKETBALL Texas A&M (19-1, 10-1 SEC) and In Lincoln, Neb., as Valentine Days when he knuckled one by Jarry just ty-netter 15 seconds later to give the Murphy’s layup with 2:50 remain- improves the Aggies to 8-0 against go, this one couldn’t have been much 5:18 into the first, but the Penguins - Penguins just their second regulation ing put the Bulldogs ahead for good, 49-48, in the defensive struggle ranked opponents this season.