ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021 SPORTS 14 Spieth ends drought with victory in Texas Tavatanakit holds off charging Ko in ANA Inspiration

SAN ANTONIO, April 5, (AP): Jordan Spieth ended a slump that lasted nearly four years, closing with a 6-under 66 to win the Vale- ro Texas Open for his fi rst victory since the 2017 Brit- ish Open at Royal Birkdale. Now he heads to Augusta Na- tional as one of the favorites at the Masters. “This is a monumental win for me,” Spieth said. “It’s been a long road. There were a lot of times that I didn’t know I would be here.” Spieth sealed it with a 5-foot birdie Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand, cele- putt on the 17th hole, and he won by brates after winning the LPGA’s ANA two shots over Charley Hoffman. Inspiration golf tournament at Mission Spieth went 82 starts on the PGA Hills Country Club, on April 4, in Ran- Tour without a victory since Royal cho Mirage, California. (AP) Birkdale. He missed the Tour Cham- pionship the past two years and nearly holes in 9 under and added a birdie fell out of the top 100 in the world at on the par-4 15th. On the par-5 18th, the start of this year. she drove into rough near the water But the 27-year-old from Dallas that lines the left side, laid up and hit showed signs of turning it around. He a wedge 30 feet long and right. Her was tied for the 54-hole lead in Phoe- birdie try missed to the left, stopping nix. He led by two going into the fi nal inches away. round at Pebble Beach. He was two be- Tavatanakit had a series of late par hind going into the last day at Bay Hill. saves to keep her two-stroke lead. Her 8-footer on the par-4 15th circled the cup and dropped in, she lagged a GOLF 45-footer to 2 feet on the par-4 16th, and chipped to inches on the par-3 Tied for the lead with Matt Wallace 17th after missing the green left. going into Sunday at the TPC San An- The 21-year-old Thai player fi n- Jordan Spieth tees off at the 18th hole during the fi nal round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament in San Antonio, on April 4. (Inset): Spieth stands tonio, Spieth moved out in front and ished the wire-to-wire victory with with the Valero Texas Open trophy and the boots awarded to the champion of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. (AP) didn’t let anyone catch him. He built a short par putt on 18. A day after a three-shot lead with a birdie on the matching the tournament 54-hole re- 12th hole, when Hoffman made him cord of 14 under set by Pernilla Lind- ‘Super happy to lift the biggest trophy of my life’ sweat with birdies on both par 3s to get berg in her 2018 victory, Tavatanakit within one shot. fi nished a stroke off Dottie Pepper’s Spieth won for the 12th time on the 72-hole mark of 19 under set in 1999. PGA Tour and moved to No. 38 in the Nelly Korda (66), Sei Young Kim Hurkacz beats Sinner to clinch fi rst Masters title world. It’s the fi rst time in more than a (66) and Nanna Koerstz Madsen (66) year that he is back among the top 50. and Shanshan Feng (69) tied for third MIAMI, April 5, (AP): With the Big In Rancho Mirage, California, Patty at 11 under. Three absent at the Miami Open, and Nantes deep in relegation trouble Tavatanakit survived Lydia Ko’s fi nal- In Destin, Florida, Stephan Jaeger tennis’ next generation scrambling to round charge to win the ANA Inspira- closed with a 4-under 66 and beat Da- fi ll the void, it was Hubert Hurkacz of vid Lipsky in the playoff by making Poland who made a breakthrough. tion for her fi rst LPGA Tour victory. Five strokes ahead entering the day par on the fi rst extra hole to win the The 24-year-old Hurkacz won the Marseille stay on track for Europa League Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin on biggest title of his career by beating and six in front after a chip-in eagle on the par-5 second, Tavatanakit shot a the Korn Ferry Tour. 19-year-old Jannik Sinner of Italy 7-6 PARIS, April 5, (AP): Marseille Jaeger won for the sixth time on the (4), 6-4. 4-under 68 in 100-degree heat to beat labored to a 2-0 home win against last- Ko by two strokes in the fi rst major Korn Ferry Tour dating to 2016. This Hurkacz improved to 10-0 in Florida place Dijon but strengthened its bid for victory moves him to No. 2 on the this year, including the Delray Beach championship of the year. a Europa League place after its rivals Ko matched Lorena Ochoa’s tour- points list and all but assures a return title in January. Ranked 37th, he is pro- dropped points over the weekend. to the PGA Tour next season. jected to climb to a career-high 16th in nament record with a 62, shooting The scrappy victory moved sixth- 7-under 29 on the front nine for the He also won last year at the Albert- next week’s rankings. place Marseille one point behind Lens “I was super happy I was able to lift best nine-hole score in event’s 50-year sons Boise Open. in fi fth place and a Europa League spot history. The New Zealander began the Lipsky, a Californian who has Eu- the biggest trophy of my life so far,” next season. Rennes and Montpellier Hurkacz said. “I played some of the day tied for seventh at 6 under, eight ropean Tour and Asian Tour member- dropped three points behind Marseille strokes behind Tavatanakit in the tour- ship, birdied the last two holes for a best tennis I ever played. I was solid by drawing their matches on Sunday, throughout the whole tournament.” nament played without spectators for 67 to join Jaeger at 14-under 266 and the day after Lens was held by Lyon. the second time in seven months. force a playoff. But returning to the The matchup in the fi nal was a It was a third win in four games for surprise even though Novak Djoko- Winless since April 2018, the 18th, he made bogey and had to settle Marseille’s new coach, Jorge Sam- 23-year-old Ko played the fi rst 11 for a runner-up fi nish. vic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer paoli, but he was clearly frustrated at skipped the tournament, as did reigning times. U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem. “We knew that Rafa, Roger, Novak, Dijon has not won this year, losing Thiem were not playing,” Sinner said. 11 straight league games and drawing Proteas win by 17 runs “It was a big opportunity for many the other three. Despite facing poor op- players.” position, Marseille struggled to create Marseille’s Florian Thauvin, (center), Dijon’s Jordan Marie, (left), and anything in a drab fi rst half. It was Hurkacz who took full advan- Mama Balde fi ght for the ball during the French League One soccer match SAfrica level ODI series 1-1 vs tage. Along the way he eliminated No. between Marseille and Dijon at the Stade Veledrome Stadium in Marseille, 2-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 4 France, on April 4. (AP) SOCCER Andrey Rublev - the fi rst time he has Pakistan despite Fakhar’s 193 beaten two top-10 opponents in a tour- nament. Seconds before the break, Argentina JOHANNESBURG, April 5, (AP): came from 155 balls and he hit 18 fours center back Leonardo Balerdi, who South Africa held out to level the ODI and 10 sixes to give South Africa a big is on loan from Borussia Dortmund, series 1-1 with a 17-run win over Pa- scare in the second one-day interna- TENNIS headed in Dimitri Payet’s corner at the kistan that was much closer than it tional. near post. should have been because of Fakhar Pakistan was 205-7 at one stage be- Hurkacz became his country’s fi rst Payet set up the second goal for an- Zaman’s brilliant 193 in a losing effort. fore Fakhar really got going, but ulti- Masters 1000 champion. other central defender as Alvaro Gon- Pakistan opener Fakhar’s score mately fi nished on 324-9 chasing 342 zalez nodded home from his free kick “Hopefully with my game I can in- to win at the Wanderers in Johannes- in the 78th. burg. spire some people in Poland,” he said. Montpellier was held 1-1 at Angers “Hopefully they enjoyed it there.” Fakhar was run out off the fi rst ball The 6-foot-5 Hurkacz returned well while Rennes needed a late equalizer of the last over in unusual fashion. He against Sinner, breaking four times, from striker Serhou Guirassy to draw was running back to the striker’s end and came to the net at key moments. 2-2 with Reims. “To win against Jannik, you need to English striker Stephy Mavididi’s come up with some really good stuff,” header just after halftime earned him CRICKET Hurkacz said. “He’s an amazing player a ninth goal of the season for Mont- and has an amazing future. I tried to pellier, but Stephane Bahoken equal- for two when he slowed down, thinking stay as solid as I can because he can hit ized for Angers in the 71st. the throw from fi elder Aiden Markram the ball so hard.” In other matches, it was: Lorient was going to the other end. It wasn’t Hurkacz was poised early while 1, Brest 0; Bordeaux 2, Strasbourg 3; and a direct hit found Fakhar short. playing his fi rst fi nal in the top-level Hubert Hurkacz of Poland poses with the trophy after defeating Yannik Nantes 1, Nice 2; and Nimes 0, Saint- Even if Fakhar was there to see it ATP series, the Masters 1000. In the Sinner of Italy during the fi nals of the Miami Open tennis tournament, on Etienne 2. through, Pakistan still faced the very fi rst set, he raced to a 3-0 lead, brief- April 4, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP) Denmark striker Kasper Dolberg steep task of getting 31 off that last ly fell behind and then played a solid ble, but he held his fi nal two service week’s rankings. netted twice for Nice. over to win. tiebreaker, closing it out by winning a games, and sealed the win after a 20- “You win or learn when you’re 19 Twenty years after winning its South Africa’s success was down eighth league title, former league 25-stroke rally. shot rally on championship point, with playing the fi nal here,” Sinner said. “I to a thorough batting display, with standout Nantes is 19th and deep in 80 from opener Quinton de Kock, 92 Sinner, appearing in just his third Sinner pushing a forehand wide. was a little bit nervous from the begin- Masters 1000 tournament, served lead- relegation trouble with just seven from new captain Temba Bavuma and The tournament also represented ning of the match, but it’s normal be- ing 6-5 in the fi rst set and was broken games remaining. South Africa’s batsman Rassie van half-centuries from Rassie van der at love. He lost his serve twice more to a leap forward for Sinner, Hurkacz’s cause you really want to win.” A hectic Saturday saw defending der Dussen plays a shot during Dussen (60) and David Miller (50 not fall behind 4-0 in the second set. good friend and doubles partner. The No. 1-ranked Ash Barty earned her champion Paris Saint-Germain lose the second One Day International out). “I was not serving well, especially in former junior skiing champion has second successive Miami title Satur- at home to Lille, which is three points cricket match between South Af- Van der Dussen’s 60 came from just the beginning of the second set, and not improved his ranking from 78th at the day when Bianca Andreescu retired in clear at the top. rica and Pakistan at the Wanderers 37 balls and Miller’s 50 from 27 deliv- returning deep enough,” Sinner said. start of last year, and he’s projected the fi nal because of a foot injury while PSG star Neymar was sent off for Stadium in Johannesburg, South eries to give South Africa late impetus It was then Hurkacz’s turn to wob- to climb to a career-high 21st in next trailing 6-3, 4-0. the second time this season. Africa, on April 4. (AP) to post its big total of 341-6.