TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2015 SPORTS

MINNEAPOLIS: Minnesota Lynx guard Seimone Augustus (33) drives the ball past forward Sophia Young-Malcolm (33) during the second half of a WNBA game. — AP Sky win, Mercury rise over Storm

ROSEMONT: Cappie Pondexter scored a sea- gave the Sky their largest lead at 90-65. Kelsey neath for an easy basket to seal the victory. in six matchups against New York, which had the first half as the WNBA-leading Lynx never son-high 29 points as the beat Bone returned from her one-game suspen- DeWanna Bonner added 11 points for the a three-game winning streak end. trailed in a win over the Stars. Seimone the Connecticut Sun 96-76 on Sunday, their sion to lead the Sun with 18 points and Alex Mercury (8-5), who won at Seattle 94-79 on McCoughtry hit 12 of 19 free throws in a Augustus added 12 points and Moore had second win in 11 days over the Eastern Bentley added 14. Friday. Phoenix has won five straight games game that featured 70 attempts. McCoughtry nine rebounds for the Lynx (9-3) who built a Conference leader. and has beaten the Storm eight consecutive has scored in double figures in every game 50-28 lead after opening the third quarter on Pondexter made her first seven shots for MERCURY 70, STORM 60 times. led the Storm (3-12) with 16 this season and 19 in a row overall. Rookie an 11-2 run. 19 first-half points with her first miss on a 25- Brittney Griner scored 26 points as the points. Angel Goodrich had eight assists in added 12 points, a career-high, The Stars (3-10) missed their first nine field- footer at the halftime buzzer. She finished 11 Mercury beat Seattle for their second victory place of veteran point guard Sue Bird, who as did Sydney Carter, making her first start. goal attempts of the game as Minnesota for 14, including 5 for 6 from 3-point range. over the Storm in three days. Griner had 14 rested. Seattle has lost five straight and 10 of After trailing since the first quarter, Tina opened on 15-2 run. The Lynx led by no less The Sky (8-5) won their third straight over- straight points for Phoenix in the third quar- 11. Charles’ four straight points put the Liberty (7- than 11 the rest of the way. all despite the Sun (7-4) again holding the ter, extending a 10-point lead to 58-42. Four 5) in front 69-67 with 5:47 remaining. But Dearica Hamby scored 13 points and Kayla WNBA’s scoring leader, Elena Delle Donne free throws by made it a 20-point DREAM 84, LIBERTY 76 Atlanta bounced back and the Dream finished Alexander grabbed 11 rebounds to lead San (26.9 ppg), to a season-low 12 points. advantage. Angel McCoughtry scored 32 points as with a 9-2 run over the final three minutes to Antonio, which has lost four of its last five. Jessica Breland added 12 points for the Sky Seattle, which outscored Phoenix 15-8 in Atlanta survived a third-quarter collapse to secure the win. The top-ranked Lynx defense’s 49 points who led 49-41 at the half and pulled away for the fourth quarter, rallied to within eight on pull out a victory over the Liberty. The victory allowed was a season best coming off a sea- good with a 6-0 run to open the third. Ramu Tokashiki’s baseline jumper with 1:17 was the first for Atlanta (6-7) in three meet- LYNX 66, STARS 49 son-worst effort in Friday’s 90-83 loss at Breland’s jumper with 5:09 left in the fourth left, but Noelle Quinn found Griner under- ings with the Liberty this season and the first Maya Moore scored 15 of her 20 points in Chicago. — AP Chun wins US Women’s thriller

LANCASTER: Young South Korean for the lead at six under par with Chun In-gee showed championship world number three Lewis joining maturity on Sunday as she won the Chun and Yang. US Women’s Open in a thrilling fin- Chun seized the lead with a ish at Lancaster Country Club on nine-foot birdie putt at the 15th Sunday for her first major title. The hole and the young Korean added 20-year-old Chun, a seven-times birdies on the next two holes to career winner on the LPGA of Korea reach nine-under for the tourna- Tour playing her first US Open, shot ment. Lewis fell out after a double- a brilliant four-under-par 66 in the bogey at the par-four 15th where final round for an eight-under total she found the water in front of the and a one-stroke victory over com- green. But Yang, who posted back- patriot Amy Yang (71). to-back bogeys at 14 and 15, eagled Chun’s 272 total in this 70th U.S. the driveable par-four 16th and Open matched the lowest winning birdied 17 to move within one score, previously registered by stroke as the championship came Annika Sorenstam in 2006 and Juli down to the 72nd hole. Inkster in 1999. It was her fourth Chun opened the door a crack win of the year including three on by hitting her tee shot into deep the Korean tour and once on rough. After punching out, she Japan’s tour. pitched on to the green but missed “This year I played four tourna- a curling 12-foot par putt and made ments on the LPGA and I have great bogey. Yang needed par to force a experience in those tournaments,” three-hole playoff, but she also she told reporters through an inter- found the left rough off the tee, preter with the gleaming silver punched out and slid her 10-foot ILLIONIS: Jordan Spieth poses with the John Deere Classic trophy after winning the Open trophy by her side. “And from par putt by the cup on the left side. tournament by defeating Tom Gillis on the second playoff hole. — AP all those four wins this year, I got a While it was a thrill of a lifetime lot of confidence and that is why I for Chung, it was another heart- Spieth captures Classic could enjoy every moment.” breaker for Yang. She played in the World number one Park In-bee final Open group in 2010, eventual- ILLINOIS: Jordan Spieth sent a message to found water. He still earned the final qualify- of South Korea (67) tied for third at ly finishing tied for fifth. Last year, his critics he had not made a mistake by ing place for the British Open, which starts five under par with Stacy Lewis (70) she was paired with winner warming up for the British Open with a tour- on Thursday at St. Andrews. on a steamy day on the hilly course Michelle Wie but shot 74 and tied nament in the United States and showed he Spieth, who ovecame a poor start to the in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Amish for fourth. Yang was also the U.S. was ready to challenge for the title by claim- day, could have won the tournament in reg- country. Open runner-up in 2012. “I learned ing the John Deere Classic in a playoff on ulation but missed a 30-foot putt. He had Chun began the round four another great lesson here and it’s Sunday. Spieth, already the winner of this another putt narrowly miss on the first extra shots behind Yang, but the leader going to make me a better player,” year’s Masters and US Open, defeated hole, which both players parred after ending faltered on the back nine and by the LANCASTER: Chun In-gee of South Korea poses with the trophy after said the gracious Yang, who added: unheralded fellow-American Tom Gillis on regulation at 20-under-par. 14th hole there was a three-way tie winning the US Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club. — AFP “She’s a great player.” — Reuters the second playoff hole at TPC Deere Run in “It’s extremely satisfying to have stretch- Silvis, Illinois. “I came here for a reason and es where I played poorly and still came away we accomplished that reason and certainly with a win,” said Spieth. “Not the best start, have some momentum going into next but certainly OK with the outcome,” the Scolding pays off for US Open champion week,” said Spieth after some had ques- overnight leader told CBS. LANCASTER: The golf coach resorted to scolding his behind winner Brittany Lincicome. of fun with that.” tioned his returning to the site of his first American Zach Johnson (65) and New prized pupil, a putting lesson was finally learned, “That was the only time that I pretended to be The bubbly Chun, a mathematics whiz kid who PGA Tour win in 2013 to play the week Zealand’s Danny Lee (67) tied for third at 19- and on Sunday a beaming Chun In-gee was hugging mad at her,” the coach said. “And she cried a little bit, fell in love with golf after being introduced to it by before a major championship. under 265. Spieth had gotten the round off the silver trophy as U.S. Women’s Open champion. It and it worked. That was when she decided to her father, put it all together and notched three wins The victory was the world number two’s to an inauspicious start when he bogeyed was an uncharacteristic moment in the relationship change. That’s the only time I used (that tactic) since on the Korean LPGA tour and another on the Japan fourth of the season and the 21-year-old the first and third holes before recovering to between 20-year-old Chun and Park Won, who often I met her four and a half years ago.” Tour before claiming the US Open crown. moved within one victory of tying Tiger make the turn at even par. preaches having fun. But it was an important step in Despite her reluctance, she made the change Park, who holds a Ph.D. in environmental man- Woods for the most wins on the PGA Tour After a bogey on the 11th he birdied four the building of South Korea’s latest major winner. and it started clicking, said Park. “When she saw the agement from Michigan State and also works as a TV before age 22, the Tour said. of the next five holes from 13th on to force a “Her putting was the only weak point up until the results she was happy about it and she asked me to golf commentator, said Chun has reached about 90 Playing the 18th hole for a third time in a playoff a day after a sizzling 61 put him atop last ANA Inspiration,” Park told Reuters about April’s get mad when she really needs to listen,” he said percent of her potential but already possesses the half-hour, Spieth, who finished regulation the leaderboard. Gillis surged into the lead first major of the year as he followed Chun outside with a gentle chuckle. most important ingredient for success in golf. “At this with a three-under 68, used a short par putt with five birdies in his first six holes and the ropes at the start of Sunday’s final round at The putting change and a recent alteration in her level, it’s about enjoyment, and she already has that for the victory over the 46-year-old Gillis, added another at the eighth before giving a Lancaster Country Club. backswing to turn her decisive draw into a slight feeling about golf,” he said. “Today’s objective of the who was making his 172nd career PGA Tour stroke back with a bogey at the ninth. He “She had some difficulty changing the style of right-to-left shape, worked wonders. “Her shot-mak- round is enjoying, even the misses,” he said as she start. Gillis, who shot a 64 in regulation, saw added more birdies at the 10th, 12th and her backswing on her putting. She missed all the ing ability has been improving dramatically,” he said embarked on what would be a career defining round. his chance for victory end when his 15th before a bogey at 16 gave Spieth a opportunities at the ANA Inspiration,” he said about about the backswing change. “She can move the ball “Because something good can come out of misses approach shot on the second playoff hole chance. — Reuters her one-over total that left her tied for 41st, 10 shots right to left and left to right, and she is having a lot and be carried on to the next hole.” — Reuters