ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2021 SPORTS 14

Elliott fi nishes 2nd, Busch settles for 3rd Larson gives Hendrick record-breaking win at Coca-Cola 600

CONCORD, N.C., May 31, (AP): The fi rst thing Rick Hendrick thought about as crossed the fi n- ish line to win the Coca-Cola 600 was Kokrak overcomes Spieth, wins April 29, 1984. That’s when Hendrick won for the fi rst time as a NASCAR Cup Se- ries owner when took the Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Charles Schwab Challenge title Little did Hendrick know that 37 years later he would become the win- ningest owner in NASCAR Cup Se- ries history. Larson’s dominating win Cejka captures another senior major victory at gave a record-setting 269th win, passing Petty Enterprises. “Unbelievable,” Hendrick said. “I FORT WORTH, Texas, May 31, can’t get in my brain around it right NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle (AP): Jason Kokrak played in 233 Larson celebrates in victory lane now.” after winning the NASCAR Cup PGA Tour events before getting his Hendrick said he’s glad to have Series auto race at Charlotte Mo- fi rst victory. The big hitter didn’t the record behind him, while quickly tor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on praising Richard Petty for his role in May 30. (AP) have to wait nearly as long to win NASCAR. again, and overcame a local favorite Hendrick called it “pretty neat” that Larson broke the record driving the to do it at Colonial. No. 5 car - the same number on Bo- Helio Castroneves Kokrak shot an even-par 70 in a fi nal-group dine’s car several decades ago. showdown with resurgent , win- Hendrick said he didn’t care which wins 4th Indy 500 ning the Charles Schwab Challenge at 14-under of his four Cup drivers won Sunday - , May 31, (AP): He- 266. Kokral was two strokes better than Spieth, as long as one of them did. lio Castroneves joined the exclu- who hit his approach at No. 18 over the green And it seemed all four of them had sive club of four-time Indianapolis and into the water. that chance. 500 winners, and then scaled the While even on the day, Kokrak had fi ve bogeys to fence at Indianapolis Motor Speed- go with his fi ve birdies. He twice needed two shots way in front of the largest crowd to get out of bunkers, and had back-to-back bogeys CAR RACING since the start of the pandemic. at Nos. 15 and 16. The Brazilian joined A.J. Foyt, But when he struck his fi nal 4-foot putt, he fol- Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears, his lowed the ball to the cup and fi nally broke into a It was an impressive night for Hen- former mentor at Team Penske, as drick Motorsports with all four drivers the only four-time winners of “The fi nishing in the top fi ve - Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” was second, William Byron fourth and Mears was the last driver to join the GOLF fi fth. club in 1991. was third for Joe Gibbs Castroneves won his third 500 Racing. in 2009 and has been chasing win smile when he pulled it out and celebrated with cad- No. 4 ever since. die David Robinson. Jason Kokrak poses with the Leonard Trophy after winning the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tour- It also was the sixth win in 16 races At 46 years old, in his fi rst season A huge crowd followed the only contending group nament at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas on May 30, as Colonial Country Club presi- this season for Hendrick Motorsports - no longer driving for Roger Penske, all day, most of them waiting to erupt for Dallas-native dent Christine Klote, right, and other applaud him. (AP) and this one wasn’t even close. he held off Alex Palou to win the Spieth, who started the round with a one-stroke lead Larson, who joined Hendrick this 105th running of the race in front before a bogey-fi lled 73. Instead of his second win at season, ended six years of struggles at of 135,000 fans - the most at any Colonial, he fi nished as the runner-up at Hogan’s Alley Charlotte, leading 328 of 400 laps and sports event in the world since the for the third time. It was still Spieth’s eighth top-10 fi n- Kuwait SC bag athletics association trophy winning four stages. Larson’s previ- pandemic began 18 months ago. ish in his last 11 starts this year, one more top 10 than he KUWAIT CITY, May 31, (KUNA): Kuwait SC won Speaking to KUNA in a statement, head of the ous best fi nish at Charlotte was fi fth in The number represented 40% of had the previous two seasons combined. the 2020-2021 athletics association Cup tournament, KAA Seyar al-Enzi said the association is preparing 2016 and he had only one top-10 fi nish the speedway’s capacity and was Kokrak, playing in his 16th tournament since win- which concluded, bagging 88 points followed by Kuwait’s national players to take part in several inter- at the Coca-Cola 600. Larson dominat- agreed upon by health offi cials. ning the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in October, joined Qadsia with 60 points. national championships, including Tokyo Olympics ed most of the race, becoming the fi rst A year ago, no fans were allowed Bryson DeChambeau and Stewart Cink as two-time The tournament, which was organized by Kuwait Games to be held this summer. driver since Busch in 2018 to sweep for the race that was delayed from every stage. It gave Larson a series- May to August. This year, celebri- winners this season. Athletics Association at the Interior Ministry’s play- He noted that the local tournament witnessed a new ties were back and fans were eve- In Tulsa, Okla., Alex Cejka won the Senior PGA ground, featured 14 teams. technical performance from players. high 10 stage wins this year. rywhere and they were treated to Championship for his second straight major victory, Busch seemed resigned to the fact a win by one of the most popular thriving on accurate and powerful ball-striking and bama. wedding anniversary with Bulldogs women’s coach he wasn’t going catch Larson even drivers in Indy 500 history. with about 100 laps remaining. deft touch around demanding at Southern Hills. Cejka fl ed the Czech Republic with his father at age Charlie Ewing. When asked after the fi rst three stag- Cejka shot a 3-under 67 for a four-stroke victory nine, settling eventually in West Germany, where he On another long, hot day in the desert, Ewing won es by Fox Sports commentators what Las Vegas. Martin Truex Jr., a two- over Tim Petrovic, three weeks after he beat Steve took up golf and turned professional at age 18. the par-4 second and fourth holes and held the 2-up Stricker in a playoff in the Regions Tradition in Ala- he had to do catch the leader, Busch time winner of the Coca-Cola 600, was Stricker had a one-shot lead going into the fi nal lead until Popov took the par-5 11th with a birdie. joked “I’m going to have to wreck him one of the favorites to win the race but round and many expected another duel to the fi nish. Popov won the British Women’s Open last year. - they’re too fast.” his hopes ended when his left front tire That duel vanished early, with Stricker’s usually re- In the semifi nals, Ewing beat Ariya Jutanugarn 3 In a year of parity in which 11 driv- went completely fl at with 60 laps re- liable putting failing him greatly. He missed seven and 2, and Popov edged Shanshan Feng 1 up. Feng ers won in the fi rst 14 races, Larson maining and his pit crew struggled to putts inside of 8 feet, and his ball-striking also was conceded the third-place match to Jutanugarn because became only the third driver with mul- remove the tire from the rim, ruining off, leading to a 77 that dropped into a tie for 11th. of the heat and fatigue. tiple wins this season. He also won at any chances of winning. Cejka fi nished at 8-under 272. Petrovic also closed In Farso, Denmark, Bernd Wiesberger successfully with a 67. defended his Made in HimmerLand title, closing with In Las Vegas, Nev., Ally Ewing won the LPGA a 7-under 64 for a fi ve-shot victory. Texas women win NCAA rowing champ’ship Match Play at Shadow Creek, beating Sophia Popov The 35-year-old Austrian golfer won the tourna- 2 and 1 for her second tour victory. ment in 2019 and it was canceled last year. He fi n- SARASOTA, , May 31, (AP): came in second at 6:18.891 and Wash- Ewing won the diffi cult par-4 14th with a 62-foot ished at 21 under at The Himmerland. The Texas women took fi rst with a ington was third at 6:21.715. Michigan, birdie putt to take a 2-up lead and closed out her Ger- Italy’s Guido Migliozzi was second after a 63. time of 6:17.387 in the varsity eights Rutgers and rounded out the man rival with a double-bogey halve on the par-3 In Glenview, Ill., Cameron Young led wire-to-wire grand fi nal, and the Longhorns won fi nishers in the fi nal heat. 17th in the fi nal event before the U.S. Women’s Open for the second straight week on the , their fi rst national title in the NCAA Due to inclement weather, the at Olympic in San Francisco. shooting a 4-under 67 for a fi ve-stroke victory in the rowing championship. Texas, Stanford awards ceremony was cancelled. Texas Alex Cejka hits out of the sand on the 16th green The 28-year-old former Mississippi State player Evans Scholars Invitational. The 24-year-old former and Washington fi nished in a three-way was the runner-up in 2019. Washing- in the fi nal round of the Senior PGA Champion- won her fi rst tour title in October in Florida at Reyn- Wake Forest player fi nished at 18-under 266 at The tie with 126 points in the overall stand- ton won the grand fi nal for the varsity ship golf tournament on May 30, in Tulsa, Okla. olds Lake Oconee, still playing under her maiden Glen Club. He won the AdventHealth Championship ings, with the tie broken by the varsity fours with a time of 7:02.12. Stanford (AP) name of McDonald. On Sunday, she won on her fi rst last week in Kansas City, Missouri. eights results. Stanford’s varsity eight fi nished second and Texas third.