CONOVER, N.C. — Castle Rock resident Gary Hallberg shot a record- setting 11-under-par 61 on Sunday to win the Ensure Classic by one stroke over Fred Couples.
Hallberg finished at 18-under 198, tying the event record at the Rock Barn Golf and Spa and winning his first career Champions Tour title. Hallberg bettered the final-round record of 62, set by Bob Tway earlier in the day.
“You never think you’re going to win,” said Hallberg, who became the seventh first-time winner on the 50-and-over tour this season. “You look at the players — guys like Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer — who are champions, and you think ‘Even if I play my best, how am I going to beat those guys?’
“You’ve got to believe, you’ve got to have confidence. I’ve never been the most confident golfer in my career . . . but I’m starting to believe in what I’m doing out there. I knew I could win, because I’ve done it before … but I didn’t know if I could do it here. I’m still stunned by it all.”
Couples, who led the tournament after Saturday’s second round, had a chance to force a playoff, but he missed an 8-foot putt for birdie on No. 18. He shot 67 and finished the three-day tournament at 199.
• Bill Haas overcame five bogeys in the final round to win the Viking Classic in Madison, Miss.
Haas, who never trailed in the tournament, bogeyed the first hole, and had four bogeys on the back nine, including one on the par-5 18th. He also scattered five birdies to finish at 15-under 273 for his second victory of the year.
Michael Allen had a 71 and finished second. D.J. Trahan (69) and Brendon de Jonge (72) tied for third at 277.
McCoughtry leads U.S. women
KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic — The U.S. won the women’s basketball world championship, getting 18 points from Angel McCoughtry in an 89-69 win over the Czech Republic.
Diana Taurasi added 16 and Sue Bird had 11 points for the Americans, who now have won the world championship eight times.
Swin Cash and Taurasi became the fifth and sixth players to win an NCAA, WNBA, Olympic, and world championship. They joined Bird, Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Kara Wolters.
Boozer may miss two months
CHICAGO — Bulls forward Carlos Boozer, one of Chicago’s top offseason acquisitions, broke his right hand and could be out for two months after a fall at his home Saturday.
• Center Joakim Noah, coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds, and the Bulls agreed on a five-year contract extension.
Footnotes.
David Beckham and Edson Buddle scored in the first half to give the Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-1 MLS victory over visiting Chivas USA.
• Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 at the Thailand Open in Nonthaburi for the second title of his career.
• Mikhail Youzhny won his second title of the season with a 6-7 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Andrey Golubev in the Malaysian Open final in Kuala Lumpur.
The Associated Press
