SILVIS, Ill. — Steve Stricker‘s third straight victory in the John Deere Classic certainly was the most challenging — and by far the most dramatic.
With nine holes to play, Stricker led by five strokes. With two holes left, he was two shots down. Twice, Stricker buried shots deep in bunkers, one so far under the sand he had a hard time finding the ball. At a third bunker, he had to take an awkward stance just to give himself a chance to swing.
But he won nevertheless, sinking a 25-foot putt from off the 18th green Sunday to beat rookie Kyle Stanley by one stroke. Stricker’s clutch putt gave him a 2-under-par 69, making him the 10th golfer since World War II to win a tournament three straight times.
Matt McQuillan, who had missed the cut in his previous 10 tournaments, shot a 64 to tie Zach Johnson (65) for third at 17-under. Charles Howell III (64) and Chez Reavie (72) were another stroke back.
• Luke Donald enjoyed the perfect warm-up for next week’s British Open with a flawless 9-under 63 to win the rain-shortened Scottish Open in Inverness by four strokes, his first victory since becoming the world’s top-ranked player in May.
The 33-year-old Englishman started the third and final round a shot behind a trio of leaders but rolled in nine birdies in a bogey-free round.
• Jeff Sluman shot a 2-under 70, overcame two bogeys on the back nine and held on to win the First Tee Open in Pebble Beach, Calif., for the third time.
Franchitti pads IndyCar advantage
TORONTO — Dario Franchitti survived a crash-filled race to win his third title at the Honda Indy Toronto and extend his lead in the IndyCar standings.
The Scot held off Graham Rahal on a late restart and then beat teammate Scott Dixon on a 1.75-mile temporary street course. Ryan Hunter-Reay was third, Marco Andretti fourth and Vitor Meira a season-high fifth.
• Mike Neff raced to his fourth funny car victory of the season at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill. Del Worsham (top fuel), Greg Anderson (pro stock) and LE Tonglet (pro stock motorcycle) also won.
• Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso won his first race of the Formula One season at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, England, while Sebastian Vettel increased his overall lead in the championship by finishing second.
Spain eliminates U.S. from Davis Cup contention
AUSTIN, Texas — Spain’s David Ferrer beat American Mardy Fish 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-6 (5) to clinch a victory for Spain over the United States in a Davis Cup quarterfinal.
The win gave Spain an insurmountable 3-1 lead, and Andy Roddick‘s meaningless match against Feliciano Lopez was canceled. The win, its first on U.S. soil, sends Spain to the semifinals, where it will host France on Sept. 16-18. Spain is seeking its third Davis Cup championship in four years.
• Defending champion Serbia beat Sweden to set up a meeting with Argentina, which beat Kazakhstan.
• Top-seeded John Isner has become the first No. 1 seed to win the title in the 35-year history of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, beating sixth-seeded Olivier Rochus 6-3, 7-6 (6) in Newport, R.I.
Footnotes.
Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested in Cincinnati on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in a downtown Cincinnati bar.
• Fredy Montero scored two goals and Osvaldo Alonso added the game-winner on a penalty kick to give the Seattle Sounders FC a 3-2 MLS victory over the Portland Timbers.
• Trainer Todd Pletcher said Uncle Mo could return to racing in August at Saratoga after being knocked off the Triple Crown trail by an inflamed liver.
The Associated Press
