MELBOURNE, Australia — Jessica Korda broke out her father’s trademark scissor-kick celebration Sunday when she won the Women’s Australian Open for her first LPGA Tour title.
She decided against the cartwheels that her father, Petr, did when he won the 1998 Australian Open tennis title. Maybe she was still dizzy after a topsy-turvy final day of the tournament.
After losing the lead with a late bogey run, the 18-year-old American fought back to take the last spot in an improbable six-player playoff, then won with a 25-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole.
Korda closed with a 1-over 74 to finish with 3-under-par total of 289 in the first women’s professional event at Royal Melbourne, the difficult layout that was the site of the 2011 Presidents Cup.
Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Julieta Granada, So Yeon Ryu and Hee Kyung Seo also were in the playoff that matched the largest in LPGA Tour history.
Projected to jump from 285th to 30th in the world ranking, Korda became the sixth-youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and the fourth-youngest to win a 72-hole event.
• Rafael Cabrera-Bello held off a strong field to capture the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates, shooting a 4-under 68 to beat Lee Westwood (70) and Stephen Gallacher (69) by a stroke for his second European Tour victory.
Westwood and Gallacher could have forced a playoff, but both players missed birdie putts on the 18th. That brought a groan from the packed gallery, but a broad smile from the No. 119-ranked Spaniard who finished with an 18-under total of 270.
• Corey Pavin made a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to defeat Peter Senior and win the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Fla., for his first Champions Tour title.
Both players shot a final-round 71 to finish tied at 11-under 205. Senior forced the playoff with a birdie on the last hole of regulation, but his birdie try in the playoff stopped an inch short of the cup.
U.S. sweeps Swiss
FRIBOURG, Switzerland — The United States completed its 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning the closing singles matches.
Harrison made his Davis Cup debut, defeating Michael Lammer 7-6 (0), 7-6 (4) to extend the Americans’ lead to 4-0. Isner, who stunned Roger Federer in four sets Friday, then beat Marco Chuidinelli 6-3, 6-4 to give the U.S. its first sweep since a 2004 first-round series against Austria.
• Angelique Kerber won her first WTA title by overpowering second-seeded Marion Bartoli 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3 in the Open GDF Suez final in Paris.
• Daniela Hantuchova won her second straight Pattaya Open title in Thailand, defeating Maria Kirilenko 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3.
Austrians 1-2 in snowboardcross event
PARK CITY, Utah — Austria’s Markus Schairer and teammate Alexander Haemmerle finished 1-2 in the U.S. Grand Prix snowboardcross championship, and Canada’s Dominque Maltais edged American Faye Gulini for the women’s title.
• Olympic champion Tatjana Huefner of Germany won the luge title for the fourth time at the world championships in Altenberg, Germany, and Germany took the gold in the team relay. The U.S. women were sixth in the relay.
• Norway’s Mikko Kokslien narrowly beat Japan’s Akito Watabe in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to win his second nordic combined World Cup event in two days.
• Anders Bardal of Norway won a World Cup ski jump in Willingen, Germany, to take the lead in the overall standings.
Force adds to funny car total
POMONA, Calif. — John Force raced to his 134th career funny car victory at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals.
The 62-year-old Force used a holeshot start to claim his sixth win at this event and 15th at Auto Club Raceway with a performance of 4.080 seconds at 315.84 mph.
Spencer Massey (top fuel) and Greg Anderson (pro stock) also were winners of the season-opening NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Footnotes
Connecticut hired Warde Manuel, who had been the athletic director at the University at Buffalo for six years, as its new AD.
• Zambia won the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Libreville, Gabon, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties. The Associated Press
