Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — GOLF

Baddeley wins at Riviera

Aaron Baddeley won the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles on Sunday for his first PGATour victory in four years. Baddeley, 29, held off Vijay Singh and 51-yearold Fred Couples, who was trying to become the oldest P GA Tour winner in more than 35 years. Baddeley finished with a 2-under-par 69 for atwo-shot victory over Singh. Couples birdied the opening three holes for a one-shot lead, but he double bogeyed the seventh hole in a threeshot swing as Baddeley birdied. It was the third career PGA Tour victory for Baddeley, who had fallen to No. 224 in the world. The victory also qualified him for the Masters. Singh, who only three weeks ago had fallen out of the top 100 in the world for the first time in more than 21 years, had his highest finish since he won the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2008. Despite consecutive bogeys on the back nine, Singh finished with a 69. Couples bogeyed two of the last three holes for a 73 and wound up in a tie for seventh. Baddeley, who finished at 12-underpar 272, won for the first time since the 2007 Phoenix Open. Baddeley rolled in a 20-foot, bending birdie putt from the fringe on the 13th to restore his lead, and no one could catch him the rest of the way.

Top-ranked Yani Tseng earned her third tournament victory in three weeks Sunday, shooting a 6-under-par 66 to pull away for a fiveshot victory over Michelle Wie in the LPGA Thailand. Tseng led by one stroke over Wie and I.K. Kim going into the final round of the season-opening LPGA event and had the lowest score of the day with seven birdies and one bogey to finish at 15-under-par 273. Wie settled for a 70 to finish second in the season-opening LPGA event, while Kim had a 71 and was another stroke back in a tie for thirdwith Karrie Webb, who shot a 69. Paula Creamer was fifth at 8-under-par after a 71. Tseng took over the world No. 1 ranking after winning consecutive Ladies European Tour events, the Australian Open and then the Australian Ladies Masters last weekend. Kim birdied three of her first six holes, but made a quintuple bogey on the 17th to fall out of contention. She finished with a birdie to secure a tie for third. Wie chipped in for birdie on the first hole and picking up two more shots on the sixth and seventh but didn’t make another birdie. Tseng will go for a fourth consecutive victory next week in Singapore. Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 77 and finished with a one-over-par 289 while Stacy Prammanasudh (Conway) had a final-round 75 and finished with a two-over-par 290.

Bernhard Langer shot a 6-under-par 66 Sunday to set a tournament record with a 20-under-par 196 total to win the Champions Tour ACE Group Classic in Naples, Fla., by four shots. Langer, 53, held a four-stroke lead going into the final round. Fred Funk got within two after Langer bogeyed No. 11, but Langer came back with two birdies and finished with a birdie on No. 18. Funk finished second. Nick Price shot 66 and Russ Cochran shot 67 to tie for third. It marked the 10th time in 11 tournaments Langer has won when he either held or shared the lead after two rounds.

FOOTBALL

Brain donated for research

The family of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson has agreed to donate his brain for research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition linked to athletes who have sustained repeated concussions. Duerson died Thursday of an alleged selfinflicted gunshot in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. Duerson was a thirdround draft pick by the Bears in 1983 out of Notre Dame and played 11 seasons in the NFL. He won Super Bowls with the 1985 Bears and 1990 Giants and played in four Pro Bowls. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is associated with cognitive and behavioral problems later in life and eventually causes dementia.

The NFL and its players’ union met before a federal mediator for the third consecutive day Sunday in Washington, trying to find common ground for a new labor deal before the current one expires. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith declined to comment on the talks. George Cohen, the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, has been mediating the talks. He walked in with Bob Batterman, an outside lawyer for the NFL who was working for the NHL when it lost its entire 2004-05 season to a lockout.Current players Tony Richardson of the New York Jets and Charlie Batch of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and former player Pete Kendall were among those representing the union Sunday. The current collective bargaining agreement runs out at the end of the day March 3. HORSE RACING

Jockey improving after injury

A spokesman says racing jockey Eibar Coa’s condition is improving after undergoing surgery for a neck injury he suffered in a fall from his horse Friday at Gullfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Coa’s agent, Tito Fuentes, said in a press release Sunday that the jockey has some movement in his arms and shoulders after Saturday’s surgery. Coa, who fractured his C-4 vertebrae, has feeling throughout his body but cannot move his legs. Coa is scheduled to have surgery again either today or Tuesday at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. Coa moved to the U.S. in 1993 and reached his 4,000th racing victory last year. He was injured ina spill after a race Friday that left another jockey, Paco Lopez, with an injured elbow.

The Factor earned a gate-towire victory in the $150,000 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. on Sunday. WithBob Baffert favorite Martin Garcia in the saddle replacing Rafael Bejarano, The Factor went straight to the front of the field of six 3-year-olds and never looked back, beating Sway Away by three-quarters of a length and covering seven furlongs in 1 minute, 20.34 seconds.

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge series is expanding to Japan. The winner of the Takarazuka Kinen stakes race will earn an automatic starting position in the $3 million Turf race during the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs in November. The Breeders’ Cup will pay the $90,000 entry fee and a $20,000 travel allowance to the winner of the Japanese race.

TENNIS

Wozniacki wins Dubai final

Caroline Wozniacki earned her first singles title of 2011, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-1, 6-3 in the Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Championships final Sunday. Wozniacki will retake the No. 1 world ranking from Kim Clijsters today. Wozniacki, who didn’t drop a set during the week on her way to winning her 13th career title, showed off a more aggressive style that included repeated forays to the net in the first set that helped her race to a 2-0 lead. She closed out the set by winning the final four games as Kuznetsova was hurt by missed volleys and erratic shots sent long and wide. Kuznetsova, who came back from a set down to beat French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and Tsvetana Pronkova on her way to the final, will move up to No. 11 in the world.

Andy Roddick earned his 30th career victory in his 50th career final Sunday in Memphis. A diving forehand helped Roddick finish off Milos Raonic 7-6 (7), 6-7 (11), 7-5 in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in a match that took 2 hours, 36 minutes. The topseeded Roddick became the eighth American with at least 30 titles, only three behind the late Arthur Ashe. He also has at least one title in 11 consecutive years, something only Roger Federer has done among active players.