Off the wire

GOLF

Leishman takes Classic

Marc Leishman won the CIMB Classic at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by five strokes Sunday, closing with a 7-under 65 to match Justin Thomas' 2015 tournament record of 26-under 262. Leishman won for the fourth time on the PGA Tour. The Australian had four consecutive birdies on Nos. 2-5 and finished with eight birdies and a bogey on TPC Kuala Lumpur's West Course. Bronson Burgoon had a 68 to tie for second with Emiliano Grillo (66) and Chesson Hadley (66). Thomas closed with a 64 to tie for fifth with Gary Woodland (71), Abraham Ancer (65), Charles Howell (67) and Louis Oosthuizen (69) at 20 under. The PGA Tour will remain in Asia the next two weeks for the CJ Cup in South Korea and the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

Langer wins by 6

Bernhard Langer ran away with the SAS Championship at Cary, N.C., on Sunday to take the points lead into the PGA Tour Champions' Charles Schwab Cup playoffs. Langer shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 for a six-stroke victory in the regular-season finale. Langer finished at 22-under 194 for his second victory at Prestonwood Country Club, the tree-lined layout softened by heavy rain Thursday from Hurricane Michael. Scott Parel was second, closing with a double bogey for a 65. Jerry Kelly had a 68 to finish third at 15 under, and Tom Lehman followed at 13 under after a 71. Gene Sauers, tied with Langer for the second-round lead, shot a 75 to tie for fifth with Miguel Angel Jimenez (68) at 12 under. The top 72 players in the Schwab Cup standings qualified for the playoffs, the three-event series that begins next week with the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Richmond, Va.

Pepperell holds off Bjork

Eddie Pepperell won the British Masters at cold and stormy Walton Heath, England, to likely secure a spot next year in the Masters at Augusta National. The Englishman shot an even-par 72 Sunday to hold off playing partner Alexander Bjork of Sweden by two shots. Pepperell finished at 9-under 279 for his second European Tour title. Pepperell will move into the top 35 in the world ranking, with the top 50 at the end of the year getting spots at Augusta. He won the Qatar Masters in February. Bjork bogeyed the last hole for a 71. Herbert Lucas (69) and Jordan Smith (73) were tied for third, another two shots behind Bjork. English pair Sam Horsfield (69) and Tom Lewis (70) along with American Julian Suri (74) tied for fifth, one shot in front of tournament host Justin Rose (70).

Chun wins in Incheon

In Gee Chun won the KEB Hana Bank Championship on Sunday at Incheon, South Korea, closing with a 5-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Charley Hull. Chun won for the third time on the LPGA Tour, finishing at 16-under 272 on Sky 72's Ocean Course. The South Korean star's previous victories came in majors at the 2015 U.S. Women's Open and 2016 The Evian. Hull, from England, closed with a 71. Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park had a 69 to tie for third with Ariya Jutanugarn (71), Minjee Lee (70) and Danielle Kang (72) at 12 under.

TENNIS

Djokovic wins Shanghai

Novak Djokovic won a record fourth Shanghai Masters title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 13th-seeded Borna Coric on Sunday. The second-seeded Djokovic has won all four Shanghai finals he's contested in his career (2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018). He previously shared the record of winning three Shanghai titles with Andy Murray. Djokovic holds an 11-0 overall record in finals played in China, where he also won the Beijing tournament six times and the 2008 year-end Tennis Masters Cup held in Shanghai. The Serb offered 13th-seeded Coric one break point in the match, in the sixth game of the second set. Coric, who has yet to win a set against Djokovic in three matches played, sailed a forehand wide to miss out on the rare opportunity. Djokovic, who has now won four titles this season, will move up one ranking spot to No. 2, pushing Roger Federer back to No. 3.

Garcia takes 1st of year

Second-seeded Caroline Garcia won her first tournament of the year with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 victory over top-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the Tianjin Open on Sunday. It was the 16th-ranked Garcia's first title since she won back-to-back trophies at the Wuhan and Beijing tournaments in Asia just over a year ago. Garcia was down 1-5 in the first set tiebreaker before she rebounded. She saved a set point for Pliskova at 5-6 to go on to win the hour-long first set. In the second set, Garcia raced to a 5-0 lead, and first served for the match at 5-1, but had to wait for her victory to come three games later. She secured the title with her sixth ace of the match.

SOCCER

U.S. women advance

Tobin Heath and Alex Morgan each scored twice in the first half and United States earned a spot in the World Cup next summer in France with a 6-0 victory over Jamaica on Sunday in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Frisco, Texas. Heath's first goal came in the first two minutes of the match and she added a second in the 29th. Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz and Morgan also had first-half goals as the United States built a 5-0 lead. Morgan's second goal was a penalty kick in the 84th minute. Top-ranked United States is the defending champion of the sport's premier event, having won the final in the 2015 World Cup against Japan. It was the team's third World Cup title. Canada, ranked No. 5 in the world, also clinched a spot in France with a 7-0 victory over Panama in the earlier game Sunday at Toyota Stadium.

OLYMPICS

Basketball official dies

Patrick Baumann, secretary general of basketball's world governing body who was seen as a potential IOC president, has died at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. He was 51. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) said Baumann "unexpectedly succumbed to a heart attack" and that "basketball has lost a leader, an advocate and a friend." Baumann was FIBA's top administrator for 15 years, and an International Olympic Committee member since 2007. A lawyer from Switzerland, Baumann took an increasingly important role in Olympic circles. He led an IOC panel overseeing the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, was appointed to the World Anti-Doping Agency executive board, and was elected president of the global group of sports federations, known as GAISF. At meetings last week on the sidelines of the Youth Olympics, Baumann updated IOC members on the Los Angeles Games and the 2020 Lausanne Youth Olympics. He was president of its organizing committee. Baumann was key to developing the 3-on-3 urban version of basketball and pushing for its inclusion as an Olympic medal event. FIBA said Baumann is survived by his wife and two children.

photo

AP

Marc Leishman

Sports on 10/15/2018

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