In brief: Johnson beats the rain, field at Barclays

Golf: Dustin Johnson beat the rain and everyone else Saturday at The Barclays to win the opening FedEx Cup playoff event in Edison, N.J.

Johnson shot a 29 on the front nine of rain-softened Plainfield Country Club for the second straight day and closed with a 6-under-par 65 to pull away from mistake-prone Matt Kuchar for a two-shot victory.

The Barclays was reduced to 54 holes because of Hurricane Irene, and there was as much drama in the sky as on the course. Kuchar started the third and final round with a one-shot lead. If the round could not be completed because of too much rain, the tournament would have reverted to 36 holes and Kuchar would have been declared the winner.

The rain came down hard right after Johnson holed a bunker shot for eagle on the fourth hole. But it held off just long enough for Johnson to collect his first win of the year and fifth of his career. Johnson finished at 19-under 194.

• Calcavecchia eagles 18th, shares Boeing lead: Mark Calcavecchia eagled the par-5 18th hole for a 5-under 67 and a share of the second-round lead in the Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash.

Calcavecchia matched Kenny Perry (68), Jeff Sluman (70) and Russ Cochran (71) at 7 under at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.

• UCLA’s Cantlay to face Kraft in U.S. Amateur final: Patrick Cantlay’s impressive summer just keeps getting better.

The UCLA star will face Kelly Kraft for the U.S. Amateur championship after both players won their semifinal matches at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.

Cantlay, the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur, beat Jordan Russell 4 and 3. Kraft, of Denton, Texas, beat England’s Jack Senior 3 and 2 in the other semifinal.

• Wie ties for lead in Canadian Women’s Open: Defending champion Michelle Wie shot a 4-under 68 in the Canadian Women’s Open in Mirabel, Quebec, for a share of the third-round lead with Ai Miyazato and Tiffany Joh.

Wie is trying to become the first player to win the national championship two years in a row since Pat Bradley in 1985-86.

Joh had a 65, and Miyazato shot a 71 to match Wie at 12-under 204 at Hillsdale Golf Club.

• Steinhauer retires at Canadian Open: LPGA Tour veteran Sherri Steinhauer retired after missing the cut at the Canadian Women’s Open.

“It was in Canada that I captured my very first win on tour,” said Steinhauer of her victory at what was then a major tournament called the Du Maurier Classic in 1992 in Winnipeg.

Wozniacki wins New Haven tourney

Tennis: No one has beaten Caroline Wozniacki in New Haven, Conn., and Hurricane Irene couldn’t do it either.

The world’s top-ranked player stayed ahead of the storm and won her fourth consecutive New Haven title, defeating Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 6-1 in the finals.

Wozniacki, the top seed at next week’s U.S. Open, improved to 17-0 at Yale.

• Isner wins Winston-Salem over Benneteau: American John Isner won the Winston-Salem Open with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Julien Benneteau.

The native of nearby Greensboro, N.C., Isner overcame 34 unforced errors with 19 aces – the fastest was recorded at 139 mph – and won his second tournament of the year. He also won at Newport, R.I., in early July.

Povetkin beats Chagaev for title

Boxing: Alexander Povetkin of Russia beat Ruslan Chagaev in Erfurt, Germany, by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBA heavyweight title.

The title was Wladimir Klitschko’s following the Ukrainian’s victory over David Haye by unanimous decision in Hamburg last month, but was declared vacant when the WBA elevated Klitschko to “super champion” status.

Povetkin won on the judges’ cards 116-112, 117-113, 117-113.

Viviani wins stage; Leipheimer still leads

Cycling: Elia Viviani of Italy claimed his second straight sprint stage while American Levi Leipheimer retained his overall lead after the fifth stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Breckenridge, Colo.

Leipheimer (RadioShack), the Montana native who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., retained an 11-second margin over Christian Vande Velde (HTC-Highroad) of Lemont, Ill.

• Rodriguez wins stage, takes Vuelta lead: Spanish rider Joaquin Rodriguez took over the Spanish Vuelta leader’s jersey from Sylvain Chavanel after winning the eighth stage in San Lorenzo De El Escorial, Spain.

The Katusha team rider broke away from the pack on a brutal 20-degree final climb to finish the 110-mile course from Talavera de la Reina to San Lorenzo de El Escorial in 4 hours, 49 minutes, 1 second.

Harris saves Flash in WPS title match

Soccer: Ashlynn Harris made a diving save on the final penalty kick as the expansion Western New York Flash defeated the Philadelphia Independence 5-4 on penalty kicks to win the WPS Championship game at Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester, N.Y.

Both teams combined to score on the first nine penalty kicks, putting the pressure on Philadelphia’s Laura del Rio to keep the game tied.

Harris dove to her left and made a save with both hands to clinch the win for the Flash.