Blixt improves position with Greenbrier win
Golf: Jonas Blixt shot a 3-under 67 Sunday in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., to win the rain-delayed Greenbrier Classic by two strokes.
Blixt emerged from a five-player chase over the final five holes to pick up the $1.1 million winner’s check. He also shot from 139th to 39th in the FedEx Cup points standings.
One of the perks for his win is a spot in next year’s Masters.
Blixt also will move to around No. 50 in the next world ranking, which is used as the alternate list to fill the field for this month’s British Open. That would make him the top alternate in a year that about eight players from the list will get into the Open at Muirfield.
The Swede overcame a four-shot deficit at the start of the final round and finished at 13-under 267. Third-round leader Johnson Wagner (73), Australians Steven Bowditch (68) and Matt Jones (68), and Jimmy Walker (71) tied for second at 11 under.
• McDowell earns French Open title: Graeme McDowell won the French Open in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, shooting a 4-under 67 in the final round to capture his ninth European Tour title by four strokes.
McDowell had five birdies and a bogey to finish the tournament at 9-under 275.
Richard Sterne of South Africa (71) was second. He made three birdies on the front nine before faltering on the back nine with three bogeys.
Graeme Storm of England and Eduardo De La Riva of Spain shot 69s to share third place, five strokes off the pace.
Martinique edges Canada in Gold Cup
Soccer: Fabrice Reuperne scored with less than a minute remaining in stoppage time to lift Martinique to a 1-0 victory over Canada in the opening round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Martinique controlled most of the match, but grew frustrated at its inability to put the ball in the net. A scramble in front of the net ended the frustration.
The ball squirted out of the penalty area toward midfield, and Reuperne got a running start on his shot, which came in the 92nd minute.
• Panama tops Mexico: Gabriel Torres scored twice to lead Panama to a 2-1 victory over Mexico in the first round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the Rose Bowl.
Torres gave Panama a 1-0 lead with a penalty kick in the seventh minute, but his second goal in the 48th minute broke a 1-1 tie and stunned a pro-Mexico crowd of 56,822.
Marco Fabian scored for Mexico two minutes into stoppage time of the first half.
American Abbot seals win at Giro Rosa
Cycling: American Mara Abbott won the Giro Rosa in Cremona, Italy, wrapping up the overall victory in one of the most prestigious races for women after losing minimal time in the final time trial.
Abbott took the overall lead with a victory in Thursday’s fifth stage, and the USA Cycling National Development Program rider added to her advantage by winning the sixth stage Friday.
Abbott finished well behind Dutch winner Ellen van Dijk in the time trial, but the rider from Boulder, Colo., lost minimal time to her overall competitors. Italy’s Tatiana Guderzo finished 1 minute, 33 seconds back in second place and Germany’s Claudia Hausler was 2:18 back in third.
American Evelyn Stevens, who was second in Sunday’s time trial, finished fifth overall in the women’s version of the Giro d’Italia.
Sabres deal Boychuk to Devils for Tallinder
Hockey: The Buffalo Sabres have reacquired defenseman Henrik Tallinder from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Riley Boychuk.
Tallinder spent the last three years with the Devils after spending parts of eight seasons with the Sabres. He entered the NHL as a second-round pick of the Sabres in 1997.
• Ducks extend Beleskey: The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Matt Beleskey to a two-year contract extension through 2014-15.
He was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL entry draft by the Ducks, and has 26 goals, 30 assists and 199 penalty minutes in 209 career games with them.
Micromanage races to win at Monmouth
Horse Racing: In Oceanport, N.J., Micromanage overtook Forever Thing in the stretch and drew off to win by 4 1/2 lengths in the $100,000 Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Earlier on the card, Immortal Eyes coasted to an easy win in the $75,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes, beating Mass Destruction by 7 1/4 lengths.
• Effie Trinket rallies at Diamondrella Stakes: Effie Trinket and jockey Rosie Napravnik rallied to beat Bella Castani, the even-money favorite, by 1 1/4 lengths in the $100,000 Diamondrella Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the turf at Belmont Park in New York.
It was the second straight victory and fourth in seven starts for Effie Trinket, who is trained by Rick Violette.
Huskies fall short in Grand Challenge Cup
Miscellany: The University of Washington lost by 1 length in the final of the Grand Challenge Cup for international eights at the Henley (England) Royal Regatta on the River Thames.
The Great Britain national squad, racing as Leander and Molesey clubs, won in a record time which at 5 minutes, 54 seconds was three seconds faster than the previous mark.
The Grand Challenge Cup is the senior event of the whole regatta, and the British crew included three Olympic gold medalists from 2012, while the Washington crew had gone through the season undefeated till this point.
The British crew took an early lead which it stretched to almost 2 lengths by halfway. Washington then charged and closed to within 1 length.
The only American win of the day was already guaranteed, with Harvard “A” facing Harvard “B” in the final of the Visitors’ Cup for student and club coxless fours.
Harvard “A” won by 3 lengths.
• Tucker changes mind on Lady Vols: Tennessee women’s basketball recruit Jannah Tucker, who signed with the school in November, won’t be joining the Lady Vols.
Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said in a university release Saturday night that Tucker, the 6-foot guard from Randallstown, Md., has chosen not to enroll at the school “due to personal reasons.”
Tucker was rated as the No. 8 overall prospect in the 2013 class by ESPN’s HoopGurlz recruiting service.
The loss of Tucker leaves Tennessee’s current 2013-14 roster with 10 players.