Down six shots, Donald rallies for Target victory

Luke Donald has only one victory in four years on the PGA Tour, but he came up with a big one Sunday that counts only in his bank account – shooting an 8-under 64 to rally from six shots behind to beat Darren Clarke in the Target World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Donald matched the record for best closing round by a winner in the seven-year history of the event. Tournament host Tiger Woods in 2001 and Davis Love III in 2000 also shot 64 to win, although they came from only four shots behind.

Clarke fell apart down the stretch with a bogey on the par-5 16th. Needing a birdie on the 18th to force a playoff, he pulled his approach, and hit his 45-foot birdie putt so badly that he dropped his putter and put hands on hips a few moments after the ball left his blade.

Donald finished at 16-under 272 and won $1.3 million, the largest paycheck of his career.

Woods had either won or finished second since his tournament moved to Sherwood in 2000, but not this year. He struggled all week, bogeyed two of his last three holes and shot 73 to finish in a tie for 14th.

•Robert Allenby became the first golfer to win the Australian Open, PGA and Masters in the same season, beating American Bubba Watson on the first playoff hole at the Australian Masters in Melbourne. Allenby, 10-0 in playoffs in his pro career, closed with a 4-under 68 to match Watson (67) at 17-under 271 on the Huntingdale course.

•Ernie Els won the Dunhill Championship by three strokes in Nelspruit, South Africa, his second tournament since returning from a 4 1/2 -month injury layoff after surgery. Els shot 68 in the final round for a 274 total and finished ahead of defending champion Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, who each shot 70.

•Kevin Stadler won the Argentine Open in Buenos Aires, closing with a 2-over 72 for a two-stroke victory over Argentine star Angel Cabrera.

SKIING

DQ gives Walchhofer win

Didier Defago of Switzerland was disqualified from a World Cup super-combined race in Val D’Isere, France, for an equipment infringement, giving Michael Walchhofer the victory.

Rainer Schoenfelder of Austria moved into second place, while World Cup champion Bode Miller of the United States finished third to extend his lead at the top of the overall standings.

•Three-time Olympic champion Janica Kostelic skied a nearly flawless first run to open a big lead halfway through the first women’s World Cup slalom of the season in Aspen, Colo.

•Maria Riesch of Germany has returned to her homeland for surgery after tearing a ligament in her left knee in a crash during the World Cup giant slalom in Aspen. Team officials said it’s unlikely she’ll ski at the Turin Olympics.

MISCELLANY

Italian speedskaters win big

Enrico Fabris capped a successful weekend of speedskating for Italy by winning a 1,500-meter World Cup race in Turin, Italy, with Chad Hedrick of the United States finishing third.

Fabris won in 1 minute, 46.46 seconds, ahead of Denny Morrison of Canada and Hedrick, the world-record holder.

Fabris was part of the Italian team that won Saturday’s pursuit race at the new oval – which was tested for the first time this weekend – for February’s Winter Olympics in Turin.

“This weekend couldn’t have gone any better,” Fabris said. “I’m not used to racing in front of my home fans in this type of arena.”

Joji Kato of Japan won the 500 in 35.29 seconds, ahead of Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia. Jeremy Wotherspoon of Canada and Yu Fengtong of China tied for third.

In the women’s 1,000, Anni Friesinger of Germany won in 1:16.30, followed by Cindy Klassen of Canada and Jennifer Rodriguez of the United States.

Germany won the team pursuit in 3:04.22, followed by Canada and Japan.

•Martin Annen of Switzerland set the fastest times on both runs to defeat World Cup leader Alexandr Zoubkov of Russia in the four-man bobsled event in Igls, Austria.

•Japan’s Domu Narita won a World Cup snowboard halfpipe event in Whistler, B.C. In the women’s event, Japan’s Soki Yamaoka won.

•Jimmy Muindi of Kenya won the Honolulu Marathon for the fifth time, finishing in 2 hours, 12 minutes. Olesya Nurgalieva of Russia won the women’s race with 2:30:24.

•Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands claimed victory in the 6,500-meter race at the European Cross Country Championship in Tilburg, Netherlands. She finished in 19 minutes, 55 seconds. In the men’s race, Sergiy Lebid of Ukraine won in 29:07.

•Another 250,000 tickets for the 2006 World Cup in Germany will be available on the Internet through a lottery system starting today. Applications can be made on the Internet at www.FIFAworldcup.com through Jan. 15. The lottery will be held Jan. 31.

•Afleet Alex, winner of the Preakness and Belmont, will stand as a stallion at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Ky., in the heart of Bluegrass country.