GOLF

ELS WINS SIXTH MATCH PLAY TITLE

On his 35th birthday, Ernie Els received a familiar present – a World Match Play title. Els won the tournament for a record sixth time, beating Lee Westwood 2 and 1 Sunday to capture golf’s biggest payday – $1.8 million.

The South African sealed his victory with a 20-foot birdie putt at the 17th hole. This was the third straight time he won the event, matching his three titles from 1994-96. It was his first victory over Westwood in three matches in the championship.

Westwood, the 2000 champion who won $720,000 as runner-up, looked set to take the match. The Englishman was on the green at the par-5 571-yard 17th in two with Els short and in heavy rough. Els chipped on 20 feet short while Westwood got down in two putts for his birdie. He then watched as Els, reading his putt perfectly, curled it slightly left to right into the hole.

Els’s sixth title broke the record he had shared with Gary Player, who won five times between 1965 and 1973, and Seve Ballesteros, whose successes came from 1981 to 1991.

GEIBERGER WINS FIRST TROPHY IN FIVE YEARS

Five years after his only career victory, Brent Geiberger is a winner again. Geiberger finished with a final-round 66 yesterday and cruised to a two-shot victory in the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. He and his father, Al, are the first father-son duo to win the same tournament on the PGA Tour. Al Geiberger won in 1976.

SORENSTAM RALLIES TO WIN SAMSUNG

Three shots behind Grace Park with five holes to go, six-time LPGA player of the year Annika Sorenstam rallied with an eagle, birdie, and three pars to win her fourth Samsung World Championship by three shots over Park yesterday.

Sorenstam chipped in for an eagle on no. 15 to draw even with Park, then tucked her approach shot within 6 feet of the pin on no. 17, and made that birdie putt to take sole possession of the lead for the first time in the tournament.

It was her 17th come-from-behind victory in 54 career LPGA wins. She has 66 titles overall, and has won six of 15 LPGA events this year and two foreign tournaments.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

USC KEEPS LEAD, AUBURN SLIPS PAST MIAMI IN POLLS

On the eve of the season’s first Bowl Championship Series standings, no. 1 USC increased its lead on no. 2 Oklahoma in The Associated Press Top 25 yesterday.

Last week, the gap between the Trojans and Sooners had closed to 19 points after USC edged Cal and Oklahoma shut out Texas. But on Saturday the Trojans played their best game, beating previously unbeaten Arizona State 45-7.

Auburn received the remaining two first-place votes and slipped by no. 4 Miami after the Hurricanes had to rally for a 41-38 victory over Louisville last Thursday. The Tigers were 30 points ahead of Miami.

Florida State is no. 5, and Wisconsin is sixth after winning a battle of unbeatens at Purdue. California, Texas, unbeaten Utah, and Georgia round out the Top 10.

BASKETBALL

HILL LOOKS GOOD FOR MAGIC

Grant Hill had 20 points and six rebounds, and the Orlando Magic snapped a three-game preseason losing streak with a 114-93 win over the Dallas Mavericks last night.

Hill, who missed all of last season with an injured ankle and hit only three of 13 shots from the field in his first two appearances of the preseason, shot 6-for-9 against the Mavericks and made all eight free-throw attempts.

Off-season acquisitions Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis excelled in Orlando’s up-tempo attack. Mobley scored 22 points, while Francis had 15 points and 13 assists.

Dwight Howard, the top pick in the NBA draft, had 10 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes for Orlando. Michael Finley led the Mavericks with 24 points.

KINGS TOP ROCKETS IN SECOND GAME IN CHINA

The crowd chanted Yao Ming’s name all game, soaking up the novelty of the NBA in another tribute to a player who is fast becoming a one-man basketball marketing force in China.

Yao scored 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds in 27 minutes in the Houston Rockets’ 91-89 loss to Sacramento yesterday. Bobby Jackson made a fall-away jumper from the right corner with 6.7 seconds left to win it.

This was the second and final game of the NBA’s exhibition tour of China. Yao led Houston over the Kings on Thursday in his hometown of Shanghai, and he received another enthusiastic welcome in Beijing from the crowd of 17,903.

IVERSON TOSSED IN EXHIBITION WITH RAPTORS

Allen Iverson had 10 points before being ejected for yelling at an official from the bench in Philadelphia’s 108-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors yesterday.

Iverson yelled at Courtney Kirkland to blow his whistle after the official failed to call a foul on Toronto in the second quarter. Kirkland gave Iverson a technical and then tossed him from the game after the guard repeated his demand.

Willie Green had a team-high 16 points for the 76ers, who are 3-0 in the preseason.

T-WOLVES TOP PISTONS

Michael Olowokandi had 10 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 76-70 victory over the Detroit Pistons in a preseason game yesterday. Detroit was missing two starters – Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace – while Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell sat out the game for Minnesota.

Wally Szczerbiak led Minnesota with 14 points while Blake Stepp added 11. Smush Parker paced the Pistons with 13 and rookie Carlos Delfino added 12.The Pistons led 36-32 after a sloppy first half. The teams combined for 30 turnovers in the first two quarters and made just 25 field goals.

TENNIS

RUSSIANS SWEEP KREMLIN CUP

Anastasia Myskina and Nikolay Davydenko won singles championships at the Kremlin Cup yesterday, then teamed with compatriots to capture the women’s and men’s doubles finals for a Russian sweep of all four titles.

Myskina won this event for the second straight year, running off 10 straight games to defeat Elena Dementieva 7-5, 6-0 in the tournament’s first all-Russian final. Nikolay Davydenko saved three match points in rallying past Britain’s Greg Rusedski 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 for his second title this year.

Myskina and Vera Zvonareva defeated top-seeded Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain and Paola Suarez of Argentina 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in doubles. Among the men, Davydenko and Igor Andreev downed top-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi of India and Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

FEDERER, RODDICK, HEWITT OUT OF MADRID

Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, and Lleyton Hewitt – the world’s top three ranked players – pulled out of next week’s Madrid Masters in another wave of withdrawals from the hard-court tournament. Federer, ranked no.1 and winner of three Grand Slam events this year, cited personal reasons and fatigue, organizers said. Roddick, no. 2, cited tendinitis in his left knee and Hewitt personal reasons. The top-seeded player is now Tim Henman.

– Associated Press