GOLF

SCOTT OUTDUELS APPLEBY TO WIN HOUSTON OPEN

Adam Scott held off defending champion Stuart Appleby in the Houston Open yesterday, saving par with a 50-foot putt on the 72nd hole after hitting his tee shot into the water.

Scott shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 17 under, three strokes ahead of Appleby and third-round leader Bubba Watson.

Playing together, Scott led Appleby by one stroke as they stood on the 18th tee, but Scott pulled his tee shot into the pond that lines the left side of the 488-yard hole, the course’s most difficult.

Appleby drove into the fairway bunker, then immediately gave Scott a reprieve by hitting his approach into the water near the green.

PRESSEL BECOMES YOUNGEST LPGA MAJOR CHAMP

Morgan Pressel became the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history yesterday with a game well beyond her 18 years, closing with a 3-under 69 at the raft Nabisco Championship as everyone around her self-destructed.

Pressel played her final 25 holes over Mission Hills without a bogey, finishing the round with a 10-foot birdie putt that looked as though it would be only good enough for second place.

Then came a shocking collapse from Suzann Pettersen, the latest and most significant on a sunbaked afternoon in the desert.

BASKETBALL

SUNS BEAT MAVERICKS IN ROUT

The Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks again, and this one was no down-to-the-wire thriller between the teams with the best records in the NBA.

Leandro Barbosa scored 29 points and the Suns beat the Mavericks for the second time in 18 days, 126-104 yesterday.

Amare Stoudemire added 24 points and Steve Nash had 23 and 11 assists as the Suns snapped Dallas’ nine-game winning streak and finished their season series with the Mavs 2-2. After a scoreless first quarter, Shawn Marion had 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting. He also frustrated Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki all afternoon.

WIZARDS’ BUTLER FRACTURES HAND

Gilbert Arenas scored 19 points and Caron Butler added 19 points before fracturing his right hand early in the second half of the Washington Wizards’ 121-107 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday.

Darius Songaila came in for Butler with 6:28 left in the third. There was no immediate word on how long Butler will be out.

BASEBALL

CARNEAL, HALL OF FAME RADIO VOICE FOR TWINS, DIES AT 83

Herb Carneal, a Hall of Famer who broadcast Minnesota Twins games the past 45 seasons in a fluid and soothing baritone, died yesterday. He was 83.

He died of congestive heart failure, the Twins said.

Carneal was part of the club’s radio play-by-play team for all but the first year of the team’s existence in Minnesota. He called Athletics and Phillies games in Philadelphia and Orioles games in Baltimore before coming to Minnesota in 1962 — a year after the Washington Senators became the Twins.

YANKEES PUT WANG, KARSTENS ON DISABLED LIST

The Yankees put pitchers Chien-Ming Wang and Jeff Karstens on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, setting their roster for opening day.

The Yankees also released lefthander Ron Villone and catcher Ben Davis, and optioned righthander Colter Bean and right-hander Chris Britton to Triple-A Scranton.

New York opens the season with a major league-high $193.69 million payroll after adjustments for cash transactions in the trades involving Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Javier Vazquez and Jaret Wright.

MARTINEZ GOES ON DL

Pedro Martinez, out until the second half of the season following shoulder surgery, went back on the disabled list as the Mets got down to the 25-man roster limit before last night’s season opener.

Martinez, Juan Padilla (elbow surgery), Duaner Sanchez (broken shoulder), and Dave Williams (neck surgery) all went on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 23. The Mets also placed reliever Guillermo Mota on the restricted list while he serves a 50-game suspension for a positive steroid test last year, and they optioned no. 5 starter Mike Pelfrey to St. Lucie of the Florida State League. The Mets won’t need a fifth starter at the beginning of the season because of off days.

Associated Press