Masters:
Sergio Garcia is no longer in the conversation of outstanding golfers to never win a major. Not after he slipped his arms into a green jacket on Sunday. Garcia has won the Masters in comeback fashion, beating Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff. The 37-year-old Spaniard trailed Rose by two shots with six holes remaining before ending his two decades of close calls and major meltdowns in major tournaments.
Rose sent his first playoff drive into the trees on 18 and managed to punch out before failing to sink a 15-foot par putt. That opened the door for Garcia to win the title by two-putting from 12 feet out. Garcia wasted no time wrapping up the Masters, sinking a birdie putt before crouching in disbelief while hearing chants of "Ser-gee-oh! Ser-gee-oh!" from the gallery. Rose patted his opponent on the cheek before they embraced.
Garcia and Rose began the final round tied for the lead before carding 3-under 69s to finish at minus-9. Garcia's birdie putt made him the third Spaniard to don a green jacket, joining the late Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.
Charl Schwartzel closed with his second straight 68 to finish third at 6 under, one shot ahead of Matt Kuchar and second-round co-leader Thomas Pieters. Paul Casey's 4-under total was one better than Rory McIlroy and Kevin Chappell.
NBA:
In the NBA, Toronto beat the Knicks 110-97, Atlanta squeaked by Cleveland in overtime 126-125, Oklahoma City edged Denver 106-105, Phoenix bested Dallas 124-111, Houston beat Sacramento 135-128, Detroit won against Memphis 103-90, and the Lakers topped Minnesota 110-109.
Russell Westbrook has added to his NBA resume. Westbrook broke Oscar Robertson's 55-year-old mark with his 42nd triple-double of the season while leading Oklahoma City's 106-105 win at Denver. Westbrook poured in 50 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, dished out 10 assists and won it with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that eliminated the Nuggets from the playoff race. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers have fallen into a tie with Boston for the No. 1 seed in the east with two games. The Cavs coughed up a 26-point, fourth-quarter lead in a 126-125 overtime loss in Atlanta.
NHL:
In the NHL, the Rangers won against Pittsburgh 3-2, the Islanders doubled up Ottawa 4-2, Detroit beat New Jersey 4-1, St. Louis edged Colorado 3-2, Columbus skated by Toronto 3-2, Carolina beat Philadelphia in a shootout 4-3, Florida blanked Washington 2-0, Anaheim beat the Kings in overtime 4-3, and it was Edmonton over Vancouver 5-2.
Lindy Ruff will not return as coach of the Dallas Stars after the team went from the Western Conference's top seed last year to missing the playoffs this season. General manager Jim Nill announced the move Sunday, a day after the Stars finished with their second-fewest points in a full season since moving to Dallas in 1993-94. Ruff didn't have a contract beyond this season.
NFL:
Jurors in the double-murder trial of ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez are set to begin their second day of deliberations Monday. The former New England Patriots tight end is charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. Prosecutors say Hernandez shot the men after a brief encounter at a Boston nightclub. Hernandez's lawyers say the shooter was Alexander Bradley, Hernandez's friend.
MLB:
In Major League Baseball, Boston beat Detroit 7-5, the Yankees topped Baltimore 7-3, and the Mets defeated Miami 5-2.
Elsewhere in MLB:
— The Padres have placed right-hander Trevor Cahill on the 10-day disabled list with a lower back strain, a move retroactive to Thursday, San Diego replaced Cahill by recalling right-hander Zach Lee from Triple-A El Paso.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. says he's hopeful he can avoid the disabled list after missing Boston's game at Detroit on Sunday because of an injured right knee. Bradley fell to the ground after rounding first base when he hit a flyout in Saturday's loss to the Tigers.
The Hartford Yard Goats won't be the first team to play at their new baseball stadium. Officials at Dunkin' Donuts Park have scheduled a "soft opening" on Tuesday with a game between the University of Hartford and Quinnipiac University. The minor-league Yard Goats were supposed to be in the park last spring, but construction problems led the city to fire the stadium developer and pushed back the opening by a full year.
Legal:
Jurors in the double-murder trial of ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez are set to begin their second day of deliberations. The former New England Patriots tight end is charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. Jurors are scheduled to resume deliberations Monday after deliberating for about 6½ hours Friday.
Prosecutors say Hernandez shot the men after a brief encounter at a Boston nightclub. Hernandez's lawyers say the shooter was Alexander Bradley, Hernandez's friend who was with him that night. Bradley was the prosecution's star witness. He testified that Hernandez became enraged and shot the men because he felt disrespected after one of them bumped into Hernandez and spilled his drink. Hernandez's lawyers say Bradley shot the men over a drug deal.
Tennis:
Australia advanced to the Davis Cup semifinals when Nick Kyrgios beat late substitute Sam Querrey of the United States 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first reverse singles match. That gave the Australians an insurmountable 3-1 lead.
IndyCar:
Not once did James Hinchcliffe think his career was over after a near-fatal accident in 2015. The IndyCar star nearly bled to death after wrecking in practice at the Indianapolis 500, and even though his injuries sidelined him the rest of the season, he knew he'd be back. Indeed, he ran a full season last year, then had a successful stint on "Dancing With the Stars" in which he raised his profile while finishing second on the show. At long last, he's got his first win on the race track since his accident.
Hinchcliffe won a three-lap shootout to the finish Sunday on the streets of Long Beach to win in a Honda for Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports. It was the Canadian's first victory since 2015 at New Orleans, a month before his accident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hinchcliffe's life was saved nearly two years ago by the at-track safety crew that smartly pinched off the blood flow and raced him into surgery.
F1:
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton steered clear of a chaotic start at the Chinese Grand Prix and coasted to victory, his fifth title at Shanghai. Hamilton started from pole position and led from beginning to end to capture the 54th race title of his career and his first of the new Formula One season.
NASCAR:
Jimmie Johnson has earned his first win of the Monster Energy season, going from the back of the field to Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway. The seven-time Cup champion charged under Joey Logano with 16 laps to go and claimed his 81st career victory. Johnson had to start at the back of the 40-car field because of a tire change after a spin in qualifying. It was Johnson's seventh victory at Texas, six coming in the last 10 races there. Points leader Kyle Larson finished second for the fourth time this season. Logano, polesitter Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five.
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