Si Woo Kim holds off Cantlay to win The American Express
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Si Woo Kim left the Coachella Valley a year ago with his back aching again and his game in disarray.
The 25-year-old South Korean returned this week with a healthy back and a rock-solid mentality that didn’t even waver when Patrick Cantlay threatened to run away with The American Express.
Kim birdied two of the final three holes to finish an 8-under 64 Sunday, coolly rallying past the late-charging Cantlay by one shot to earn his third PGA Tour victory.
A year after Kim shot a 15-over 87 in the first round and quickly withdrew from this event because of his persistent back problems, he began the final round with a share of the lead atop a crowded board. He endured a restless night as he prepared to chase his first win since the 2017 Players Championship, a string of 102 straight starts without a victory.
“Every year, I’ve had a chance, but I couldn’t make it,” Kim said through a translator. “I had a lot of resolve in my mind last night. I took melatonin, but still I didn’t sleep very well.”
Hockey Hall of Famer George Armstrong dies at the age of 90
TORONTO — George Armstrong, who captained the Toronto Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cups in the 1960s, has died. He was 90.
His death was announced Sunday by the Maple Leafs, who said he died of heart complications, citing his family.
Armstrong had 296 goals and 417 assists over 21 seasons for the Leafs, including 12 seasons as team captain, and remains the franchise’s leader in games played, variously listed at 1,187 or 1,888. The right wing had 26 goals and 34 assists in 110 playoff games.
Known as the “Chief,” Armstrong was one of the first players of Indigenous descent to play professional hockey.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. Some 41 years later, Armstrong was voted No. 12 on the franchise’s list of 100 greatest Maple Leafs in its centennial season.
“George is part of the very fabric of the Toronto Maple Leaf organization and will be deeply missed,” Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said in a statement.
With COVID-19 variant positives, Michigan pauses all athletics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The entire University of Michigan athletic department is pausing after several positive tests for the new COVID-19 variant that transmits at a higher rate.
The state Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday it issued recommendations for the school, although not an order. The school said Saturday night its move followed the positive COVID-19 tests for several individuals linked to the athletic department. The entire department could be in quarantine for two weeks.
The 11th-ranked women’s basketball team was supposed to play at home against Purdue on Sunday. That was one of four athletic events the school had scheduled. The men’s tennis team was hosting a tournament while women’s tennis was in Atlanta. The men’s gymnastics event at Nebraska was also postponed.
The seventh-ranked men’s basketball team wasn’t supposed to play until Wednesday at Penn State.
“Canceling competitions is never something we want to do, but with so many unknowns about this variant of COVID-19, we must do everything we can to minimize the spread among student-athletes, coaches, staff, and to the student-athletes at other schools,” athletic director Warde Manuel said.
Michigan said it has worked diligently within state and Big Ten guidelines, but the state’s HHS department was calling for a more aggressive strategy for the new variant.
By wire sources