Associated Press
BETHESDA, Md. ó Anthony Kim is on the cusp of joining the short list of challengers to Tiger Woods, a point driven home Sunday not so much by his victory at the AT&T National as the phone call he received from the tournament host.
Woods wasn’t at Congressional to present the trophy, but he surely would have appreciated Kim’s performance. After a week of mistakes that held him back, Kim shot a bogey-free round of 5-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Fredrik Jacobson.
Kim, also the Wachovia Championship winner, became the first American under 25 since Woods to win at least twice in the same year on the PGA Tour.
Kim moved up to No. 6 in the Ryder Cup standings, virtually assuring himself a spot on the American team in September. Even if he doesn’t qualify, captain Paul Azinger said he wants the hot hand, and not many are playing better than Kim.
Kim finished at 12-under 268 and earned $1.08 million, putting him at No. 5 in the FedEx Cup standings and moving him closer to cracking the top 10 in the world.
Jacobson (65) earned a trip to the British Open as the highest finisher among the top five at the AT&T National not already exempt. U.S. Open runner-up Rosco Mediate also qualified for Royal Birkdale fbom a special money list.
– ROGERS, Ark. ó South Korea’s Seon Hwa Lee birdied the final hole for a one-stroke victory over Jane Park and Meena Lee in the LPGA Tour’s NW Arkansas Championship.
Seon Hwa Lee closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 15-under 201.
– ENDICOTT, N.Y. ó Argentina’s Eduardo Romero won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open for his second Champions Tour title, beating Fulton Allem and Gary Koch by a stroke.
Romero shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 17-under 199, equaling the score recorded by R.W. Eaks a year ago in the inaugural event. Romero also won the 2006 Tradition.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ó Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer will earn $2.4 million this season and $3.3 million in 2014, the last year of his new seven-year contract.
His previous contract was worth just over an average $2 million a year through 2013. The raise ó Fulmer’s first in three years ó makes his contract worth nearly $3 million a year on average.
The pay increase keeps Fulmer, 57, in the middle of the Southeastern Conference coaching pack when it comes to salaries.
– ATHENS, Ga. ó Michael Lemon, a University of Georgia football player, has been charged with a felony stemming from a fight last weekend that injured another Georgia student, police said.
Demarius Jackson, 20, of Albany, told police that Lemon suckerpunched him at a cookout Saturday night at an apartment complex. The 20-year-old Lemon, a 6-foot-4, 274-pounder, accused Jackson of talking to his girlfriend. The police report said Lemon punched Jackson about five times before he was pulled off.
CYCLING
SAINT-BRIEUC, France ó Sprint specialist Thor Hushovd won the second stage of the Tour de France on Sunday, with Alejandro Valverde keeping the overall lead after a windy, rain-soaked ride through the Brittany countryside.
Valverde, a Spaniard regarded as a threat to win the title, finished in the trailing pack and retained the yellow jersey after the mostly flat 102-mile route from Auray to Saint-Brieuc.
IRL
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. ó Scott Dixon’s bid for a fourth straight victory on the road course at Watkins Glen ended Sunday with an uncharacteristic mistake that gave Ryan Hunter-Reay the opening he needed to earn his first IndyCar Series victory.
Dixon, preparing to make a run at leader Darren Manning after a long caution period, spun out under yellow and was hit from behind by contender Ryan Briscoe. That gave the runner-up spot to Hunter-Reay, who easily passed Manning on the restart.
NBA
MIAMI ó Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley will be forever linked. That’s an inevitability for players who get chosen No. 1 and No. 2 in an NBA draft.
So on some level, it’s fitting their first pro game ó one that won’t have fans, won’t count in standings and will likely be long forgotten in a few days ó will pit them against one another. Rose’s Chicago Bulls face Beasley’s Miami Heat today that will open the Orlando summer league’s weeklong schedule.
For a meaningless matchup, there’s an abundance of big-game hype.
And it almost seems like neither 19-year-old can truly understand why.
“I didn’t even know we’re playing Miami first,” Rose said. “I’m not going to be checking him.”