Weekend Sports in Brief | Tacoma News Tribune

GOLF

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Cameron Smith charged his way into history on the Old Course, a Sunday stunner at St. Andrews that sent the Australian to his first major by overcoming Rory McIlroy to win the British Open.

The stage was set for McIlroy to end his eight-year drought in the majors and cap off a week of celebration at the home of golf in the 150th Open.

Smith stole the show by running off five straight birdies to start the back nine and delivering more clutch moments at the end. His 8-under 64 was the lowest final round by a champion in the 30 times golf’s oldest champion has been played at St. Andrews.

Smith won by one shot over Cameron Young, who holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the final hole. It wasn’t enough, and neither was anything McIlroy could muster.

He couldn’t make a putt early. He couldn’t hit it close enough late. His last good chance was a 15-foot birdie attempt on the scary Road Hole at No. 17, and it narrowly missed to the left.

TRACK AND FIELD

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce sped her way back to the top of the sprint game Sunday, winning her fifth world title at 100 meters by leading a Jamaican sweep and knocking off Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah.

The 35-year-old Fraser-Pryce, mother of a 4-year-old son, Zyon, led all the way and crossed the line in 10.67 seconds. She beat Shericka Jackson by 0.06 seconds while Thompson-Herah finished a surprising third in 10.81.

A night that started with thoughts that Thompson-Herah might knock off Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 34-year-old world record of 10.49 closed instead with Fraser-Pryce setting a world-championships record. Marion Jones set the old mark of 10.70 in 1999.

With her blonde and green-tinted hair waving in the breeze as she jogged through her victory lap, stopping to take pictures with fans that cheered her as loudly as anyone Sunday, Fraser-Pryce was all smiles — a different reaction than last year in Tokyo, when she finished second by a sizable 0.13.

BASEBALL

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout will miss the All-Star Game because of back spasms, joining Bryce Harper on the sidelines and depriving the showcase of two of baseball’s best-known players.

Dodgers star first baseman Freddie Freeman was added Sunday as the 14th replacement player, giving the host Dodgers six All-Stars to match the New York Yankees for most.

Trout, a three-time American League MVP, has not played since Tuesday and was scratched from the Los Angels Angels’ lineup against the Dodgers on Saturday night.

Trout was replaced on the AL roster Sunday by Seattle infielder Ty France for Tuesday night’s game at Dodger Stadium.

The 30-year-old Trout is a 10-time All-Star and was elected to start for the ninth time. He finished second to Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge in voting among AL outfielders, with 39%.

Harper, a two-time NL MVP, is a seven-time All-Star selected to start for the sixth time. He broke his left thumb when hit by a pitch from San Diego’s Blake Snell on June 25.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jackson Holliday and Druw Jones, sons of former major league All-Stars Matt and Andruw, were taken by Baltimore and Arizona with the first two picks in baseball’s amateur draft on Sunday night.

Holliday, whose father is a former batting champion Matt Holliday, was chosen first by Baltimore over Jones in somewhat of a surprise.

Texas used the third pick on Kumar Rocker, a big right-hander who failed to sign with the New York Mets after being selected 10th overall last year. Rocker will be reunited with Rangers minor league pitcher Jack Leiter, his teammate on Vanderbilt’s first NCAA baseball championship team in 2019. Texas chose Leiter with the No. 2 pick last year.

Holliday, a left-handed-hitting shortstop from Stillwater High in Oklahoma, is 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds. He hit .685 and with 89 hits in 41 games and broke a national record for hits in a high school season that had been held by J.T. Realmuto.

His father was a seven-time All-Star and the 2007 NL batting champion. Matt was taken by Colorado with the 210th overall pick in the seventh round in 2007.

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale left Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees after being hit by a line drive in the first inning.

With two outs, Aaron Hicks hit a 106.6 mph line drive off Sale’s hand. The ball was deflected into center field as Gleyber Torres scored to give New York a 3-0 lead.

Sale screamed out in pain, immediately ran off the field and was replaced by Hirokazu Sawamura.

Sale was making his second start since returning from a fractured rib Tuesday at Tampa Bay. He threw 78 pitches in five scoreless innings and threw 24 pitches on Sunday before leaving the game.

During the major league lockout, Sale broke a rib while working out on his own.

AUTO RACING

TORONTO (AP) — Scott Dixon snapped a 22-race winless streak Sunday and moved into a tie with Mario Andretti for second on IndyCar’s career wins list when he held off pole-sitter Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist in the series’ return to Canada.

Dixon qualified second and spent the day running up front, despite creative fuel and tire strategies as teams jockeyed for track position early in the race. And the six-time series champ was still out front when Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Kirkwood tangled to bring out the final caution and force a restart with 18 laps to go.

Dixon quickly opened a 2-second gap over Herta and the rest of the field and never relinquished it in cruising to his fourth win at Toronto, where IndyCar returned for the first time since 2019, and his 52nd win overall.

Not a bad early birthday present for the New Zealander, who turns 42 on Friday.

His first win since May 2021 at Texas extends Dixon’s streak of winning at least one race in a record 17 consecutive years, and it leaves him trailing only A.J. Foyt’s 67 wins on the career list. It also shoves Dixon into the thick of the points race as he chases a seventh title, which would match Foyt for the most in the history of the open-wheel series.

LOUDON, N.H. (AP) — Christopher Bell crashed the NASCAR playoffs, winning Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to become the 14th Cup Series winner this season.

“That one was much needed right there,” the 27-year-old Bell said.

Bell mastered the track where he won Xfinity Series races in 2018, 2019 and 2021, holding off Chase Elliott, last week’s winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Bell is the 14th driver to earn a spot in the 16-driver playoff field. With six races left in the regular season, it leaves open the possibility that more than 16 drivers could win a race and the final playoff spot or spots would be decided on points.

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