Hart Wins Canadian Open; Woods 11th

Dudley Hart completed a comeback from injuries that kept him away from golf for nearly two years with his first PGA victory in the Canadian Open on Sunday in Oakville, Ontario.

Hart, playing steady if unspectacular golf, carved out a 2-under-par 70 in the final round for a 14-under 202 total and a one-stroke victory over David Duval in the rain-shortened event. He is the 10th first-time winner on the Tour this season.

Hart’s physical problems began in 1994 when he missed 10 weeks because of rib and back problems. Early last year, he injured his right wrist when his club struck a buried tree root. It required surgery to repair ligament damage, and a lengthy rehab period.

Scott Dunlap, who was three strokes ahead of Hart at 15-under entering the final round, had five bogeys in a closing round of 76.

Tiger Woods shot 4-under 68 for a total of 8-under 208. He finished 11th and earned $37,500, giving him $40,044 for his first two weeks as a pro. It also moved him up to No. 204 on the money list.

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Gibby Gilbert, who forced a playoff by making birdies on three of the final six holes, parred the first playoff hole to beat Hale Irwin in the Senior PGA Tour’s inaugural $1.2-million Boone Valley Classic at Augusta, Mo.

Gilbert’s 2-under-par 69 included a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 410-yard second hole and was capped by a 6-foot birdie putt on the 401-yard 18th. He finished 54 holes at 10-under 203, tied with Irwin, who closed with a 70.

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Colin Montgomerie shot an 8-under-par 63 to capture the European Masters by four strokes over Sam Torrance at Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

Bob Wernick of Rancho Mirage shot a 2-over-par 73 to lead the 64 qualifiers for match play in the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Williamstown, Mass.

Locked in a tight duel for the lead through all 18 holes of the final round, Dottie Pepper finally defeated Chris Johnson by two strokes to win the Safeway LPGA Championship at Portland, Ore., for her fourth tour victory in the last 2 1/2 months.

The two were tied at 14 under through 16 holes on the par-72, 6,294-yard Columbia-Edgewater Country Club course, but Johnson’s short game deserted her and she bogeyed the final two holes. She shot a 70 to finish at 204. Pepper, meanwhile, shot a 5-under 67 to finish at 14-under 202, breaking the old course record by five strokes.

Soccer

Two goals by Washington D.C. United’s Raul Diaz Arce and another by the Los Angeles Galaxy’s Mauricio Cienfuegos helped El Salvador to a 5-0 World Cup ’98 qualifying victory over Cuba in front of 30,000 at Cuscatlan Stadium in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Auto Racing

Amid a sea of waving red-and-yellow Ferrari flags, two-time world champion Michael Schumacher won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Italy for his second consecutive triumph and the third of the season.

The German capitalized on a perfect pit strategy and a mistake by championship-point leader Damon Hill to drive to his 22nd career victory and his first on Italian soil since joining Ferrari last year with a $20-million contract.

Frenchman Jean Alesi was second in a Benetton-Renault.

Hill, who started his Williams-Renault from the pole and led the race early, retired on the sixth lap after hitting a tire barrier and spinning out. A victory would have given him the drivers’ title.

Ron Hornaday Jr. won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Pennzoil 200 at Loudon, N.H., after leaders Jack Sprague and Joe Ruttman crashed on the final turn in the 206-lap event.

College Football

Tevell Jones scored on a 30-yard blocked punt return at the start of the game and Kareem Wilson and Steve Hookfin scored on runs to lift ground-oriented Ohio to a 21-10 upset over Hawaii at Honolulu late Saturday night.

The Bobcats (2-0) rushed 55 times for 263 yards and Wilson threw only three passes, completing one, against Hawaii (0-2).

An MRI exam failed to show any extensive damage to Oregon quarterback Tony Graziani’s injured right knee, and team officials are estimating he will be out of the lineup for four to six weeks.

Arkansas senior linebacker Anthony Hicks underwent arthroscopic knee surgery for a strained knee ligament and is out for two to six weeks.

UCLA nose guard Jeff Ruckman, who sat out one season and most of another because of back problems, suffered what was called a sprained knee against Tennessee on Saturday, but ligament damage is feared. He will undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury.

The Colgate team bus hit and killed a man Saturday in Morrisville, N.Y., on its way back to campus after losing to Richmond.

John S. Morse, 19, of Syracuse, was killed at about 10:30 p.m. According to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, Morse was in the middle of the eastbound lane, and crossed into the path of the bus as it attempted to avoid hitting him.

The bus, carrying coaches and trainers as well as players, swerved into a ditch and toppled onto its side.

A Colgate spokesman said four of the 37 passengers were slightly injured. Two players were hospitalized overnight for observation.

Mike Stephans, a walk-on who started the season as Rutgers’ third-string quarterback, has been selected to start against No. 10 Miami on Thursday night. Stephans, a senior, did not play football last season so he could concentrate on being the Scarlet Knights’ starting third baseman on the baseball team.

The top five teams remained the same as last week in the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll. USC is ranked 16th.

Track and Field

The IAAF’s bid to stage a major track and field meet in war-ravaged Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been hit by the withdrawal, among others, of Michael Johnson because of safety fears, Noureddine Morceli because of flu and Jonathan Edwards because of a misunderstanding.

Only about 70 of an anticipated 120 stars were expected to compete, led by Kenya’s new distance running sensation, Daniel Komen, and double Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova of Russia.

Boxing

Undefeated Saen Sor Ploenchit of Thailand scored a unanimous decision over Russia’s Alexander Mahmutov and retained his World Boxing Association flyweight championship at Bangkok, Thailand.

Beach Volleyball

In an all-Brazilian final, third-seeded Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar defeated Olympic gold medalists Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva, 12-4, 12-9, to win an FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship Series event at Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Seventh-seeded Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak of the United States finished third by beating Natalie Cook and Kerrie Pottharst of Australia, 15-9.