Victory Worth Wait for Faxon

Four months ago, Brad Faxon had a broken wrist and didn’t know if he could ever play golf again. Monday, he proved he could, and more.

Faxon beat Fred Funk in a two-hole playoff to win the B.C. Open at Endicott, N.Y., and earn $288,000. It was his sixth victory and first in two years.

“It’s really nice to be able to come back and win this soon after injury,” said Faxon, who broke his left wrist in late May when he fell from a ladder while changing a floodlight on the roof of his Rhode Island home. “It could have been a career-ending thing.”

After playing 36 holes and one playoff hole over 12 hours on Sunday, Faxon parred the only hole the pair played Monday, the par-four 18th.

Funk’s drive sailed into the trees lining the right side of the fairway and his second shot ricocheted off a tree trunk diagonally across the fairway and Funk took a bogey.

Faxon drove the right side of the fairway, lofted a wedge to 50 feet and two-putted.

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Tom Lehman will join Mark O’Meara and Payne Stewart on the U.S. team for next month’s Dunhill Cup at St. Andrews, Scotland.

The United States, which has won the title three times, is favored in the annual team competition and will look to oust two-time defending champion South Africa.

The event will be played Oct. 7-10 at the Old Course at St. Andrews and offers $1.6 million in prize money.

Tennis

Unseeded Adrian Voinea of Romania won the rain-delayed Samsung Open at Bournemouth, England, defeating fifth-seeded Stefan Koubek of Austria, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6 (7-2).

Belgium’s Sabine Appelmans upset fourth-seeded Irina Spirlea of Romania, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), in the opening round of the $180,000 Seat Open at Luxembourg.

The top seeded player, U.S. Open champion Serena Williams, received a bye into the second round and is not expected to play before Thursday.

Miscellany

Representatives of the NHL, NHL Players Assn. and International Ice Hockey Federation are scheduled to meet today in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to discuss NHL player participation in the 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City.

The league and the union have disagreed over key details, including the length of the Olympic break and whether players from countries such as Slovakia and Germany will be released early to participate in the preliminary tournament.

Terry Mills will return to the Detroit Pistons. Mills, a free-agent forward, spent five seasons with the Pistons from 1992-97, averaging 13.5 points, before spending two injury-filled seasons with Miami.

A misdemeanor charge accusing Michigan State All-American point guard Mateen Cleaves of stealing beer from a convenience store has been dropped by Ingham County prosecutors who couldn’t produce a key witness.

Cuban officials again refused to suspend high jumper Javier Sotomayor, contending his positive test for cocaine at the Pan American Games was the result of tampering.

The International Amateur Athletic Federation said it had received a letter over the weekend from the Cuban federation rejecting the IAAF’s demand that Sotomayor be suspended pending a hearing.

The World Boxing Assn. junior middleweight title bout between champion Sharmba Mitchell and Elio Ortiz, which was scheduled for Friday at Washington, was postponed because Mitchell strained a rib muscle. A new date has not been set.

Boston Celtic center Vitaly Potapenko pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct after being arrested for arguing with his girlfriend at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

The Shav Glick Award, named for The Times’ motor sports columnist, will be presented annually to a Californian for distinguished achievement in motor racing. The award will be given for the first time next spring at the NASCAR NAPA Auto Parts 500 at California Speedway.