Four-Year Drought Ends for McCarron

Scott McCarron survived the wind in the BellSouth Classic at Duluth, Ga. Everyone else was blown away.

McCarron shot one over par during a two-round, 36-hole marathon Sunday, good enough for a three-stroke victory. His last victory also came on the TPC at Sugarloaf in the 1997 BellSouth.

“It’s so good to be back in the winner’s circle after four years,” said McCarron, who won with an eight-under 280 total. “Everybody kept telling me, ‘You’re due.’ I felt that way too.”

McCarron, who began the rain-delayed third round tied with Chris DiMarco at 10 under, was even for the day after 28 holes. By then, McCarron was six shots in front as DiMarco, Phil Mickelson, Dennis Paulson and every other would-be challenger faded away.

McCarron followed up a par 72 in the third round with a 73 in the afternoon. He slipped briefly on his final nine, bogeying three of four holes. But he sealed the victory by rolling in a 40-foot birdie at No. 16.

Mike Weir got within three shots of the lead with a birdie at four while McCarron made a three-footer for par at 13. But Weir missed a short par putt at his next hole, ending his charge. He finished with a final-round 67, second at 283. Mickelson, Paulson and Chris Smith tied for third at 284, with DiMarco another stroke back.

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Andy North and Jim Colbert defended their Legends of Golf senior title at St. Augustine, Fla., holding off David Graham and Bruce Fleisher by three strokes.

North and Colbert shot a seven-under-par 65 in windy conditions for a 20-under 124 total in the best-ball play. Coming off an opening 59 in the event shortened to 36 holes because of rain Friday, North and Colbert birdied three holes in a row on the back nine to seal the win. Graham and Fleisher, who also finished second last year, eagled the par five 18th for a 62. Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer shot a 69 to finish 11 strokes back at 135.

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Angel Cabrera of Argentina won the Argentina Open at Buenos Aires, closing with a three-under-par 67 for a two-stroke victory over Carl Pettersson of Sweden. Cabrera finished with a 12-under 268 total for his first PGA European Tour victory.

Jurisprudence

Lawyers for Mohammed Haroon Ali, accused of killing the daughter of hall of fame receiver Fred Biletnikoff, have asked for a mistrial three times in four days. The chief deputy district attorney also was admonished for telling jurors that Ali has a prior conviction for kidnapping a former girlfriend at knifepoint. Judge Carl Holm of San Mateo County Superior Court at San Jose said he needed the weekend to decide whether the trial needs to begin again. Ali admitted strangling Tracey Biletnikoff, 20, two years ago. However, his lawyers are seeking manslaughter, with a maximum prison sentence of 22 years. Fred Biletnikoff played for the Oakland Raiders for 14 years and now coaches their wide receivers.

Running

Susan Chepkemei of Kenya won the women’s division of the Lisbon Half-Marathon at Portugal in a world-record 1 hour 5 minutes 44 seconds. Chepkemei took about 1 1/2 minutes off the previous mark of 1:07:12, which was held by countrywoman Tegla Loroupe, who finished fourth. Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa won the men’s race, defeating world record-holder Paul Tergat of Kenya by one second at 1:00:26.

Alemayhu Simeretu of Ethiopia won the Turin Marathon at Turin, Italy, for the second consecutive year, in 2:07:44. Simeretu finished more than a minute ahead of runner-up Stefano Baldini of Italy. Tiziana Alagia won the women’s race at 2:27:53, nearly two minutes ahead of Italian teammate Sara Ferrari. . . . Sammy Kipketer of Kenya ran the Carlsbad 5,000 in 13 minutes, tying the world road race record he set in the same event last year. Sally Barsosio of Kenya pulled away in the final 500 meters to finish the women’s race in 15:20, four seconds ahead of Eyerusalem Kuma of Ethiopia.

Miscellany

David Reid, the former World Boxing Assn. super-middleweight champion, easily defeated Urbano Gurrola of Mexico in a 10-round unanimous decision at Las Vegas. Reid, fighting for only the second time since losing his title 13 months ago to Felix Trinidad, improved to 16-1.

Apolo Anton Ohno of the U.S. won two gold medals on the final day of speedskating’s world short track championships at Chonju, South Korea. The 18-year-old skater from Seattle won the men’s 3,000 (5:36.664). He added another gold in the 5,000 relay (7:15.885), teaming with compatriots Ron Biondo, Rusty Smith and Daniel Weinstein. Yang Yang of China won three more gold medals, giving her four for the competition. She won all three women’s competitions Sunday--the 1,000 (1:45.664) and 3,000-meter (5:43.454) races and the 3,000 relay (4:25.927).

Thirteen members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics will return to play on this year’s national team. The team opens play against Germany today in the International Ice Hockey Federation women’s world championship at St. Cloud, Minn. . . . The U.S. women extended their unbeaten streak to four matches at the Curling World Championships at Lausanne, Switzerland by defeating Russia, 7-4, and Switzerland, 7-5.