Sorenstam Holds Off Pak, Sets LPGA 72-Hole Record

Annika Sorenstam put her name in the record books again Sunday and needed to do just that to win the Standard Register Ping at Phoenix.

Two days after becoming the first player to shoot 59 in an LPGA tournament, Sorenstam set the 72-hole scoring mark and won a duel with South Korea’s Se Ri Pak for her second title in as many events.

“That’s a lot of records this week,” Sorenstam said. “I can’t absorb that. It’s incredible. But I wasn’t really looking to beat records today--I was focused on Se Ri.”

Pak, who shot a 67 to reach 25-under 263, trailed by nine shots after the second round. She tied for the lead with a birdie at the 15th but bogeyed the 16th and trailed Sorenstam the rest of the day. She finished two shots back.

Sorenstam tapped in for par at the 18th hole to finish a four-under-par 68 and reach 27-under 261, a stroke better than the 72-hole mark set by Karrie Webb at the 1999 Australian Ladies Masters.

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Hale Irwin became the Senior PGA Tour’s career victory leader by winning the Siebel Classic at San Jose for his 30th title on the circuit.

Irwin shot a seven-under-par 65 to finish five strokes ahead of Tom Watson and Allen Doyle.

With an eagle on the par-five fourth hole and five birdies in the round, Irwin, who started the day with a one-stroke lead, finished with a 10-under 206 total.

Jurisprudence

After 15 months in jail and numerous delays, former Miami Dolphin running back Cecil Collins goes on trial for burglary charges today at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Collins was charged with breaking into the apartment of Ronald and Tina Nolte.

The 24-year-old player already was on probation after pleading guilty to two felony counts of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling in Louisiana. Because of the probation, Collins has been held in a Broward County Jail since December 1999 and has not been allowed bail.

He faces five to 15 years in prison if convicted on the burglary charges, and up to four years on a charge of violating probation.

Abdul Muhammad, 28, a former Nebraska football player, was arrested in Omaha in the fatal shooting of Robert Paylor IV, 26, a one-time gang member who provided support to others trying to change their lives.

Paylor had driven up to his home Saturday night when another man got out of his car and began a foot chase with Paylor, who was shot a few houses away from his home.

Miscellany

Daniel Caines of Britain won a 400-meter race in 46.21 seconds at the Glasgow Indoor meet at Glasgow, Scotland. Yuri Borzakovskiy of Russia won the 800 in 1:47.51 and Trinity Gray of the U.S. finished second. Jonathan Edwards of Britain won the triple jump at 56 feet 4 3/4 inches, Svetlana Feofanova won the women’s pole vault at 14-11 1/2 and Lyudmila Galkina of Russia won the long jump at 22-4 1/4. Greg Saddler of the U.S. won the 60 meters at 6.60.

Rashad Phillips scored 26 points and Willie Green 25 to lead Detroit (24-10) to a 67-61 win over Connecticut (20-12) in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament at Storrs, Conn.

The top-ranked UCLA gymnastics team defeated No. 5 Georgia at Pauley Pavilion. Senior Mohini Bhardwaj set a school record in the all-around with a score of 39.975. It is the second-highest mark in NCAA history, topped only by Karin Lichey’s 40.0 for Georgia in 1996.

Bobby Convey scored twice at Tunapuna, Trinidad, as the U.S. defeated Guatemala, 5-0, in its opening game of qualifying for the under-20 FIFA World Youth Championship soccer tournament.

Argentina defeated the U.S., 4-1, at Kingston, Jamaica, to win its sixth consecutive Americas Cup field women’s hockey tournament.

Dimitri Kirilenko scored three goals and had two assists as the Ice Dogs used a four-goal third period to pull away for an 8-2 victory over the Idaho Steelheads in a WCHL game at Long Beach Arena.

Winter Sports

Garth Hager edged Mike Friedberg to successfully defend his dual moguls title, and Shannon Bahrke won the women’s event on the last day of the U.S. Freestyle ski championships at Waterville Valley, N.H.

Vladimir Vilisov capitalized on Per Elofsson’s mishap just before the finish at Falun, Sweden, and helped Russia win its first men’s World Cup cross-country ski relay in four years in 1 hour 26 minutes 43.1 seconds. Racing side by side on a narrow uphill stretch, one of Elofsson’s skis and one of his poles got stuck under Vilisov’s ski.

Raphael Poiree of France retained his World Cup biathlon title with a second-place finish in the 15-kilometer season finale at Oslo, Norway. Sven Fischer of Germany won in 36:42.