Leonard Defends Texas Open Title With Steady Play

Justin Leonard was steady over the final 36 holes of the Texas Open at San Antonio, and as things worked out, steady was good enough to end his season-long winless streak.

Leonard shot a two-under-par 69 Sunday to defeat J.J. Henry and Matt Kuchar by two strokes and defend his title.

The Dallas native took home $540,000 with his first victory in 31 starts, dating to last year’s Texas Open. An 18-under 266 total gave Leonard his sixth victory as a pro.

Henry, who shot a 66, matched his best career finish. Kuchar, alone in second place after three rounds, shot a 69.

Se Ri Pak wanted the final round of the AFLAC Champions at Mobile, Ala., to be as stress-free as possible. And it looked to be that way when she built a 10-stroke lead.

Lorie Kane was able to make it a little interesting before Pak won by five strokes, matching the tournament record with a 16-under 272 after a final-round 71.

There was a touch of drama when Kane made four consecutive birdies and Pak made a double bogey on No. 15 to cut the lead to four shots with three holes to go.

Pak birdied the par-five 16th and went on to her fifth victory this season.

Tom Kite shot a seven-under 65 to hold off Allen Doyle by one stroke and tie a Senior PGA Tour record in winning the Gold Rush Classic at El Dorado Hills, Calif.

Kite collected $195,000 for his third career senior victory and established a tournament scoring mark with a 22-under 194. Doyle, who closed with a 63 for a 195, won $114,400.

Pro Basketball

Gregg Popovich, coach and general manager of the San Antonio Spurs, will be offered a three-year extension on a contract worth about $20 million, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The deal will be announced today and keep Popovich with the Spurs through the 2005-06 season. Popovich led the Spurs to their only NBA championship in 1999. His .614 winning percentage ranks 10th in NBA history among coaches with at least 200 victories.

Tennis

Marcelo Rios of Chile won the Salem Open at Hong Kong, beating Rainer Schuettler of Germany, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Rios, seeded eighth, did not lose a set throughout the $400,000 tournament. It was his third event since returning from ankle surgery that sidelined him for two months in the summer.

Felix Mantilla of Spain won his first title since 1999, defeating David Nalbandian of Argentina, 7-6 (2), 6-4, to capture an ATP tournament at Palermo, Sicily.

Defending champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium routed Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria, 6-1, 6-1, to win the Sparkassen Cup at Leipzig, Germany.

It was the second title this year for Clijsters and the fifth of her career.

Indonesia’s Anglique Widjaja staged a second-set comeback to defeat South Africa’s Joannette Kruger, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), in the final of the Wismilak International at Bali, Indonesia.

Soccer

The U.S. soccer team got a boost when Claudio Reyna, John O’Brien and Ante Razov--all coming off injuries--were put on the roster for the World Cup qualifier against Jamaica on Sunday at Foxboro, Mass.

Reyna, the U.S. captain and the key to the Americans’ midfield play, missed the last three qualifiers because of a suspension and a groin pull. The U.S. lost the three games after a 4-1-0 start.

The U.S. finishes qualifying Nov. 11 at Trinidad and Tobago. By winning both games, the U.S. would qualify for its fourth consecutive World Cup appearance.

Reyna, in his first game since Aug. 22, started Sunday as Glasgow Rangers lost, 2-0, to Glasgow Celtic in one of soccer’s great rivalries.

Razov, like Reyna, missed September losses to Honduras and Costa Rica because of a groin strain, but the forward has returned to the Chicago Fire.

O’Brien, a midfielder, missed much of last year because of injuries, but has been playing for Ajax Amsterdam’s reserve team.

Miscellany

The Chicago Blackhawks acquired forward Shawn Thornton from the Toronto Maple Leafs for minor league defenseman Marty Wilford.

Russia defeated Italy, 3-2, to win the women’s European volleyball championships at Varna, Bulgaria.

Bulgaria defeated Ukraine, 3-1, for the bronze medal.

Robert Sassone and Jerome Neuville of France won the Madison world title in the Cycling World Track Championships at Antwerp, Belgium.

France won the team gold, Spain the silver and Argentina the bronze.

Russia’s Olga Slioussareva won the women’s points race, her first world title.

Angel Casero won cycling’s Tour of Spain after erasing fellow Spaniard Oscar Sevilla’s 25-second lead on the 21st and final stage, a 24-mile time trial on the streets of Madrid.

Kibet Cherop of Kenya set a course record of 35:51 in winning the men’s division of the 12K Bridge to Bridge Run at San Francisco. Kelly Cordell set a record in the women’s division with a time of 40:56.

Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi of Japan became the first woman to run a marathon under 2 hours 20 minutes, winning at Berlin in 2:19.46. She beat the previous women’s best by nearly a minute.

Japan’s Manabu Otaki won the men’s race and Yoshimatsu Chigusa captured the women’s title at the Portland (Ore.) Marathon.