Verplank Bags Canadian Open

Despite a double bogey on No. 16 and having to scramble for par on the final hole, Scott Verplank closed with a three-under 67 Sunday to win the Canadian Open at Montreal.

Verplank won for the first time this year, beating Bob Estes and Joey Sindelar by three strokes. Verplank earned $648,000 and moved to seventh on the PGA Tour money list.

John Daly had a chance. He was tied for the lead after going out in 30 on the front nine, but wound up four strokes behind.

Verplank finished at 14-under 266, matching the winning score last year by Tiger Woods. Woods failed to become the first player in 50 years to win the tournament in consecutive years. He had a 69 and finished 10 strokes behind.

Jim Thorpe followed his dramatic victory a week ago with an easy one, closing with a five-under 66 for a 14-under 199 to win the Allianz Championship senior tournament at West Des Moines, Iowa.

Gil Morgan closed with a 65 to finish 12-under.

The $265,000 first-place check was Thorpe’s largest as a pro. It was his 11th top-10 finish in the last 19 tournaments and his fourth in a row.

Gloria Park overcame a five-stroke deficit with a six-under 64 and won the inaugural Williams Championship at Tulsa, Okla., her first LPGA Tour victory.

Park, 21, won $150,000 with a nine-under 201, one stroke ahead of Donna Andrews, who started the second round with a four-shot lead.

Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina won his first European tour title, shooting a three-under 68 to capture the European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

Gonzalez finished with a 16-under 268. Denmark’s Soren Hansen was the runner-up with a 13-under 271. Craig Stadler tied for third place with Scotland’s Gary Orr at 273.

Goodwill Games

The U.S. routed Argentina, 91-63, to win the gold medal in men’s basketball on the final day of the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia.

Jermaine O’Neal of the Indiana Pacers scored 14 points and Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns added 13.

Brazil won the bronze medal, beating Australia, 94-93, in overtime.

Russia was the top medal winner with 78, followed by Australia with 74 and the U.S. with 73.

Miscellany

Mexico’s Marco Antonio Barrera defeated countryman Enrique Sanchez with a sixth-round technical knockout in a nontitle featherweight bout Saturday at Reno. On the same card, Vasiliy Jirov retained his IBF cruiserweight title by stopping Julian Letterlough in the eighth.

Bobby Velardez of San Bernardino stopped David Donis of Houston in the sixth round at San Jacinto to win the vacant USBA super-bantamweight title.

Dejan Bodiroga scored 19 points to lead Yugoslavia over Turkey, 78-69, in Istanbul and win the European men’s basketball championship.

Jeff Cunningham became the first Columbus player to reach double figures in goals and assists in the same season, and his first-half goal gave the Crew a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Mutiny in a Major League Soccer game at Tampa, Fla. Cunningham has 10 goals and 13 assists.

Switzerland’s Andre Bucher rallied to win the 800 meters at Melbourne, Australia, and beat hurdler Allen Johnson by one point for the men’s IAAF Grand Prix overall title. Romanian 1,500-meter runner Violeta Szekely won her race and the women’s overall title.