Thorpe Beats His Buddy in a Playoff

Jim Thorpe rolled in a five-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Sunday to win the Countrywide Tradition at Superstition Mountain, Ariz., over his cigar-smoking buddy John Jacobs, who missed a three-footer that would have forced another hole of play.

“It was a wonderful finish,” Thorpe said. “If this doesn’t help the golf ratings, I don’t know what will.”

Thorpe, 53, won his first major on the Senior PGA Tour, and he can thank the par-five, 553-yard 18th hole on the Prospector course at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club.

Thorpe chipped in from the bunker for an eagle to pull within a shot of Jacobs for the third-round lead Saturday, then forced the playoff with a birdie on the 18th Sunday after an approach shot that landed 18 inches from the pin.

“That hole was very kind to me,” Thorpe said. “They should put my name someplace out there.”

The two outgoing players, who often chat with people in the crowd and joke with each other, finished at 11-under-par 277. Thorpe finished with a 70, and Jacobs had a 71.

“We both have plenty of money, but we had fun out there,” Jacobs said. “That’s what this tour should be about.”

Bruce Summerhays shot a 68, but missed a five-foot birdie putt that would have tied him for the lead on the 18th. He tied for third with Bob Gilder at 10-under 278.

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Rocco Mediate, battling 30 mph wind gusts, shot a one-under 71 for a three-stroke victory over Mark Calcavecchia in the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic at Greensboro, N.C.

Mediate finished with a 16-under 272 total for his fifth victory on the PGA Tour and first since the 2000 Buick Open. He also won at Forest Oaks Country Club in 1993, beating Steve Elkington in a playoff.

The $684,000 top prize boosts Mediate’s 2002 earnings to $1.487 million and moves him from 21st to sixth on the money list. His total is a career high, topping last year’s $1.474 million.

Calcavecchia, who shot a 72, finished second despite matching the tour record for fewest putts in a 72-hole event. Kenny Knox also had 93 in the 1989 MCI Heritage Classic.

Jonathan Byrd shot a final-round 66 to tie for third with Chad Campbell at 10 under. It was Byrd’s best showing in 14 career events.

Motor Racing

Michael Schumacher’s 57th career Formula One victory was among his easiest.

Schumacher led from start to finish, pulling away at one second per lap on the high-speed turns of the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, to win his second consecutive Spanish Grand Prix.

The victory was the fourth in five races this season for Schumacher, who seemingly could have lapped the field. It also was his 16th win in the last 25 races and moved him close to clinching a fifth title before the season is half over.

He already has 44 points, nearly double that of Juan Pablo Montoya (23). Montoya’s BMW-Williams teammate, Ralf Schumacher, is third with 20 points, and McLaren’s David Coulthard (9) is fourth.

Schumacher, closing in on Juan Manuel Fangio’s record of five season titles, slowed after his pit stop on the 47th lap to avoid tangling with traffic over the final 18 laps.

Montoya was second, 35.6 seconds behind Schumacher, and was followed by Coulthard (42.6 seconds), Nick Heidfeld of Sauber, Felipe Massa of Sauber and Heinz-Harald Frentzen of Arrows.

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Whit Bazemore raced to his first Funny Car victory of the year, beating Gary Densham in the NHRA Mac Tools Nationals at Bristol, Tenn.

Bazemore picked up the 11th win of his career, driving a Pontiac Firebird to a 4.936-second run at 310.27 mph. Densham finished in 6.400 at 141.67 in a Ford Mustang.

Larry Dixon beat Darrell Russell for his fourth Top Fuel victory of the season. Dixon had a run of 4.644 at 317.87 to beat Russell (4.977, 268.01). Warren Johnson won the Pro Stock division with a 6.986 run at 198.41 to beat Ron Krisher (6.975, 198.15).

Hockey

Sweden and the Czech Republic bounced back from early 1-0 deficits against huge underdogs to remain unbeaten at the World Hockey Championships.

Sweden fell behind with only 1:41 gone when Solvenia’s Marcel Rodman converted a power-play goal but came back to win, 8-2, at Karlstad, Sweden.

The Czechs, winner of three consecutive world titles, rallied to beat Japan, 5-3, at Jonkoping, Sweden, as Jaromir Jagr scored two goals.

Jagr, of the Washington Capitals, also had an assist, setting up Jaroslav Spacek at 7:10 in the third period to break a 3-3 tie. Jagr then put the game out of reach with his second goal at 14:43.

Miscellany

UCLA defeated Stanford, 11-7, to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation water polo championship at USC’s McDonald’s Swim Stadium. The victory clinched an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, to be held May 11-12, also at USC.

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Pat Powers, 44, men’s volleyball coach at USC for the last six years, has announced his resignation.