Woods Tops Montgomerie in Sudden-Death Playoff

Tiger Woods parred the third sudden-death hole against Colin Montgomerie on Monday and won the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open at Heidelberg, Germany, for the second consecutive year.

The two finished tied after 72 holes at 268. Woods shot a final-round four-under-par 68, and Montgomerie had a 69.

Woods won with a par on the third playoff hole when Montgomerie drove into a bunker and hit his next shot into a lake.

Woods earned $410,222, Montgomerie $273,480. It was the 44th victory of Woods’ career and his 16th in 34 events on the European Tour.

“It was a fun week to hit the ball like this,” Woods said. “I wish I could do this all the time.”

Montgomerie, who has never won a tournament with Woods in the field, had been taking painkillers for a back problem and said he nearly pulled out before the final round.

“If I had been two under par rather than leading, I wouldn’t have been here,” he said. “It was a good effort considering my physical condition. I’m very proud to go out there and shoot 69. That was a real effort.”

Tennis

Lleyton Hewitt and Jennifer Capriati will be seeded No. 1 in the men’s and women’s draws at the French Open, which begins Monday.

Hewitt will be followed in the men’s seedings by Marat Safin, Tommy Haas and Andre Agassi. Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten is seeded seventh.

Capriati, the defending champion, will be followed in the seedings by Venus Williams and her sister Serena, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, Monica Seles and Jelena Dokic.

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Martina Hingis had surgery at Zurich, Switzerland, to repair ankle ligaments, but Dr. Heinz Buehlmann told Swiss radio it was too early to assess her tennis future.

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Germany surprised Russia, 2-1, and Argentina defeated Sweden, 2-1, in the World Team Cup at Dusseldorf, Germany.

Football

Quarterback Ryan Leaf is without a job again after the Dallas Cowboys released him, the third team in 15 months to cut the former No. 2 overall draft pick.... Linebackers Ray Lewis and Peter Boulware did not attend the first day of the Baltimore Ravens’ voluntary passing camp, angering Coach Brian Billick, who said the players told him they would participate.... Denver running back Terrell Davis had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Davis scheduled the surgery when he felt discomfort after this month’s minicamp.

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San Francisco 49er kick return specialist Vinny Sutherland was arrested over the weekend on charges he was drunk when he allegedly drove his car into two light posts.

Sutherland crashed his Toyota SUV just before 3 a.m. Saturday at Saratoga, several miles west of San Jose, Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies said.

Two 49er draft picks, safety Kevin Curtis from Texas Tech and defensive tackle Josh Shaw from Michigan State, were riding in the vehicle. No one was seriously hurt and neither Curtis nor Shaw, who were in town for a 49er three-day minicamp that starts Wednesday, were arrested.

In January 2000, Sutherland was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and disorderly conduct at a bar near Purdue.

Miscellany

USC All-Pacific 10 Conference forward Ebony Hoffman is among 16 finalists for the 2002 USA World Championship for Young Women Qualifying Team.

The 12-player team will play in the world championships July 12-16 at Ribeirao Preto, Brazil.

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Elliott Sadler was fined $5,000 by NASCAR for throwing his helmet at Ryan Newman during The Winston at Lowe’s Motor Speedway at Concord, N.C., on Saturday. Sadler was angry with Newman over rough racing.... Police investigating the deaths of two men discovered in a tent at Lowe’s are focusing on a charcoal grill used as a heater.

Jurisprudence

Angry over the government’s disclosure of grand jury testimony, defense lawyers for Salt Lake City’s Olympic bid leaders asked a federal appeals court to throw out a government appeal for misconduct.

The defense is seeking to end nearly two years of prosecution against Olympic bid chief Tom Welch and deputy Dave Johnson, who were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2000 for bestowing $1 million in cash and favors on IOC members who awarded Salt Lake the Winter Olympics.