Furyk Earns a Victory by Holding Off Woods

No way Jim Furyk was letting go of this victory. Not even to Tiger Woods.

After finishing second three times this year, including a difficult loss the previous weekend, Furyk answered Woods’ charge with three consecutive birdies and hung on to win the Western Open on Sunday at Lemont, Ill. It was his first victory since the 2003 Buick Open.

After tapping in for a birdie, Furyk took off his cap and shook hands with third-round co-leader Ben Curtis. Furyk then turned and pumped his fists to the cheering crowd before sharing a long hug with caddie Fluff Cowan.

Furyk shot a two-under-par 69, finishing the tournament at 14-under 270. Woods (66) finished at 272 but did go over the $50-million mark for earnings.

Curtis faltered in his effort to win for the first time since the 2003 British Open, shooting a three-over 74. He finished third, only his second top-10 finish since Royal St. George’s.

Although Furyk was sidelined half of last season after wrist surgery, this was unusually long between victories. He’d won at least one tournament a year from 1997 to 2003, and won his first major championship at the 2003 U.S. Open at nearby Olympia Fields.

It wasn’t as if Furyk didn’t have his chances. He was runner-up three times, including the previous weekend at the Barclays Classic, where Padraig Harrington overcame a three-stroke deficit in the last five holes to overtake Furyk.

*

Marisa Baena completed a run from the 60th seeding to first-time LPGA Tour winner, defeating Meena Lee, 1 up, in the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Gladstone, N.J.

Baena beat six higher-seeded opponents for the breakthrough victory.

The 28-year-old Colombian earned $500,000 for her first win in 152 Tour events and received a three-year tour exemption.

In the morning semifinals, Baena rallied to defeat eighth-seeded Candie Kung, 2 up.

She opened the 64-player event against fifth-seeded Natalie Gulbis and also defeated No. 37 Grace Park, No. 21 Jennifer Rosales and No. 29 Karrie Webb.

In the other semifinal, No. 47 Lee defeated No. 14 Wendy Ward, 1 up. Ward won the third-place match, rallying to defeat Kung, 2 and 1.

*

Ron Streck shot a four-under 67 to win the Commerce Bank Championship by three strokes, making him the first player with a victory on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour and the Nationwide Tour.

Streck, who turns 51 on July 17, became the first wire-to-wire winner on the Champions Tour this year.

Jim Ahern had the best closing round, a six-under 65, and he caught Streck at 14 under on the 15th hole, but it wasn’t enough as he finished at 13-under 200, three shots behind Streck.

Pro Basketball

The Boston Celtics signed Gerald Green, their first-round selection in the NBA draft. The Celtics took Green with the 18th overall selection.

The 19-year-old Green is expected to play for Boston this week in the Reebok Vegas Summer League.

The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 33 points and 12 rebounds during his senior year at Gulf Shores Academy in Houston.

Lauren Jackson scored a season-high 31 points, and the Seattle Storm built a 20-point lead before holding on for a 74-67 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs in a WNBA game at Seattle.

The Storm ended a four-game losing streak, its longest skid since dropping five in a row in August 2003.

Seattle led, 48-30, at halftime, but Sacramento’s defense tightened in the second half and the Monarchs cut the deficit to 63-61 with 3 minutes 42 seconds to play after two free throws by Ticha Penicheiro.

Jackson scored and Suzy Batkovic made two jump shots, the second with 1:51 to go, to give the Storm a 69-64 lead.

Beach Volleyball

The newly formed team of John Hyden and Mike Lambert defeated the second-seeded team of Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard, 17-21, 21-12, 15-10, in the final of the AVP Nissan Series Cincinnati Open.

Hyden and Lambert, seeded 12th, advanced to the final by beating top-seeded Jake Gibb and Stein Metzger, 21-15, 21-15.

It was the first win this season for Lambert, the 2004 most valuable player, after competing with two other partners earlier in the year.

Rowing

Olympic champion Wyatt Allen won the Diamond Sculls title, and Trinity College won the Temple Cup for student eights at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England.

Allen, representing the Princeton Rowing Center, defeated Australia’s Charlie Palmer of the English club Cantabrigian. He led from the start and won by three lengths.

Trinity, from Hartford, Conn., beat Yale by three lengths. It trailed after the first few strokes but moved ahead at the quarter-mile mark.

Track and Field

The Los Angeles Unified School District will sponsor all-comers meets at three high schools this summer.

Meets will be held at San Pedro on Tuesdays, Lake Balboa Birmingham on Wednesdays and Los Angeles Wilson on Thursdays through Aug. 4.

There is no charge to compete in the meets, which begin at 6 p.m. for participants in elementary or middle school and 7:30 for those of high school age or older.

Details: Youth Services at (818) 904-2003.

High Schools

Seven players from Southern California have been selected for the 18-man roster that will represent the United States at the World Youth Baseball championships next month in Monterrey, Mexico.

Selected to the team after tryouts in Phoenix were pitchers Robert Stock of Agoura and Tyler Chatwood of Redlands East Valley, infielders Matt Dominguez of Chatsworth and Josh Vitters of Cypress, catcher Chad Nacapoy of Crescenta Valley, first baseman Freddie Freeman of Orange El Modena and outfielder Brett Krill of Aliso Viejo Aliso Niguel.