Demsey, Lickliter are big winners at Q-school

After a 10-year absence and two operations to remove a brain tumor the size of a golf ball, Todd Demsey finally made it back to the PGA Tour on Monday with perhaps the most significant round of his career.

Demsey, a former NCAA champion, closed with an eight-under-par 64 in the sixth and final round of Q-school at Winter Garden, Fla., to earn one of 26 full-exempt cards next year in the big leagues.

Frank Lickliter, who opened with consecutive 62s, completed a wire-to-wire week and finished as the medalist at 29-under 403. He won by four shots over Brett Rumford of Australia.

But the day belonged to Demsey, 35.

“I was just playing without any fear today,” Demsey said.

“It feels good to be calm under the most stressful situations. I really was fine with whatever happened.

“I came here to get my card, but it’s not life or death. I have things in perspective.”

Demsey’s only other year on the PGA Tour was in 1997, when he made the cut in only nine of 27 events as a rookie.

Back injuries slowed his career on the Nationwide Tour, but the real jolt came in 2002 when he felt constant pressure in his left sinus. At the end of the year, doctors found a tumor behind his left sinus going into his brain.

It took two operations to remove the tumor, but Demsey got another scare this year when he discovered the tumor has returned. Doctors believe it is benign, and he will have an MRI exam next week to decide whether to treat it with radiation.

“They don’t think it’s going to be too much recovery time, probably just a week or so,” Demsey said. “Hopefully, I can get it done in the next week or two.”

Demsey was at 19-under 413 and finished eighth at Q-school, which means he probably will start his year at the Sony Open in Honolulu, just five weeks away.

Full-exempt cards were awarded to the top 25 and ties.

Unlike previous years, there weren’t too many horror stories, although Greg Chalmers and Miguel Angel Carballo each bogeyed the 18th hole and missed a card by one shot.

John Merrick and Bob Sowards each birdied the final hole to earn their cards.

Chalmers and Carballo were among 53 players who earned cards on the Nationwide Tour.

Failing to earn cards were former Ryder Cup players Chris Riley and Steve Pate and Ted Purdy, who was 125th on PGA Tour money list going into the final event of the year until he missed the cut at Disney.

A couple of past champions on the PGA Tour earned their cards by finishing in the top 25, including Duffy Waldorf, who closed with a 66, and Carlos Franco of Paraguay, who shot 70.

MISCELLANY

Reichelt wins super-G; Ligety, Miller well back

Hannes Reichelt led an Austrian sweep at a World Cup super-G at Beaver Creek, Colo., his second straight victory in the discipline on the Birds of Prey course.

Austrians won five of the top six places while the best U.S. skier was Ted Ligety in 23rd place. Bode Miller was 30th.

The first skier out of the start hut, Reichelt charged down the sun-drenched course in 1 minute, 19.87 seconds, edging teammate Mario Scheiber by 0.02 seconds.

Christoph Gruber was third, 0.21 off the winning pace.

Ligety, a technical specialist, was 1.09 back.

This marked the first time since 2003 that Miller failed to finish among the top three at home. Miller, the reigning World Cup super-G champion, said he hit a rock early on, leaving him no chance.

“That was my first run on these skis. I hit a rock. That’s bad luck,” Miller said. “Once I got to the third gate I realized that the whole edge was gone, completely folded.”

Mixed martial arts fighter Sam Vasquez has died in a Houston hospice about six weeks after he was injured in a sanctioned bout, a rare fatality for a combat sport that is growing in popularity.

Vasquez, 35, was injured Oct. 20 and died Friday. The Harris County medical examiner’s office confirmed Vasquez’s death, but spokeswoman Stacey Mitchell said it could be several days before the official cause is determined.

Vasquez was hospitalized after he was knocked out by Vince Libardi of San Antonio in the third round of a fight at the Renegades Extreme Fighting show. He lost consciousness and suffered a seizure.

Japan’s baseball team qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics with its third straight victory in the Asian qualifying tournament at Taipei, Taiwan, routing Taiwan, 10-2. South Korea and the Philippines also competed in the round-robin tournament.

Taiwan and South Korea could still reach the Olympics in the final qualifying tournament in March, where they will compete against teams from other continents.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and Manchester United beat Fulham, 2-0, at Manchester, England, to reclaim second place in soccer’s English Premier League.

Ronaldo, who finished second to AC Milan’s Kaka for European Golden Ball award Sunday, scored in the 10th and 58th minutes at Old Trafford. He has 13 goals in 11 games and six in his last four appearances against Fulham.

The loss left 14th-placed Fulham two points above the relegation zone.

Italian Olympic Committee anti-doping prosecutors recommended that cyclist Luca Ascani should be banned for the maximum two years after testing positive for EPO.

Traces of the blood-boosting hormone were found in Ascani’s A and B samples at the Italian national championships June 26, when he won the time trial.

Ascani was suspended Aug. 2 by the Italian cycling federation pending the outcome of CONI’s investigation. The cycling federation will now make a ruling on the case.