Fred Couples wins ACE Group Classic

Fred Couples gave the attention-starved Champions Tour a big boost.

The 50-year-old star won the ACE Group Classic on Sunday at Naples, Fla., for his first victory on the 50-and-over tour, holding off Tommy Armour III by a stroke.

Couples closed with an eight-under-par 64 to finish at 17-under 199 at the Quarry, and Armour -- making his Champions Tour debut -- matched the tour record for lowest score in relation to par with an 11-under 61.

Couples made a five-foot birdie putt on No. 17 and a tap-in par on No. 18 to wrap his first official victory since the PGA Tour’s 2003 Houston Open.

“That’s a long time,” Couples said. “I am very excited that I won and I’ll keep trying to win out here and I have a couple chances on the PGA Tour to make the cut.”

Armour’s 11-under round tied Walter Hall (2002 AT&T Canada Senior Open) and Tom Purtzer (2004 Toshiba Senior Classic) for the lowest in tour history.

TENNIS

Verdasco tops Roddick in final

Second-seeded Fernando Verdasco rallied to beat top-seeded Andy Roddick, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the SAP Open at San Jose, earning the fourth title of his career.

Verdasco had lost 15 straight matches against top-10 players before breaking through against seventh-ranked Roddick. Verdasco became the first Spaniard to win a title in the Bay Area since Manuel Santana did it in 1964 in Berkeley.

Top-seeded Elena Dementieva recovered from a set down to beat Lucie Safarova, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4, in the final of the Open GDF Suez at Paris.

It was the second victory of the season for the world’s No. 7-ranked player, who also won in Sydney, Australia. Dementieva finished off her 16th professional title in 2 hours 17 minutes.

Top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Lukasz Kobut of Poland, 6-1, 6-0, to win the Brazil Open at Costa do Sauipe.

The former No. 1-ranked player needed only one hour to become the third Spaniard in a row to win the clay-court event. Nicolas Almagro won the title in 2008 and Tommy Robredo last year.

SAILING

America’s Cup returns to U.S.

Larry Ellison’s space-age trimaran BMW Oracle won back the America’s Cup for the United States by speeding across the Mediterranean and routing two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland in a two-race sweep at Valencia, Spain.

The 65-year-old software tycoon was onboard his incredibly fast craft after sitting out Race 1 because of a weight limit. His victory over rival Ernesto Bertarelli sends the oldest trophy in international sports to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club.

ETC.

Jackson, Arizona reach a deal

Right-hander Edwin Jackson and the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a $13.35-million, two-year deal, avoiding an arbitration hearing.

Jackson was 13-9 with a 3.62 earned-run average in 33 starts for the Detroit Tigers last season, making his first All-Star team. He was acquired in a three-team deal in December that also moved All-Star center fielder Curtis Granderson from Detroit to the New York Yankees.

Jackson gets an $800,000 signing bonus and a $4.2-million salary this season. He is set to earn $8.35 million next year.

The 26-year-old Jackson is 38-39 with a 4.66 ERA in 139 games over seven seasons with the Dodgers, Tampa Bay and Detroit.

Longshot Striking Dancer rallied for a 1 1/2 -length win and her first stakes victory in the $150,000 La Cañada Stakes for 4-year-old fillies at Santa Anita.

Primarily a turf horse but racing on Santa Anita’s synthetic surface, Striking Dancer sat sixth at the halfway point under jockey Alex Solis but moved up to fourth on the turn and stormed home for the win in 1:48.48.

Favorite Stardom Bound was never a factor and had to rally to finish seventh.