Six NHL players and six owners to hold labor talks

Six NHL owners and six players will meet Tuesday in New York for direct labor talks, a new approach to resolving a dispute that has jeopardized the season.

The NHL Players’ Assn. on Sunday accepted the league’s invitation to convene without the presence of Commissioner Gary Bettman or NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr. Each side will be permitted to bring staff members and counsel to the session.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Sunday the league will be represented by California billionaire Ron Burkle of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mark Chipman of the Winnipeg Jets, Murray Edwards of the Calgary Flames, Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins, Larry Tanenbaum of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jeff Vinik of the Tampa Bay Lightning. “We will provide further details when available and as appropriate,” Daly said.

The NHLPA did not identify its delegation.

Fehr said the meeting “should facilitate dialogue between players and owners.” He added, “There will be owners attending this meeting who have not previously done so, which is encouraging and which we welcome. We hope that this meeting will be constructive and lead to a dialogue that will help us find a way to reach an agreement.”

—Helene Elliott

GOLF

Kaymer wins his first event of the year

Martin Kaymer of Germany shot a three-under-par 69 to earn his first title of 2012, holding on for a two-shot victory in rainy conditions in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, South Africa.

Kaymer finished at eight-under 280, two ahead of Charl Schwartzel (69) of South Africa. Bill Haas of the United States was third after a 71.

Kaymer was in trouble twice toward the end, pulling his tee shoot deep into the rough on the par-five No. 14. He blasted out and made a brilliant birdie. He bogeyed No. 15 to allow Schwartzel to get to within one shot but recovered through the last three holes to close out his first win since Nov. 20, 2011.

South African Louis Oosthuizen (74) was fourth. Two-time defending champion Lee Westwood’s run at Sun City ended with a 73, seven shots behind the winner.

The rest of the 12-man field was over par through four rounds at a tough Gary Player Country Club layout, where narrow fairways, stubborn rough, gusty winds and — on Sunday — steady rain made scoring consistently difficult. No one shot better than 69 all week. Kaymer’s win was his first since the WGC HSBC Champions last year and earned him a $1.25-million check.

Australia’s Steven Bowditch shot an eight-under 64 on PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course to take a one-stroke lead after the fifth round of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament at La Quinta.

Bowditch had a 23-under 337 total in the six-round event. The final top 25 and ties will receive 2013 PGA Tour cards and the next 50 and ties will earn Web.com Tour cards.

Kris Blanks was second after a 66, and Derek Ernst (66), Steve LeBrun (67) and Edward Loar (68) followed at 21 under. They also played the Nicklaus course.

Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, an 11-time winner on the European Tour, and England’s Ross Fisher, a four-time European Tour winner, were in a group tied for 11th at 18 under. Karlsson shot 68, and Fisher had a 67.

Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton was tied for 15th at 17 under after a 67. Camilo Villegas, a three-time PGA Tour winner, had a 73 to drop from a tie for 20th to a tie for 46th at 12 under.

ETC.

North Carolina wins women’s soccer title

North Carolina scored three goals in the second half to beat Penn State, 4-1, at San Diego and win its 21st women’s soccer NCAA championship.

The Tar Heels (15-5-3), who were making their 26th appearance in the final four College Cup, won the title for the first time since 2009.

Penn State, which was playing in its first women’s soccer championship game, finished at 21-4-2.

With the game tied, 1-1, Hanna Gardner scored 48 seconds into the second half when she converted Katie Bowen’s corner kick with a header past Penn State goalkeeper Erin McNulty. It was Gardner’s second goal of the season.

North Carolina outshot Penn State, 24-12, including 9-4 in the first half.

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Lindsey Vonn is in a class by herself when it comes to women’s World Cup skiing at Lake Louise, Canada.

After winning both downhills, Vonn capped a sweep with a victory in Sunday’s super-G. The American star recorded a hat trick at the Alberta resort for the second straight year after winning all three races in 2011.

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Ted Ligety of the United States easily captured his second straight World Cup giant slalom race with a flawless and fast final run at Beaver Creek, Colo.

Ligety finished in a combined time of 2 minutes 25.59 seconds, holding off top rival Marcel Hirscher of Austria by 1.76 seconds.