Sergio Garcia goes 4 shots clear in Thailand

    CHONBURI, Thailand (AP) Sergio Garcia finished with back-to-back birdies to shoot a second straight 7-under 65 Saturday and seize a four-shot lead after the third round of the Thailand Golf Championship.   Garcia had eight birdies overall to go with a lone bogey on the fourth to move to an 18-under total of 198 at the Asian Tour event.   "I was able to hit some really nice shots and then was able to roll two...

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SAfrica's Van der Walt wins Mandela Championship

DURBAN, South Africa (AP) Dawie van der Walt shot a 4-under 66 Saturday to win the Nelson Mandela Championship by two shots, giving the tournament a South African victory in a week when the country bids farewell to its former president.   Van der Walt finished with a three-round total of 15-under 195 as the sun eventually shone on the final day of the rain-shortened event. It was his second European Tour victory. England's Matthew Baldwin (68) and Spain's Jorge Campillo (68) were tied for second.   Even before the rain disrupted...

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Kuchar and English leading by 4 shots at Shootout

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) Matt Kuchar and Harris English took a four-stroke lead Saturday in the Franklin Templeton Shootout, playing the back nine in 9-under 27 in the better-ball round for a 12-under 60.   Kuchar and English were 20 under the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort's Tiburon course. They opened with a 64 on Friday in modified alternate-shot play. The team event ends Sunday with a scramble.   Retief Goosen and Fredrik Jacobson were second after a 61.   The teams of Ian Poulter-Lee Westwood and Charles Howell III-Justin Leonard...

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Jimmy V golf event ending after 20 years

CARY, N.C. (AP) The golf tournament developed to honor the late Jim Valvano's efforts to fight cancer is coming to an end after 20 years.   Organizers with The V Foundation announced in a statement that they are giving up the tournament to focus local efforts elsewhere, including a new partnership with the Rock `n' Roll Raleigh Marathon. The foundation says it is looking for runners to join its charitable team in the marathon, scheduled for April 13.   In its 20 years, the golf weekend drew about 500,000 spectators and raised...

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Alfredsson removed from broadcast for inappropriate remark

Former LPGA player Helen Alfredsson was removed from the OSN Sports telecast of the Ladies European Tour's Omega Dubai Ladies Masters for an "inappropriate" remark pertaining to a helicopter crash that killed nine people in Glasgow, Scotland, last week, the National reported.   Alfredsson, winner of seven LPGA events, including the Nabisco Dinah Shore in 1993, made an off-handed attempt at humor when a helicopter flew overheard, saying she "hoped they are better pilots than they are in Scotland," the Daily Mail reported.   She issued...

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