In Brief: Dustin Johnson wins going away
GOLF: Dustin Johnson knows as well as anyone that no matter how good he is and how well he plays, something can always go wrong in golf.
Just not this week at the BMW Championship in Carmel, Indiana.
Not this year, really.
An awesome talent, Johnson is starting to pile up the victories to prove it. He ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch to regain control Sunday, left Paul Casey feeling helpless by matching his eagle putt late in the round and sailed home to a 5-under 67 for a three-shot victory at Crooked Stick.
“Ran into a buzz saw,” Casey said after a 67 to finish runner-up in a FedEx Cup playoff event for the second straight week. “That was something special the last two days, and I did everything I could. So I’m holding my head up very high.”
Johnson, though, it at another level right now.
Known for so many years as the guy who couldn’t catch a break in the biggest events, he won for the third time in eight starts dating to his first major at the U.S. Open.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in every part of my game,” Johnson said.
He finished at 23-under 265 and went over $9 million in earnings for the year, along with taking the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup to the finale in two weeks at East Lake for the Tour Championship.
The consolation for Casey, along with $1,836,000 for his two runner-up finishes, was the No. 5 seed at the Tour Championship in two weeks. That means he only has to win at East Lake to capture the $10 million bonus.
Day drops out: Jason Day withdrew from the BMW Championship after eight holes with back pain, making him ineligible for the Vardon Trophy.
The injury was not considered serious, and Day was hopeful of being in Atlanta in two weeks for the Tour Championship and a shot at the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus.
DeChambeau gets card: Bryson DeChambeau won the Web.com Tour Finals-opening DAP Championship in Beachwood, Ohio, to wrap up a PGA Tour card for next season.
The 22-year-old former SMU player beat Andres Gonzales with a 5-foot par putt on the second hole of a playoff.
Quintana wins Spanish Vuelta
CYCLING: Movistar rider Nairo Quintana won the Spanish Vuelta, adding the 2014 Giro d’Italia on his Grand Tour list of honors.
The Colombian climbing expert had cemented his commanding lead over nearest rival Chris Froome in Saturday’s decisive stage.
Following custom, Froome did not challenge Quintana on the traditional ride into Madrid on the 21st and final stage.
Quintana finished the 71st edition of the race 1 minute, 23 seconds in front of second-placed Froome.
Esteban Chaves, a Colombian rider for Orica BikeExchange, finished in third place and more than four minutes off the pace. He was followed by three-time Vuelta winner Alberto Contador.
“This is spectacular, a dream come true,” Quintana said. “I woke up this morning feeling like the winner, but I couldn’t raise my arms in celebration until I crossed the finish line. This is probably the most important (win) for me, considering the scenario and who I was racing against. Froome is a great rival.”
Froome finished second at the Vuelta for a third time, after also coming close in 2011 and 2014.
Sky, Fever clinch playoff spots
WNBA: Cappie Pondexter scored a season-high 24 points, Allie Quigley had 18 points and the Chicago Sky clinched a playoff spot with a 96-86 victory over the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Courtney Vandersloot added 16 points for Chicago, which played without WNBA scoring leader Elena Delle Donne for a second straight game because of a thumb injury. Pondexter moved into fifth place in WNBA history with 6,277 points, passing Lisa Leslie.
Wheeler leads Fever: Erica Wheeler scored nine of her 17 points in the final 2:17 to help the Indiana Fever pull away at the Washington Mystics and clinch a playoff berth with an 80-73 win.
Wheeler’s 3-pointer with 2:17 left gave the Fever the lead for good at 72-69 and sparked an 11-4 run in which she made all six free-throw attempts to secure the victory. Indiana is currently in the fifth playoff spot, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Chicago.
Briann January had 15 points.
Donovan returns in L.A. Galaxy victory
SOCCER: Landon Donovan returned to the L.A. Galaxy as a second-half substitute, ending his 21-month MLS retirement in their 4-2 victory over visiting Orlando City.
Donovan, the top scorer in the history of MLS and the U.S. men’s national team, announced his comeback with the Galaxy three days earlier.
Giovani Dos Santos scored two goals and Alan Gordon added another during a first-half barrage for the Galaxy, who took sole possession of second place in the Western Conference with their second straight win.
D.C. United rallies: Steve Birnbaum scored in the 89th minute, Lamar Neagle added another goal in stoppage time and visiting D.C. United tied the New York Red Bulls 2-2.
Costa acrobatics earn Chelsea draw: Diego Costa scored his second goal of the game from an overhead kick to earn Chelsea a 2-2 draw at Swansea, ending the visitors’ winning start to the English Premier League season.
Officials suspended after OSU fiasco
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The Mid-American Conference says the eight-man officiating crew that botched the end of the Central Michigan-Oklahoma State game has been suspended for two games.
And the Big 12 announced that the two-person video replay crew that worked the same game also has been suspended for two games.
Officials mistakenly gave Central Michigan an untimed final play from midfield after Oklahoma State was penalized for intentional grounding while trying to run off the last four seconds of the fourth quarter with a three-point lead.
On that play, the Chippewas scored a touchdown on a long pass and lateral to win 30-27. The referee admitted afterward that an error was made by extending the game after a loss-of-down penalty.
Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder voiced his protest, but the result of the game was final.