Casey claims his first PGA Tour title
HUMBLE, Texas, April 5 (UPI) -- England's Paul Casey, who has nine European Tour titles, won his first PGA event Sunday, defeating J.B. Holmes in a playoff at the Houston Open.
Casey bogeyed the first playoff hole but it was good enough after Holmes drove into water and missed a long bogey putt.
The Englishman had an even-par 72 and Holmes carded a 69 in the final round, tying at 11-under-par 277.
"I hadn't done anything out here," Casey said after his $1 million victory. "This is the first win. This is fantastic."
Fred Couples (74), Henrik Stenson (70) and Nick O'Hern (70) tied for third at 9-under 279.
The 49-year-old Couples held the lead during the final round but bogeyed his last three holes.
"I am disappointed," Couples said. "I couldn't make birdies. I wish it wasn't that hard."
Geoff Ogilvy (75), a two-time tour winner this year, tied for sixth at 280 with Hunter Mahan (68), John Mallinger (70), Tommy Armour III (72) and Jason Bohn (74).
Lincicome takes LPGA major with eagle
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif., April 5 (UPI) -- Brittany Lincicome eagled the final hole Sunday to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, Calif., her first victory in a major.
Lincicome hit her approach shot to within 3 feet of the pin and rolled in her putt to finish with a 3-under-par 69, one shot ahead of Cristie Kerr and Kristy McPherson.
"That absolutely was the best shot of my life," the 23-year-old American golfer said.
Lincicome, who has won three times on the LPGA Tour, had an overall score of 9-under 279.
Kerr (71) and McPherson (72) played with Lincicome in the final threesome.
Lincicome's eagle was her first in the tournament.
"It happened at the perfect time and moment," she said.
Lindsey Wright (70) was fourth at 282 and Suzann Pettersen (66) and Meaghan Francella (69) tied for fifth at 283.
Jeff Gordon wins Fort Worth auto race
FORT WORTH, Texas, April 5 (UPI) -- Points' leader Jeff Gordon broke a 47-race winless drought Sunday by taking the checkered flag at the Sprint Cup's Samsung 500 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Gordon led a race-high 105 laps on the way to the 82nd win in his Sprint Cup career.
"How ironic is this," Gordon asked after his first victory in 17 races at the Texas Motor Speedway. "We go this long (without a victory) and we win at a place that has eluded us. This was an incredible team effort."
Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, finished second after a late charge, with Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth completing the top-five.
Pole winner David Reutimann finished 11th just ahead of Denny Hamlin.
In the latest standings, Gordon has 1,154 points and has a 162-point lead over Johnson. Kurt Busch (974), Clint Bowyer (967) and Tony Stewart (963) complete the top-five.
Ryan Briscoe wins IRL season-opener
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 5 (UPI) -- Ryan Briscoe beat Ryan Hunter-Reay Sunday and won the Indy Racing League's season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Fla.
It was the first time in IRL history the opening race was held on a street course.
Briscoe, driving for Team Penske, passed Justin Wilson just after a restart on Lap 86, and went on to record the third victory in his IndyCar career.
By withstanding two other caution flags in the final 14 laps, he won the race by only 0.4619 of a second.
"This place has been bad to me, so this is so sweet," Briscoe said.
In previous St. Petersburg races, he finished 14th and 23rd.
Wilson, Dario Franchitti, and Tony Kanaan completed the top five.
A big early moment came during a crash involving Danica Patrick, the only woman in the 22-car field, and rookie Raphael Matos, when Patrick slammed her car into a tire barrier. Neither driver was injured but there was a brief verbal confrontation.
