UPI NewsTrack Sports

Carpenter wins Ky., Franchitti tops points

SPARTA, Ky., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Ed Carpenter corralled his first IZOD IndyCar Series victory and Dario Franchitti took over the points lead Sunday at the Kentucky Indy 300.

Carpenter got his first win in his 113th start after engaging in a back-and-forth battle with Franchitti down the stretch. He ended up winning by just 0.0098 seconds, the sixth-closest margin in IndyCar history.

Franchitti's second-place finish, meanwhile, put him in the points lead as he bids for his record third consecutive and fourth overall IndyCar championship with just one race to go.

He wrested the points lead from Will Power, who came into Kentucky with a 12-point advantage but dropped 18 points behind Franchitti with a 19th-place finish Sunday.

Scott Dixon finished third and was mathematically eliminated from title contention.

James Hinchcliffe came in fourth and Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the Top 5.

Kevin Na ends victory drought at Shriners

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Kevin Na claimed his first PGA Tour win on his 211th try Sunday, firing a 6-under-par 65 to win the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Na ended at 23-under 261, handily besting the tourney's scoring record of 263 and downing Nick Watney by two strokes.

Watney, who was tied with Na for the lead after three rounds, shot a 4-under 67 and came up a bit short in his bid to become the first three-time winner of the season on the PGA Tour. He finished at 21-under 263.

Sharing third place at minus-18 were Paul Goydos and Tommy Gainey, both of whom registered 3-under 68s.

Knotted one shot further back were Tim Herron (69), David Hearn (65), Carl Pettersson (68), Jhonattan Vegas (68) and Spencer Levin (68).

Hoey holds off McIlroy for Dunhill victory

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Michael Hoey held off a charging Rory McIlroy Sunday, firing a 4-under 68 to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews by two strokes.

McIlroy used a scintillating start Sunday to erase a 5-shot deficit and appeared ready to break his own historic Old Course record of 9-under 63.

But third-round leader Hoey battled him down the stretch and McIlroy faltered on the back nine.

Hoey drained a 6-foot, right-to-left birdie putt on the 18th hole to seal the win, finishing at 22-under 266 overall while capturing his third career victory and second of 2011.

A third Northern Ireland native, Graeme McDowell, missed several easy opportunities and had to settle for a 3-under 69, good for a third-place tie with George Murray (67) at 18-under 270.

Sharing fifth at minus-17 were Marc Warren (67), Tommy Fleetwood (68) and former British Open champ Louis Oosthuizen (69).

Football author Gent had heart trouble

BANGOR, Mich., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Pulmonary disease caused the death of former football player Peter Gent, who wrote the tell-all novel "North Dallas Forty," a Michigan funeral home announced.

Gent, 69, died Friday in his hometown of Bangor, Mich., where he honed his athletic skills and went on to a five-year career with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960s.

Gent suffered from complications of pulmonary disease, the D.L. Miller Funeral Home said. The Los Angeles Times said plans for services were not revealed.

Although Gent played basketball at Michigan State University and was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets, he opted instead to join the Dallas Cowboys. His sensational novel of a Texas pro football team gave fans a shocking insider look at the physical toll the game took on players and the free-wheeling use of pharmaceuticals to dull the pain and stay on the field.

"North Dallas Forty" was turned into a popular movie starring Nick Nolte. Gent wrote the screenplay.