Singh cruises to win at Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Vijay Singh claimed his 16th PGA Tour crown Sunday, cruising to victory at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
The two-time major winner took the walk down the 18th fairway already knowing he had won the $954,000 top prize and moved into first place on the money list with $1.966 million.
Singh earned his 12th consecutive top-10 finish. Only Jack Nicklaus has more, establishing the record of 14 straight in 1977.
Singh shot a 4-under-par 68 for a four-day total of 16-under 272. He started the day tied for the lead with Arron Oberholser at 13-under but birdied the first three holes.
"Well, I'm playing pretty good," the Fiji native said. "My ranking doesn't say that; I'm No. 2. It is a hard feat to take Tiger Woods off the top."
Jeff Maggert's 69 left him at 13-under 275. He birdied the final two holes to edge Phil Mickelson for second place.
Biffle wins pole for Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Greg Biffle won the pole Sunday for the 46th Daytona 500.
Driving a Ford Taurus, Biffle raced to a lap of 188.387 miles per hour to give NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner Jack Roush his first-ever pole at Daytona International Speedway.
Biffle won last July's Pepsi 400 at Daytona in his rookie season.
Elliott Sadler was second in a Ford at 188.355 mph. Biffle and Sadler were the only drivers to lock starting positions for next Sunday's race.
The remainder of the 43-car field will be determined by Thursday's two 125-mile qualifying races. The back of the field will be based on time trial speeds and provisional starting positions.
United States completes Davis Cup sweep
UNCASVILLE, Conn., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Andy Roddick and Robby Ginepri completed an American sweep of Austria in the first round of the Davis Cup on Sunday.
Roddick beat Austrian Jurgen Melzer, 6-4, 6-2, and Ginepri beat Stefan Koubek, 7-5, 6-2, to give the United States a 5-0 victory.
The Americans had clinched the win Saturday when twins Bob and Mike Bryan defeated the Austrian doubles tandem of Julian Knowle and Melzer. The U.S. owned a 2-0 lead after the first day thanks to singles wins by Roddick and Ginepri.
The U.S. hosts Sweden in the quarterfinals in April.
Sweden upset defending champion Australia, 3-2, on the road in Adelaide. With the Swedes taking a 2-1 lead into the reverse singles, Jonas Bjorkman clinched the win by defeating Mark Philippoussis, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2, in 1 hour, 44 minutes.
East beat West in NHL All-Star Game
ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Daniel Alfredsson had two goals and an assist as the East rallied Sunday for a 6-4 victory over the West at the NHL All-Star Game.
Much was made of the presence of 17 first-time All-Stars, including teenager Rick Nash. But the veterans stole the spotlight.
Besides Alfredsson and Mark Messier, 34-year-old Joe Sakic, the long-time captain of the Colorado Avalanche, recorded the 14th hat trick in All-Star history to win MVP honors and a 2004 Dodge pickup truck.
Alfredsson, the 31-year-old captain of the Ottawa Senators, snapped a 1-1 tie in the opening minute of the second period, then gave the East a 5-3 lead with 1:56 left in the period.
Toronto's Gary Roberts scored the tiebreaking goal 5 1/2 minutes earlier.
Messier scored in the East's four-goal second period to move past Gordie Howe into third place on the all-time All-Star scoring list with 20 points.
