Reuters Sports News Summary

07/31/2016 19:51

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Walker wins PGA Championship by one stroke over Day

American Jimmy Walker relied on clutch putting to clinch his first major title by one shot over Jason Day after a marathon day to conclude the weather-interrupted PGA Championship at soggy Baltusrol on Sunday. Walker, among 49 players who did not finish the third round on Saturday due to heavy rain and lightning, and among 10 who had not hit a single shot, carded a three-under-par 67 in the final round to post a 14-under total.

Hamilton wins in Germany to extend championship lead

Lewis Hamilton cruised to an unchallenged victory in Sunday's German Formula One Grand Prix to extend his lead over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg at the top of the world championship standings. Hamilton seized the advantage at the start from pole-sitter Rosberg, who drove an underwhelming race in front of his home fans, and was never overtaken.

Djokovic beats Nishikori in Rogers Cup final

World number one Novak Djokovic continued his dominance of Kei Nishikori with a 6-3 7-5 victory in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Sunday. After clinching his 30th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, Djokovic immediately started to turn his attention to something more elusive, an Olympic gold medal.

IOC staunchly defends Russian presence in Rio

Partial sanctions against Russian athletes over the country's state-run doping system are preliminary, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Sunday, defending the organization's position amid vocal criticism. The IOC opted not to ban all Russian athletes from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after revelations of a wide state-backed doping program across many sports.

Golf: Willett looks for another chance to shine, at Olympics

Masters champion Danny Willett said he was looking forward to the Rio Olympics next month and another chance to shine on the world golf stage. Willett birdied his last two holes to close with a level 70 on the drenched Baltusrol layout at the PGA Championship on Sunday, but finished on five-over 285, hurt by a third-round 74 for another 2016 major disappointment since his Augusta triumph.

Golf: Ariya wins at Woburn to become first Thai to land a major

Ariya Jutanugarn banished the memories of a late collapse earlier this year as she became the first Thai golfer to win a major championship by taking the Ricoh Women's British Open title on Sunday. The 20-year-old missed out on major glory when she dropped shots at each of the last three holes after leading by two strokes with three to play at the ANA Inspiration in California in April.

Troubled Rio Games coming together, says IOC

Rio de Janeiro will deliver a successful Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday, despite delays in preparations, lack of funds and the country suffering from its biggest political and economic turmoil in decades. The first Games on the South American continent are due to start on Aug. 5 and organizers are still frantically rushing to prepare venues.

Triathlon: Rio event will be Leeds versus the world

Triathlon was invented in San Diego, made famous in Hawaii and polished on the beaches of Australia but the sport's current epicenter, home to five Britons with serious Olympic prospects, is the slightly less glamorous northern British city of Leeds. Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, gold and bronze medalists in the 2012 Games, have always been based in Yorkshire, eschewing warm-weather training camps in South Africa's Stellenbosch and Boulder, Colorado, that have attracted so many of their compatriots over the years to instead bike and run on the same lanes and fells they knew as boys.

Taiwan's Chan wins maiden European Tour title in Thailand

Taiwan's Chan Shih-chang clinched his maiden European Tour title after a closing 67 secured a two-shot victory over compatriot Lin Wen-tang at the King's Cup on Sunday. Chan went into the final round with a one-shot lead and the 30-year-old mixed six birdies with three bogeys to claim the title on 12-under at the Phoenix Gold Golf Club in Pattaya, Thailand.

Halep beats erratic Keys to win Rogers Cup

Fifth seed Simona Halep of Romania took advantage of an error-prone display by American Madison Keys to claim her 14th WTA title with a 7-6(2) 6-3 victory in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal on Sunday. Halep, 24, won an erratic opening set that featured eight breaks of serve after breezing through the tiebreak, and then broke her 10th-seeded opponent again in the second game of the second to tighten her grip.

07/31/2016 19:51