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By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – Lydia Ko is the only champion the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic has ever known. The only real difference is that this year, besides the need for a playoff, she has switched her eyewear from thick glasses to contacts.

Ko, who just turned 18 on Friday, drained a five-footer for birdie on the second playoff hole with Morgan Pressel to win this event held at Lake Merced Golf Club for the second straight year.

She began her final round in the fourth position and trailing by three shots, and she didn’t get off to a very good start. She bogeyed the first two holes and actually had two more bogeys on the back nine, but she hung in there and kept giving herself a chance by making several key putts that resulted in six birdies, including an eight-footer at the 72nd hole of regulation to force the playoff.

The two players both made par on the first playoff hole, and each had a good look at a birdie on the second extra hole. Pressel had a 12-footer for her birdie, which she missed, and moments later, Ko put hers in the center of the cup to conclude matters.

It was the sixth career win in only two years on the LPGA Tour for Ko, who was recently named Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

“Every hole is pretty nerve-racking, but to be in a playoff, that was double the pressure,” she said. “Morgan had been playing so well the whole week, and she’s a tough player to beat, but I had to concentrate on my game. That’s all I can do.

“Obviously, I would love to have the lead going into a final round, but it ended up being OK today.”

Pressel teed off Sunday trailing by a single stroke but took the lead at the third hole, and she expanded it by rolling in a 40-foot putt for an eagle three holes later. She dropped a shot at the seventh but got it right back on the very next hole to keep her lead intact.

She began to come back to the group on the back nine with three bogeys on holes 12 through 16, opening the door for Ko to use her superior putting to get back into the hunt and eventually track her down.

“She’s very, very impressive and always there,” Pressel said of Ko. “At her age, she plays with so much poise and calmness I don’t think you see from other kids her age.”

However, Ko herself said, don’t let the exterior fool you.

“I do get nervous; you have to take my word on that,” she said. “I think everybody has nerves. Some people show it, some people don’t. But to me, even just playing a round of golf with club members gets me nervous.”

Brooke Henderson, the 17-year-old from Canada, was the 54-hole leader but lost that advantage early on, as she bogeyed the first two holes and just did not seem to be in sync the entire round.

Especially damaging was a three-putt bogey that she took on the 12th hole, when after reaching the green on the tough, uphill par-3, she missed a two-foot par putt while Pressel bogeyed that hole as well.

“I just wasn’t 100 percent comfortable (over the ball), and I hit it harder than I should have,” Henderson said. “Putts have to go in with the perfect weight, and when you hit them too firm, that’s what happens.”

She then dropped another shot on the next hole, as she was unable to get it up and down from the thick greenside rough. She quickly got two shots back at the 14th, however, as she rolled it in from the sand for an eagle to immediately lift her spirits and get her right back on track.

Pressel, though, answered with a tap-in birdie to push the lead back to two shots.

At about the same time, however, Ko drained a 40-footer for birdie at the 15th to leap-frog Henderson and get within a stroke of the lead but made a bogey at the 16th to fall into a second-place tie.

Henderson had another chance to get one in close at the 17th, as she had 73 yards for her approach. However, she hit her wedge shot a bit thin, and she ended up near the back of the green while the pin was located in front. She was able to two-putt for par to keep the deficit down to a single stroke, but it was chalked up as an opportunity gone by the wayside.

Ko did her part to put pressure on Pressel, making birdie at the 18th in front of her to tie her at the top of the leaderboard. Pressel herself left herself a 12-foot birdie chance to win the tournament, but she left the putt just short, and after she tapped in for her par, the playoff was on.

Henderson could not join Ko and Pressel, however. Her tee shot at the par-5 18th hit a rake located just outside of a fairway bunker, leaving her with an awkward stance for her second shot. As a result, she ended up with a slightly-longer approach than usual – 156 yards – and although she hit the green and had a reasonable look at a birdie, she missed the 20-footer and finished a shot back.

“I learned a lot from today,” said Henderson, who will get on an airplane en route to the Dallas area for a Monday qualifier to get into next weekend’s Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout. “I didn’t play my best, but it was fun just to be there and be in contention most of the day.

“(Being in the playoff) would have been nice, but a third (place) finish is definitely a confidence booster moving forward.”

By Jeremy Kahn

With a chance to take their second consecutive series, the San Francisco Giants lost out to Mother Nature.

The rains came early in Denver; therefore the series between the Giants and the Colorado Rockies was postponed due to rain.

Actually, the game was postponed by officials nearly three hours prior to the first pitch between the National League Western Division rivals.

Since Tim Lincecum was supposed to start on Sunday in Colorado against the Rockies, his start along with everyone’s else’s is being pushed back a day.

Lincecum will now open the series in Los Angeles against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which means on Tuesday night, there will be a rematch of Wednesday’s game between two of last season’s star pitchers.

Yes, the fans at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night will see Clayton Kershaw face off against Madison Bumgarner.

By Jeremy Kahn

Nori Aoki received two different types of presents in the San Francisco Giants win over the Colorado Rockies, one on the field and the other in the Giants clubhouse after the game.

Aoki scored the winning run on a Joe Panik down the first base line, helping the Giants defeat the Rockies 5-4 at Coors Field.

The second present that Aoki received was his American League Championship ring while playing with the Kansas City Royals during the 2014 season.

Aoki walked to lead off the inning, his fourth walk of the night, then was sacrificed to second base, then went to third on an Angel Pagan single and then scored Panik’s bunt.

Jean Machi pitched 1.2 innings to pickup his first win of the 2015 season, as the defending World Champions broke a five-game losing streak against the Rockies.

Both Justin Maxwell and Andrew Susac each homered for the Giants, who have won four out of their last five.

Buster Posey added an RBI double in the top of the first to get on the Giants on the board before the Rockies came to bat for the first time.

Maxwell’s third home run of the season was reviewed by the umpires, as at first it was ruled a foul ball; however after a review that was initiated by crew chief John Hirschbeck, the ruling was overturned and it gave the Giants a 4-2 lead.

The Rockies clawed their way back into the game after a Carlos Gonzalez home run, and then tied up the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Nick Hundley scored from third base on a grounder by D.J. LeMahieu.

It was the first blown save of the season for Santiago Casilla, and it stopped the chance of giving Tim Hudson his first win at Coors Field in nine starts.

Troy Tulowitzki hit his 100th career home run at Coors Field, as he led off the third inning for the Rockies.

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – Fifty-four-hole leader Brooke Henderson and Morgan Pressel will be playing in the final group on Sunday at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, and the outcome could have big implications for either player.

For Pressel, a victory would be her first on the LPGA Tour in seven years, while a win for Henderson would likely mean a complete change in her playing status altogether. To make things more interesting, the two are only separated by a single stroke.

That’s because Pressel made a big move on Saturday, shooting a five-under 67 to catapult herself into a tie for second place.

Heading into the 13th hole, she was one under par for her day with two birdies against one bogey. She then caught fire, racking up four birdies in the final six holes, including a tap-in at the par-5 18th to wrap up the lowest round of the day.

Pressel’s round was especially impressive due to the fact that the conditions were very windy and severely limited scoring opportunities otherwise. In fact, the second-lowest round on Saturday was turned in by Min Seo Kwak, whose three-under 69 was aided by a hole-out eagle at the ninth.

“I wouldn’t say it was the absolute very best I could’ve played, but I certainly kept control of the golf ball in the wind,” said Pressel, who finished third in the ANA Inspiration three weeks ago and one shot out of a playoff. “I was very, very solid with the putter today as well.”

Playing two groups behind Pressel, Kwak also birdied the 18th to move into a second-place tie and will also play in the final grouping on Sunday.

Meanwhile, after playing with a nice cushion for most of the past two days, Henderson came back to the rest of the group. She bogeyed each of the last two holes, as her once-sizable lead was cut down to just one heading into the final day.

“If someone told me that I would be leading after three rounds, I would have taken it,” said Henderson, the 17-year-old who just graduated high school in Canada this past December.

Henderson’s playing status, however, is a bit interesting. Although she is able to get into tournaments by qualifying on the Monday before a given event, she is currently not an official tour player and is playing on a sponsor’s exemption for the Swinging Skirts.

The way that exemption works is that a sponsor, which has to be sponsoring the event, can exempt a certain group of players so that they don’t have to go through the Monday qualifying.

The LPGA Tour technically has an age limit of 18, which currently prevents Henderson from being on the tour and forces her to either get a sponsor’s exemption or Monday qualify in order to play.

Exceptions are made to that rule, however, as in the cases of Lydia Ko, who just turned 18 on Friday and is in her second year on the tour. Lexi Thompson, who joined the tour at age 17 three years ago, is another example.

According to tour officials, exceptions are only made with a successful petition to the tour’s commissioner Michael Whan, which Henderson’s was not. Henderson, to her credit, took the high road when asked about that on Saturday.

“I mean, a rule is a rule,” she said. “Everything happens for a reason. It just wasn’t my time, and it wasn’t meant to be.

“I respect the decision by the commissioner, and I respect everybody that had a say in it. But I’m hoping to play out here on the LPGA someday, and hopefully sooner than later.”

A Henderson victory come Sunday can completely change that, however. She can re-petition at any time, and seeing her hoist the trophy after 72 holes would logically enter Whan’s thought process if he receives another petition.

That is, if she has to enter one at all.

Meanwhile, Ko shot a one-under 71 on Saturday and is currently three strokes behind Henderson. She had a birdie and a bogey on the front nine, and after a bogey at the 11th, she birdied two of the next three holes but could not make up any more ground.

“Obviously I would love to be closer, but it was tough out there,” Ko said. “Even when you’ve got a two-footer, you’re still thinking about it because of the wind.”

After an opening round of 68 that put her in the thick of things right off the bat, 54-year-old Los Altos native Juli Inkster has leveled off and was not able to make up any ground on Saturday.

She started the day with two straight bogeys, and it didn’t get much better after that. She had a pair of birdies, but she was also victimized by five bogeys that dropped her into a tie for 24th. Inkster will tee off at 11:17 am PST with Thompson and Chella Choi.

By Jeremy Harness

The LPGA Tour has seen its share of teenage stars grab the spotlight, and this week has been no different.

Brooke Henderson, who herself is only 17 years old, roared into the lead on Friday after an eye-opening round of 65 in the second round of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

The round was the lowest in tournament history, and that it was good enough to take a two-shot advantage while fellow teenager Lydia Ko fell toward the back of the pack a bit.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Henderson, who has been on Canada’s national team for the past two years and has split time this year on the Symetra Tour – the minor leagues of the LPGA Tour – and the big tour. “I’ve been focusing on (the fast greens) for the past couple days.

“I was able to do a good job and then capitalize on my opportunities.”

Henderson used her putter to do just that. After hitting 16 greens in regulation in the opening round to shoot a two-under 70, she hit only 12 greens on Friday but only had 25 putts in the process while putting 32 times on Thursday.

As for Ko, she shot an even-par 72 to fall into a tie for fifth place heading into the weekend.

“I really didn’t get anything going,” aid Ko, who celebrated her 18th birthday on Friday. “When that happens, it’s really hard.

“Putts weren’t really rolling in,” she continued. “When they’re close but not falling, at the end of the day, you’re going to have an average score.”

By Jeremy Kahn

Trying to get their first win of the season over the Colorado Rockies, the San Francisco Giants discovered one huge problem, the double play.

On two different occasions, the Giants grounded into huge double plays and the Rockies took advantage of the Giants misfortunes, as they won for the fourth straight time, by the final score of 6-4 at Coors Field.

Casey McGehee grounded into a double play in the top of the fourth inning, as Nolan Arenado dove to his right, got to his feet, stepped on third base for one and threw to first get McGehee by a step.

Joe Panik was the tying run with one out in the top of the ninth inning, and Gregor Blanco on first base.

Panik hit a ground ball to D.J. LeMaieu at second, who tossed to Daniel DeCalso at second for one and onto Justin Morneau at first to end the game.

Rafael Ynoa hit the eventual game-winning double in the bottom of the sixth inning that scored LeMahieu.

Corey Dickerson later hit an RBI single for the Rockies final run of the evening.

Justin Maxwell continues to be a spark in the lineup in place of the injured and emotional team leader Hunter Pence.

Maxwell hit a 447-foot two-run home run in the top of the second inning to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

Unfortunately, Giants starter Chris Heston was unable to hold the lead for long, as the Rockies quickly tied it up in the bottom of the second.

Nick Hundley doubled to right field to score Morneau, and then LeMahieu tied up the game with a single to center to score Hundley.

Angel Pagan then gave the Giants the lead once again, as he singled to centerfield to score Blanco in the top of the third inning.

That lead would last a half-inning, as Charlie Blackmon would hit a 424-foot home tun yo straightaway centerfield to tie up the game.

Once again, the Giants would retake the lead in the top of the fifth inning, as Brandon Belt hit an opposite field double to score Panik.

Heston would then give away the lead and eventually the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Rockies would win for the fourth time in as many chances against the defending World Champion Giants.

In all, Heston went five and one-thirds, allowing six runs on 11 hits, while walking one and striking out four.

Bruce Bochy was ejected from the game for arguing a called strike three against Brandon Crawford as the eighth inning came to a close.

By Jeremy Harness

On the day before she turns 18, Lydia Ko, the world’s No. 1 female golfer, returned to a familiar position in the first round: on top.

Ko, who won this tournament last year, shot an opening-round 67 to grab the early lead at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic at Lake Merced Golf Club on Thursday.

“I hit the ball pretty good where I wasn’t in too much trouble,” she said. “(But) this is a very tough golf course. You need to position yourself well, and even if you’re in the fairway, sometimes it’s really hard to hold it on the green.”

She certainly hit her share of fairways (11 of her 14 tee shots found the short grass), while also hitting 13 greens to maximize her opportunities to score.

Right behind her, however, is 54-year-old Northern California native Juli Inkster, who fired a five-under 67 to go into the second day of the tournament one shot off the lead and tied for second place.

Inkster had a very nice-sized gallery for the opening round, and it is only expected to grow as long as she keeps playing the way she is.

“It’s always nice to be able to sleep min your own bed and drive a little north of (the) 280 (freeway),” said Inkster, who added that she has several fellow players staying at her house for the weekend.

However, while one NorCal native is enjoying one of her finest outings in some time, another had one that she would rather forget very quickly. Pleasanton native Paula Creamer shot a 10-over 82 on Thursday, having a miserable time on the greens – she had 34 putts in the opening round, including a pair of damaging three-putts – and only hit 11 of 18 greens.

By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

It seemed as if being away from the not-so friendly confines of Oracle Arena had hamstrung the Warriors, who were down 20 points at the end of the third quarter. Bench player Ryan Anderson had been dominating stellar defender Draymond Green, who had allowed 23 points to the role player at the 6:01 mark in the fourth, with Golden State down 101-84. But it didn’t matter, with the Warriors riding the third largest fourth quarter comeback in NBA playoff history to beat the Pelicans 122-118 and take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Who else but Stephen Curry orchestrated the Warriors’ rally for the ages, scoring 40 points. The Warriors had lost their last 356 games trailing by at least 20 going into the fourth, but it didn’t matter to Curry, who scored 15 points in overtime and the final quarter. He hit a three-pointer in the waning seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of the Pelicans and their star Anthony Davis, who missed a free throw attempt with 8.6 seconds left that would have clinched the win. To add insult to injury, Curry made the shot over the extended arms of Davis.

Overall, it was somewhat of a rough shooting night from the field for Curry, making just 10-29 shots from the floor, but he excelled at the line and in the clutch, making 13-14 attempts from the charity stripe, including the final two to seal the win.Curry wasn’t alone in the turnaround, helped by five Warriors scoring in double digits, including star guard Klay Thompson’s 28. Shaun Livingston chipped in with 12 of his own off of the bench.

Despite all of their efforts to come back, the Warriors almost blew the game. Up 121-118 with 10 seconds left, Thompson fouled Davis off of the ball, giving him a free throw attempt, which he made, and the Pelicans the ball back. Luckily for Golden State, Davis got the ball on the next possession, tried a desperation driving layup, but Andrew Bogut’s strong defense in his face was too much to overcome. Davis bricked the shot, well too strong, and Thompson grabbed the board, who was immediately fouled, giving Curry his two free throw attempts. Davis lead the team with 29 points and 15 rebounds on Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to beat the surging Warriors. It might be early, but the Warriors look like the team of destiny.