Golf

Steven Bowditch is 31 and hardly a big name on the PGA Tour. He is, however, a winner in the game of life.

Bowditch, a native of Australia, earned his second Tour victory on Sunday at the AT&T Byron Nelson Classic Championship in his adopted home town of Irving, Texas. It is where he and his wife Amanda had their honeymoon in 2011, even posing for photographs on the 18^th green.

Beyond that, however, is Bowditch’s personal history. He has suffered from clinical depression much of his life, which left him battling headaches and profound nosebleeds. He had even considered suicide. A combination of pharmaceuticals has allowed him to lead a relatively normal life the last few years, which also included his other Tour win in 2014.

Bowditch’s four-round total of 259 set a course record at TPC Four Seasons.

NHL

The Stanley Cup finals begin on Wednesday, matching the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning. Both conference finals came down to seventh games.

The Lightning eliminated the New York Rangers 2-0 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Lightning goalie Ben Bishop made 22 saves. The Blackhawks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-3 on Saturday. Jonathan Toews scored a pair of early goals for Chicago, which is pursuing its third championship in six years. Anaheim lost a Game 7 at home for the third consecutive year.

TENNIS

Maria Sharapova, the women’s defending champion, was knocked out at the French Open on Monday morning.

The second-seeded Sharapova fell 7-6 (3), 6-4 to 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the fourth round. It’s her early exit at Roland Garros since 2010. She had won the tournament in 2012 and 2014. The match was supposed to be played on Sunday but was delayed by rain.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .