A Sports Filled Weekend

We won’t be climbing way out on a limb by saying every great golfer can name a little stretch of a particular round that cost him terribly. Jordan Spieth, come on down. You’re our next contestant.

Leading into the final round – indeed, into the back nine – of the Masters, which he had won last year – Spieth came completely unglued. A quadruple bogey and a triple bogey and a steady-playing Englishman named Danny Willett conspired to keep Spieth from back-to-back triumphs. After an opening round of 66, Spieth shot 73 each of the next three days. Willett’s 67 on Sunday gave him a two-stroke win over Spieth and Lee Westwood.

NBA

Stephen Curry scored 37 points and the Golden State Warriors tied the NBA record for victories in a season of 72 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 92-86 on Sunday night. “We can get to 73,” forward Draymond Green said. “That’s the significance for me of 72.”

The defending champions will finish the regular season at home against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. The record of 72 was set by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96. The loss at home was the first for the Spurs this season.

Horse Racing

Three Kentucky Derby prep races on Saturday didn’t exactly clear the field, since most of the fields were muddy – certainly at the Wood Memorial in New York and the Santa Anita Derby in California. Outwork won the Wood, with favorite Shagaf running fifth. Exaggerator won at sloppy Santa Anita and Brody’s Cause won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Next stop: Churchill Downs on May 7.

Boxing

Manny Pacquiao won the last fight of his celebrated career, knocking down Timothy Bradley twice on his way to a 12-round decision on Saturday night in Las Vegas. … Anthony Joshua finished off Charles Martin in two rounds on Saturday night in London to relieve Martin of the IBF heavyweight title.

Elsewhere
Kyle Busch won his second straight Sprint Cup race, taking the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. With the victory, Busch virtually nailed down a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, in which he would defend the title he won last year. … The Baltimore Orioles improved to 5-0 after a 5-3 win on Sunday over the Tampa Bay Rays. … Former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot and killed after an alleged road rage incident in New Orleans on Saturday night. He was 34.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman