(Photo Credit: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Catch Up On All The Games And Matches You May Have Missed Over The Weekend

Ireland’s Shane Lowry won the first British Open golf championship held in Northern Ireland in 68 years.

Lowry, 32, collected his first major title by battling wind and rain through Sunday’s final round. He finished with a 1-over 72, the first time since 1996 that the Open winner was over par in the final round. It was still commendable, given the conditions. He won by six strokes over Tommy Fleetwood and was never really challenged over the final 18 holes at Royal Portrush. Tony Finau was third. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy failed to make the cut.

A year ago, Lowry missed the cut at the Open. Now he’s the winner of the Claret Jug, golf’s oldest trophy.

“Just shows you how fickle golf is,” Lowry said. “Golf is a weird sport, and you never know what’s around the corner.”

Boxing:
Manny Pacquiao knocked down Keith Thurman in the first round and went on to win a split decision on Saturday night in Las Vegas, relieving Thurman of his welterweight title and handing him his first defeat. Thurman had predicted he would knock out Pacquiao, 40, inside of six rounds and send him into retirement. Pacquiao is the only fighter to win titles in eight weight classes.

Baseball:
The National Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2019 on Sunday in Cooperstown, New York. The new members are pitchers Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, and Lee Smith, along with third baseman/DH Edgar Martinez and outfielder Harold Baines.

The Colorado Rockies snapped a six-game losing streak, beating the New York Yankees 8-4 on Sunday. The Los Angeles Angels released pitcher Matt Harvey, whom they had signed to a one-year, $11 million contract.

Travis d’Arnaud’s grand slam lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox and snapped their five-game losing streak. They are nine games behind the Yankees in the American League East.

In Cleveland, Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor hit a line-drive foul ball that struck and injured a 3-year-old boy in the stands. Protective netting at the stadium stretches to the end of the dugouts but the injured child was seated several sections beyond that and anywhere from 12-15 rows from the field. MLB has been discussing further extensions of the netting, which Lindor says he favors, in the face of several fan injuries this season.

Elsewhere:
Kevin Harvick outdueled Denny Hamlin in the final lap of the Foxwoods Casino 301 at New Hampshire for his first win of the season and in his last 21 starts. “It was a heck of a finish, closer than we wanted,” Harvick said.

Ron Francis, a Hall of Fame player and former general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, was named GM of Seattle’s NHL expansion team that begins play in two years. The franchise is as yet unnamed.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman