From Golf To College Hoops To NASCAR

Phil Mickelson, who hadn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2013, got himself a sweet victory on Sunday in Mexico City. After shooting 65-66 in the two weekend rounds of the WGC-Mexico, he bested Justin Thomas in a one-hole playoff. Thomas had shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to vault back into the competition.

Mickelson’s last win had been the 2013 U.S. Open at Muirfield. He went 101 tournaments worldwide between victories.

“I can’t put into words how much this means to me,” Mickelson said. “I knew it was going to be soon – I’ve been playing too well for it not to be. But you just never know until it happens.”

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: No. 15 Michigan earned its second straight Big Ten title on Sunday, beating No. 8 Purdue 75-66. The Wolverines have won nine straight games. … No. 10 Cincinnati edged No. 11 Wichita State 62-61. On Saturday, No. 2 Michigan State lost to Michigan, No. 6 Kansas lost to Oklahoma State and No. 9 North Carolina fell to No. 5 Duke. … Murray State and Radford became the first two teams to qualify for the NCAA Tournament by winning their conference tournaments.

NASCAR: Kevin Harvick swept the stages of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas for his second straight Monster Energy Cup Series victory. He won in Atlanta last week. Harvick led 214 of the 267 laps, most ever for a winner at the Las Vegas track. Kyle Busch took second. Kyle Larson was a distant third.

ELSEWHERE: Deontay Wilder successfully defended his chunk of the heavyweight boxing title by knocking out Luis Ortiz in the 10th round on Saturday night in New York. Wilder weathered a difficult seventh round before pummeling Ortiz in the 10th. Wilder is hoping for a title unification match with Anthony Joshua. … With a 123-120 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, the Houston Rockets ran their winning streak to 15 games. … In the NHL, the Nashville Predators beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime on Sunday for their eighth straight victory.

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

Larry W. March 5, 2018