(Photo Credit: Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports)

It’s amazing how much of a difference one victory can make

Patrick Reed, who hadn’t won on the PGA Tour in 16 months, hung on to a 1-stroke lead despite three early bogeys and triumphed Sunday in the Northern Trust, the first leg of the FedEx Cup championship.

The victory in Jersey City, New Jersey, moved Reed from 50th to second place in the FedEx Cup standings. He nipped Abraham Ancer by one stroke to collect his first win since the 2018 Masters and the seventh of his career on the Tour.

Gymnastics:
Simone Biles won her sixth all-around title on Sunday at the U.S. Gymnastics championship in Kansas City, Missouri. Biles finished almost five points ahead of runner-up Sunisa Lee. Biles also won the vault, balance beam, and floor exercise titles.

Baseball:
With standout pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu off the injured list and churning out seven scoreless innings, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-3. The Dodgers hit four home runs, two by Justin Turner.

Masahiro Tanaka put an end to his struggles with eight-plus scoreless innings in the New York Yankees’ 1-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

San Francisco Giants reliever Will Smith got his first career hit and the two-run single highlighted a three-run ninth inning in a 9-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Elsewhere:
Plagued by back spasms, Serena Williams retired in the first set of the Rogers Cup tennis finals in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday. Bianca Andreescu became the first Canadian to win the tournament in 50 years. Rafael Nadal won the men’s title for the fifth time.

Pittsburgh Steelers receivers coach Darryl Drake, 62, died Sunday morning. The Denver Broncos have lost running back Theo Riddick for six to eight weeks with a fractured shoulder.

Tommy Grady, the league MVP, threw five touchdown passes as the Albany Empire, in their second year of existence, beat the Philadelphia Soul 45-27 for the Arena Football title in Albany, New York. Kevin Harvick won the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

It was his second NASCAR victory of the season. Denny Hamlin took second.

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