IN BRIEF
Jenna Rinker, 15, of Slippery Rock, carded an 82 to win first place at the recent King's Family Junior Golf Tournament, which was held at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Mt. Pleasant.
SEATTLE — Mike Hargrove resigned as manager of the Seattle Mariners — and then stood in line among all those who don't exactly understand why.Hargrove left Sunday, saying his "passion has begun to fade" after 37 years in baseball even though his team is the hottest club in the majors.He managed Sunday's 2-1 victory against Toronto that extended Seattle's winning streak to eight games, then yielded to John McLaren, his bench coach. McLaren's first game will be Monday at Kansas City.Hargrove is the first manager since at least 1900 to depart while his team was on a winning streak of at least eight games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau
CINCINNATI — Manager Jerry Narron was fired Sunday night by the Cincinnati Reds, who raised their payroll and their expectations in the offseason only to find themselves with the worst record in the major leagues.Narron was the second big league manager to be fired this season. Baltimore's Sam Perlozzo lost his job on June 18 after the last-place Orioles couldn't shake another losing streak.
SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — Cristie Kerr won the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday by making only two bogeys over her final 45 holes, and forcing Lorena Ochoa into another series of major mistakes.In a riveting duel along the back nine of Pine Needles, Kerr broke a tie with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 14th and made the No. 1 player in the world come get her. Ochoa didn't come close, losing hope with another pulled tee shot that cost her a bogey.Kerr finished at 5-under 279 and earned $560,000 for her 10th career victory.
GRAND BLANC, Mich. — Brian Bateman's long wait for a PGA Tour victory ended with a birdie on the last hole Sunday at the Buick Open, breaking a four-way tie and making him the improbable winner.Bateman entered his 151st PGA Tour event 204th on the money list in his sixth year with the world's best golfers.His best previous finish was third before he closed with a 3 under to finish 15-under 273 and win by a shot with the highest winning score at Warwick Hills since 1997.Bateman's chances of winning were boosted when Woods and Vijay Singh didn't make their usual appearance.