GOLF
Ryu rallies to capture Women’s Open in a playoff
COLORADO SPRINGS — As she stood on the 18th green drenched in champagne, holding a trophy and wearing a mile-wide smile, there was no doubt about it: So Yeon Ryu is the brightest star on a South Korean golf roster that has more than its share of them.
The 21-year-old won the U.S. Women’s Open on Monday, first with a birdie on No. 18 that tied her Korean rival, Hee Kyung Seo, then with a shotmaking clinic over a three-hole playoff to beat Seo by three shots.
It was the latest — and most emphatic — statement about the pecking order of women’s golf in South Korea, where the sport’s stars turn into the country’s icons and Se Ri Pak already is a legend at age 33.
Starting on the 16th hole, Ryu played the three-hole playoff in 2-under par, all but sealing it when she hit three perfect shots to the green on the par-5 17th and made the putt for a birdie while Seo drove into a bunker and had to scramble for bogey.
BASEBALL
A-Rod out for up to six weeks after knee surgery
NEW YORK — Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez has had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. The All-Star third baseman was operated on Monday and is expected to be out four to six weeks.
Rodriguez, who turns 36 later this month, is hitting .295 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI this season. But the three-time MVP with 626 career home runs has not connected since June 11 and has gone 85 at-bats without a homer, his longest single-season drought.
He tweaked his knee at Wrigley Field on June 19, and the tear in his meniscus has slowed him on the bases. He is batting .359 with 10 RBIs in his last 16 games.
PRO FOOTBALL
Ward failed sobriety tests before DUI charge
ATLANTA — Police say Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward had glassy, bloodshot eyes and failed field sobriety tests during a traffic stop in Atlanta that landed him a drunken driving charge early Saturday.
The former Super Bowl MVP and reigning “Dancing With the Stars” champ is set to appear Oct. 6 in court. Ward, 35, faces a misdemeanor driving under the influence charge.
Ward told the officer he had had two bottles of Corona beer three hours earlier at an establishment in the city’s Buckhead neighborhood.
PRO BASKETBALL
Site selected for statue to honor Celtics’ Russell
BOSTON — Boston’s City Hall Plaza has been chosen as the site for a proposed statue of Celtics basketball legend Bill Russell, Boston Mayor Tom Menino and other officials announced Monday. Officials said Russell, 77, and the committee approved the site for the statute to commemorate the former Celtic as a sports champion, human rights leader and youth mentoring advocate.
From wire dispatches and staff reports
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