• Earnhardt’s first • O’Hair wins John Deere Classic • Bowie wins first LPGA title, Sunday • Rasmussen takes Tour de France lead Earnhardt’s first JOLIET, Ill. — A jubilant Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke through for his first NASCAR Nextel
• Earnhardt’s first
• O’Hair wins John Deere Classic
• Bowie wins first LPGA title, Sunday
• Rasmussen takes Tour de France lead
Earnhardt’s first
JOLIET, Ill. — A jubilant Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke through for his first NASCAR Nextel Cup victory of the season Sunday, using a two-tire strategy and holding off Matt Kenseth to win at Chicagoland Speedway.
Kenseth led 176 of the 267 laps but wound up second after choosing to change four tires and falling behind on his final pit stop in the USG Sheetrock 400.
He started 25th on Sunday and spent most of the day hovering near the end of the top 10.
O’Hair wins John Deere Classic
Sean O’Hair shot a 6-under-par 65 on Sunday, holding off J.L. Lewis and Hank Kuehne to win the John Deere Classic for his first career victory. The rookie, who turns 23 on Monday and was making only his 18th career start, finished with a 16-under 268.
So steady all day, O’Hair made things interesting at the end. After a birdie on 17, he had to scramble on 18 after nearly putting his ball in the water. With the ball on the hazard line, O’Hair chipped within 10 feet to make par.
Kuehne (68) and Robert Damron (67) finished one stroke behind O’Hair at 269. Lewis (72), defending champion Mark Hensby (64) and Wes Short (66) were at 270.
Bowie wins first LPGA title, Sunday
SYLVANIA, Ohio — Heather Bowie won her first LPGA Tour title Sunday, parring the third hole of a playoff with Gloria Park in the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
Park made things easy for Bowie, hitting a low hook out of the rough and into a creek on the par-5 18th hole. After hitting clutch putts on the first two extra holes to extend the playoff, Park triple-bogeyed the last hole.
Bowie, who earned $180,000 and a three-year LPGA Tour exemption, closed with a 4-under 67 to match Park at 10-under 274.
Rasmussen takes Tour de France lead
MULHOUSE, France — Lance Armstrong was in a trailing pack Sunday in the ninth stage of the Tour de France, which was won easily by Denmark’s Mickael Rasmussen with a gutsy solo ride.
Rasmussen’s win was the second in a row for his Rabobank team, following teammate Pieter Weening’s victory in the eighth stage.
Sunday’s 106.3-mile route from Gerardmer to Mulhouse in eastern France took the riders over six climbs.
