Fox into US Open with 2nd ’25 victory

Ryan Fox of New Zealand won for the second time in five weeks on the PGA Tour with another memorable shot in a playoff, this time a 3-wood to 7 feet on the fourth extra hole Sunday to beat Sam Burns in the Canadian Open. Fox won the Myrtle Beach Classic last month by chipping in for birdie to win a three-man playoff. This one on the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley took a little longer. What turned out to be the winning shot might be more memorable. Fox smoked a 3-wood that landed softly just left of the pin and settled | 7 feet away. Burns pulled his 3-wood some 55 feet left of the front right pin. He ran his eagle putt 8 feet by and missed that one. Fox missed his eagle try before tapping in for birdie. Fox holed a birdie putt from just inside 18 feet on the par-5 18th in regulation for a 4-under 66 that allowed him to join Burns (62) at 18-under 262. They played the 18th four more times — the PGA Tour moved the pin position from far left to front right after two extra holes. The victory moved the 38-year-old Fox from No. 75 to No. 32 in the world, getting him into the U.S. Open.

NBA honors Nelson with Daly Award

Don Nelson has been invited to the NBA Finals countless times in recent years, always declining those opportunities. This time, his peers found a way to ensure he couldn’t say no. Nelson — a Hall of Famer and three-time NBA coach of the year — was honored Sunday before Game 2 between the Pacers and Thunder as this year’s recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Basketball Coaches Association. “History has already reflected Don Nelson’s staggering contributions as a cutting-edge innovator and visionary of the NBA game,” Pacers coach and NBCA President Rick Carlisle said. Nelson, 85, retired in 2010 as the NBA’s all-time coaching wins leader with 1,335, just ahead of Lenny Wilkens’ 1,332. Nelson kept that top spot for nearly 12 years before now-retired Spurs coach Gregg Popovich passed him in March 2022. Nelson, above, is one of only two coaches in NBA history to have at least 250 wins with three different franchises. He got to that mark with the Bucks, Mavericks and Warriors, and also coached the Knicks briefly.

US coach: Team can win World Cup

A third straight loss didn’t prevent Mauricio Pochettino from thinking big. “We need to believe. We need to compete like today and for sure we’re going to have the possibility to win the World Cup,” the U.S. coach said after the Americans lost their third straight game, wasting an early lead in a 2-1 defeat to Turkey in a friendly on Saturday in East Hartford, Connecticut. While the U.S. had 60% possession and outshot Turkey 13-11, the Americans dropped to 5-4 under Pochettino, who took over after first-round elimination at last year’s Copa America led the U.S. Soccer Federation to fire coach Gregg Berhalter. They have lost three straight for the second time in a year. “Today, who is going to tell me, oh, we showed lack of, we showed lack of — lack of what today?” said Pochettino, a 53-year-old from Argentina who coached Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. “The team showed what (it) needed to show. ... Playing in this way, they are going to win most of the games.” —Associated Press