Els Finishes Fast to Win Memorial

Ernie Els always wanted to win Jack Nicklaus’ tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

He made sure no one else had a chance Sunday at the Memorial, taking only 11 putts over the final nine holes for a six-under-par 66 and a four-shot victory.

Challenged by Fred Couples on the back nine, Els responded with one clutch putt after another, including a 15-foot par save on the 16th hole to keep a two-shot lead. He birdied the last two holes from inside five feet and finished at 18-under 270.

Couples matched Els’ birdie on the 17th. But he missed his drive on the final hole and took bogey, dropping him to a 68. He finished at 14 under.

Tiger Woods continued to make big strides in his game, but failed to birdie the final 11 holes and finished with a 69 that left him at 12 under.

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Karrie Webb played a bogey-free final round for a five-shot victory at the Kellogg-Keebler Classic at Aurora, Ill. She made five birdies in a five-under 67 to finish at 16-under 200.

Webb charged to the lead with a second-round 66 and never let up in the 54-hole event, running away from Annika Sorenstam (68), Siew-Ai Lim (66) and Jeong Jang (69), who tied at 11 under.

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Jim Thorpe won the Farmers Charity Classic at Ada, Mich., by one shot after second-round co-leader Andy Bean passed out and could not tee off.

The 51-year-old Bean was taken by ambulance from the course to a Grand Rapids hospital with an allergic reaction after eating sausage and a muffin for breakfast. He was treated and released and returned to the course two hours later.

Thorpe closed with a six-under 66 and finished at 13-under 203. Fred Gibson (66) finished second at 204.

Soccer

Frankie Hejduk and Jeff Cunningham scored to lead the Columbus Crew to a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution in a Major League Soccer game in front of 7,047 at Foxboro, Mass. Crew goalkeeper John Busch stopped Jose Cancela on a penalty kick with a minute left in injury time.

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Abby Wambach scored in the 59th minute, and the U.S. women’s team tied Japan, 1-1, in an exhibition at Louisville, Ky.

Miscellany

Cheryl Ford’s layup with 1.8 seconds left gave the Detroit Shock a 74-73 victory over the Connecticut Sun in a WNBA game in front of 7,028 at Uncasville, Conn.

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Steven Lopez and Nia Abdallah qualified for the Athens Olympics with victories at the U.S. taekwondo trials in San Jose. Lopez, the 2000 gold medalist in the featherweight division, will compete as a welterweight this time after defeating Tony Graf.

Abdallah beat Diana Lopez, Steven’s younger sister, in the women’s featherweight final.

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Jimmy Pedro earned a spot on his fourth Olympic team by winning the 73-kilogram division at the U.S. judo trials in San Jose. Pedro was one of seven men who qualified. Five women, including Ronda Rousey (63 kg), also qualified.

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IOC President Jacques Rogge said Marion Jones showed poor judgment in becoming involved with people linked to doping scandals.

The triple Olympic gold medalist has strongly denied taking drugs, and Rogge told the London Sunday Times no evidence had been found to implicate her.

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HBO announced that a replay of Saturday night’s pay-per-view bouts at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas featuring Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Sturm, and Bernard Hopkins and Robert Allen, will be shown Saturday at 10 p.m.