golf
love adds ryder cup rookie to roster
NEW YORK — Davis Love III became the third straight U.S. captain to pick a Ryder Cup rookie, and the first captain since 1997 who had to spend a pick on Jim Furyk.
Love filled out his 12-man team Tuesday by selecting Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker, one of four Ryder Cup rookies who will be playing in a team competition for the first time as a pro.
Johnson and Snedeker, in effect, played their way onto the team the past two weeks as the only Americans to finish among the top six in both FedEx Cup playoff events. It was a performance that made it difficult for Love to ignore.
"I think we're extremely deep this time, deeper than we've ever been. … There was a lot of guys that played a lot of really good golf," Love said. "You can analyze the numbers up and down and back and forth. It was tough to leave really anybody off."
The Ryder Cup is Sept. 28-30 at Medinah outside Chicago. Though Europe has dominated this competition since 1995 — it has won six of the past eight times — it has won on U.S. soil only twice in the past 20 years.
soccer
U.S. women to face Germany for U20 title
The United States beat Nigeria 2-0 in Tokyo and will play defending champion Germany for the women's under-20 World Cup title.
Morgan Brian scored in the first half and Kealia Ohai added another goal in the second to send the Americans to the final for the third time. The United States won in 2002 and '08.
"It was a difficult match physically," U.S. coach Steve Swanson said. "Nigeria gave us all we could handle and a little more. Getting that first goal was key for us."
Germany, trying to become the first team to win consecutive titles, beat host Japan 3-0. Japan will face Nigeria for third place Saturday before the United States meets Germany.
Brian opened the scoring with a header in the 22nd minute. In the 70th minute, Ohai took a through ball from Samantha Mewis and sent a 12-yard, right-footed shot past goalkeeper Ibubeleye Whyte.
Nigeria pressed forward after the second goal but the Americans denied it a chance to get back in the game.
"I thought our back four did a very good job of keeping possession and allowing us to get out of our end," Swanson said.
et cetera
WNBA: Tina Charles scored 20 and grabbed 13 rebounds to lift visiting Connecticut over Washington 77-70. The Sun has beaten the Mystics nine straight times, including 5-0 this season. Washington lost its season-worst sixth in a row. … Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus scored 23 apiece to lead host Minnesota to an 88-77 win over Los Angeles. Lindsay Whalen added 12 points and Candice Wiggins had 10 for the first-place Lynx. With eight games remaining, Minnesota needs four more victories to clinch the No. 1 seed in the West. Augustus took over the top spot on the Lynx career scoring list, surpassing Katie Smith's 3,605 points on a 3-pointer with 4:11 left in the second quarter.
Soccer: Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Frankie Sanfilippo is the North American Soccer League defensive player of the week for the third time this season. Sanfilippo scored the Rowdies' second goal Saturday in a 3-0 victory against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, helping Tampa Bay clinch a playoff spot. It was the Rowdies' ninth shutout of the season.
Times wires
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