Sports in brief

golf

shin wins playoff on ninth hole

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Jiyai Shin needed only 20 minutes Monday to do what she couldn't in eight hours a day earlier.

The South Korean made a two-putt par on the ninth playoff hole, beating Paula Creamer to win the Kingsmill Championship and end the longest playoff between two players in LPGA Tour history.

Shin and Creamer played the 18th hole eight times Sunday in an attempt to break the tie before darkness forced a suspension. About 1,000 fans turned out in the next morning to see them go at it again. But after just one more hole, the par-4 16th, the matter was settled.

"We were so hungry for the win," said Shin, who, like Creamer, was seeking her first LPGA Tour victory since 2010.

Creamer hit her 30-foot, double-break, downhill first putt about 5 feet past the hole. She then missed the left-to-right bending comebacker, the ball hitting the right edge and spinning out. Shin's first putt stopped 3 feet from the cup.

Seeing Creamer miss made her short putt all the more intimidating.

"I was really nervous with it. But after, when I make that, I was really happy," said Shin, 24.

nhl

Lightning signs prospect, 19

Right wing Nikita Kucherov, drafted 58th overall in 2011, signed a three-year, entry-level deal. Kucherov, 19, is with Quebec of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League but is rehabbing summer shoulder surgery that kept him out of Tampa Bay's development camp.

He played for Russia in the 2012 World Junior Championship and played 18 games for CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League with a goal and five points.

et cetera

Gymnastics: Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney were injured Sunday night when they fell while performing on uneven bars in Indianapolis during the second stop of a 40-city tour. Maroney hurt her left knee, and was having tests to determine the extent of the injury. Raisman has bruised knees but is not expected to miss any shows.

Soccer: Rowdies defender Takuya Yamada is the North American Soccer League Defensive Player of the Week. Yamada, the longest-tenured member of the Rowdies, has three goals this season and leads the NASL in minutes played with 2,250.

NBA: The Cavaliers signed free agent swingman Alonzo Gee to a three-year, $9.75 million contract. Gee, 25, had a breakout season for the Cavs in 2012, averaging 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 63 games.

Damian Cristodero, Times staff writer; Times wires