Sports Briefs August 8, 2011

Adam Scott hit all the right shots Sunday in a round that was close to flawless and earned him his first World Golf Championship title in Akron, Ohio.

He celebrated with a caddie who has won quite a few more.

Steve Williams, fired last month by Tiger Woods after a 12-year partnership, felt like a bigger winner when Scott rolled in one last birdie for a 5-under 65 and a four-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational.

Woods closed with a 70 to tie for 37th, 18 shots behind.

• Scott Piercy squandered a three-stroke lead, then dodged more trouble down the stretch before making a 7-foot par putt on the final hole to win by one stroke in Reno, Nev.

Piercy shot a 2-under 70 to finish at 15-under 273, beating Pat Perez for his first victory on the PGA Tour.

• Jay Haas birdied the final hole to win the 3M Championship by one shot over Tom Lehman, Kenny Perry and Peter Senior in Blaine, Minn.

From 207 yards out, Haas put his second shot on the par-5 No. 18 about 25 feet from the hole and two-putted for his first Champions Tour victory in two years. Playing in the group of front of Haas, Lehman just missed his eagle putt from 50 feet.

Auto racing

Scott Dixon passed teammate Dario Franchitti to take the lead for good during a restart 24 laps from the finish of an IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio in Lexington, Ohio.

Franchitti was coming out of pit row under a yellow flag on lap 61 when he pinched in on Dixon as he was coming out of the home straight. Dixon took the edge, fought off several close calls in the next few laps and then was never headed.

• Tim Wilkerson ended a yearlong winless drought by racing to his third consecutive Funny Car title at the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash.

Wilkerson drove his Ford Mustang to a 4.146-second run at 300.53 mph to defeat Jack Beckman, who finished in 4.598 at 238.64.

Del Worsham (Top Fuel) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) also won their divisions.

Football

The little man was a big mismatch.

The departure of Darren Sproles for New Orleans, all 5-foot-6 of him, leaves a big hole in the San Diego Chargers' offense.

Besides being among the NFL's best return men for parts of his six-year tenure in San Diego, Sproles also was a key to coach Norv Turner's offense, especially an aerial attack that ranked among the NFL's top three in passer rating since 2008.

Sproles had deceiving strength and Turner knew that when he called a pass against a gambling defense Sproles would keep blitzers from quarterback Philip Rivers.

A pass to Sproles also meant trouble for defenders. He turned dump passes into first downs or touchdowns, scoring from 57, 61 and 81 yards in the last three years.

The Chargers are deeper at wide receiver than a year ago, so they may not need either running backs Mike Tolbert or Ryan Mathews to get near, let alone match, the team-high 59 receptions Sproles made last year. Lead receiver Vincent Jackson, who missed most of last season, is back with the club.

• Plaxico Burress has participated - briefly - in his first practice with the New York Jets.

The newly signed wide receiver, nursing a sore ankle, took part in the morning walkthrough Sunday. He then took part in 11-on-11 drills in the afternoon for one or two plays before coach Rex Ryan made him sit out the rest.

Tennis

Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland won her first tournament title in more than three years with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over third-ranked Vera Zvonareva in the Mercury Insurance Open final in Carlsbad, Calif.

• Venus Williams has withdrawn from the Rogers Cup due to an illness.

Williams says she wasn't feeling well so she went to see the doctor. She was diagnosed with a viral illness and says she is "extremely disappointed" she won't be able to play in Toronto.

- The Associated Press