Nordqvist wins LPGA Tour title

Anna Nordqvist won the LPGA Tour Championship on Monday in Richmond, Texas, and Lorena Ochoa finished second to earn her fourth consecutive player of the year award, by one point over Jiyai Shin.

The 22-year-old Nordqvist shot a final-round 65 to finish 13 under par. Ochoa was two strokes back and won the top player honor when Shin couldn't chip in from the front of the 18th hole.

Shin led Ochoa by eight points (156-148) in the race entering the tournament. Once Ochoa secured second place, Shin had to finish no worse than seventh to win the player of the year award. Shin settled for a par on the last hole and finished tied for eighth at 6 under, giving Ochoa the player award by a 160-159 score. Point totals are based on top-10 results.

The 21-year-old South Korean fell short in her bid to win the rookie and player of the year awards. Nancy Lopez remains the only player to sweep both titles, in 1978.

The good-natured Shin was still smiling after coming up short.

"I learned a lot from this year," she said. "I need more focus, concentration and everything. I really made my goals. I just missed player of the year, but I still had a good year."

Ochoa also won her fourth consecutive Vare Trophy, honoring the season's lowest scoring average. Ochoa and Shin were separated by decimal points coming into the tournament.

Nordqvist, meanwhile, earned her second career victory and made it through the season without missing a cut in 15 starts. She also won the LPGA Championship this year.

BASEBALL

Omar Vizquel agreed to $1,375,000, one-year contract with the White Sox. The 42-year-old is an 11-time Gold Glove winner and has played mostly shortstop during 21 major league seasons. He figures to add depth to Chicago's young infield. ... Ken Griffey Jr. stands to earn nearly $4 million from Seattle next season. Griffey's deal signed this month to return to his original team for one more season as a 40-year-old calls for a $2.35 million base salary for 2010. Baseball's active home run leader would earn $3.9 million if he again has at least 400 plate appearances, Seattle has an increased home attendance of 2.5 million fans and Griffey again does not go on the disabled list while remaining on the roster for the entire season. Griffey earned $3.15 million in 2009.

AROUND THE HORN

Boxing: A former national Golden Gloves boxing champion died two days after collapsing following a bout in Philadelphia. Promoter Dominic Pesoli said 25-year-old Francisco Rodriguez died Sunday after losing a USBA super bantamweight bout against Teon Kennedy.

Speedskating: Former U.S. skater Peter Mueller was fired as Norway's speedskating coach less than three months before the Winter Olympics following an accusation of sexual harassment. He has coached the team for six years.

Track: Germany has restored the 1936 high jump record to the woman who was stripped of the mark because she was Jewish. Germany's track and field association says the act of restoring Gretel Bergmann's record jump of 5 feet, 3 inches, "can in no way make up" for the past. But it called the decision an "act of justice and a symbolic gesture." Bergmann emigrated in 1937 to the United States, where she still lives.

Mixed-martial arts: Kimbo Slice will make his official Ultimate Fighting Championship debut Dec. 5 in Las Vegas. Slice is the former strip-club bouncer who became an Internet sensation for his widely viewed street fights. UFC hasn't announced Slice's opponent for his debut.

Jurisprudence: Michael Barrett, an Illinois insurance executive accused of secretly making nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, has pleaded not guilty to interstate stalking.

Tennis: Rafael Nadal lost to Robin Soderling for the second consecutive time, falling 6-4, 6-4 in their opening round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. Soderling handed the Spaniard his first loss on clay at the French Open this year.

Soccer: German soccer authorities have set up a task force to deal with the match-fixing investigation of 200 games in nine European countries. German soccer federation (DFB) president Theo Zwanziger said that soccer worked closely with state prosecutors during the investigation. The task force will include officials from DFB and DFL, the German soccer league that runs the top two divisions.

Cycling: Italian cyclist Gianni Da Ros received a 20-year ban because of doping. ... Lance Armstrong's new RadioShack racing team has released its full 2010 lineup, which includes former Astana teammates Levi Leipheimer, Andreas Kloden and Yaroslav Popovych.

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