Taylor wins Sony Open in playoff

Nick Taylor in a playoff is tough to beat. Getting there was hardest part for the Canadian, who delivered another highlight reel of clutch moments Sunday at the Sony Open in Honolulu. Down to his last shot, Taylor chipped in from 60 feet for eagle on the par-5 closing hole at Waialae for a 5-under 65 to get into a playoff with Nico Echavarria. He holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole. And then he hit a wedge from 46 yards that was close to perfect to set up a 3-foot birdie putt for the win. The last shot might have been the easiest shot he had in the final hour. “I’m a bit stunned this worked out this way,” Taylor said. That was true for so many others, starting with Echavarria, the 30-year-old Chilean who delivered some big moments of his own with a 15-foot par save, a 12-foot birdie, and twice getting up-and-down from the bunker at the end for a 65 to join Taylor at 16-under 264. “If Nick doesn’t chip in, I win the tournament,” he said. Taylor never looked like a winner until he had a lei around his neck and the trophy in his hand. It was his fifth PGA Tour title, the last three in a playoff.

LA fires not far from Osaka’s mind

While Naomi Osaka is busy competing — and winning — at the Australian Open, she needed to send someone to retrieve her 1 1/2-year-old daughter’s birth certificate from their California home in case it got caught up in the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area. After a victory against Caroline Garcia in the first round at Melbourne Park on Monday, Osaka said she’d learned that there was a fire burning three blocks from her house. Osaka said she figured it would be a good idea to keep the birth certificate safe. Her daughter, Shai, was born in July 2023 and has traveled with Osaka on tour. Osaka wore a black Dodgers hat with “LA” and a red heart stitched on it, along with a purple Lakers jersey to her news conference. “I’m not there, so I don’t know how bad it is,” she said. “But I think the biggest thing that I am grateful for is that everyone in my family is safe.” Osaka is a former world No. 1 who won two of her four Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open. She was born in Japan and her family moved to the U.S. when she was 3. She’s been based in Los Angeles for several years.

Ex-champ Fury retires for 2nd time

British former heavyweight champ Tyson Fury has retired from boxing — again — one month after losing a rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk. The 36-year-old Fury announced the decision in a short video posted on his Instagram account on Monday. Fury was upset with the unanimous decision when he lost the Dec. 21 rematch with Usyk in Saudi Arabia. However, Usyk landed 179 of 423 punches thrown (42%), while Fury landed 144 of his 509 punches, a 28% clip. Fury had acknowledged making mistakes, notably by showboating too much, when losing their first fight in Riyadh in May by split decision. British boxing fans had been hoping that Fury would next fight countryman Anthony Joshua, a bout that has been talked about for years. Fury has announced his retirement before, however, notably on his 34th birthday in August 2022. But he was back fighting again two months later. Fury’s record is 34-2-1, with 24 KOs. The losses to Usyk were the only defeats in Fury’s career, which began in 2008 and included one draw against American Deontay Wilder in 2018. —AP