Turns out Rory McIlroy needed only three good swings to win The Players Championship on Monday in a playoff over J.J. Spaun.

McIlroy blasted his opening tee shot and hit a pitching wedge to the par-5 16th to set up birdie, and then he found the island green at the par-3 17th with a 9-iron into a cold, crackling wind that effectively gave him a second title at golf’s richest event at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Spaun posed over his 8-iron until he heard the groans of the spectators lined up behind the 17th green. His ball cut through the wind and sailed clear over the green into the water, leading to triple bogey that ended his hopes.

“It was a great shot ... perfect if it was the right distance,” he said. “I just couldn’t believe it was long. Just not my luck of the gust.”

McIlroy became the eighth multiple winner of The Players Championship, having also won in 2019. And it was the first time in his career that he won twice heading into the Masters. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month.

The first three-hole playoff in 10 years at The Players was caused by a four-hour rain delay on Sunday. McIlroy had to make a 4-foot par putt on the 72nd hole. Spaun had a 30-foot birdie putt for the win that stopped inches short.

Men’s basketball

Duke remains No. 1 in AP Top 25 >> Duke remained atop The AP Top 25 men’s poll a day after the committee that selects the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament went with Auburn as the No. 1 overall seed.

The Blue Devils (31-3) earned 49 of 59 first-place votes in the latest poll after sweeping the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

The Blue Devils completed its ACC title run despite losing freshman star Cooper Flagg (ankle) in the quarterfinals. Duke is optimistic Flagg will be ready to go for the first round of the NCAAs.

Big 12 Tournament champion Houston also stayed at No. 2 while collecting six-first-place votes, followed by Florida and then Auburn.

Women’s basketball

UCLA, South Carolina headline Top 25 poll >> UCLA (30-2) remained No. 1 in The AP Top 25 one day after the Bruins earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

The Bruins head into March Madness with two losses, both coming to USC. UCLA received 19 first place votes from the 32-member national media panel. Defending national champion South Carolina was No. 2. UConn was third, followed by USC and Texas.

Soccer

Messi out of World Cup qualifiers >> Lionel Messi will miss Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil over the next eight days because of an injury to his adductor.

Intel Miami said the 37-year-old Messi — the reigning Major League Soccer MVP — underwent an MRI “to assess the extent of the discomfort in his adductor region,” an injury that occurred in Sunday’s win over Atlanta.

Olympics

IOC board puts boxing on program for LA in 2028 >> Boxing is set to be on the program for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after years of disputes over how the sport is run.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said the executive board he chairs approved including boxing on the 2028 program. It still needs a full IOC Session of about 100 members to sign off on the decision later this week, but that is usually a formality.