Johnson finishes strong, takes Texas

Zach Johnson won the Texas Open in San Antonio yesterday for his fourth PGA Tour title, following his third-round 62 with a 64 for a two-stroke victory over Charlie Wi, Mark Wilson, and Tim Wilkinson. Johnson, who entered the week with only one top-10 finish this year, had a 19-under-par 261 total . . . South Korea's In-Kyung Kim won the Longs Drugs Challenge in Danville, Calif., for her first LPGA Tour victory, closing with a 1-over 73 for a three-stroke victory over Angela Stanford . . . Down by four strokes with 14 holes to play, D.A. Weibring soared past a fading Nick Price and held off a host of challengers to win the Senior Players Championship in Timonium, Md., his first career major tournament victory in 65 tries. He finished at 9-under 271, one stroke better than Fred Funk (66). Price (71), Ben Crenshaw (66), and Jeff Sluman (69) were at 7 under . . . South Africa's Charl Schwartzel shot a 5-under 66 to win the Madrid Masters by three strokes over Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina . . . After a career full of miraculous shots, Seve Ballesteros was preparing for the "hardest challenge" of his life after announcing he has a brain tumor. Ballesteros, 51, will undergo a biopsy tomorrow before doctors determine how to proceed. Ballesteros was admitted to a hospital in Madrid last Monday after briefly losing consciousness.

Kenya's Evans Cheruiyot won his second marathon in two tries, pulling away late from countryman David Mandago before finishing in 2 hours 6 minutes 25 seconds to win the Chicago Marathon. Cheruiyot also won in Milan in December. In the women's race, Russian Lidiya Grigoryeva, the 2007 Boston Marathon champion, breezed to her second major victory, clocking in at 2:27:17, ahead of Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia (2:29:32).

Brian McBride scored two goals against his former team to help the host Chicago Fire earn a playoff berth with a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew. Columbus (16-6-6) clinched best record in the league . . . In Houston, D.C. United goalkeeper Louis Crayton made two saves, one in the last minute of second-half stoppage time, to salvage a 0-0 tie with the Dynamo, who extended their unbeaten streak to six . . . Despite playing without David Beckham (with England for World Cup qualifying), the host Los Angeles Galaxy kept their playoff hopes alive with a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rapids.

Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow was released from a Berea, Ohio, hospital after a four-day stay for tests and evaluation related to an undisclosed illness. The Browns downgraded the Pro Bowler from questionable to doubtful for tonight's game against the New York Giants . . . Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer said after the Bengals lost, 26-14, to the Jets that he would remain in New York to have his elbow examined by David Altchek, the New York Mets' doctor . . Renault's Fernando Alonso won the Japanese Grand Prix in Omaya in a race that featured a collision between rivals Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa on the second lap. Both drivers received pit drive-through penalties, and while Ferrari's Massa recovered to finish eighth and earn 1 championship point, McLaren's Hamilton finished out of the points in 12th. Hamilton's championship lead was cut from 7 to 6 points with two races left . . . Top-ranked Jelena Jankovic won her third title in three weeks, beating Vera Zvonareva, 6-2, 6-4, in the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Igor Kunitsyn won the men's tournament, upsetting fellow Russian Marat Safin, 7-6 (7-6), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, for his first ATP Tour title . . . David Nalbandian capped a near perfect week with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win over local favorite Robin Soderling in the Stockholm Open. Nalbandian lost just one set in five matches . . . Vladimir Sobotka scored in overtime to lift the host Providence Bruins to a 4-3 win over the Springfield Falcons.