Price’s Clutch Putt Earns Him $1 Million

Nick Price lived out every golfer’s dream Sunday, sinking a 12-foot putt to win golf’s richest prize, the Million Dollar Challenge, in Sun City, South Africa.

“I knew exactly what was on the line,” Price said of his $1-million putt.

It was a difficult final round for Price, who first had to overtake struggling leader Phil Mickelson and then needed to hold off Davis Love III and Ernie Els, both of whom birdied No. 18 but finished one stroke behind.

On No. 18, Price, who closed with a four-under-par 68 for a 12-under 275 total, hit his second shot over the green and rolled his third shot 12 feet past the hole. After Els sank a 33-foot putt for a birdie, Price needed to save par for the victory.

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Clarence Rose and Amy Fruhwirth shot a five-under-par 66 in the final round of the alternate-shot format to win the JCPenney Classic at Tarpon Springs, Fla., by one shot with a 20-under-par 264.

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Raymond Floyd and his son, Ray Jr., won the Office Depot Father-Son Challenge at Vero Beach, Fla., with 14 birdies in the final round to finish with a 58 and a two-day total of 120 in the scramble format at Vero Beach.

Soccer

Saboteurs installed a timing device aimed at cutting off electrical power at the World Cup ’98 draw ceremony that was televised worldwide Thursday.

Police investigators were called in at halftime of the all-star game that preceded the draw in Marseille after electrical workers discovered a power transformer had been broken into.

Cindy Parlow and Robin Confer scored as North Carolina defeated Connecticut, 2-0, at Greensboro, N.C., to give the Tar Heels their 14th NCAA women’s soccer title in the 16 years of the tournament.

Top-ranked Indiana recorded its 13th shutout of the season to defeat South Florida, 6-0, in the quarterfinals of NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament.

Indiana (23-0) will play UCLA (20-2) Friday in the semifinals at Richmond, Va. The other semifinal will match Virginia (18-3-2) and Saint Louis (17-4-3).

Ben Mains scored in the 52nd minute at Boca Raton, Fla., to give Cal State Bakersfield (20-4) a 1-0 win over Lynn University (19-2) and the Division II men’s title.

Tennis

Anke Huber handed Martina Hingis only her sixth loss of the year, defeating the world’s No. 1 player, 2-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5, in the final of the Masters of Champions tournament at Frankfurt, Germany.

Miscellany

Brady Anderson returned to the Baltimore Orioles, agreeing to a $31-million, five-year contract on the day of the midnight deadline to offer players arbitration. . . . Paul Molitor agreed to a one-year, $4.15-million contract to stay with the Minnesota Twins.

Laticia Morris scored seven points in the final 90 seconds to cap Portland’s comeback from a 12-point deficit to defeat the Colorado Xplosion, 64-61, before 2,810 in an ABL game in Denver. . . . Shannon Johnson scored 12 points in the third quarter as the Columbus Quest defeated the Rage, 80-69, before 6,108 at Philadelphia. . . . Jennifer Rizzotti three-point basket with 16 seconds to play gave the New England Blizzard a 74-71 win over the Reign before 3,175 at Seattle.

UC Santa Barbara beat UCLA, 15-8, 15-8, 6-15, 6-15, 16-14, to advance to the Mountain Regional semifinals at the NCAA women’s volleyball championships.

Dutch skater Gianni Romme set a 5,000-meter speedskating world record, winning the World Cup event in six minutes, 30.63 seconds at Heerenveen, Netherlands.

Former Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Jim Miller was ordered to stand trial April 27 on a drunken driving charge in Pittsburgh.

Tim Hacker edged Bob Kennedy for the senior men’s title at the U.S. Cross Country Championships at Portland. Deena Drossin of Agoura won the women’s title.