Wrestling is back in Olympics with IOC balloting

Seven months after losing its Olympic place, wrestling was reinstated for the 2020 Games on Sunday in Buenos Aires when the IOC overturned a decision many members thought was a mistake.

The sport, which has ancient roots in the Olympics, easily defeated bids from baseball-softball and squash. It will now join the program of the 2020 Games, which were awarded to Tokyo on Saturday.

Wrestling, which was surprisingly dropped from the list of core sports in February, received 49 votes to win in the first round of secret balloting by the International Olympic Committee. Baseball-softball got 24 votes and squash 22.

GOLF

U.S. gets victory to regain Walker Cup

Nathan Smith won the deciding point in the United States’ 17-9 victory over Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup, beating England’s Nathan Kimsey, 4 and 3, in the fifth singles match at historic National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y.

The United States, ahead 8-4 entering the final day in the biennial amateur event, split the four morning foursomes matches and won seven of the 10 afternoon singles matches.

The U.S. leads the series, 35-8-1. In 2011, Britain and Ireland won, 14-12, at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland.

The 35-year-old Smith, a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion from Pittsburgh, won the par-three 13th and par-four 14th with pars and ended the match with a halve for bogey on the par-four 15th.

Alabama teammates Bobby Wyatt and Justin Thomas, 45-year-old Todd White, California’s Michael Kim, Oklahoma State’s Jordan Niebrugge and Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers also won singles matches.

England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and Callum Shinkwin and Ireland’s Kevin Phelan won their singles matches. Fitzpatrick, a freshman at Northwestern, is the U.S. Amateur champion.

The event, first played in 1922 at National Golf Links, is named in honor of former USGA President George Herbert Walker George H.W. Bush’s George W. Bush’s .

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Esteban Toledo won the Montreal Championship for his second Champions Tour victory of the season, chipping in for birdie to beat Kenny Perry on the third extra hole at Sainte-Julie, Canada.

The 50-year-old Toledo won the Insperity Championship in May in Texas to become the first Mexican winner in Champions Tour history. He also won that event on the third hole of a playoff, topping Mike Goodes with a par.

Toledo shot a three-under 69 to match Perry at five-under 211 on La Vallee du Richelieu’s Rouville Course. Perry, the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open winner in consecutive tour starts this summer, had a 70.

They each parred the par-four 18th twice in the playoff, and Toledo won on the par-three 10th.

Duffy Waldorf was a stroke back after a 70.

Bernhard Langer, three strokes ahead entering the round, had a 75 to tie for fourth at three under with David Frost, Michael Allen and Anders Forsbrand. Frost had a 70, Allen shot 71, and Forsbrand had a 72.

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Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn made a 12-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff hole with Scotland’s Craig Lee to win the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

Bjorn, also the 2011 winner, made his winning putt after Lee’s attempt from 15 feet slid left of the hole on the par-four 18th. Bjorn finished with a six-under 65 to match Lee at 20-under 264. Lee shot 67.

The 42-year-old Bjorn has 14 European Tour victories.

ETC.

Vettel takes first in Italian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel withstood a tricky start from the pole position to win the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and take a commanding lead over Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who finished second.

Vettel locked his tires on the first turn as the Ferrari of Felipe Massa pressured him from behind, but after that the German consolidated his advantage to beat Alonso and Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, who finished third.

With seven races remaining, it looks increasingly likely that Vettel will clinch a fourth straight Formula One title — unless he has an alarming drop in form or Ferrari finds a way to get faster.

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Jennifer Kessy and April Ross won the Atlantic City (N.J.) Open for their second AVP Tour title of the season, beating Emily Day and Summer Ross, 23-25, 21-16, 15-13.

Kessy and April Ross also won the season-opening event in Salt Lake City. Day and Summer Ross were coming off a victory last week in Cincinnati.

In the men’s final, Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson topped Sean Rosenthal and Phil Dalhausser, 21-9, 21-15, for their second victory of the season.