HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) Early on, Satoshi Kodaira was thinking only of playing well enough Sunday to make it to next week’s PGA Tour stop.

Those worries are over for the 28-year-old from Japan, who rallied from six shots behind to win the RBC Heritage in a playoff and gain an invitation to join the tour as a regular.

”This is a stage I’ve been dreaming about,” Kodaira said through an interpreter. ”And having this opportunity to play full time is a dream come true. So, of course, I will accept full-time membership.”

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Kodaira defeated Si Woo Kim on the third playoff hole, rolling in a 25-foot birdie on the par-3 17th hole, then punching his fist in celebration. It ended a drama-filled final round in which it appeared that Kim, Ian Poulter and Luke List had the lock on the title at different points.

But it was Kodaira’s relentless grind to the top that won the day. And with the game he showed at Harbour Town Golf Links, Kodaira appears like he’s got m..

Michael ReavesWhen the New York Mets made their World Series run in 2015, it was the team's pitching staff that led the way. Matt Harvey appeared to be the ace and Jacob deGrom was the No. 2 pitcher, but an ace in his own right. Yet the one with the most potential was clearly Noah Syndergaard, who put on one of the most electric performances in a must-win game 3 against the Kansas City Royals, starting with the very first pitch:
Calling that first at-bat a “statement” was the understatement of the year, as Sydergaard went on to strike out six batters in six innings and get the win in the Mets' 9-3 victory, their only win that series. Fast forward a year later and Syndergaard was called upon in a somewhat similar spot when the Mets took on the San Francisco Giants in the NL Wild Card Game. He answered the bell again, striking out 10 batters in seven innings and giving up 0 runs. The Mets of course went on to lose 3-0, but the end result was out of Thor's hands.
After an i..

MADRID (AP) Jon Rahm shot a 5-under 67 Sunday to win the Spanish Open with overnight leader Paul Dunne two strokes behind.

The fourth-ranked Rahm had six birdies in his final round to end the Centro Nacional de Golf tournament on 20-under 268.

The 23-year-old Spaniard earned his third European Tour win a week after finishing fourth at the Masters in Augusta.

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”When I made the decision to come straight from Augusta it wouldn’t be to just show up and walk around, I wanted to win this tournament,” Rahm said.

It was Rahm’s first professional win at home.

Dunne (71) entered the final round with a 1-shot lead over Nacho Elvira (71) but three bogeys ruined his chances of a second tour win.

Elvira finished third at three shots behind Rahm. George Coetzee was a shot further back in fourth after a 63.

We're barely halfway through April and we've already seen just about everything you can possibly see throughout the course of an entire baseball season. Records have been set, fists have been thrown, eight-run comebacks have been made and WiFi passwords have been revealed. It's been a wild and weird start to the 2018 season, and yet we may already have the No. 1 candidate for weirdest play of the year.
Late on Saturday night in Los Angeles, the Arizona Diamondbacks led the Dodgers 3-1 in the top of the fourth when D-Backs third baseman Deven Marrero stepped to the plate. With two runners on, Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill badly missed his location on an 89-mph fastball and Marrero took him to deep left center for his first home run of the season and just the sixth of his career. Wait, just kidding, upon further review, Marrero was called out at second despite the ball going over the fence. Check out what happened:
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/985396114621943808
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KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) Brooke Henderson pulled away Saturday at gusty Ko Olina Golf Club to win the Lotte Championship for her sixth LPGA Tour victory.

The 20-year-old Canadian closed with a 3-under 69 for a four-stroke victory. She moved within two victories tying Sandra Post’s LPGA Tour record for Canadians.

A stroke ahead entering the round after late putting trouble in a third-round 73, Henderson finished at 12-under 276.

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Spain’s Azahara Munoz had a 67, the low round of the day, to finish second.

Top-ranked Shanshan Feng (71), third-ranked Inbee Park (72) and sixth-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn (69) tied for third at 7 under.

With rain squalls and wind gusting to 30 mph, Munoz and Jutanugarn put together the only serious charges of the final round. Both came up a few holes short.

Munoz climbed 13 places and was two shots back after her fifth birdie of the day, at the 14th. But she parred in for her best finish in more than four years.

Jutanugarn, from Th..

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) For the final two days of the Lotte Championship, it was pretty clear that the only player who could beat Brooke Henderson was Brooke Henderson.

She wasn’t about to let it happen Saturday at windy Ko Olina Golf Club, where she won by four shots. The Canadian was too talented, and she had some very important people to play for, dedicating her victory to the people involved in the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team bus crash in Saskatchewan.

”It’s extremely sad, a terrible tragedy what happened up there,” Henderson said. ”I know it kind of affected my whole country. Everybody really took it kind of personally.

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”For all the survivors that are still fighting through it and all the ones that have passed away, I want to show them that we’re here for them and we’re supporting them. They’re always going to be in our thoughts and prayers.”

Henderson, who won’t be 21 until September, won her sixth LPGA Tour title, leaving her just two short ..

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) Steve Flesch needed 38 holes Saturday to win the Mitsubishi Electric Classic for his first PGA Tour Champions victory.

The 50-year-old Flesch won with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff with Scott Parel at TPC Sugarloaf in the event completed a day early because of forecast rain and lightning. Bernhard Langer dropped out on the first extra hole.

”You never know if you’re ever going to win again,” Flesch said. ”Honestly, it’s been harder than I anticipated winning on this tour. The guys are so good. That Langer guy is hard to beat.”

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Parel bogeyed the par-5 18th on the second playoff hole after his approach hit the bank short and left and went into the water.

”I just was in between clubs a little bit,” Parel said. ”I had like 209 (yards), which is probably about as bad a yardage that I can have, so I had to kind of choke up on a hybrid a little bit and not try to hit it too hard. If I hit it right, a normal shot’s going to be in the..

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) The resurgent Ian Poulter shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the RBC Heritage, putting him in position for his second victory in three weeks.

Before April, Poulter had not won on tour in more than five years. Now, he’s one more solid round away from adding another title to his dramatic win at the Houston Open on April 1.

No joke, Poulter’s play is for real.

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Seven of the Englishman’s last 11 rounds have been in the 60s after having just three such showings in his first 20 rounds this season. His latest left him at 13-under 200, and a stroke ahead of Luke List (67) and Si Woo Kim (68).

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson failed to make a move and, after a 72, was tied for 41st, 10 shots behind.

Poulter and his chasers will have a quick turnaround Sunday with tour officials starting play at 7 a.m. and going off in threesomes on both tees because of expected bad weather in the afternoon.

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MADRID (AP) Irish golfer Paul Dunne held onto a one-shot lead of the Spanish Open after shooting a 4-under 68 through the third round on Saturday.

Dunne moved to 17 under overall after making five birdies, to go with one bogey, at the Centro Nacional de Golf.

Nacho Elvira of Spain (66) reduced Dunne’s three-shot overnight lead to a single stroke. World No. 4 Jon Rahm (66) and Henric Sturehed of Sweden (66) finished the day two strokes back.

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Rahm, a local favorite coming off a fourth-place finish at the Masters, made seven birdies to move into contention.

Dunne, who won the British Masters last year, is seeking his second European Tour title.

”There was a lot of grinding there on the back nine but I’m happy to get in with 4 under,” Dunne said. ”Probably wouldn’t have taken it at the start of the day but given the shots that I hit, I’m pretty happy with it leading into tomorrow.”

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) Golfers will have to be up early Sunday for the final round of the RBC Heritage.

The PGA Tour said Saturday that play will begin about 7 a.m. because of the threat of thunderstorms. Threesomes will be sent off on the first and 10th tees at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Golfers typically are sent out in groups of two, with the final pair going off about 2 p.m. and finishing about four hours later.

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The forecast calls for rain much of the day with the severest weather expected during mid-afternoon when the tournament usually finishes.

Bryson DeChambeau carries a one-shot lead over Ian Poulter and Si Woo Kim into the third round Saturday.

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For more AP golf coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Golf