stered 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Not many players are successful in defending their title in golf tournaments. Ryan Moore joined that club on Sunday at the CIMB Classic thanks to some perfectly executed strategy. Moore entered the final round tied for the lead but quickly found himself two strokes behind playing partner Kevin Na. Na birdied three of the first four holes, while Moore had birdied the second. Moore inched within one as they headed to the back nine and the two were tied with five holes to play. At the driveable par-4 14th, Moore teed off first, and curiously choose to lay up off the tee. Na blasted his drive just over the green, but seemingly had the easier chance at birdie. It was Moore who made birdie, which helped him pull away from Na. Moore nearly holed his second as his approach shot landed within a foot of the hole just right of the cup and stopped about a foot away on the left side. Na, whose chip shot on the 14th ran well by the hole, failed to make his birdie putt and fell one behind when Moore kicked in his short birdie try. It was the perfect match play strategy, and that was how the final few holes were shaping up, a match play battle. On 14 there, Kevin hit a great drive that looked almost like a 2-putt for birdie and I had laid up, but that was my strategy all along. Thats where I was comfortable with that pin, and to hit a great wedge shot in there was a perfect, Moore explained. I laid up exactly where I needed to - perfect, full sand wedge (distance). Just couldnt have had a nicer shot and almost ended up making that one. The strategy for Moore was to put pressure on Nas chip and with his near- perfect approach shot, that is exactly what he did. Moore made it two in a row as he also birdied the 15th. After a bogey at 16, Moore stuffed his second shot at the 17th within a foot once again. That birdie pushed him four clear of Na, who made double-bogey at the 17th as his tee shot was never found right of the fairway. Reverting to a match play mind-set is easy for Moore, who had one of the great summers an amateur golfer can have in 2004. Among his match play victories that summer were the U.S. Amateur Championship, the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and the Western Amateur Championship. He was the first player ever to win the U.S. Amateur and Public Links in the same summer. The mind-set in match play is to put pressure on your opponent. Moore executed his plan to precision on Sunday. Maybe hell get a chance to do the same one day at the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. RARE FINISH ON THE LPGA It is a rare occurrence when the top-three players in the world rankings are playing in the same event. It is an even rarer occurrence when they finish 1-2-3 on the leaderboard. On the PGA Tour, you might see the top three together at 11 events a year - four majors, three World Golf Championship and four FedExCup playoff events - but not many more than that. The current top three in the mens world rankings have played 11 events together this season, though not the aforementioned 11. The top-three ranked LPGA Tour players - Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis and Lydia Ko - have been among the top three spots in the world rankings most of the season. There are no WGCs on the LPGA and no playoffs, either, but there are five majors. The five majors were among the 16 times those three players have played the same event this year. However, the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship was the first time this season they finished first, second and third on the leaderboard. Park, Lewis and Ko have all had such stellar seasons. In the 16 events they have all played in, the trio have all finished in the top 10 at five events. The closest they had been to finishing 1-2-3 was at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, where Ko won, Lewis finished second and Park tied for third. Being among the top finishers every week helps, too. Lewis, Park and Ko are first, second and tied for third among top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour this year. Lewis is the old lady of the group at the ripe of age of 29. That means the LPGA Tour is in good hands for many years to come. MINI-TIDBITS - According to a Golf Channel report, members of this years losing U.S. Ryder Cup team have contacted Fred Couples to ask him to be the next captain. Couples has gone 3-0 as the Presidents Cup captain and is a past major champion. He fits the old criteria the PGA of America used to look for in its captains, so well see if this happens. Truthfully, there is no reason it shouldnt happen. - Miguel Angel Jimenez had a Tin Cup-like moment this past weekend at the BMW Masters. The Spaniard rinsed four shots in the water on the par-4 ninth. Jimenez posted a 9-over 13 on that hole en route to a 16-over 88 in the final round. He did win three times earlier this year, twice on the European Tour and once on the Champions Tour. Discount Shirts China . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid. Shirts China Outlet . Snedekers best result so far this year is a tie for eighth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He sits 113th in FedEx Cup standings and has dropped to 31st in world rankings — not the results expected from a player ranked fourth in the world only two years ago. http://www.cheapshirtschina.com/ . That was OK with him. He was just happy his team came away with two points. Letestu redirected Jack Johnsons shot from the point with 2:38 left, lifting the Blue Jackets past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday night. Wholesale Shirts Free Shipping . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with cornerback Kelvin Hayden. Cheap Nike Shirts . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday.The San Antonio Spurs will try to take a 2-0 cushion over the Oklahoma City Thunder when the two teams continue the Western Conference finals tonight at AT&T Center. Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. Five San Antonio players scored in double figures and the Spurs outshot the Thunder from both the field and behind the 3-point line. Russell Westbrook knocked down a jumper with 5:09 left in the third to give the Thunder a 76-75 lead -- their first since a 5-4 edge early in the first -- but after Kevin Durant drained a jumper of his own nearly 30 seconds later, San Antonio turned up the intensity on the defensive end. The Spurs held Oklahoma City to just one field goal over the next seven-plus minutes, turning a one-point deficit into a 13-point advantage early in the fourth quarter. Durants 3-pointer just over three minutes into the fourth brought the visitors within 95-85, but the Thunder failed to get any closer the rest of the way as the Spurs ran away with the victory. Tim Duncan led the charge offensively with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Manu Ginobili and Danny Green combined for 34 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. Ginobili netted 18 points, while Green and Kawhi Leonard each scored 16 in the win Tony Parker, who sustained a left hamstring strain in San Antonios series- clinching Game 5 win over Portland in the conference semifinals, supplied 14 points and 12 assists for the Spurs. "We were taking what we were given," Duncan said. "We knew wed be able to get into the middle and attack a little more than we have." The reason the Spurs wwere able to attack the middle was due to the absence of OKCs big man, Serge Ibaka.dddddddddddd He injured his left calf in Game 6 of the conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Clippers and is expected to miss the remainder of the postseason. San Antonio exploited the advantage and trounced the Thunder in the paint to the tune of 66-32. "Were a no-excuse team," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "Serge is out. Hes not coming back. We have to play better." The Spurs shot 57.5 percent from the field and 53 percent from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City shot respectable percentages of 46.3 from the floor and 44.4 outside the 3-point line. Durant registered 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Westbrook finished with 25 points, seven assists and five boards for the Thunder, who won all four meetings with the Spurs during the regular season. The Thunder trailed by as many 15 points in the first half before Westbrook and Durant fueled OKCs comeback in the third, scoring all but two of the teams 23 points in the period. Westbrook registered the Thunders first nine points in the third, including a jumper with 8:13 on the clock that brought the team within 72-68. Ginobili buried a 3-pointer to quell the Westbrook barrage, but Durant ripped off five straight points and Westbrook followed with a free throw and a jumper to give Oklahoma City a 76-75 lead. Durant followed two free throws from Boris Diaw with another jumper, but the Thunder managed just one field goal -- a Durant jumper with 22.9 seconds left in the frame -- for nearly nine minutes as the Spurs surged ahead for good. "The third quarter was obviously our best quarter, but we didnt close out well," Durant said. "Were not taking any moral victories out of it." Game 3 will be Sunday night in Oklahoma City. ' ' '