Magicgames II » n League with a 1.041 OPS (on-base plus slugging) whil

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. Even more surprising is how he won the Valspar Championship. Sunday at Innisbrook had all the trappings of a tournament that is survived more than it is won. Robert Garrigus, who started the final round with the lead, hit a tee shot that bounced off a lawn chair and wound up next to a tree, leading to a double bogey. Kevin Na, playing in the final group, missed a 3-foot putt and made a double bogey during a meltdown at the end of his front nine. Each mistake brought more players into the mix on the Copperhead course until at one point there were nine players separated by three shots with more than an hour to go and the treacherous "Snake Pit" stretch of three fearsome closing holes ahead. But thats where Senden seized control -- on the 16th hole, with a shot into the trees. In a three-way tie for the lead with Na and Scott Langley, Sendens tee shot was headed for a tiny forest when it smacked off a tree and left him an opening. "I got a pretty good break there with hitting the tree and dropping straight down," he said. "Then I hit a really good second shot to get in some sort of position near the green. Walking up to the shot, I just felt like, OK, I need to hit a really good shot here to get this up-and-down and try to have a chance to do something down the stretch. "I thought it came out well," he said. "It disappeared. Amazing." He chipped in from 70 feet for birdie to break the tie. He made a 20-foot birdie putt on the next hole to stretch his lead to two shots. And when he could hear Na made a birdie putt on the 17th hole behind him to cut the lead to one, the 42-year-old Australian hit one might have been his best putt of the day that didnt go in. It was a 40-foot putt that went up a ridge and moved slightly to the right, and then went down the slope and sharply to the left. Senden hit it so well that he only had a few inches left to tap in for his par and a 1-under 70. All that was left was to wait to see if Na could make birdie and force a playoff. Na caught a flier out of the first cut of rough with a pitching wedge to 40 feet, and the birdie putt didnt have a chance. He closed with a 72 to finish second, his best result on the PGA Tour since he won at Las Vegas at the end of 2011. "I knew coming into today that I felt like if I shot par I had a chance to win," Na said. "If I break par, I felt like it was going to be a lock." Senden finished at 7-under 277, the third straight event on the Florida swing where the winning score was single-digit under par. He wasnt thinking about all the perks that go along with winning, though he was clear on one thing -- he wont have the week off the second week in April. Senden earned a spot in the Masters, always the biggest major for Australians, even with Adam Scott winning last year. He also locked up a berth in the PGA Championship, two World Golf Championships the rest of the year (at Firestone and Shanghai) and Kapalua to start next year. Its a good feeling for Senden, one that he had forgotten. His only other PGA Tour win was in 2006 at the John Deere Classic. Senden capped off that year by winning the Australian Open at Royal Sydney. "Its something that makes you believe more than you can get it done again, rather than just once and thinking back then in 06, Was it a flash in the pan? I dont believe so," Senden said. "But now it makes me feel (validated) from the John Deere." Scott Langley, hitting superb shots to account for the wind, didnt hit a green over the final four holes and still managed to save par on three of them. The one bogey on the 16th hole, when he went long of the green from the middle of the fairway, proved costly. Langley and David Hearn were the only players who shot par or better all four days. Langley closed with a 70 to finish alone in third. Garrigus made two double bogeys on his way to a 41 on the back nine. He also went 26 holes without a birdie dating to the third round Saturday, when he led by as many as four shots. By the time he made birdie at No. 14, it was too late. Garrigus, now 0-4 when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead, closed with a 75. He tied for fourth with Will MacKenzie (69) and Luke Donald (70). "I know what Im not going to be doing next year -- fishing," said Garrigus, who figures he caught three dozen large-mouth bass this week. "Im going to bring a damn chain saw out to the place and cut a few trees down. I kept hitting it behind them all day. I just didnt get any breaks." Taylor Gabriel Jersey . Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. 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He also had some help Monday night.Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points to help Indiana beat the Utah Jazz 97-86 Monday night, ending the Pacers six-game losing streak.TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays started last season with an April swoon that they never really recovered from. Buoyed by a four-game winning streak and a return to the .500 mark entering play Thursday night, manager John Gibbons said the feeling around the team is much better now than this time last year. "No doubt. I think last year was a little bit of a shock to everybody," Gibbons said during a pre-game availability. "But I think they always had a good attitude. But everybody was kind of like they got hit by a two-by-four ... I definitely feel something different this year. "Theyre feeling good." Expectations were sky-high for last years squad after an off-season makeover brought in big names like R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera and Mark Buehrle. However, the team lost 21 of its first 31 games and struggled to a last-place finish in the American League East. General manager Alex Anthopoulos kept the changes to a minimum in the last off-season. There are early signs that might have been a prudent approach. The Blue Jays had a few hiccups in recent weeks -- including a couple meltdowns from their usually strong bullpen -- but appear to be back in form as they continued a nine-game homestand Thursday night against the Philadelphia Phillies. Torontos starting rotation has been anchored by the steady play of Buehrle, who is off to a 6-1 start with a sparkling 1.91 earned-run average. The Blue Jays starters have been going deeper into games and easing the pressure on the bullpen, which looked good early on but has had some inconsistent patches. Closer Casey Janssen could return from his rehab assignment in the coming days and that would also give the relief crew a boost. Injuries were a problem last year.dddddddddddd The absence of Reyes for most of the first half of the season had a ripple effect through the order and his defensive skills were missed. His troublesome hamstring was an issue last month but his game appears to be coming around. A big difference early on this year is the meat of the lineup looks comfortable and is getting results. Entering play Thursday, Melky Cabrera (.329, 6 HR, 14 RBIs) leads the American League with 48 hits, Jose Bautista (.300, 9 HR, 21 RBIs) has reached base in all 34 games and leads the American League with a 1.041 OPS (on-base plus slugging) while Edwin Encarnacion (.242, 4 HR, 21 RBIs) has been a threat in the cleanup spot. There have also been some nice bonuses. Backup catcher Josh Thole is hitting .400, Juan Francisco filled in admirably when Adam Lind went down with a back problem and regular catcher Dioner Navarro has a .300 average. Lind was activated Thursday and served as the designated hitter against the Phillies. He was hitting .324 at the time of his injury. The Blue Jays have also been hitting for power -- they lead the American League with 44 home runs and a team slugging percentage of .432 entering play against Philadelphia. No one is strutting around the dugout after splitting the first 34 games of the season. But its a marked improvement from the 13-23 record and woeful .361 winning percentage the Blue Jays had on this da