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Padraig Harrington of Ireland wins his second Honda Classic in a playoff

Written By kolimtiga on Selasa, 03 Maret 2015 | 12.18

Hometown favorite Daniel Berger made an impressive final-round charge in the Honda Classic, shooting a six-under-par 64 to get into a sudden-death playoff Monday with Padraig Harrington.

After just missing a 17-foot birdie putt to win on the first hole, the PGA Tour rookie from Jupiter lost on the next hole when his tee shot on the par-three 17th at the Champion course at PGA National Resort & Spa found the water short of the green.

Berger ended up with a double bogey, which allowed Harrington to two-putt for par and the victory.

It was the second Honda title for Harrington, 43, of Dublin, Ireland, and his first PGA Tour win since the PGA Championship in 2008.

"Obviously a lot of things are being said about what this means going forward," said Harrington, a three-time major winner who now gets to play in the Masters next month. "The one thing you learn is you don't win as often as you think. I'm just enjoying winning the Honda Classic. When you win, make sure you enjoy it."

For Berger, 21, who played the Web.com Tour last year and has three top-10s in his last four events, the best finish of his young career was bittersweet.

"If you told me I was going to finish solo second when the week started, I'd probably take it," Berger said. "Right now, I'm not as happy as I wish I was. But it's a good learning experience."

Harrington hit his tee shot on the second playoff hole to within four feet, the best shot of the day on the 179-yard 17th.

"I said, 'You know, I'm first up on the tee, I've got to take control of this. I've got to hit the shot.' I knew I couldn't afford to bail out," said Harrington, who won a three-man playoff for his first PGA Tour victory at the 2005 Honda.

After that, Berger said he had to fire at the pin.

"That shot on 17 was kind of a dagger in the heart. I had to put it closer," said Berger, who hit the shot a touch heavy. "I knew right away it was wet."

Harrington won $1.098 million. Berger earned $658,800.

Berger was at 274 for the tournament on rounds of 68-71-71-64. Harrington, the second-round leader, shot 67-66-71-70.

Ian Poulter, who began the final round at nine under and had a three-shot lead over Harrington, Brendan Steele and Patrick Reed, finished tied for third at 275 with Paul Casey and Russell Knox.

Because of two rain delays Friday and a severe storm that ended play Saturday, the third round didn't conclude until early Sunday afternoon, then the players went right back out again.

Berger began the final round nine shots behind Poulter. He birdied three of his first four holes and was four under through 11 holes when play was suspended because of darkness at 6:18 p.m.

The 71 players resumed play at 8 a.m. Monday. Berger had five straight pars before birdies at 17 and 18 to get to six under.

Harrington had struggled on Sunday afternoon, going three over through seven holes when play was stopped. He said that was a big advantage for him.

"Things were not going well for me," Harrington said. "And I knew coming back out today that I was the challenger. It's hard to be the leader on this golf course, just like it's hard to be the leader at a major. So there is a little bit more patience on a tough course."

Sure enough, Harrington was the leader at seven under after the 14th hole. He birdied four straight holes while Poulter dropped five shots.

Poulter, who was eight under at the turn and led Harrington by five, doubled the 11th after hitting his approach in the water and tripled the 14th after hitting two balls in the water. He had also hit balls in the water on the fifth and sixth holes Sunday afternoon.

"Every time I went to hit a soft shot, I've got a chance of pushing it," Poulter said. "I hit a soft seven-iron into 11, made double. I hit a soft drive at 14. Three soft shots have gotten me into a lot of trouble this week. Making triples and doubles doesn't get it done."

Harrington had his own water troubles, dunking his tee shot at 17 and making double-bogey to drop to five under. Berger was watching the telecast in the clubhouse when he saw that he'd taken the lead.

Harrington bounced back on the par-five 18th, reaching the green in three, then rolling in a 15-foot birdie putt to pull even with Berger and set up a playoff starting on 18.

"I was quite afraid going to that 18th hole against him," Harrington said. "I knew he had a distance advantage on me.

"Thankfully I got away with that 18th. Daniel looked like he hit a good putt. I definitely felt like I got a second chance coming to the 17th."

swaters@tribpub.com

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Challenge to health law stokes fears

Samantha Allen always dreamed of being a photographer.

But struggling with asthma and a painful neurological disorder called fibromyalgia, she needed a job that offered health insurance. That put a freelance career out of reach.

Last year, though, Allen was able to get a health plan through the Affordable Care Act with help from a $100 monthly premium subsidy made available by the law. She quit her job at a bank and started a photography business.

"It's made all the difference in the world," she said recently. "I want to do this forever."

Allen, 30, is one of millions of Americans who have come to rely on the insurance aid in the law. Few of them will be in the courtroom Wednesday when the Supreme Court takes up a legal challenge to the subsidies, but perhaps no one has more at stake. An estimated 7 million people could lose assistance if the court backs the challengers.

The lawsuit — spearheaded by conservative and libertarian activists — argues that a strict reading of the statute makes subsidies available only in the handful of states like California that established their own insurance marketplaces through the law.

Thirty-seven states, including New Hampshire, elected instead to have the federal government fully or partially operate their marketplaces using the HealthCare.gov website.

The marketplaces, a central pillar of the law, allow Americans who don't get health benefits at work to shop online among plans that must all offer basic benefits and cannot turn away customers, even if they're sick.

Consumers making less than four times the federal poverty level — about $24,000 for a single person or $94,000 for a family of four — qualify for subsidies to offset the cost of their premiums.

The monthly assistance, which average $268 per person, has been essential, said Jodi Ray, project director for Florida Covering Kids & Families. The nonprofit coordinated sign-up efforts across Florida, which had the largest enrollment of any state relying on HealthCare.gov.

"It is has been the difference between people being able to get insurance or not," she said.

Nearly 9 in 10 people who signed up for health coverage this year qualified for assistance, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Many probably couldn't get insurance previously, either because they had preexisting medical conditions or couldn't afford a plan. More than half of 2014 enrollees were previously uninsured, independent surveys indicate.

Allen, who lives with her dog Moxie and cat Monster in a first-floor apartment not far from the old textile mills on the Merrimack River that once dominated Manchester, was among another group of people the health law was designed to help.

They were people stuck in "job lock," unable to pursue new careers because they needed the health benefits offered by their current employers.

Allen got an administrative job at a local bank after her parents moved their antique shop, where she used to work, to another part of the state.

On weekends, she tried to pursue photography, which she had studied in college, but progress was difficult. "I didn't have a lot of free time," she said.

With the insurance marketplaces scheduled to begin offering coverage in 2014, Allen took a chance and left the bank. "It was never a good fit for me."

Last April, she signed up for a plan with a $205 monthly premium and an $1,150 deductible. With a $100 subsidy, she ended up paying just $105 every month.

"It was an awesome deal," she said.

More important, the insurance allowed Allen to devote herself fully to photography.

Getting the freelance business off the ground, a common career path for photographers, hasn't been easy. Though she shot 25 weddings last year, finding work in winters is tougher. But Allen is undeterred.

She loves taking photographs at weddings. "It feels like such a privilege," she said. And she is working with two local studios.

"It's hard to even put into words what this has meant to me. I am just a much happier person."

That, in turn, has had health benefits, Allen said. Her fibromyalgia, which research suggests can be stress-related, flares less frequently. And she no longer needs asthma pills.

Motivated after her mother's recent death from cancer, she is now working to connect volunteer photographers to families dealing with the illness to shoot portraits for free.

Until a few weeks ago, Allen didn't know that she might lose the subsidies. "It's kind of scary," she said, adding that she tries not to think about it.

Without a subsidy, she said, she would probably have to drop her health plan. Premiums for everyone are expected to rise dramatically if the subsidies are stricken, in large part because only the sickest customers would probably remain in the market, pushing up costs for insurers.

If Allen stopped working, she might qualify for fully subsidized government Medicaid coverage. But she said she wants to work.

In Washington, Sam Katzman, general counsel for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which has funded the legal challenge, brushed off the disruptions to people's lives the lawsuit could cause.

He noted that other Americans have been harmed by the health law, including consumers who lost their old health plans and taxpayers who are funding the subsidies.

"As to those who fear losing access to medical treatment, we hope they do not, and we believe they will not because state and federal governments have the opportunity to create alternatives.

"But to the extent that problems do occur, remember that the culprit here is the IRS," he said, referring to the federal tax agency's regulations that make the subsidies available in all states.

The IRS regulations are overwhelmingly supported by the legislation's authors and many legal experts.

For her part, Allen said she is baffled by the push to scrap the insurance assistance. She plans to come to Washington this week to support consumer advocates such as Families USA that are protesting the legal challenge.

"I don't see who benefits from this," she said. "Isn't my experience supposed to be what is possible in this country — starting a business, maybe becoming a job creator?"

noam.levey@latimes.com

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Execution of Georgia woman postponed due to complications

A Georgia woman convicted of murdering her husband in 1997 was scheduled to be executed Monday night after she was twice denied clemency from the state parole board, but complications have put the execution on hold.

First, the Associated Press reported, a last-minute plea to the U.S. Supreme Court by her lawyers created a delay.

In addition, the AP reported, Georgia officials said there was a problem with the execution drug pentobarbital, noting that it appeared cloudy, so they have postponed the execution. A new date has not been set.

Calls to the Department of Corrections for additional information were not returned.

Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 46, is the only woman on death row in the state and would be the first woman executed in Georgia in about 70 years, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Gissendaner had been scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday night at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson after the state's parole board denied clemency after a Tuesday hearing, according to the corrections department.

However, the execution was delayed until 7 p.m. Monday. No explanation was given for the decision, but bad winter weather was expected. On Monday morning, her lawyers appealed to the parole board again, according to the Associated Press.

Once again, the board ruled that the execution stood, according to a statement from the board.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court was considering an appeal hours after the set execution time, according to the AP.

Late Monday night, Gissendaner was awaiting a response from the high court after an appellate court rejected her lawyers' request to delay the execution on the grounds Georgia's lethal-injection procedures aren't transparent enough to be challenged in court, according to the AP.

Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal by Gissendaner on Oct. 6, according to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

In Georgia, the governor does not have authority to grant clemency for death row inmates, said Steve Hayes, spokesman for the the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. The parole board is the only entity with that authority.

Gissendaner was found guilty of malice murder in November 1998 in the slaying of her husband, which she planned and carried out with the help of her boyfriend, Gregory Owen, prosecutors said.

Owen received a life prison sentence after pleading guilty to his involvement: abducting the victim and taking him into the woods where he was stabbed in the neck eight to 10 times, prosecutors said. Gissendaner planned and was at the scene of the murder, prosecutors said.

Owen testified against Gissendaner at her trial. A jury sentenced her to death in 1998.

Gissendaner would be the 35th inmate put to death by lethal injection in Georgia since capital punishment was reinstated in 1973, according to the corrections department. There are 81 men on death row in Georgia.

Follow Ryan Parker on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

8:34 P.m.: This story has been updated with information that the execution has been postponed due to complications.

7:57 p.m.: This story has been updated with the information that the execution was on hold as the U.S. Supreme Court considered a last-minute appeal.

2:57 p.m.: This story has been updated with the information that the second clemency request was denied.

This story was originally published at 7:59 a.m.

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lakers big men pushed aside by Thunder front line in 108-101 loss

Written By kolimtiga on Senin, 02 Maret 2015 | 12.18

The Lakers' big men were called out by their coach.

He called them out for not being physical enough against the far more physical Oklahoma City Thunder big men.

The biggest issue Lakers Coach Byron Scott had with his big men during their 108-101 loss Sunday at Staples Center was how many offensive rebounds they gave up.

Scott watched his big man rotation of starters Carlos Boozer and Robert Sacre and reserve Ed Davis and Jordan Hill give up 16 offensive rebounds.

"I thought their bigs were much more aggressive and much more physical than ours," Lakers Coach Byron Scott said.

Oklahoma City's 6-foot-11, 250-pound Enes Kanter moved the Lakers out of his way to get four of his game-high 15 rebounds on offense. He also had 16 points.

The 6-10, 245-pound Serge Ibaka out-muscled the Lakers for five of his 14 rebounds on offense. He had 18 points.

Even 6-0, 183-pound guard D.J. Augustin, who started in place of the injured Russell Westbrook (right facial fracture), had nine rebounds — two on offense — to go along with 18 points and five assists.

"I just think their bigs were more physical. It's that simple," Scott said. "You look at Kanter, you look at Serge, (Nick) Collison, those guys are just physical basketball players, and they were kind of able to take it to us, push us under the basket a little bit and gave them second-chance opportunities that I thought really killed us."

The Lakers were out-rebounded just 55-49. But it was the offensive rebounds the Lakers gave up that led to 20 second-chance points.

"Their whole frontcourt — Kanter, Ibaka, Collison — everybody was crashing the boards and we didn't box out," said Jordan Hill, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds. "We didn't focus on that. They got a lot of points off that."

The Lakers had six players score in double figures, led by Jeremy Lin's 20 points on seven-for-14 shooting off the bench.

"I wouldn't say they out-toughed us," Davis said. "I wouldn't say that."

After saying "all our bigs pretty much were out-played," Scott was asked what they can do to match the physical play of other big men.

"Got to get in the weight room, I guess," Scott said, laughing. "That's one way of thinking about it. I think some of that is a mind-set. You've just got to understand who you're playing against.

"You've got to be aggressive as well. You've got to be physical as well. If they are hitting you, you've got to fight fire with fire sometimes. They did that for 48 minutes. They didn't let up. Their bigs were aggressive and physical the whole night."

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter:@BA_Turner