The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 25

1 FootballD3 NBAD4-5 Auto RacingD7-8 BaseballD9-10 ScoreboardD11-12 THE indianapolis Star jf www.lndyStar.com Monday, April 14, 2003 Section Infoline: 624-INFO (4636) No. 1 Serena Williams falls to Henin-Hardenne. D2 Brown snags a win for Firebirds. D3 ft 2003 MASTERS 9 if Sports Final-round scorecards AEagie Birdie fj Bogey Double bogey Sunday Playoff 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 IS In total hoteNcio if MikeWeir 4(f)4j34(2)45 4 34 4 4 3 4 (4) 3 4 I 4 34 68 5 "len Wattiace "(4) (jT 3 4 3" 1 (4) 4 33 4 3 4 1(4) 1(2)" 4 1 jj I 32 65 36 36 72 a 4 nn7 MB9 UDDilS :1 YvC; 1.V Shlzuo Kambayashl Associated Press Avoiding trouble: Scott Sharp leads Helio Castroneves during the Indy Japan 300. IRL race inherited by Sharp Crash-filled race in Japan takes its toll on drivers and teams as Indy 500 approaches.

By Curt Cavin curt.cavinindystar.com MOTEGI, Japan The Indy Racing League wanted to get home from its first overseas race in one piece. It couldn't The inaugural Indy Japan 300 at the Twin Ring Motegi speedway in central Japan was a crashfest Sunday that broke cars, drivers and momentum for teams heading to next month's Indianapolis 500. There were eight accidents involving 12 drivers in the race won by Scott Sharp. Tony -Kanaan, who came in as the series point leader, departed with a radial fracture of 4iis left arm that might keep him out of action in May. He will be reevaluated after returning to Indianapolis tonight Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Jaques Lazier also have pain to fight off as the countdown to the 500 begins next week with testing See IRL, Page D7 Left-hander wins Masters in playoff against Mattiace 1 1 If By Phil Richards phil.richardsindystar.com AUGUSTA, Ga.

Mike Weir won the 67th Masters Tournament with a three-putt bogey Sunday. It was a little like hockey, and it certainly will play in Canada. Weir is an icon there, and he is about to get even bigger. He became the first left-hander to win a major championship in 40 years, and the first Canadian to win one, ever, by beating Len Mattiace in a one-hole sudden-death playoff at Augusta National Golf Club. Move over, Wayne Gretzky.

"This is a win for me and my family," said Weir, "but it's a big win for Canadian golf and the fans who have been very supportive of me." Tiger Woods' quest for an unprecedented third consecutive green jacket foundered at the third hole, where he drove into the woods and made double-bogey. Woods shot 75 and tumbled into a tie for 15th, at plus 2. "It's sports," said Woods. "That's why we play. We try to put ourselves in position to win and you're not going to win every time." Weir's sixth title as a PGA Tour Inside: More event coverage, 06; Masters scoreboard, D12 member was worth $1,080,000, and it came like the five that preceded it, from behind.

He trailed Jeff Mag-gert by two strokes going into the round and played a no-nerves, no-bogey, 4-under-par 68 kept alive by a succession of tense par putts on treacherous greens. None played tougher than the 10th, where the playoff between Weir and Len Mattiace, who tied at 7-under 281, began and ended. With the air thick with tension, Mattiace hooked his approach shot His ball hit the sharp slope to the left of the green and went into the pines. Mattiace's angle to the flag was blocked but he had an even more fundamental problem. "If I don't chip it hard enough, it goes up the bank and comes back down," said Mattiace, who closed with the day's best round, a 65.

His chip scooted 35 feet past the hole. Now both players faced diffi-See Weir, Page D6 Bump day Jeff Gordon (left) nudges Bobby Labonte out of the way for his first NASCAR win in 16 tries. D7 Kevin Morrow AP A Tracy writes CART history in 3-f or-3 start Champion shows it's OK to be a southpaw golfer Breaking through: Mike Weir (above) becomes the first Canadian to win a major tournament and the first left-handed player to win a major in four decades. Bob Kravitz By Steve Ballard steve.ballardindystar.com LONG BEACH, Calif. The 29th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be remembered not for the convoluted manner in which it was won but for the agonizing manner in which it was lost.

Paul Tracy goes into the Championship Auto Racing Teams record book as the first driver to open a season with three consecutive victories. His third Long Beach win Sunday tied him with Mario Andretti for second behind Al Unser six wins in CART's premier event. But the indelible image from this race will be Michel Jourdain Jr. fighting back tears as he buried his face in team owner Bobby Rahal's chest moments after a mechanical failure leaving his pit denied him his first career victory. "Tomorrow I will start to think about the next race, but today I will think about this race," said Jourdain, who started on the pole and led a race-high 48 of the 90 laps.

"It is terrible when everything goes so perfect and See CART, Page D8 AUGUSTA, Ga. Once again Sunday, the talk around here centered on the issue of discrimination. Not against women. Against another group of people who've been demonized, marginalized and generally made to feel hopelessly peculiar. Lefties.

On Sunday afternoon, Mike Weir did more than become the first Canadian to win a major and cancel Tiger Woods' date with golf history. More important, he made it safe to be a lefty in a right-handed world, becoming the first lefty in 40 years to win a major. Southpaws, rejoice. You have a new hero. And here's the most amazing thing: His name isn't Phil Mickelson.

"Can you talk a little bit about how many times in your life you mm X' 11 Out of nowhere: Len Mattiace (left) shot a 7-under-par 65 in the final round, but had a chance to close out the field in regulation. have heard you're standing on the wrong side of the ball?" a reporter asked. "And can you say something to the left-handed golfers who have had to endure the wisecracks from right-handers?" Weir smiled. "You're a lefty, right?" The reporter nodded. "Well, now you have some ammo to give them when you're on the tee," Weir said.

See Kravitz, Page D6 Dan Martin Associated Press Pacers continue to stumble toward playoffs Indiana loses 3rd game in a row and has only 2 regular-season games left to turn it around. wasn't satisfied. miuiAuivcc iui won PACERS 98 seven of its past Drawing a foul: Tim Hardaway (left) of the Pacers loses the ball as he is fouled by Michael Redd of the Bucks. Hardaway came off the bench to score seven points for Indiana. The Bucks, currently the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, have won seven of their past eight games.

half. The Pacers hit 15-of-40 shots in a second half splattered with seven technical fouls, not including a delay of game penalty on the Pacers and a defensive three-second violation on the Bucks. "I thought in the stretch we did share the ball we looked good, and the stretches that we didn't move the ball we didn't look good," Thomas said. "If we move the ball, it's an easy game. We're having a tough time with that in the last couple of games." O'Neal scored 16 points to lead the Pacers to a halftime tie.

They opened a quick four-point lead in See Pacers, Page D4 Pacers with 25 points, could only offer the same message he had after the loss in Chicago on Tuesday. "We have no sense of urgency," he said. "We have two more games until the playoffs start and we're still losing. "Summer will come early if we don't start winning games." It's not all about urgency for the Pacers, however. Offensive execution and Brad Miller's left foot are critical factors, too.

Coach Isiah Thomas had been emphasizing movement and unselfishness since Friday's loss to Orlando, but it only came in spurts most of them in the first By Mark Montieth mark.montiethindystar.com MILWAUKEE The first two pre-game points on the locker room board said it all: Keep our edge. 2. Playoff focus and habits. The problem for the Indiana Pacers, however, is that the message was in Milwaukee's locker room. And it was the Bucks who took it to heart in their 107-98 win at the Bradley Center on Sunday.

Milwaukee had clinched a playoff berth Friday, but obviously Next game: at e'ght games. New York, 6:30 and still can get p.m. Tuesday, as high as sixth WTTV-4, in the Eastern WIBC-1070 AM Conference. The Pacers (46-34) can't sink that low, but they have envy for Milwaukee. They've lost three consecutive games, with only two to play before the postseason begins.

Jermaine O'Neal, who led the A Morry Sash Associated Press aJWBMBT.