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March 23, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

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Transitions golf Championship

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Retief Goosen took an important step toward rejoining the elite in golf Sunday by closing with a 1-under 70 for a one-shot victory in the Transitions Championship, his first PGA Tour win in nearly four years.

Goosen had a two-shot lead with three holes to play on the demanding Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, when just like everyone else, he struggled to hang on. The two-time U.S. Open champion barely made it.

Needing only two putts from 25 feet for the win, he watched his first putt roll 5 feet past the hole. His par putt curled in the side of the cup, giving him a one-shot victory over Charles Howell III and Brett Quigley.

Galaxy, United tie

CARSON, Calif. — Landon Donovan scored two goals in the final 10 minutes to give the Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-2 tie with D.C. United on Sunday in the MLS opener for both teams.

Christian Gomez and Chris Pontius scored for D.C. United, which built a 2-0 lead after 62 minutes before Donovan brought his team all the way back.

“Landon is going to get better,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “His fitness has to get better and he has to get a little sharper on the ball. But over the next month or so, we expect Landon really to get into good form.”

Donovan, who led Major League Soccer with 20 goals last year, broke the shutout with a penalty kick in the 80th minute.

The Prince out front

NEW YORK — The Prince beat Cellar Dweller by 31‚Ñ4 lengths Sunday in the $45,080 allowance feature for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.

Ramon Dominguez was aboard for trainer Tony Dutrow as The Prince earned his second win in five starts. The time was 1:42.66 for the one mile, 70 yards on the fast track.

The 6-5 favorite, The Prince paid $4.60, $3.30 and $2.10. Cellar Dweller returned $4.20 and $2.80. Monk’s Creek paid $2.50 to show.

Perfect softball game

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Rose-Hulman softball pitcher Jordan Goslee has taken a perfect game a step further.

The junior also had a perfect day at the plate in an 8-0 win over Hanover College in a Division III game Sunday afternoon.

Goslee threw the first perfect game in school history and just the second no-hitter with eight strikeouts in five innings. She also went 3-for-3 with three singles.

Goslee’s perfect game in the second half of a doubleheader followed a performance that was nearly as strong. She went 3-for-3 in the opener with three doubles and four RBIs in a 10-1 victory.

Miller wins 9,000th

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Dave Miller has become the youngest harness driver to win 9,000 races.

The 44-year-old driver sent Redstone Ruckus to victory Sunday in the sixth race at the Meadowlands. He now ranks 11th on the career list and is fifth on the earnings list with $121 million in purses.

In 2003, Miller won pacing’s Triple Crown with No Pan Intended and was honored as Driver of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

Barnes on top

NORWICH, Conn. — Chris Barnes won his second straight Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title, beating Walter Ray Williams Jr. 722-693 on Sunday in the three-game final in the Go RVing Match Play Championship.

Barnes, the No. 3 seed in the match-play elimination tournament at Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center, won the Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator two weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio. The reigning player of the year has 12 career victories.

Williams, the career victory leader with 45, started the match with nine strikes. But when he left a 7 pin on his first shot in the 10th frame and missed the spare, he gave Barnes hope, finishing with 267 to Barnes’ 241.

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Mastercard Classic

HUIXQUILUCAN, Mexico — Pat Hurst shot a 4-under 68 Sunday to beat top-ranked Lorena Ochoa and Yani Tseng by one stroke at the Mastercard Classic.

Hurst sank a long putt on the 18th green at the tough BosqueReal Country Club to finish at 10-under 206. Top-ranked Ochoa (69) had three bogeys and six birdies, and Tseng (70) had three bogeys and five birdies.

Hurst won $195,000 for her first victory since the Safeway Classic in 2006.

Armstrong to race

PALENCIA, Spain — Lance Armstrong will race against the past two Tour de France winners when the five-day Vuelta of Castilla and Leon begins today.

The seven-time Tour champion will line up against Spanish cyclists Carlos Sastre (2008) and Alberto Contador (2007) for the first time since his return this season after three and a half years in retirement.

The 37-year-old Armstrong finished 125th in the Milan-San Remo classic on Saturday, his first race in Europe since his comeback from retirement.

Vindicator staff/wire reports