SPORTS digest

Francisco Lindor voted Indians’ Man of Year

CLEVELAND

Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor has been chosen the club’s Man of the Year by the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers of America.

Lindor led the Indians to their third straight AL Central championship, batting .277 with 38 home runs and 92 RBIs. The switch-hitter scored 129 runs — tying him for the major league lead — had 25 stolen bases and was named to the All-Star team for the third straight season.

Lindor and third baseman Jose Ramirez, also nominated for the award, earned AL Silver Slugger Awards at their respective positions. Ramirez finished third in the AL MVP voting after hitting .270 with 39 homers and 105 RBIs.

Reliever Cody Allen won the team’s Good Guy Award, which is given in recognition of a player or staff member who understands the media’s role in covering baseball.

Kansas State’s Snyder retires after 27 seasons

MANHATTAN, Kan.

Bill Snyder already was considered the architect of the greatest turnaround in college football history before he decided to return from a three-year retirement to resurrect Kansas State again. Now, the 79-year-old coach is heading back into retirement.

Snyder decided to step away Sunday after 27 seasons on the sideline, a person familiar with his decision told The Associated Press, ending a Hall of Fame tenure in Manhattan that began with the Big Eight and weathered seismic shifts in college football.

The Wildcats fell apart during a season-ending loss to Iowa State, leaving them 5-7 and at home for the bowl season. Snyder finishes with a resume featuring a record 215-117-1, trips to 19 bowl games, two Big 12 championships and a legacy that will endure long into the future.

Jon Rahm ends year with 3 PGA victories

NASSAU, Bahamas

Jon Rahm turned a potential shootout into a Bahamas breeze Sunday, closing with a 7-under 65 for a four-shot victory in the Hero World Challenge.

Starting the final round in a three-way tie with Tony Finau and Henrik Stenson, Rahm took the lead when Finau made bogey on the par-3 eighth hole, and the 24-year-old Spaniard never trailed the rest of the day at Albany Golf Club.

Finau was the last challenger until the 14th hole, when he went from a sandy area to a bunker and over the green, leading to double bogey. Rahm made birdie on the hole, and suddenly had a five-shot lead without much trouble to get in the way.

Rahm ends his year with three victories, just like in 2017, his first full year as a pro.

Smith defends title in Australian PGA

GOLD COAST, Australia

Cameron Smith overcame a slow start and closed with a 2-under 70 to successfully defend his title in the Australian PGA Championship with a two-stroke victory over Marc Leishman.

Smith became the first player since Robert Allenby in 2001 to win the Australian PGA in successive years. Greg Norman (1984-85) also won back-to-back, while Kel Nagle and Norman von Nida were among to successfully defend when it was match play.

Smith finished at 16-under 272. Leishman, trying to win on home soil for the first time, shot 69.

Kitayama captures Mauritius Open title

BEAU CHAMP, Mauritius

Kurt Kitayama won his first European Tour title in only his third start by closing with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

The tournament is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Kitayama, a 25-year-old American who went to UNLV, missed a par putt from 6 feet on the 16th hole as his lead was reduced to one shot. But he holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the next hole and closed with a par to finish at 20-under 268.

S Chikkarangappa of India and Matthieu Pavon of France each shot 67 and tied for second.

Associated Press