controlled and the league is confident of there will be

NAPLES, Fla. -- Hold this. Hold that. Just one more.On Sunday, at the end of the CME Group Tour Championship that closed the 2016 LPGA season, there was more posing for photos than at a wedding between two people from large families.Photos with trophies, silver and crystal. With jewelry and watches. With a box full of money, which looks to weigh more than youd think.The women smiling with the spoils at Tiburon Golf Club were young and from around the world, which is the way of the LPGA. The average age of winners on tour in 2016 was 23. They hailed from 12 countries -- Americans won only two of 33 tournaments, the fewest ever.Englands Charley Hull made it an even dozen with her two-stroke CME victory over So Yeon Ryu, the quick-talking, fast-playing, brisk-swinging 20-year-old performing as if she had taken many leads into the final round, when this was the first time. One sure couldnt tell from her scorecard, which was as clean as the lobby floor of the nearby Ritz. Hull shot her second consecutive six-under 66 for a 19-under 269 total and her first LPGA title, and she needed it too, with Ryu closing with a 67.It was a great day to be 20. Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who turns 21 on Nov. 23, tied for fourth place after a closing 69. That was good enough, though, to hold off Lydia Ko (tied for 10th) to claim Rolex Player of the Year honors and a $1 million bonus for winning the season-long Race to the CME Globe, an awkward but deadly accurate designation given the LPGAs international trend.Its great. Its like my dream come true, said Jutanugarn, who led the tour with five victories in 2016. I never thought my name could be on this trophy, and right now Im really proud of myself.Ko, who is still No. 1 in the Rolex World Rankings, almost walked off with the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average until South Korean In Gee Chun, all of 22 years old, finished birdie-birdie-birdie to edge the 19-year-old New Zealander. This battle made a photo finish look like a romp as Chun finished with a 69.583 average to Kos 69.596. With the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award Chun clinched weeks ago, she is the first since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to win both trophies in the same season.Many of the women golfers who have turned professional very young in the past decade or so have been from Asia, but Hull left the amateur ranks at 16 and started playing on the Ladies European Tour as a 17-year-old in 2013. A Solheim Cupper that year, the youngest ever, she had an LET victory but no wins in 51 LPGA starts before teeing off this week.Starting the final round with a one-stroke lead over Ryu and Brittany Lincicome, Hull birdied three of the first eight holes and went to the back nine still one ahead of Ryu, the 2011 U.S. Womens Open champion who was looking for her first LPGA victory in two years.It feels great to be a winner on the LPGA Tour, Hull said. Its wicked to do it at 20. Its fun. Ariya has had a great year, Lydia, Brooke [Henderson]. It feels good to be one of the young ones that have won.As with Jutanugarn, whose mantra since spring has been about having fun on the course, Hull is a keep-it-simple type of golfer. She could be the first person to win an important tournament with her mind on a dessert.As the pressure [built] on the back nine I got into my swing, Hull said. It kind of helped a little bit having that pressure on me to hit it good. Just kind of stuck to my rhythm. I have this swing, strawberry mousse. My swing goes back to strawberry, and comes down to mousse, a bit faster. My dad used to say it to me when I was 2 years old to get my rhythm. Ive had it in my head since the Olympics. Feels good.Despite her strong play, Hull came to the par-5 17th hole tied with Ryu at 18 under. The outcome turned on Ryus fairway metal second shot, which barely missed carrying a greenside bunker and finished at the base of a four-foot-tall revetted wall. She was forced to play out sideways and failed to get up-and-down for par. Hull chipped to four feet and made birdie to take a two-stroke cushion to the last hole.I didnt really mis-hit the shot, Ryu said of her second shot at 17. Thats the shot I wanted to hit and I did it. Unfortunately, the wind stopped. I feel like God did it. Maybe he wants me to do something else, even training harder or practicing harder. Finally, though, I feel like Im completely ready to win the tournament. I hope I can have this feel until next year as well.Jutanugarn certainly would bottle the ingredients from her 2016 season, including as it did, three straight victories and five overall, including a major title. That such a breakthrough season occurred after a rough 2015, when she missed 10 straight cuts and quit practice rounds because she was afraid where her shots were going, makes it all the more remarkable.Even though I missed those 10 cuts in a row, I appreciate it, because if that thing hadnt happened, Im not going to win all this stuff this year, said Jutanugarn, who called her performance coaches Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott on Sunday morning. I feel this week is very, very special because Ive been really nervous. I kept calling [Nilsson and Marriott], like I cant do this. Even before this round, Im like, What should I do? She is going to Disney World now, to celebrate her birthday -- I feel old, Jutanugarn said -- and spend some of her big bonus. Maybe a little bit on [sister] Mo, but like a lot with my mom.Ko, who won the CME Globe the past two season, is looking forward to a break after a week that included a 62 but also some loose shots, and a season in which she won four times but included a mediocre stretch for the 14-time career winner.I am planning to not touch my clubs or look at them for the next month, said Ko, whose bogey on the 71st hole opened the door for Chun in the Vare competition. Ive looked at them for the last 11 months. I think theyre sick of me, too. I say that, but I dont know what I would do without golf. Thats how much I like it. But a little bit of time off is going to be fun.When Hull wasnt thinking of a sweet to help her timing, she was remembering silly things her mates back home had done to tame the tension. Hull will join them over the holidays.Just going out with my friends and having fun with them over Christmas, Hull said. Couple of pub crawls and stuff like that. Theyre good in England. 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The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The Southern Conference will keep four league championships in North Carolina despite the NCAA and the Atlantic Coast Conference withdrawing championships because of the state law restricting the rights of LGBT people.The league said it will honor commitments for these tournaments: mens soccer in Greensboro, mens and womens basketball in Asheville and mens golf in Pinehurst.We dont want to punish the local host communities by pulling the championships out of the state this year, Commissioner John Iamarino said Friday. That point did resonate with presidents and chancellors.The league said in a statement its presidents and chancellors reaffirmed their resolute opposition to legislation that discriminates against any individual.Iamarino said his conference was prepared for criticism in light of the NCAA and ACC decisions over the North Carolinas law, which excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from local and statewide antidiscrimination protections. It also requires transgender people to use restrooms at schools and government buildings corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates.HB2 was signed into law this year by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who has defended it as a commonsense safety and security measure.The Southern Conference is headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Its 10 schools -- Citadel, Chattanooga, East Tennessee, Furman, Mercer, UNC Greensboro, Samford, VMI, Western Carolina and Wofford -- are in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.The decision on the championships came after two conference calls among league leaders.While not unanimous, we found enough commoon ground to get to this point, Iamarino said.ddddddddddddHe said the league was influenced by the North Carolina host communities, all urging the conference to hold its events as planned. In Asheville, Iamarino said he met with about 30 people, including some from the LGBT community, who promised to fight the HB2 law but wanted the basketball tournaments to remain.Iamarino said the venues involved are privately controlled and the league is confident of there will be an inclusive atmosphere at the events. The mens golf event will be held at Pinehurst Country Club and the basketball at a neutral site in Asheville.The soccer will be played on the Greensboro campus.Earlier this month, the NCAA removed seven championships from North Carolina, including first- and second-round games of the mens basketball tournament scheduled for Greensboro. The ACC soon followed suit, pulling 10 of its championships from the state, including the football title game that was scheduled for Charlotte.The ACC on Thursday relocated the football game to Orlando, Florida.Iamarino said Southern Conference presidents and chancellors will meet in May to see if more action is necessary. He said theres concern similar laws could extend beyond North Carolina.This could be a long-term issue, he said.Iamarino said hes also concerned the schools against keeping the championships in North Carolina might take their own actions, perhaps boycotting the league events played there.Its a real concern, he said. Well continue to communicate and prepare for everything. ' ' '