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Golf

Playoffs produce first-time winners

D.J. Trahan won the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Madison, Miss., for his first PGA Tour victory Sunday, birdieing the par-5 18th hole three straight times in a playoff to hold off Joe Durant.

Trahan won with a 5-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole after closing with a 1-under 71 to match Durant (66) at 13-under 275 on the Annandale Golf Club course. Trahan holed the winning putt after Durant missed a 5-footer of his own.

Trahan, the second-year tour player who led after each of the first three rounds, earned $540,000 and a two-year PGA Tour exemption. He entered the week 142nd on the money list with $474,242.

* Andy Bean won the Greater Hickory Classic in Conover, N.C., for his first Champions Tour title, two-putting for birdie from 25 feet to beat R.W. Eaks on the first hole of a playoff.

Bean, the leader after each of the first two rounds, closed with a 4-under 68 to match Eaks (65) at 15-under 201 and force the first playoff in tournament history. While Bean two-putted for birdie on the first extra hole, Eaks' 4-foot birdie try hit the lip and spun out.

Tennis

Blake cruises by Ljubicic

American James Blake dominated top-seeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-1 to win the Thailand Open final in Bangkok.

Third-seeded Blake wrapped up his fourth title of the year in less than an hour. The victory was Blake's seventh career ATP title and his first win against Ljubicic.

Soccer

U.S. beats Taiwan in exhibition

Abby Wambach had three goals and three assists to lead the United States to a 10-0 rout of Taiwan in a women's soccer exhibition in Carson, Calif.

Lindsey Tarpley and Megan Rapinoe added two goals apiece, and Kristine Lilly had a goal and two assists in her 312th international game - an all-time appearance record for women or men.

The United States next will play Iceland in Richmond, Va., on Oct. 8.

Doping

Labs working on EPO eraser test

Anti-doping laboratories are working on a test to detect a powder used to destroy traces of the performance-enhancer EPO in urine samples.

Martial Saugy, the head of the Swiss anti-doping laboratory in Lausanne, said there have been suspicious tests during the last year in which no traces of EPO - or erythropoietin - were found in athlete's urine, not even natural EPO produced in the kidney.

Researchers suspect cheats are using a substance called protease - sometimes used in stain removers - to wipe out traces of EPO in their urine.

- Combined news services

* NFL: Green Bay at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m., ESPN

* NFL: Green Bay at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m., 1230 AM