Sports in Brief: PGA players tab Donald at No. 1

Already No. 1 in the world, Luke Donald is No. 1 in the eyes of PGA Tour players.

Donald capped off a sensational season Tuesday by winning PGA Tour player of the year, the most significant of the postseason awards because it's a vote of the players.

He became the first British player to win the award since it began in 1990.

"It's a great honor to cap off what has been an amazing year for me," Donald said from the Australian Masters in Melbourne. "Thank you to all the players for their votes."

Donald won the award over Keegan Bradley, Bill Haas, Webb Simpson and Nick Watney.

Dustin Johnson has rehired caddy Bobby Brown, who was on his bag for four of his five PGA Tour wins.

BOXING: The California State Athletic Commission overturned Chad Dawson's World Boxing Council light-heavyweight title victory over Bernard Hopkins, by a 5-1 vote, changing the outcome to a no-contest that subtracts a loss from Hopkins and lets the Philadelphia fighter keep his belt.

"Of course I'm disappointed, and I believe the WBC should order a rematch," Dawson promoter Gary Shaw said.

Dawson was credited with a second-round technical knockout Oct. 15 at Staples Center after Hopkins fell to the canvas or was "slammed," according to whichever side you listened to, and suffered a shoulder injury.

The pivotal event in the no-contest ruling, Shaw said, was the changed opinion of referee Pat Russell, who testified that the no-contest call was appropriate.

"Justice was served today," Hopkins said in a prepared statement.

"Mistakes happen, but what you do to fix those mistakes is what counts."

COLLEGES: Virginia Wesleyan forward Jessica Edelman (Eastern) was named to the first team of the Division III women's soccer all-South Atlantic squad.

Earning second-team honors were Rowan's Lyndsie Bernardini (Schalick), Leah Carney (Kingsway), and Veronica Rhea (Paul VI).

Richard Stockton's Jess McQuillen (Seneca) and Kean's Carly Seidel (Winslow Township) were named to the third team.

According to the Delaware News Journal, quarterback Tom Savage has contacted Delaware. The former Cardinal O'Hara standout will sit out for the second straight season after he transfers from Arizona and will have two years of eligibility left.

Newly hired Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer announced current Buckeyes interim head coach Luke Fickell will remain on staff as his defensive coordinator.

MLB: Aaron Rowand agreed to a minor-league contract with the Miami Marlins and will contend for a job as a backup outfielder. . . . Second baseman Skip Schumaker agreed to a $3 million, two-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. . . . The Colorado Rockies bolstered their depth at catcher, agreeing to a $6.4 million, two-year deal with veteran Ramon Hernandez. . . . Kelly Shoppach and the Boston Red Sox agreed to a $1.35 million, one-year contract that brings the free-agent catcher back to his original team. . . . The Oakland Athletics agreed to a one-year contract with lefthander Dallas Braden.

TENNIS: Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic were named ITF World Champions for 2011, both earning the honor for the first time.

- Staff and wire reports