South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun finished strong on Friday to seize the halfway lead in the US$5.6 million USPGA Tour Honda Classic.
Yang, who teed off on No. 10, had one birdie over his first nine holes.
But he added four on the front side to complete a bogey-free five-under-par 67.
Yang’s seven-under total of 133 put him one shot in front of first-round leader Robert Allenby of Australia, Will MacKenzie and Jeff Overton.
Allenby posted a 68, while MacKenzie and Overton both shot 67.
It was a further stroke back to Ben Crane, who posted a 65 for 135.
Yang owns just one career top-10 finish in 47 US tour events, a tie for ninth at last year’s Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
However, the 37-year-old, in his third year on the US circuit, has two Asian Tour victories on his resume, winning the Korea Open and HSBC Champions Tournament in 2006 — where he beat world No. 1 Tiger Woods by two strokes.
“I’ve gradually elevated myself to have better success as my game grew,” Yang said. “Obviously, to top it off with a PGA Tour victory, which has been the ultimate dream to play for me, it would be a dream come true.”
Defending champion Ernie Els left himself work to do after a second-round 70 that left him three-over for the tournament.
Last year, Els came from three strokes off the pace to edge England’s Luke Donald by a stroke.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS