Paula Creamer shot a 6-under 66 Friday, taking a seven-stroke lead over Karine Icher and Laura Davies after the third round of the 2 million euros (US$2.4 million) Evian Masters.
The 18-year-old Californian was eight strokes ahead of Annika Sorenstam, who carded a 72, and 11 clear of 15-year-old amateur Michelle Wie. After rounds of 75 and 70, the 15-year-old Hawaiian came in with a 68.
Icher managed a 68 and Davies had a 70, but lost ground of Creamer, who is poised to claim her second title in her rookie season.
PHOTO: AP
"Tomorrow it will be like everybody's starting out at zero," Creamer said. "I'll aim to get the lead as big as possible as quickly as possible."
Creamer, known for wearing something pink every time she plays, captured the Sybase Classic two months ago and is fourth in the LPGA money list with US$739,650.
"But when I won the Sybase I was a shot back going into Sunday," Creamer said.
"Here I've got seven shots. I feel good with that."
Sorenstam has no illusions about her last-round task.
"I've got to play a real good round, a 64 or maybe even better, to give myself a chance tomorrow," the Swede said.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB