Australian Scott Strange grabbed the first round lead at the Volvo Masters of Asia with a sparkling seven-under-par 65 yesterday as Order of Merit leader Liang Wen-chong of China struggled to find his touch.
Strange was in irrepressible mood at the Thai Country Club, sinking eight birdies against a lone bogey to open up a two-shot lead over Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza and Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng.
Title holder Thongchai Jaidee began his defense with a battling 70.
His compatriot Chapchai Nirat and Liang, who are in a straight fight for the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit crown in this week's season finale, carded a 71 and 72 respectively.
The big-hitting Chapchai, second in the money race, needs a victory to have any chance of toppling Liang in the chase to end the year as Asia's number one.
But the limelight belonged to Strange.
"It's a good start. I played pretty good all day, hit a lot of fairways and greens," said the 30-year-old Australian.
"The rough is lower than normal but the greens are quick enough and hard enough to pose a problem. You can't really stop a wedge shot. It's running out 15 or 20m," Strange said.
He turned in 32 with five birdies against a lone bogey before ramming home three more birdies on the 10th, 13th and 14th holes.
Minoza, 48, gave himself a shot at improving on last year's runner-up finish to Thongchai with a card that included six birdies, including a chip-in on the demanding 18th hole.
The Filipino star is also hoping to muster enough energy to finish his year in style.
"I am happy but tired -- it is a good start. This is my eighth tournament in a row which is a lot for a 48-year-old," he said.
Chapchai endured some anxious moments after his round of 71. He summoned the rules officials as he thought he may have infringed the rules on the 10th hole but was cleared of any wrong-doing.
"I do not want to think about the Order of Merit," he said.
"I have already surpassed my expectations by moving up to second -- my goal his year was a top 10 finish," he said.
Liang headed straight out to the practice green after wielding a cold putter, with his woes compounded by a three-putt bogey at the last.
"My putting was average. I missed a few two three-footers which was disappointing," the Chinese ace said.
"If the pins are tough, then it'll be tough to score. However, I'm hitting the ball good. So I just need to sort out the putting," he 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