Former world No. 1 Annika Sorenstam outclassed top-ranked Lorena Ochoa in a head-to-head duel on Saturday to keeps a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open.
Swedish legend Sorenstam, a winner in 19 of the past 20 events she has led entering the final round, fired a two-under par 69 to stand on 14-under 199 after 54 holes at Kingsmill with South Korean Jeong Jang three back after a 69.
Sorenstam, who fired two of her three lowest rounds of the past two years on Thursday and Friday, seeks her 72nd career title and a US$330,000 top prize at the US$2.2 million event.
PHOTO: AP
A birdie at the seventh and back-to-back 20-foot curving birdie putts at 13 and 14 gave Sorenstam a four-stroke lead on Jang after 17 holes.
But Sorenstam splashed her tee shot at 18 into the water and scrambled to rescue a bogey, her first of the week, to keep the same lead as she had when she began the round.
“I still love this place so I’m looking forward to a great day tomorrow,” Sorenstam said.
Prior to this season, Sorenstam had gone 15 months without winning an event.
Sorenstam would like to take a shot at regaining the top ranking.
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