Defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot a 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead during the suspended second round of the Canadian Women’s Open on Friday.
Ochoa, the winner last year at Royal Mayfair in Edmonton, Alberta, had a 10-under 134 total on the tree-lined Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club course.
Australia’s Katherine Hull matched the course record with a 65 to join Taiwan’s Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), the McDonald’s LPGA Championship winner, at 8 under. Tseng was 6 under through 10 holes when play was suspended because of hail and rain.
None of the afternoon starters were able to finish the round.
Nicole Castrale (69) was 7 under, and Pak Se-ri (70) was another stroke back. Annika Sorenstam was 5 under with eight holes left.
“I feel great about being in Canada,” Pak said. “They always have such a great golf course, and always the condition of the golf course. I realize this week is not easy because the rough is so long, probably the longest rough of the year, I think.”
Ochoa, a six-time winner this season, had five birdies and one bogey — her lone bogey of the week — in her morning round. She dropped a stroke on the par-3 15th — her sixth hole of the day — after hitting into a right-side bunker, but rallied with four birdies on her final nine holes.
Hull matched the course record set by Martha Nause in the first round of the 1994 du Maurier Classic.
“On the back nine, my caddie [Mike Powell] and I were reciting Bible verses and I just lost track of what score I was at,” Hull said.
Wie, using the last of her six LPGA Tour sponsor exemptions for this year, followed her opening 75 with 70 to finish at 1 over and in position to make the cut.
“I felt a lot more confident with my putter,” Wie said. “I had a lot of great up and downs today. There were a few holes where it could have gone either way and I just grinded it through. I’m proud of myself for shooting under par today and it sets me up for Saturday and Sunday.”
The 18-year-old university student, down to No. 309 in the world, needs to win or finish second to avoid a trip to Q-school — if she decides to try qualifying.
“I’m not really thinking about that right now,” Wie said. “If I play good, everything will take care of itself. That’s what I’m going to focus on, just playing my round. You know, it’s my last tournament, so I want to end on a good note. Hopefully, it’ll be a really good one.”
■THE TRADITION
AP, SUNRIVER, OREGON
Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer shot a 6-under 66 in 38˚C heat for a share of the second-round lead with Tim Simpson in the Tradition on Friday.
Langer and Simpson had 10-under 134 totals in the fourth of the five Champions Tour majors at the Crosswater Club. Simpson shot a second straight 67 despite hip and back problems that he said could jeopardize the rest of the tournament for him.
“I feel lucky that I’ve been able to play two rounds, let alone two great rounds,” he said.
Fred Funk (66), Jay Haas (68) and Mike Goodes (68) were a stroke back, and Tom Watson (64) followed at 8 under. Defending champion Eduardo Romero, the US Senior Open winner, was 5 under after a 65.
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