Thai golfer Chapchai Nirat shot a 32-under-par over 72 holes, in what is thought to be the world’s lowest winning margin for relation to par, to claim the SAIL Open yesterday.
The 25-year-old Chapchai made a birdie on his final hole for a fourth-round 67 and a total of 256 on the par-72 Classic Golf Resort course to better the previous low mark of 31-under set by South African Ernie Els on a par-73 course at Kapalua, Hawaii, in 2003.
Chapchai improved on the Asian Tour’s previous best of 29-under, also set by Els, at the 2003 Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia.
PHOTO: AFP
Els had a 29-under 259 total on Perth’s par-72 Lake Karrinyup course to also break the PGA European Tour’s previous 72-hole record for relation to par of 27-under.
Chapchai punched the air, then pressed his hands together to accept the congratulations from spectators.
Chapchai won the title with an 11-stroke margin over Richard Moir of Australia and Gaganjit Bhullar of India, who finished with four-round aggregates of 267.
This was Chapchai’s third title, two years after he won China’s TCL Classic and the Vietnam Open in the 2007 season.
Thailand’s Thammanoon Srirot was 13 strokes off the pace in a group of three with South Africa’s Keith Horne and Mark Purser of Australia. Australia’s Chris Gaunt and Thailand’s Wisut Artjanawat were a stroke back tied for seventh on 270.
■DELL CHAMPIONSHIP
AFP, XIAMEN, CHINA
Local favorite Wu Weihuang shot a two-under-par 70 to go 13-under and hold a three-stroke lead after the third round of the Dell Championship in Xiamen yesterday.
But the 40-year-old former martial arts star, who has recorded 14 top-10 finishes in 26 events on the Omega China Tour, will have to fend off a host of rising stars to seal a long-awaited first professional victory.
Alex Wu Ashun, Wu’s 23-year-old playing partner, shot 69 to remain second while American C.J. Gatto, also 23, fired a 66 to go eight-under ahead of today’s final round.
Omega Championship winner Zhou Jun, 25, also shot 66 to share fourth place on six-under with Shang Lei, the 27-year-old former Asian Tour player who posted a 68, and 18-year-old Korean Eom Jae-woong, who carded a 71.
Shenzhen-based Gatto, winner of last month’s Qualifying School and playing in his first 72-hole event since turning pro in August, surged up the leaderboard. The young American birdied five of the first seven holes on his way to equaling his best-ever score in a competitive tournament.
Taiwan’s Lin Keng-chi shot a 72 yesterday and was fifth on the leaderboard.
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