Cristie Kerr fired a six-under par 66 on Saturday to share the lead with fellow American Kristy McPherson after the third round of the US$1.7 million LPGA State Farm Classic.
Kerr and McPherson, who fired a 69, each stood on 12-under par 204 after 54 holes in the final tuneup for next week’s LPGA Championship, one stroke ahead of South Korean Jiyai Shin and two atop seven others, including Ai Miyazato.
Japanese veteran Miyazato fired five birdies in a row and eight overall before a bogey at the 18th left her with a 65 on the day and two off the pace.
PHOTO: AFP
Joining Miyazato on 206 were South Korea’s Se Ri-pak and In-kyung Kim, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, Taiwan’s Amy Hung, Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson and American Angela Stanford.
Kerr, who won last month at Williamsburg, opened with an eagle at the par-5 first and followed with birdies at the par-4 third, par-3 fifth and par-5 sixth holes.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng was in a group at 211 after shooting 70 on Saturday, while compatriot Teresa Lu was dead last at 219.
PGA MEMORIAL
AFP, DUBLIN
Americans Matt Bettencourt and Mark Wilson shared the lead after the third round of the PGA Memorial tournament but Tiger Woods and Geoff Ogilvy also charged into contention on Saturday.
World No. 1 Woods, a 14-time major champion, matched Bettencourt, seeking his first PGA victory, for the day’s second-low round at four-under 68.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite