Tiger Woods fired his lowest round in nearly two years to answer a career-low course record by defending champion Anthony Kim and produce a sizzling start to the PGA National on Thursday.
Kim, inspired to play golf by fist-pumping idol Woods, fired an eight-under par 62 at rain-softened Congressional Country Club for a two-stroke lead on fellow Americans Woods, D.A. Points and Bryce Molder.
Tournament host Woods sank seven birdies, his longest a 48-footer at the second hole, in 27 putts on the way to his 64, the 14-time major champion’s best round since the 2007 PGA Tour Championship some 22 months ago.
PHOTO: AP
■OWENS CORNING CLASSIC
AFP, SYLVANIA, OHIO
South Korea’s Kim Song-hee shot a seven-under 64 to seize a share of the lead after the opening round of the LPGA Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
Americans Laura Diaz and Morgan Pressel also shot 64s on the Highland Meadows Golf Club on Thursday.
Taiwan’s Candie Kung and Yani Tseng were in a group at 68, while compatriot Amy Hung followed in a group at 71.
■FRENCH OPEN
AFP, VERSAILLES, FRANCE
Rising German star Martin Kaymer set a blistering pace in the first round of the 4 million-euro (US$5.6 million) French Open at Le Golf National on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Kaymer from Dusseldorf was The European PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2007. He chipped in for an eagle at the par-five third and added eight birdies en route to a 62, equaling the course record set by Argentina’s Eduardo Romero in 2005.
It was one of the finest rounds on the European PGA Tour this year and put him three strokes clear of a quintet comprising John Bickerton of England, Rafa Echenique of Argentina, Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, Scott Strange of Australia and Peter Hanson of Sweden.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier