Tiger Woods criticized rules officials at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday after he overhauled Irishman Padraig Harrington to win the elite tournament for a record seventh time.
The American world No. 1 effectively sealed victory with a birdie at the par-five 16th, where he struck a superb eight-iron to a foot after he and Harrington had been put on the clock for slow play.
Harrington’s bid for a first title in 12 months on either the PGA or European tours unraveled on that hole as he ran up an ugly triple-bogey eight after hitting his fourth shot into water.
PHOTO: AFP
Woods slammed European Tour chief referee John Paramor for his decision to put them on the clock.
“I’m sorry that John got in the way of a great battle because it was such a great battle for 16 holes,” Woods told reporters after clinching his 70th PGA Tour victory by four shots. “We’re going at it head-to-head, and unfortunately that happened. I think being on the clock influenced him.”
While on the clock, players must play their shots within an allocated time or risk an initial warning followed by a US$5,000 fine and a one-shot penalty for a second offense.
PGA Tour rules official Slugger White supported Paramor.
“I don’t think John did get in the middle of it,” he said. “John is doing his job ... It’s just a regulation, guys. That’s what it amounts to.”
■RENO-TAHOE OPEN
REUTERS, LOS ANGELES
American John Rollins survived a topsy-turvy final round to win the Reno-Tahoe Open by three shots in Nevada on Sunday.
Four ahead of the chasing pack overnight at Montreux Golf and Country Club, Rollins carded a level-par 72 for a 17-under total of 271. Britain’s Martin Laird closed with a 69 to share second place with American Jeff Quinney.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
Inter’s defense of their Italian Serie A title was hit with a setback on Sunday as they lost 1-0 at home to AS Roma, while Scott McTominay netted a brace as SSC Napoli beat Torino 2-0 to go top of the table. No fixtures were played on Friday or Saturday because of the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, meaning the full round of Serie A matches took place on Sunday and yesterday. Matias Soule’s first-half strike for Roma knocked Inter off top spot earlier in the day before new Napoli opened up a three-point buffer with victory in Sunday’s
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa yesterday set a women’s only world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds as she won the London Marathon, while Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe put a star-studded men’s field to the sword. For 28-year-old Assefa it was ample compensation for finishing runner-up in London and the Paris Olympics last year — especially as bitter Dutch rival, the Ethiopia-born Sifan Hassan, finished third. Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei as the race, played out in blazing sunshine and with thousands lining the route, entered its business end. She came home almost three minutes clear of the Kenyan. Hassan, who beat her in
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