British Open champion Stewart Cink overcame early anxiety after hitting a spectator in the head to surge into contention at the Tour Championship on Thursday.
The Atlanta resident struck a female fan above the eye with his opening tee shot at East Lake Golf Club before recovering to shoot a three-under-par 67 in the lucrative playoff event.
Boosted by four birdies in the first nine holes, Cink ended a sun-kissed day level with Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington and a stroke behind pacesetting American Sean O’Hair.
PHOTO: AFP
“It was a pretty good start,” the 36-year-old American told reporters after a round featuring five birdies and two bogeys.
Cink, who won his first major title by beating compatriot Tom Watson in a playoff for the British Open in July, rued his opening blow of the day in the season’s final FedExCup event.
“My drive flew straight into a lady’s eye about eight yards right of the fairway,” he said. “It cut her on top of the eye, but she was sitting up and she had a wet towel. She was okay. She was talking and she was fine, but that still shakes you up a little bit.”
PHOTO: EPA
Although Cink dropped two shots on the back nine, he was delighted with his display on slick, rock-hard greens firming up in bright sunshine.
South Africa’s Retief Goosen is tied with Dustin Johnson and Steve Marino at 69. American Steve Stricker is featured in a seven-way tie at 70.
■SEVE TROPHY
REUTERS, VERSAILLES, FRANCE
Britain and Ireland held a slender 3-2 advantage over Continental Europe after Thursday’s opening fourball session in the Seve Trophy team event.
Debutants Anthony Wall and Chris Wood set the ball rolling for captain Paul McGinley with an overwhelming 6&5 victory over Swedes Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson.
Karlsson was playing his first competitive round for four months after suffering retinal problems in his left eye.
Although last year’s European No. 1 was the more successful of the two Swedes, the duo had no answer to Wall’s tally of one eagle and three birdies and the four birdies by the 21-year-old Wood as the Englishmen dovetailed perfectly.
Northern Irishmen Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell added the second point for Britain and Ireland as they overcame big-hitter Alvaro Quiros of Spain and Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen 4&3.
■CVS CHALLENGE
AFP, DANVILLE, CALIFORNIA
Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson, who is seeking her first win on the tour in six years, posted a seven-under par 65 to grab the first-round lead at the LPGA’s CVS Challenge on Thursday.
Gustafson leads South Korea’s Kim Na-ri, American Angela Stanford and Mexico’s Sophia Sheridan by two strokes in the US$1.1 million tournament at the Blackhawk Country Club course.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng was tied for 10th at minus-three with Suzann Pettersen, Jennifer Rosales, Kim Welch, Karine Icher, Anna Grzebien, Maria Hjorth, Helen Alfredsson, Beth Bader and Kim Joo-mi.
Teresa Lu of Taiwan carded 71, followed by he compatriots Amy Yang at 72, Candie Kung at 73 and Amy Hung at 74.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and