World No. 7 Henrik Stenson holed the winning putt as Europe regained the Royal Trophy with a dramatic 8.5-7.5 victory over Asia at Thailand’s Amata Spring Country Club yesterday.
The experienced Swede, who has played in the last two Ryder Cups, clawed back from three holes down after 10 against Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee to earn a half point and the win for Europe with a gutsy par putt at the final hole. It was a repeat of Europe’s triumph at the maiden event in 2006 when Stenson beat Thongchai in the anchor match for overall victory. Europe also won in 2007, but were stunned 10-6 by Asia last year.
“We really had a game on this week and we had to dig deep, especially me in the final match with Thongchai,” Stenson said. “I am not playing great at the moment, but I told the boys I could find that extra bit near the end if I needed it and I did that today.”
Player-captain Colin Montgomerie, who will skipper Europe in the Ryder Cup in October, made a huge contribution to the overall win with a battling display against the in-form Liang Wen-chong, a former Asian No. 1. He drew on all his experience to match Liang’s birdie putt on the final hole to claim a critical half point for Europe.
“That was good, to come back from two down after 10 with him playing so well,” Montgomerie said. “I birdied 11 and managed another birdie on 16, and that was just amazing at the last, because that is a tough hole.”
Koumei Oda, a two-time winner on the Japan Tour last season, put the first point on the board for holders Asia with a crushing 5 and 3 victory over Sweden’s Alexander Noren, who had a 100 percent record going into the singles. Oda, who teamed up with teenage countryman Ryo Ishikawa to beat Colin Montgomerie and Pablo Martin on the opening day, was in scintillating form with six birdies in 15 holes.
South Korea’s Charlie Wi kept the momentum going with a 1-up win over England’s Simon Dyson in an error-strewn encounter. Dyson, currently fourth on the European Ryder Cup points list after two victories last season, holed a birdie putt on the 17th to square the match, but made a mess of the last to hand Wi the win.
Sweden’s Peter Hanson took the scalp of highly regarded Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa 5 and 4 to put the first point on the board for Europe. India’s Jeev Milkha Singh then handed the advantage back to Asia with a 2 and 1 win over the previously unbeaten Robert Karlsson of Sweden.
Spain’s Pablo Martin dominated his match with Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng and a birdie at the 17th gave him the contest 2 and 1 as Europe fought back.
Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark ensured that the match went to the last game between Thongchai and Stenson with a 2 and 1 triumph over India’s Gaganjeet Bullar.
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
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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