Michelle Wie splashed her way around the course on Tuesday, determined to get in a full practice round for the Sybase Match Play Championship.
“I played 18 holes, so that’s good in the rain,” said Wie, seeded eighth in the 64-player event that begins today at Hamilton Farm Golf Club. “I was pretty proud of myself.”
Third-seeded Suzann Pettersen drew Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, and fourth-seeded Yani Tseng of Taiwan will play Wendy Ward.
Wie, a 20-year-old Stanford student, is set to open play against 50th-seeded Stacy Prammanasudh. Wie won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico in November for her first LPGA Tour title and has two top-six finishes in six events this year.
“I’m just trying to become the best player I can be,” said Wie, trying to fill the void left by the retirements of Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam. “I’m working as hard as I can to win tournaments and to play well and to be that dominant player. Everyone is vying for that spot now and everyone is working extra hard.”
The top 32 seeds selected their opponents in a blind draw on Tuesday.
Top-ranked Jiyai Shin will face South Korean compatriot Kyeong Bae. Shin took over the top spot when Ochoa retired three weeks ago after the Tres Marias Championship.
“Match play is fun, but if you lose, you go home,” Shin said.
Second-seeded Ai Mayazato, the Japanese star who has won three of the first six events of the season, will open against Jeong Jang.
Hamilton Farm also was the site of match-play events in 2005 and 2006. Marisa Baena won in 2005, and Brittany Lincicome took the 2006 title, beating Wie, Ochoa and Inkster in the final three matches. In 2007 at Wykagyl in the tour’s last 64-player, match-play event, Seon Hwa Lee beat Miyazato in the final.
Lincicome, coming off a playoff loss to Se Ri Pak on Sunday in Mobile, Alabama, in the rain-shortened Bell Micro LPGA Classic, will open against Beatriz Recari.
Pak will play Azahara Munoz.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care