■ST JUDE CLASSIC
Westwood takes title
Britain’s Lee Westwood completed a perfect tune-up for this week’s US Open at Pebble Beach by winning his first PGA Tour title in 12 years at the St Jude Classic on Sunday. The world No. 3 three made the most of a final-hole meltdown in regulation by American Robert Garrigus, who blew a three-shot lead, to triumph in a three-way playoff. “I like being competitive before a major championship, to be competitive in a tournament and boost my confidence,” Westwood told reporters after a steaming hot day at the TPC Southwind. “This week was a little bit draining with the temperature it gets to here, but because I’ve been to Pebble Beach and done most of my preparation I can take it easy for the next three days.” Westwood was delighted to clinch his second title on the PGA Tour, ending a barren run on the US circuit dating back to the 1998 New Orleans Classic. “It’s definitely nice to win again,” the 37-year-old said after rolling in a five-foot birdie putt at the fourth extra hole to edge out Swede Robert Karlsson. Garrigus was eliminated at the first extra hole.
■PORTUGAL OPEN
Bjorn back to winning ways
Danish veteran Thomas Bjorn returned to winning ways on Sunday with a five shot victory in the Portugal Open. Bjorn, who has not won a tournament for four years, saw off a challenge from Australian Richard Green with a closing 68 for a 23 under par aggregate total of 265. Green closed with a 70 to finish 18 under, with Dane Mark Haastrup third on 16 under following a 67. The victory signals a remarkable return to form for Bjorn who had missed the cut six times before last week’s Wales Open at Celtic Manor. “It was certainly nice to win again,” Bjorn said. “Today had its ups and downs, but I pulled it off when I needed to and closed out the tournament quite well in the end. I had a lot of chances to keep the chasing pack behind me, but I was probably a little bit more nervous than I might’ve been in the past.”
■CURTIS CUP
US ease to victory
The US eased to a comfortable 12.5-7.5 victory over Great Britain and Ireland on Sunday to win the women’s Curtis Cup for amateurs. The Americans needed only two out of eight points in the singles to retain the cup after winning all six fourball and foursome matches on Saturday to take a commanding 8.5-3.5 lead. “It was a wonderful victory, obviously. We are very pleased and proud,” said US captain Noreen Mohler. “I think today’s play was just a continuation of yesterday’s play. We went out with momentum and we just made a couple of more putts than they did.” Alexis Thompson and Jennifer Johnson both built early leads in their singles matches. Thompson beat Sally Watson 6 and 5, and Johnson defeated Rachel Jennings 5 and 4 to clinch it for the US.
■STATE FARM CLASSIC
Weather delays final round
More weather delays on Sunday forced LPGA State Farm Classic officials to push completion of the final round to yesterday. Cristie Kerr of the US and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist were atop the leaderboard on 20-under, Kerr through eight holes and Nordqvist through nine. Officials debated awarding the title to Kerr, who was the leader after the third-round was completed on Sunday morning, but LPGA official Jim Haley said they would try to finish 72 holes yesterday. “Because so many players finished their 72 holes, we decided to make every effort to give everyone the same chance. We got more holes in than we thought we would today and it just wouldn’t be fair to everyone.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later