South Africa’s Peter Karmis maintained his lead at the Handa Singapore Classic, with compatriot Jbe Kruger and Taiwan’s Chan Yih-shin close behind after the third round yesterday.
Karmis fired three birdies against one bogey, his first of the tournament, for a two-under 70 to remain in contention for a first Asian Tour victory with a three-day total of a 20-under 196 at the Orchid Country Club.
Kruger, who finished second in Brunei last month, and Chan, winner of the King’s Cup in Thailand last year, battled to a 68 to tie for second on 200 at the US$400,000 Asian Tour event.
PHOTO: AFP/ASIAN TOUR
South African Keith Horne fired a sizzling 65 to share fourth place alongside South Korea’s Choi Jin-ho (66), Taiwan’s Lu Wei-chih (67), Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand (68) and India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar (70) on a 202 total at the inaugural tournament.
Karmis, who earned his Asian Tour card in Qualifying School in Thailand this year, said: “I was a bit off my game and didn’t hit it as well. I missed a few fairways and couldn’t go for the greens.”
“I was making pars the whole time. It was a bit of a grind, but to be fair I was starting to hit well again on the back nine,” he said.
Despite holding a four-stroke lead, Karmis believes it will still be an uphill battle for the title.
“I’m still not in a comfortable position, despite my four-stroke lead. Every day someone goes low, so I’m going to [have to] shoot several under-par,” he said.
Today promises to be a tense day for Karmis and the chasing pack.
“There is pressure, but I’m more excited than being nervous. It is a good thing because this is what we live for,” Karmis said. “We live to compete and being in contention, otherwise there’s no point of playing competitively.”
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
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
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two