Three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the Johor Open yesterday, hitting two eagles in his final three holes to share the first-round lead.
Australia’s Marcus Both and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat had earlier set a fearsome pace with sparkling 64s, enjoying the best of the conditions on a hot and blustery day at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club.
However, Ryder Cup star Harrington, who notched three birdies in his first three holes, ended his round in dramatic fashion with an 18-foot putt for eagle at the 16th, before sinking a 25-footer at the 18th to reach eight-under-par.
South Korea’s Noh Seung-yul carded a 66 to be on six under alongside compatriot Lee Sung in the Asian Tour event.
Six players are a shot further adrift including the Thai pair of Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng.
Two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen shot a 68 to be in a group on four-under, while Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie carded a 70 despite feeling the effects of the heat during his morning round.
Both opened his round in stunning style, romping to eight-under after 12 holes, before losing impetus and hitting a string of pars.
GOLF PRO DIES IN BRAWL
CNA, WITH STAFF WRITER
Taiwanese professional golfer Lu Wen-hsiung died early yesterday after trying to stop a drunken brawl in his neighborhood in Tamsui, Taipei County, police said.
Lu, 41, came home at around 1:30am and encountered two men and two women fighting in a drunken free-for-all at the gate of his residential building. Upon approaching the group and asking what was going on, he was set upon and beaten to the ground by the two drunk men, police said.
The golfer was rushed to the Mackay Memorial Hospital in Tamsui for emergency treatment at about 2am and was pronounced dead at around 3:20am.
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