Lightning storms and heavy rain washed out play at the US$6 million Barclays Singapore Open yesterday in a blow for fans and organizers of the event, which is facing strong regional competition.
Play was suspended at 11:50am and officials finally canceled the day’s competition nearly five hours later, slashing the tournament from 72 to 54 holes in a bid to finish on schedule today.
The third round will resume at 7:30am today with Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano sitting on a three-shot lead from James Morrison and Edoardo Molinari.
Photo: David Paul Morris/World Sport Group/AFP
More than 52mm of rain swamped Sentosa Golf Club, forming puddles on the fairways and sending soaked spectators diving for cover, in conditions tournament director Mike Stewart called “hugely disappointing.”
“The biggest problem has been the lightning activity in the area which has made it too dangerous to be on the golf course,” Stewart said. “So we’ve taken the decision to have no further play today.”
Stewart denied the move to play only three rounds was motivated by the fact that some of the star players must travel to Australia early next week for the Presidents Cup team competition.
And he said there had been no discussion about a new date for the Singapore Open, which has become notorious for rain delays and is competing for players and attention with a host of other events.
Leader Fernandez-Castano is now in the box seat for the US$1 million first prize after completing a 10-under wonder-round early yesterday, after rain also reduced play on Friday.
The reduction to three rounds appeared to dash four-time major-winner Phil Mickelson’s hopes after he suffered a double-bogey meltdown to lie 10 shots off the pace.
Mickelson, also completing his second round, drove his second shot into water on the par-five 18th and then watched in horror as his subsequent chip span back 25 yards off the green and into the drink.
Mickelson finished with a seven on the hole for a round of 67 and four-under 138 overall, surviving the cut by just two shots.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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