US teenager Jessica Korda moved into position for a two-sport, father-daughter Australian double, shooting an even-par 73 yesterday to take the third-round lead in the women’s Australian Open at difficult Royal Melbourne.
Korda, the 18-year-old daughter of 1998 Australian Open singles tennis champion Petr Korda, had a four-under 215 total in the LPGA Tour opener on the historic club’s composite course, last year’s Presidents Cup venue that is hosting a women’s professional event for the first time. She opened with rounds of 72 and 70.
Ryu So-yeon, the US Women’s Open champion who took a one-stroke lead into the third round, was a stroke back along with fellow South Korean player Hee Kyung-seo and Australia’s Nikki Campbell. Ryu shot a 76, Seo had a 75 and Campbell a 70.
Top-ranked Yani Tseng, the Australian Open winner the past two years at Commonwealth Golf Club, topped the group at two-under after a 71. The Taiwanese star was still smarting from a three-hole stretch on Friday in her second-round 76 when she dropped six strokes with a quadruple-bogey eight and two bogeys.
Canada’s Lorie Kane and the US’ Katie Futcher also were two-under. The 47-year-old Kane had a 72 and Futcher shot a 71.
Korda, seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, birdied Nos. 7, 9 and 10 — all par fours — for a share of the lead with Ryu at six-under. Korda dropped strokes with bogeys on the par-four 13th and par-five 17th.
Ryu birdied the second and third holes to reach eight-under, but played her final 14 holes in five-over with six bogeys and a birdie. She bogeyed the par-four 18th to drop out of a tie for the lead.
Campbell had the best round of the day with her 70. She had five birdies and two bogeys.
Only nine players were under par after three rounds, with long-hitting Brittany Lincicome of the US and Paraguay’s Julieta Granada three strokes back at one-under. Lincicome had a 73 and Granada shot a 76.
The US’ Stacy Lewis, four-under after opening rounds of 69 and 73, was even par after a 70.
Fourteen-year-old New Zealand amateur Lydia Ko was three-over after a 72, one of only nine sub-par rounds yesterday. She won the New South Wales Open two weeks ago to become the youngest winner of a sanctioned professional tour event.
Australian star Karrie Webb, a four-time winner in the event, was six-over after her third straight 75.
The LPGA Tour is sanctioning the national championship for the first time, teaming with Australian Ladies Professional Golf and the Ladies European Tour.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB