GOLF
Jbe Kruger wins Avantha
Jbe Kruger of South Africa clinched his maiden European Tour title when he held his nerve in a tight finish to win the Avantha Masters in India yesterday. On a dramatic final day when hot contender Peter Whiteford of Scotland was disqualified for a moved ball in the third round, Kruger carded four birdies and a bogey in a final-round three-under 69. The 25-year-old from Bloemfontein finished on 14-under 274, two strokes ahead of Spaniard Jorge Campillo and Marcel Siem of Germany, after just three shots had separated the top 15 at the start of the day. Whiteford, who led the first two rounds and was one stroke behind leader Kruger after the third, was penalized for the moved ball on the 18th fairway during his round on Saturday. The Scot was disqualified after the rules committee reviewed the incident yesterday morning, following television viewers alerting chief referee John Paramor about it. Whiteford signed his scorecard after consulting his caddy, a fellow competitor and a TV cameraman, who all said they did not believe he had moved the ball.
GOLF
Mickelson tied for lead
Phil Mickelson stayed on track for a second consecutive USPGA Tour victory by ending Saturday’s third round of the Northern Trust Open in a tie for the lead. The American left-hander carded a one-under 70 in dazzling afternoon sunshine at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, to finish level with compatriot Keegan Bradley (66). Mickelson, who began the day one ahead of the chasing pack, mixed two birdies with a lone bogey to post a seven-under total of 206 at an iconic venue where he triumphed in 2008 and 2009. He had chances to regain the outright lead over the closing stretch, but narrowly missed an eight-foot birdie putt at the 16th and failed to birdie the par-five 17th after driving into the left rough.
ALPINE SKIING
Hirscher takes slalom
Marcel Hirscher won his second race in two days on the Banderitsa course in Bulgaria, taking a World Cup slalom yesterday ahead of fellow Austrian Mario Matt. Hirscher led after the first run and clocked 58.06 seconds in the afternoon to win in a combined time of 1 minute, 52.64 seconds. Mario Matt was 0.16 seconds behind, while Andre Myhrer of Sweden was 0.57 seconds back in third. Hirscher is now just 18 points behind leader Ivica Kostelic in the overall standings, with the Croatian sidelined with a knee injury.
ALPINE SKIING
Super-combined canceled
Heavy snowfall forced the cancellation of a women’s World Cup super-combined event yesterday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, ending the Alpine test events for the Sochi 2014 Olympics on a sour note. The race — the third and final super-combined event of the season — could be rescheduled for Are, Sweden, next month. If the race is not rescheduled, American Lindsey Vonn will have clinched her third consecutive super-combined title. Vonn currently leads Tina Maze of Slovenia by 55 points and Nicole Hosp of Austria by 60 points in the super-combined standings, with wins worth 100 points each. “I definitely think it was the right decision,” Vonn said. “All the girls talked in the finish after the second inspection and we all felt it wasn’t safe enough and we gave them some time to keep working on the course and they definitely made progress, but unfortunately the snow was just rotten, it was just like sand — an endless pit of nothing — there’s no surface.”
BASKETBALL
ESPN apologizes for Lin slur
The cable television sports network ESPN has apologized for using a racial slur in a headline for a story on Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin. ESPN ran the headline “Chink in the Armor” after Lin had nine turnovers in New York’s loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night on its mobile Web site. Lin is the NBA’s first US-born player of Taiwanese descent. ESPN said in a statement on Saturday that it removed the headline 35 minutes after it was posted. The cable network said it was “conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake.”
BOXING
Tavoris Cloud retains title
Unbeaten Tavoris Cloud retained his International Boxing Federation light-heavyweight title with a split decision over Gabriel Campillo on Saturday at the American Bank Center arena. The 30-year-old Cloud of the US (24-0, 19 knockouts) won on two of the three judges’ scorecards, 116-110 and 114-112. The other judge scored it 115-111 for Spanish southpaw Campillo. Campillo was dropped to the canvas twice in the first round, but he rebounded to cut Cloud in round three. The fight was close right up to the final bell, with some thinking Campillo (21-4-1, 8 knockouts) did enough to win.
CYCLING
Hoy claims gold in London
British cycling great Chris Hoy won his first gold medal at the London Velodrome, where he hopes to add to his four Olympic titles. The 35-year-old Scot won the keirin at the Track World Cup on Saturday, adding the title to the bronze medal he earned in the men’s team sprint a day earlier. Hoy surged through the field on the final lap to win the event. “What a buzz to win in front of this crowd when you cross the line — it was phenomenal,” Hoy said. “It doesn’t feel like a World Cup, it feels more important.” The flag-waving home fans did not get everything they wanted, though, as home favorite Victoria Pendleton failed to add the women’s individual sprint title to the team sprint gold she won on Friday. Pendleton lost 2-1 to world champion Anna Meares in the semi-finals, before finishing fourth. China’s Guo Shuang beat Meares 2-0 to win gold.
ATHLETICS
Liu wins faceoff with Robles
Former Olympic high hurdles champion Liu Xiang of China defeated 2008 Beijing gold medalist Dayron Robles on Saturday in their first race since the Cuban was disqualified for obstructing Liu at last year’s world championships. Liu clocked 7.41 seconds in the 60m hurdles at the Birmingham indoor meeting, 0.09 seconds ahead of Robles. Commonwealth 100m champion Lerone Clarke upstaged his fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell by winning the men’s 60m in 6.47 seconds. Powell finished third. Jessica Ennis, the 2009 world heptathlon champion, won the 60m hurdles in a personal best and world leading time of 7.87 seconds.
SOCCER
Mechelen climb to eighth
Taiwan international Xavier Chen’s KV Mechelen climbed to eighth place in the Belgian Jupiler League with a 2-1 home victory over Beerschot AC on Saturday. The hosts fell behind in the eighth minute when Hernan Losada gave Beerschot the lead, but second-half goals from Alessandro Cordaro, two minutes after the break, and Julien Gorius, six minutes before fulltime, gave the Yellow Reds all three points. Chen played the full 90 minutes.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely