LPGA TOUR
Stacy Lewis recovers for 73
Stacy Lewis, the leader from round one, recovered from a sticky patch to post a 73 on Saturday, but will go into the final round of the Evian Masters in Evian-les-Bains, France, tied with South Korean Park In-bee. Lewis, the 27-year-old American, birdied the 18th from 20 feet to rescue a one over par score on a day of heavy showers. Park also made four at the long final hole for a 70 and the pair were tied on 11 under par. Three players shared third place on 10-under — Australia’s Karrie Webb, the 2006 champion, shot 67, American Natalie Gulbis, the 2007 winner, fired a 68 and the 17-year-old South Korean amateur Kim Hyo-joo had a fine 69. Lewis, seeking a third win of the season, was three ahead after birdies at the ninth and 12th. However, she bogeyed the 12th and 14th — just as she had done on Friday — and then took a double-bogey seven at the long 15th. With a duck and her ducklings wandering on the fairway, a distracted Lewis chunked her third shot short of the green. She then mishit the next chip and ran up the ugly seven. However, she was delighted to hit back with the birdie at the 18th to stay at the top. “I was so pleased to make the birdie at the last and make sure I was in the last group tomorrow,” she said.
USPGA TOUR
Garrigus grabs the lead
Robert Garrigus grabbed a one-shot lead as American players took a stranglehold on the Canadian Open after the third round in Ontario on Saturday. Garrigus fired a six-under par-64 to move to 16-under 194, one clear of William McGirt (66) and two in front of Scott Piercy (67). McGirt and Piercy had shared the lead overnight. American players made up the top 10 players on the leaderboard with former major winners Retief Goosen of South Africa (63) and Fijian Vijay Singh (69), the best of the international challengers, seven shots back. Goosen rose 42 places into a tie for 11th with his seven-under round. Scott Stallings and Chris Kirk matched his 63 and share fourth place with fellow American Bo Van Pelt (67) on 198. Kirk looked set to smash the course record of 62 at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club after getting to seven under through 10 holes, but he parred the last eight. David Hearn and Graham DeLaet were the best of the locals on 208, meaning Canada’s victory drought in the tournament is almost certain to be extended to 58 years.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Wiesberger clinches Open
Local hero Bernd Wiesberger shot a seven-under par-65 in Saturday’s final round to clinch the Austrian Open, finishing in style with a birdie on 18 to end three shots clear at 19 under par. Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, who had topped the leader board on days one, two and three, saw the magic disappear in the final round, hitting a two-over 74 and bogeying the last two holes to finish five behind in fifth place at 14-under. In joint second place at 16 under on the par-72 course at Atzenbrugg, near Vienna, were Irishman Shane Lowry and Thomas Levet of France. Lowry shot a 66 in the final round, his lowest score of the weekend, while Levet managed a four-under 68. Rikard Karlberg of Sweden was fourth at 15 under. It was Wiesberger’s second European Tour title of the year following his triumph at the Ballantine’s Championship in April, and he becomes the second Austrian to win his home Open after Markus Brier in 2006.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and