Stephen Gallacher holed a 40-yard bunker shot for an eagle at the 18th hole to put the seal on a sparkling 10-under 62 and take a three-shot lead after the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday.
The Briton, seeking to end a nine-year wait for a European Tour win, notched a 21-under total of 195 to streak clear of midway leader Richard Sterne (66) of South Africa, with young Dane Thorbjorn Olesen (67) two strokes further back.
Gallacher’s 54-hole aggregate is the lowest in the event’s history, beating by one stroke the record set by former world No. 1 Tiger Woods in 2001.
World No. 8 Lee Westwood, the highest-ranked player in the field, fired a 66 and was nine shots behind Gallacher, with whom he finished joint runner-up in last year’s event.
Gallacher, nephew of former Ryder Cup captain Bernard, almost recorded an albatross (double-eagle) at the par-five 13th when his second shot hit the flag and finished just four feet away.
There was never any doubt in the Scot’s mind about his spectacular final shot, though.
“The moment I hit it I knew it was either stiff or in,” said the world No. 111, whose only European Tour win came at the 2004 Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.
“I struggled last week [at the Qatar Masters] and my driver cracked, but with the new one I’m hitting more fairways and I’ve putted really good. I’m excited and looking forward to tomorrow,” Gallacher told reporters.
He said his knowledge of the Emirates Golf Club stood him in good stead.
“I’m pretty familiar with his course. I come out here on holiday with the family,” Gallacher said.
In joint fourth place on 202 were Chile’s Felipe Aguilar (66), Jeev Milkha Singh (67) of India and Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood (69).
Former world No. 2 Sergio Garcia, battling against shoulder pain, slipped down the field with a 71 for 206.
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