Graeme McDowell again displayed the traits that have made him a feared Ryder Cup competitor in defeating Thongchai Jaidee 2-and-1 in the final of the Volvo World Match-Play Championship in Bulgaria on Sunday.
McDowell had been 2 down after four holes to Thongchai, but sensed near the turn his 43-year-old rival was starting to tire in the heat at the Thracian Cliffs course.
The Northern Irishman, who had beaten South African Branden Grace earlier in the day to reach the final, fought back to draw level with Thongchai at the 12th before going 2-up in winning the 14th and 15th holes before sealing victory with a par at the 17th.
“It’s just unbelievable to win as it’s been a long week, and it could be said these events are tougher to win than stroke-play events,” McDowell said.
“Somehow beating six guys head-to-head with the standard of golf required there is certainly an amount of feel good factor,” he said.
“However, I thought when Thongchai went 2-up after four holes that this wasn’t the script I had read, but then after winning the seventh and managing to halve nine and 10 I felt good,” McDowell said. “I felt like I was starting to get in control, and I sensed Thongchai was weakening and I just sensed an opening and I just seized on that.”
McDowell also becomes the first Irish-born winner of the tournament.
“To be the first Irish-born winner of the event is special as it to join some of the greats of the game who have won this trophy,” McDowell said.
“But I’m looking at the trophy and seeing Montgomerie, Els, Westwood, Palmer, Player, Norman, Els,” he said. “The history of this event is just fantastic.”
? MADEIRA ISLANDS OPEN
AP, SANTO ANTONIO DA SERRA, Portugal
American Peter Uihlein won the Madeira Islands Open by two strokes after shooting a 4-under 68 on Sunday for his first career title in his 16th European Tour event.
Uihlein birdied four of his last eight holes for a 15-under total of 273 at the Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra course. It was his third top-10 finish from seven European Tour events this season.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but