GOLF
Rookie Taylor wins Jackson
Nick Taylor fired eight birdies in a six-under-par 66 on Sunday to capture his first PGA Tour title, winning by two strokes at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi. The Canadian’s 16-under-par total of 272 gave him a two-shot victory over Americans Boo Weekley and Jason Bohn. Weekley also closed with a 66, while Bohn closed out the US$4 million Sanderson Farms Championship with a 69 for 274. “It’s pretty surreal,” Taylor said of erasing a four-stroke overnight deficit to capture his first Tour title. John Rollins, who started with a two-shot lead, settled for a one-over-par 73 to head a group on 275 alongside Justin Thomas, who posted a 67, and Peter Uihlein, who rocketed up the leaderboard with a seven-under 65.
SOCCER
Kramer error lifts Dortmund
Christoph Kramer’s incredible own-goal from almost halfway gifted Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach to break a five-match losing streak and lift them off the bottom on Sunday. It was Dortmund’s first Bundesliga win in eight matches — their worst-ever start to a season — and took them out of the bottom three. “It’s been such a long time without a win that I can hardly find the words,” Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said. “Christoph Kramer unwittingly took his place in our little story, but he’s an exceptional player and this goal will be just a side note in his life.” However, the win failed to mask another poor display of finishing from Dortmund. They again failed to transfer their stunning UEFA Champions League goal-scoring form, where they have netted 13 in four games to reach the last 16, to domestic action. They failed to convert any of their 22 shots on goal, while restricting Moenchengladbach to just a single chance, before Kramer’s decisive error.
GOLF
Mallon triumphs at Seagate
The US’ Meg Mallon won the Walgreens Charity Championship at rainy Seagate on Sunday for her first LPGA Legends Tour title, beating Juli Inkster by a stroke. The 51-year-old Mallon closed with an even-par-72 for a three-under 141 total in Florida. “It was not my best golf today, but I hung in there and, fortunately, nobody went low,” the 18-time LPGA Tour winner said. “That last putt was actually a big knee-knocker that snuck into the left side. I was about one roll away from being in a playoff.” Inkster finished with a 71. “It’s always fun to compete, but you want to win. I just messed up on the greens,” the American said. Michele Redman (68), Rosie Jones (70), Liselotte Neumann (71) and Danielle Ammaccapane (73) tied for third at one-under.
SOCCER
De Bruyne dazzles again
Former Chelsea winger Kevin de Bruyne produced another top-class performance in VfL Wolfsburg’s 2-0 win over strugglers Hamburg SV to trim Bayern Munich’s lead to four points from seven at the top of the Bundesliga. The 23-year-old Belgium international provided superb passes for veteran striker Ivica Olic and attacking midfielder Aaron Hunt to score either side of halftime as die Wolfe earned their eighth straight win in all competitions. De Bruyne also created two goals in Thursday’s UEFA Europa League win at home to Russsia’s Krasnodar and last week’s 4-0 league win at VfB Stuttgart. The Belgian has provided assists for nine league goals this season since joining Wolfsburg from Stamford Bridge after a season on loan at Werder Bremen. Werder’s 2-0 win at home to VfB Stuttgart lifted them up to 16th, while the visitors finish the weekend bottom of the table.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later