American Ryan Moore birdied four of the last six holes to fire a four-under-par 67 for a one-stroke lead after Saturday’s third round of the US$5.9 million PGA Valspar Championship.
Moore opened with 12 pars and shot one of only two bogey-free rounds surrendered that day by the Innisbrook resort’s Copperhead course to stand on nine-under 204 after 54 holes.
Jordan Spieth, a 21-year-old American who shared second at last year’s Masters, fired a 68 to stand second on 205 with compatriot Derek Ernst third on 206, American Sean O’Hair fourth on 207 and Swede Henrik Stenson joining the US duo of Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed on 208.
Moore is seeking his fifth US PGA triumph, the past two coming at the 2013 and 2014 CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He also won in 2012 at Las Vegas and took his first PGA title in 2009 at Greensboro, North Carolina.
Moore missed a four-foot birdie putt at the par-five opening hole, but saved par from 12 feet at the par-three fourth and eight feet at the par-three eighth.
“I just hit it closer,” Moore said of his late birdie run. “I missed a lot of greens early, made a few chips and some great par savers. I made some good birdie chances from [13 on] and was able to hole them out.”
Moore sank eight-foot birdie putts at the par-three 13th and par-five 14th holes, rolled in a birdie from 31 feet at 16 and closed with a five-foot birdie putt at 18 to seize sole possession of the lead.
“You just always have to be mindful on this course,” Moore said. “You have to let it dictate what you do out there and that’s how I’ve tried to play it.”
Spieth is seeking his third title in five months, although his only US PGA career title so far came at the 2013 John Deere Classic. Spieth won the Australian Open in November last year and followed up by winning the Hero World Challenge charity event hosted by Tiger Woods in December last year near Orlando.
Spieth opened with a tap-in birdie, but took his lone bogey at the third, finding the left rough and a greenside bunker and missing a seven-foot par putt. He sank a seven-footer for birdie at the ninth and a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-five 11th, then birdied from 11 feet at the par-three 15th.
Spieth would become the youngest US PGA two-time winner since Sergio Garcia in 2001.
Ernst’s lone top-25 finish in 61 US PGA starts was a 2013 victory at Quail Hollow, when his par at the first playoff hole defeated England’s David Lynn for the title. Ernst had been a fourth alternate and ranked 1,207th in the world at the time.
This week marks his first run of three sub-par rounds this season.
“I’m just going out there, taking it easy, trying to stay relaxed and having a great time,” Ernst said.
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