GOLF
Lead shared at Italian Open
Sweden’s Jens Fahrbring and Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard shared the lead at the halfway point of the Italian Open on Friday with four players tied for second and two shots back. Fahrbring, 31, is chasing his maiden European Tour victory and moved into contention with an eight-under-par 64 that included nine birdies, while 24-year-old Bjerregaard, also seeking his first Tour title, carded a 65 that began with an eagle at the first. On another day of low scoring at the par-72 Gold Club Milano, overnight leader Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium struggled early with three bogeys over 10 holes before four birdies down the stretch left him as part of the quartet two shots adrift. Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti, Frenchman Romain Wattel and Pedro Oriol of Spain are the other three players on 11-under and well in contention.
GOLF
US lead Britain in PGA Cup
Former PGA Tour player Omar Uresti and Sean Dougherty won two matches Friday to help the US take a 4.5-3.5 lead over Great Britain and Ireland in the PGA Cup. Uresti and Dougherty beat Englishmen Lee Clarke and Paul Hendriksen 1-up for the Americans’ lone point in the morning fourball matches at CordeValle in the competition for club professionals. The US duo topped Ireland’s Niall Kearney and England’s Alex Wright 3 and 1 in the afternoon foursomes. In the other foursomes matches, Bon Sowards and Jamie Broce routed Englishmen Cameron Clark and Lee Clarke 8 and 7, Michael Block and Stuart Deane beat Scotland’s Graham Fox and England’s David Dixon 4 and 3, and Matt Dobyns and Ben Polland halved with England’s Jason Livermore and Scotland’s Gareth Wright.
GOLF
Furyk out with contusion
Former US Open champion Jim Furyk, who withdrew from the BMW Championship after six holes, has been diagnosed with a bone contusion on his left wrist, the Golf Channel reported late on Friday. The 45-year-old American is ninth in FedEx Cup standings and assured one of the top 30 spots in next week’s Tour Championship. However, Friday’s diagnosis throws into doubt whether he can play in Atlanta and in the Presidents Cup. Furyk shot 59 at Chicago’s Conway Farms Golf Club two years ago. It is the first time Furyk had to withdraw from a tournament since 1995.
CRICKET
VB sponsorship attacked
Beer and cricket go hand in hand for many Australians, and the captain of the national team, Steven Smith, sees little problem with the logo of a local brew being prominently featured on his Test shirt. The Victoria Bitter logo has been emblazoned on Australian kits for a number of years, but the lucrative sponsorship deal came under fire this week from New South Wales Premier Mike Baird, who has slammed the use of alcohol advertising in cricket and other local sports. Baird told a charity dinner that it was an “incredible position” that Smith and teammates would play with the logos prominently displayed. Smith, who plays for New South Wales in the domestic Sheffield Shield, was unfazed. “I don’t think we have any problem with it,” Smith told local media of the branding. “We actively try to get out messages. We’ve got the ‘Know when to declare’ campaign, so we’re actively trying to restrict the level of consumption of alcohol to a responsible level. That’s pretty important for us.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care