GOLF
Hughes wins RSM playoff
Canadian rookie Mackenzie Hughes rolled in an 18-foot par putt on the third playoff hole to win the RSM Classic in Georgia on Monday and bring the PGA Tour’s final regular tournament of the year to a dramatic close. Hughes, Colombia’s Camilo Villegas, Sweden’s Henrik Norlander and Blayne Barber of the US were back at the Seaside Course in St Simonson on Monday after darkness had ended play following two extra holes on Sunday. Hughes, putting from just off the green at the par-three 17th, fist-pumped as he watched his ball drop into the hole to put the pressure on Villegas, Norlander and Barber, who all missed from inside 10 feet as the Canadian celebrated a wire-to-wire victory.
SOCCER
Baggies thrash Clarets
West Bromwich Albion moved into the top half of the English Premier League table on Monday with a 4-0 victory over a shell-shocked Burnley side who were out of contention by halftime. Matt Phillips (4 minutes), James Morrison (16) and captain Darren Fletcher (37) scored before halftime, and Salomon Rondon wrapped up the win with the fourth goal just past the hour. The win took the Baggies above their opponents as they jumped three places to ninth on 16 points from 12 games. Burnley slipped one spot to 12th as they remained on 14 points. Burnley were totally outplayed by Tony Pulis’ rampant side and have still not won in the league at The Hawthorns since December 1969, losing on nine of their 10 visits since.
SOCCER
Leganes defeat Osasuna
Midfielder Rober Ibanez scored a goal in each half as promoted CD Leganes defeated CA Osasuna 2-0 to win their first home match in Spain’s top flight. Ibanez scored with shots from inside the penalty area in the sixth and 57th minutes to secure the team’s first win at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. They had opened their home campaign with a draw and then lost four in a row. The win also helped Leganes snap a four-match losing streak in the league and moved them into 15th place, three spots clear of the relegation zone. Ibanez needed to be assisted off the field in the 86th minute because of an apparent knee injury. It was new coach Joaquin Caparros’ first match in charge of Osasuna, who were also promoted last season. The team from northern Spain remained in second-to-last place after the loss, which extended their winless streak to four games.
CRICKET
Pakistan skipper banned
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been banned for one Test and his team fined for their slow over rate during the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch. The International Cricket Council ruling means the 42-year-old is ineligible for the second Test in Hamilton, which starts on Friday, although he was already set to miss it having returned home following the death of his father-in-law. Pakistan were ruled to have been two overs short of the requirement in the eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand. Misbah’s ban was mandatory, having previously been found guilty of a minor over-rate offense during the Test against England at The Oval in London in August. He was fined 40 percent of his match fee and the team 20 percent. Vice captain Azhar Ali is to lead the team in Hamilton, where the tourists hope to level the series.
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