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.
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead
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