England yesterday moved to the top of Pool A in the LPGA’s International Crown team event by beating Taiwan in both second-round four-ball matches, while hosts South Korea dropped to second spot after recording a win and a loss against Australia.
The US led Pool B on six points after the defending champions blanked Thailand in their two early matches, while Sweden were two points behind following a split of their games against Japan.
The four-day biennial event, which is being held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, South Korea, pits four players from eight nations against each other.
Tee-times were moved up to early morning in a bid to avoid the worst of the weather from approaching Typhoon Kong-rey, though conditions were far from easy as heavy rain fell steadily throughout the morning.
However, England’s Bronte Law and Jodi Ewart Shadoff looked at ease in the rain, thumping Taiwanese pair Candie Kung and Phoebe Yao 6 and 4, before Charley Hull and British Open champion Georgia Hall won 2 and 1 against Hsu Wei-ling and Teresa Lu.
“It was playing much longer,” Ewart Shadoff said. “There was a couple of par-fours that weren’t reachable, so that was interesting, but it’s match play, so it doesn’t really matter. Obviously, not as many birdies as yesterday, but I think pars win holes today given the rain.”
England were on seven points after three wins and a tie, with South Korea a point behind.
After helping the hosts win both their matches against Taiwan on the opening day, Kim In-kyung and Park Sung-hyun yesterday failed to find a spark and went down 3 and 2 to Australians Katherine Kirk and Su Oh.
Ryu So-yeon and Chun In-gee saved the day for the favorites with a 2 and 1 victory over Minjee Lee and Sarah Jane Smith.
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
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
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two