Japan yesterday hailed a fairy-tale finish for Hinako Shibuno, the 20-year-old golf sensation known as “Smiling Cinderella” who was crowned the winner at the Women’s British Open.
“She did it!” said TV presenter Tomoaki Ogura after Shibuno, in her debut tournament overseas, became Japan’s first Major winner in 42 years.
“Who expected she could do this much in her first competition abroad, a Major championship?” Ogura said in his morning show on a private TV network.
Photo: Reuters
Shibuno’s win at her first Major dominated morning television shows in Japan, topping news items. The story broke too late for the front pages of Japan’s newspapers, but was splashed across their Web sites.
Despite the huge popularity of golf in Japan, only one Japanese player — male or female — had previously won a Major: Chako Higuchi at the 1977 Women’s PGA Championship.
Social media was abuzz with congratulations for the 20-year-old Shibuno, who only turned pro last year.
“A star is born!” one Japanese user tweeted.
“A historic achievement,” another wrote.
On Japanese television, Higuchi said Shibuno looked as “relaxed” as if she were playing in Japan.
Shibuno hit a gutsy 18-foot birdie putt at the final hole to seal victory at Woburn on Sunday, finishing at 18-under-par overall after a fourth-round 68 as she beat Lizette Salas of the US by a single stroke.
South Korea’s world No. 1 Ko Jin-young was third following a 66 to finish at 16-under for the tournament. Taiwan’s Teresa Lu (seven-under) finished in a share of 16th, while Hsu Wei-ling missed the cut with scores of 76 and 73.
Jun Sato, chief of the golf club where Shibuno practised until she graduated from high school, told the Web site of the Mainichi Shimbun that he was elated by the victory.
“I don’t just feel happy, I feel superb!” he said.
Shibuno herself seemed overwhelmed by the victory.
“I didn’t feel that nervous when I was on the last putt,” she told reporters.
However, after the win “I was just covered in goosebumps and I feel so tense now I just don’t know what to say,” she said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
WYNDHAM
AP, GREENSBORO, North Carolina
J.T. Poston won the Wyndham Championship for his first PGA Tour title, shooting an eight-under 62 for a one-stroke victory.
The native North Carolinian began his round three strokes back, took the lead for good with a birdie on the par-five 15th hole, then finished with three straight pars to earn US$1,116,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points at the regular-season finale.
Webb Simpson was at 21-under after a 65. Byeong Hun-an, who held or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds, three-putted the 18th for a bogey and a 67 to finish two shots back. Trying to force a playoff with a birdie, he nearly holed a 60-footer, but had it run well past.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
RSS