Organizers of the UBS Hong Kong Open are preparing to roll out the red carpet for the tournament's first ever champion -- the legendary Lu Liang-huan (
Lu put Asian golf on the world map when he finished runner-up to Lee Trevino in the 1971 British Open and has accepted an invitation to be guest of honor at the US$2 million event later this month.
The 70-year-old Lu will conduct a ceremonial tee-off when the tournament is staged at the Hong Kong Golf Club on Nov. 16-19. After winning his first Hong Kong title Lu played an exhibition match in the territory in 1964 against US superstar Arnold Palmer, who was so impressed he invited him to play in the US.
PHOTO: AFP
He appeared in dozens of high-profile tournaments in the US and played in the Masters at Augusta.
But it was in 1971, at the 100th British Open at Royal Birkdale, that he became famous, going toe-to-toe with Trevino before the American prevailed by a single shot.
A week later Lu won the French Open at Biarritz, becoming the first Asian ever to capture a European Tour title.
Nowadays he supports junior golf development in Taiwan.
Lu will be honored at a function on Nov. 14 when guests including Colin Montgomerie, Retief Goosen and Michael Campbell will be shown a video montage of his greatest moments.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
RSS