US Open champion Angel Cabrera shot an eight-under 63 yesterday to take the clubhouse lead midway through the Singapore Open, while World No. 4 Ernie Els looked likely to miss the cut after shooting a five-over 76.
Cabrera blazed his way from shared 24th place into the lead with nine birdies at the US$4 million Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club.
"I really hit it well off the tee and made everything that I needed to make and that was the difference," said Cabrera, who scored only one bogey, on the 13th hole when he missed the green.
PHOTO: AP
Play at the remodeled 6,130m, par-71 Serapong Course was suspended for about an hour in the afternoon due to lightning and ended before 37 of the players could finish. The players who did not complete the second round will resume it this morning.
South Africa's Els carded eight bogeys and three birdies to finish with a two-round total of six-over 148. Missing the cut would be more painful than usual for Els, as he chose to play this event rather than the season-ending Volvo Masters in Spain, jeopardizing his chances of topping the European Tour Order of Merit.
World No. 2 Phil Mickelson struggled with four bogeys and three birdies to leave him in shared ninth, six shots off the pace. He said he found the course challenging but looked forward to trying to catch the US Open champion.
Jin Park of the US was two strokes behind Cabrera after carding two birdies and a bogey to finish with a one-under 70. Park had finished the first round tied for the lead.
Two-time defending champion Adam Scott of Australia, ranked World No. 6, was in third place at four under after sinking five birdies and a bogey.
Briton Lee Westwood fired four birdies in a bogey-free round to tie for fourth with Australia's Gavin Flint at four-under.
Flint shared the lead after the first round with compatriot Kane Webber and Park. Webber shot a five-over 76 yesterday to be even par after two rounds.
Japan's Tetsuji Hiratsuka, Australia's Gary Simpson and South Korea's Mo Joong-kyung were three under.
Also at two under with Mickelson were Mark Brown of New Zealand, Angelo Que of the Philippines, Fiji's Vijay Singh and K.J. Choi of South Korea.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS