■GOLF
Pan leads Southern Amateur
Taiwan’s Pan Cheng-tsung shot a seven-under 65 at Shoal Creek in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday to lead after the first round of the 104th Southern Amateur golf tournament. At 18, Pan is among the youngest players in a field dominated by older American university amateurs. He held a one-stroke margin over Patrick Cantley and two strokes over Richard Lamb. At seven-under through his first 12 holes on Wednesday, Pan had officials checking the Shoal Creek competitive course record, but the birdies stopped falling down the stretch and he finished two over the record 63 set by Gary Player in the 1984 PGA Championship. “I feel good about my round today,” Pan said. “I putted well. I like the course.” Pan took up golf in his home town of Miaoli, where his mother worked as a caddy. After showing promise, his father sent him to Bradenton, Florida, to attend the Leadbetter Golf Academy. Bound this year for the University of Washington, he has placed in the top 10 in all three big amateur tournaments he has entered this summer.
■GOLF
Weather forces cancellation
Appalling weather conditions forced the cancellation of Wednesday’s Champions Challenge at St Andrews in Scotland. Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Peter Thomson were among the seven team captains for the four-hole event, but gusting winds and stair-rod rain left the Royal & Ancient with no choice but to call it off on the eve of The Open. The organizers said the Champions Challenge prize fund of £50,000 (US$76,000) would be donated to the Seve Ballesteros Foundation. The foundation aims to channel funds into research, particularly into brain cancer, the condition that Ballesteros was diagnosed with in 2008.
■MOTOGP
Rossi set to return to track
Italian motorcycling star Valentino Rossi, who broke his leg on June 5, will probably ride in the German Grand Prix on Sunday, Fiat Yamaha announced. The circuit’s chief medical officer would have the final say on allowing the 31-year-old nine-time world champion to take part in the Sachsenring event, Fiat Yamaha said in a statement on Wednesday. If Rossi is barred from taking part, Japanese rider Wataru Yoshikawa will take his place.
■SOCCER
Silva completes City move
Spain’s World Cup winning winger David Silva completed his move to Premier League club Manchester City from Valencia on Wednesday. The 24-year-old underwent a medical having agreed a four-year contract. City’s Web site did not disclose the fee, but the Abu Dhabi-owned club are reported to have paid about £24 million (US$36.6 million) for Silva. Silva is City’s third signing during the close-season, following Roberto Mancini’s capture of Hamburg SV defender Jerome Boateng and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure from Barcelona.
■SOCCER
Octopus becomes an app
Paul the Octopus, who predicted World Cup matches with uncanny accuracy, is now an iPhone application. The Brazilian software developer behind the program, uTouchLabs, describes it as a “fun way to randomly choose between two options.” “Cinema or theater? Pizza or sushi? Skirt of dress? Marcia or Andrea? Ask the octopus,” it says. The user types in the options and a cartoon octopus chooses between them. Paul, an octopus at an aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, earned worldwide attention during the World Cup with his match predictions.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
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