Europe Ryder Cup vice-captain Thomas Bjorn shot a six-under 66 at St Andrews to take a share of the first-round lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday.
Bjorn, one of captain Colin Montgomerie’s five backups in the victory over the US at Celtic Manor, led eight other members of the team in their return to strokeplay.
The Links Championship was played over three courses and Bjorn was tied at the top of the leaderboard with Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina, who also played at St Andrews, Maarten Lafeber of the Netherlands, who shot 66 at Carnoustie, and Martin Laird of Scotland, who produced the same score at Kingsbarns.
Six players carded 67 and 14 more shot 68, including USPGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer.
Bjorn was not surprised to perform better than the Ryder Cup players just four days after their celebrations.
“I have done it before. I was vice-captain to Bernhard Langer [in 2004] so I knew how much the Ryder Cup would take out of me,” the Dane said.
Germany’s Kaymer was -closest to Bjorn at four-under at Kingsbarns.
He said he felt duty-bound to recover quickly from the celebrations.
“I was still very tired,” Kaymer said. “But now after the Ryder Cup it’s important for me to win this year’s Race to Dubai. That is my priority since I have obviously a very good chance of winning it.”
England’s Ross Fisher shot a 69 to get to within three shots of the leaders.
However, Montgomerie could shoot only a par 72 as he attempts to restart his playing career after two years concentrating on the match against the US.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS