Finland’s Joonas Granberg equaled the course record with a 62 to lie a shot off the lead after the second round of the Macau Open yesterday, with Taiwan’s Chan Yih-shin heading the field.
Chan, joint overnight leader at the Macau Golf and Country Club, recovered from an early bogey and saved a vital par with a 20-foot putt on the 15th on his way to a round of 67, to go nine-under for the tournament.
Asian Tour rookie Granberg recovered from his opening round 72 with pinpoint iron play, missing only one green and sinking an eagle at the 18th, and he now stands a good chance of adding to his win at the Selangor Masters in Malaysia in July.
Rikard Karlberg of Sweden, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour who had a share of the first-round lead, also made eagle on the last hole for a 69 to sit in third place.
Starting on the back nine, Chan fired a superb eagle three on the second hole when his seven iron approach from 198 yards landed just nine feet from the pin, before adding two more birdies.
“It has been a long time since I last had such good scores. I’m happy to have a chance to be in the leading group. I like the pressure and I’m eager to play in the next two days,” Chan said.
The 34-year-old said he had struggled with his putting in the last eight months, but he is now full of confidence after pulling off some remarkable shots in the last two rounds.
“I haven’t been playing that well, but my confidence is back. I needed some amazing shots to get my confidence back up,” he said.
Jeev Milkha Singh of India, playing in his first Macau Open since 1999, got round in 68 to share fourth place with highly rated Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand and Australia’s Adam Groom, who carded 66 and 69 respectively.
Chan Shih-chang was the next highest-ranked Taiwanese after a 69 left him on three-under.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS