USPGA TEXAS OPEN
Curtis stretches lead
Former Open winner Ben Curtis managed to overcome a pair of double bogeys in the third round of the PGA Tour’s Texas Open to stretch his lead to three shots on Saturday. Curtis, who is chasing his fourth USPGA title, fired a one-over 73 for a nine-under 207 total on the TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course. Matt Every was alone in second after a one-over 73, as the American seeks his first Tour win. South Koreans Noh Seung-yul (68) and Charlie Wi (71) were tied for third with the US’ John Huh. Huh shot a five-under 67, which tied for the low round of the day with Matt Kuchar, on a day when high winds slowed the pace of play and saw just 19 of the 81 golfers who made the cut break par. Curtis had two double bogeys on the front nine, including one on the par-five eighth, where his ball landed on another fairway. He battled back with three birdies on the back. Every made three bogeys, but was saved by a couple of birdies, including a 10-footer after a nice tee shot on the par-three third hole.
LPGA LOTTE
Miyazato wins in Hawaii
Japan’s Ai Miyazato claimed her eighth career LPGA title on Saturday by shooting a two-under 70 in the final round of the inaugural LPGA LOTTE Championship. The 26-year-old Miyazato finished with a 12-under 276 total for a four-stroke victory at the US$1.7 million tournament. Miyazato had taken a three-shot lead into the final round, and had four birdies and two bogeys on Saturday as windy conditions again made things difficult on the par-72 Ko Olina course. Her victory comes after two runner-up finishes to world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan this season, in Thailand and Phoenix, Arizona. Tseng, winner of three titles this year, carded a 74 that left her tied for 10th on four-under — her seventh straight top-10 finish this year. South Korea’s Meena Lee was tied for the lead after a birdie at the 15th, but she took a double-bogey six at the par-four 18th to complete a two-under 70 for a share of second place, along with Spain’s Azahara Munoz. Munoz carded a 71 to join Lee on eight-under 280. Taiwan’s Candie Kung shot a last-round 70 to finish at two-under and in a shared eighth place.
CHINA OPEN
Grace wins by three shots
Branden Grace of South Africa shot a final-round three-under 69 yesterday to win the China Open by three shots. The 23-year-old Grace started the round with a three-shot lead over last year’s winner, Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium, and maintained that lead to finish with a 21-under 267. Colsaerts sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the 9th to briefly close to within two shots. Colsaerts also closed with a 69 to finish second at 18-under. England’s Richard Finch was third a shot further back after carding a closing 66.
INDONESIAN MASTERS
Westwood takes lead
Third-ranked Lee Westwood of England completed his delayed third round yesterday with a seven-under 65 to take an imposing eight-shot lead. The English defending champion had seven birdies and two bogeys among the remaining 14 holes of his third round for an 18-under 198 at the Royal Jakarta Golf Club. South Korean Lee Sung shot five birdies to stay second with a 10-under 206. Former top-ranked Asian Tour player Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Kieran Pratt of Australia and two-time winner Gaganjeet Bhullar of India were tied at 9-under 207 in third. Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang carded a 71, Hsu Mong-nan shot 72 and Lu Wei-chih 73, while Chiang Chen-chih carded a 74.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
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
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,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
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