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.
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
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
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
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
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