GOLF
Ryu wins Toledo Classic
South Korea’s Ryu So-yeon posted six consecutive birdies en route to a nine-under 62 and a seven-shot victory at the LPGA Tour’s Jamie Farr Toledo Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, on Sunday. The 22-year-old began the round in the midst of a South Korean logjam for first place. Four of the top six on the leaderboard at the end of Sunday’s round were from South Korea. Ryu’s only prior LPGA Tour win was last year’s US Women’s Open. She took the lead by herself for the first time with an eight-foot birdie putt at the third hole and then set a distance from the pack with six straight birdies beginning on No. 9. She finished at 20-under 264. Angela Stanford made a long birdie putt on the final hole for 66 to finish second. South Korean compatriots Park In-bee and Chella Choi both shot two-under 69s on Sunday and shared third place at 12-under-par 272. Taiwan’s Candie Kung shot a 69 to finish tied for 31st place on three-under 281, while Lin Tzu-chi carded a 71 for a five-over 289.
SOCCER
Bayern win Super Cup
Two early goals gifted Bayern Munich the German Super Cup on Sunday as they defeated Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund with Mario Mandzukic and Thomas Mueller netting in the opening 11 minutes. Although Robert Lewandowski pulled one back in the 75th minute, the champions were unable to turn things around as Bayern earned a preseason boost. Croatian international and 13 million euro (US$15.97 million) summer recruit Mandzukic bagged the opener with a neat finish from a Frank Ribery cross on six minutes and in the 11th minute Mueller was on hand when, after linking with Mandzukic, he fired in when an Arjen Robben effort came back off the post. Lewandowski then drew a fine save from Manuel Neuer just after the restart, before missing a sitter from close range as Juergen Klopp’s champions tried to spark a revival. The Polish striker then reduced the arrears before time ran out on Dortmund.
CRICKET
Pietersen dropped from Test
Kevin Pietersen said his England career was not over after he was dropped for his country’s crucial third Test against South Africa at Lord’s. Pietersen was axed on Sunday after a dramatic week that started with allegations he sent texted derogatory comments about English captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower to South African players. The 32-year-old then said he was ready to walk away from the sport due to problems in the England squad that he said “made it hard being me.” And then, with speculation increasing that he would be dropped when the third Test squad was named on Sunday, the saga took a bizarre twist when Pietersen posted a video on YouTube on Saturday in which he claimed he was now ready to play in all forms of international cricket, having previously opted out of limited overs action. That seems to have been a misguided attempt to curry favor with the public when his fate was already sealed.
CYCLING
Boom wins Eneco Tour
Dutch rider Lars Boom won the Eneco Tour after Sunday’s final stage as former Tour de France winner Alberto Contador marked his return from a doping ban by finishing fourth. Rabobank rider Boom overhauled a four-second deficit at the start of the day on leader Svein Tuft of Canada to seal the overall victory by finishing second behind Italy’s Alessandro Ballan of BMC in the seventh stage at Grammont in Belgium. Francisco Ventoso of Spain finished third, 6 seconds off the pace.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
There was another win for Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday, but more misery for Liverpool and their under-fire manager, Arne Slot. While Arsenal accelerated their title charge with a 2-0 victory over Brentford to regain a five-point lead, Liverpool needed a late own-goal just to salvage a 1-1 draw with Sunderland AFC at Anfield. Slot is back under pressure, with his team languishing in eighth place in a disappointing title defense and his decision to leave star forward Mohamed Salah out of the starting lineup for a second straight game likely to be heavily scrutinized. “It’s clear that teams that play
RSS