GOLF
Lawrie takes lead at KLM
Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie flirted with the European Tour’s first 59 before eventually posting a nine-under-par 61 in the opening round of the KLM Open in Zandvoort, Netherlands, on Thursday. The 46-year-old Scot reeled off seven birdies and an eagle before missing an eagle chance at the seventh, his 16th hole, and parring the last two holes as he ended the day in a tie for the lead with Australia’s Wade Ormsby. Ormsby ended his round in memorable fashion with six birdies in the last seven holes. England’s Richard Bland was in third spot on 62, one stroke ahead of compatriots Robert Rock, David Horsey and James Morrison, as well as Dutchman Joost Luiten and Estanislao Goya of Argentina.
FOOTBALL
San Diego to miss deadline
The city of San Diego and the Chargers are poised to miss a deadline set by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to schedule an election on whether taxpayers should help pay for a new stadium to stop the NFL team from moving to Los Angeles. Faulconer wants an election before an anticipated decision by NFL team owners, potentially early next year, on whether to return a team to Los Angeles after a two-decade absence. The city and the Chargers had to agree to terms by yesterday to allow enough time for a Jan. 12 election. The missed deadline is a reminder of the wide gulf between the city and team. Negotiations collapsed in June after three meetings, and neither side suggests they will resume.
SOCCER
Pellegrini, Ayew honored
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini and Swansea City summer recruit Andre Ayew have bagged the Premier League manager and player of the month awards respectively for last month. Pellegrini’s side have won all four of their games, including an impressive 3-0 win over champions Chelsea, and have also scored 10 goals, more than any club in the league. The club, who finished eight points behind Chelsea last season, have already been tipped as favorites to win the title, but Pellegrini said such talk was premature. “We are very pleased with the start, but we are not thinking about what we are going to do at the end of the season,” the 61-year-old Chilean told the club’s Web site. Ayew, who arrived on a free transfer, has made a fantastic start to life in England, scoring three goals and provided an assist in four games. The 25-year-old Ayew thanked the whole team for the award. “It’s a great feeling, but this award comes from hard work and support by the whole squad,” the former Olympique de Marseille winger told the Swans’ Web site (www.swanseacity.net).
CRICKET
New Zealand publish lineup
New Zealand have settled on an experienced lineup for their three Tests in Australia in November and December, with no new faces in the touring squad named yesterday. The 15-man selection sees the return of several players, including captain Brendon McCullum and bowling spearhead Tim Southee, who missed the recent tour of Africa. Ross Taylor, Trent Boult and Corey Anderson are also back in the side after recovering from injury. Anderson is one of two all-rounders, along with Jimmy Neesham, who coach Mike Hesson said have abilities at the bowling crease that persuaded the selectors to carry only four frontline fast bowlers — Southee, Boult, Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell. The first Test against Australia starts in Brisbane on Nov. 5.
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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