GOLF
Kjeldsen leads KLM open
Soren Kjeldsen on Friday shot his second consecutive round of 64 to take the lead with a 12-under 128 at the halfway stage of the KLM Open in Zandvoort, the Netherlands. The Dane shot a bogey-free round on another day of low scoring at the par-70 Kennemer Golf and Country Club. Kjeldsen is one shot ahead of Wade Ormsby of Australia — who followed his 61 on Thursday with a 68 — and England’s David Horsey (66). Matthew Fitzpatrick left a birdie putt just short on his final hole to miss out by the narrowest of margins on the first 59 on the European Tour.
CYCLING
Gougeard wins 19th stage
Alexis Gougeard of France broke away from the pack and stayed ahead to win the 19th stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Friday, while Tom Dumoulin extended his slender overall lead. Gougeard was followed across the line in the medieval walled city of Avila by Nelson Oliveira, who finished second, and Maxime Monfort came third in the rolling 185.8km stage. Dumoulin set a fast pace on the final scramble while his main rival, Fabio Aru, lagged on the cobblestone surface. Although Aru retained second overall, he lost three seconds to go six seconds behind the Dutchman. Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain is third overall.
CYCLING
Uran wins Quebec GP
Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran won the Grand Prix of Quebec WorldTour one-day race on Friday ahead of Australian Michael Matthews. Uran gave Etixx-QuickStep a second victory on the day, after Matteo Trentin’s earlier victory in the sixth stage of the Tour of Britain. Uran, cycling road race silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, used a powerful attack on the finishing climb to take the triumph ahead of Matthews, with Norway’s Alexander Kristoff third.
FOOTBALL
Manning extends contract
Quarterback Eli Manning on Friday signed a four-year contract extension with the New York Giants worth US$84 million. The deal includes a no-trade clause and a US$31 million signing bonus. The 34-year-old Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, completed a career-best 63.1 percent of his passes for 4,410 yards, 30 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last year. Manning was entering the final year of his second NFL contract. The Giants open their season tonight in Dallas against the Cowboys.
BASKETBALL
Venezuela shock Canada
Canada, boasting nine NBA players on their roster, have blown their initial chance to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio with a shock loss to Venezuela at the FIBA Americas tournament on Friday. Canada, who had dominated the tournament by winning each contest by 17 or more points, fell 79-78 in the semi-finals to a Venezuela team without any NBA players, fully aware a win would lock up a place in Rio. Now they will have to try to get through via a qualifying tournament next year, against potentially much tougher European competition. Venezuela came back from a seven-point deficit late in the contest to win on a free throw from Gregory Vargas with three tenths of a second left after Aaron Doornekamp was called for a foul. Boston Celtic center Kelly Olynyk led all scorers with 34 points and added 13 rebounds for Canada, but it was not enough when combined with an off night for Andrew Wiggins, who managed just nine points and multiple turnovers.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
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