American Justin Thomas produced a tidy up-and-down from the back of the 18th green for birdie to ensure he went in to today’s final round of the CIMB Classic tied for the lead with compatriot Brendan Steele.
Overnight leader Thomas, who flirted with a rare 59 before signing for an 11-under-par second-round 61, was again among the birdies on another day of low scores at the Kuala Lumpur Country Club, where preferred lies have been in use.
The 22-year-old seemed to lose momentum with bogey fives at the 12 and 16th, but finished with two birdies in his third round of five-under-par 67 to sit on 20-under for the US$7 million cosanctioned Asian Tour event, the third of the new PGA Tour season.
Photo: EPA
“Those two birdies were huge,” the world No. 64 said of his strong finish.
“I felt like I played really well for some stretches. I had some holes I didn’t hit it well, but I hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in,” he said. “So, it was nice to get that putt to go on 17 and 18, finish on a good note.”
Thomas is looking for his first win on the American circuit, while Steele has won just once, at the 2011 Texas Open, and blew a great opportunity two weeks ago when he shot a closing 76 after holding the third-round lead at the Frys.com Open.
“I was pretty comfortable at Frys and then it all started kind of spinning out of control, and I didn’t have a very good final round,” the 32-year-old Californian said after a bogey-free six-under-par 66 yesterday. “I learned a lot from it. Feel like I’m in a better place now, mentally. I’ll be trying to be a little bit more patient and a little bit more positive, not kind of put so much pressure on myself.”
South Korean-born American Kevin Na has good memories of Malaysia after winning his first Asian Tour event in the nation in 2002 and the 32-year-old put himself in position to notch another after a blistering 64 yesterday.
That nine birdie effort left Na, who has finished second or tied in the opening two events of the campaign, one back of Thomas and Steele on 19-under.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama fired a 68 to sit tied fourth on 17-under alongside American trio James Hahn (64), Brian Harman (66) and Spencer Levin (68), with former world No. 1 Adam Scott (66) a further shot back on 16-under.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was