GOLF
Jang wins in playoff
Jang Ha-na birdied the third playoff hole yesterday to beat Danielle Kang of the US at the LPGA’s BMW Ladies Championship. Both players parred the par-four 18th twice in the playoff before moving to the 10th hole at the LPGA Busan International course, where Jang’s three clinched it. Kang, who birdied eight of her first 13 holes for a 64, and Jang, 65, finished with 19-under 269 totals. Jang had an eagle and three birdies on the back nine, including on the par-four 17th, which moved her into a tie for the lead. Amy Yang had a 67 and was three strokes behind in third. Charley Hull finished with a 69 and was at eight-under, 11 strokes behind. Nelly Korda shot 71 and finished five-under, while Brooke Henderson had a 74 and finished at three-under. Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling finished in a share of 71st, 24 shots off the pace. The LPGA Tour’s Asian swing moves to Taiwan this week, followed by a fourth stop in Japan.
GOLF
Woods’ wait extended
Tiger Woods led Hideki Matsuyama by three strokes with seven holes to play to stand on the verge of golfing history when the final round of the weather-delayed Zozo Championship in Japan was suspended due to bad light yesterday. Victory for Woods today would see the 15-time major champion add another chapter to his astonishing career by equaling US legend Sam Snead’s all-time mark of 82 PGA Tour wins. Woods, who was 17-under par, shook hands for the night with playing partners Gary Woodland and Keegan Bradley in the descending darkness after parring the 11th hole in his fourth round. However, the US Masters champion is taking nothing for granted and said he will need to hit the ground running today. “Starting off on the 12th hole is not easy. It’s one of the hardest par fours on the whole golf course, it’s 490 yards,” Woods told reporters. “It’s going to be cool tomorrow morning, so the hole’s going to play really long, so it’s important that I get off to a good start. It’s a hard pin tomorrow over in the top right. I’ve got to do my job starting out.” Matsuyama, in the group immediately ahead, had clung doggedly to the coat-tails of Woods throughout yesterday’s third and fourth rounds, delayed because of Friday’s washout at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. He moved to 14-under par, three behind Woods with six to play when the round resumes at 7:30am. Taiwan’s C.T. Pan had three holes to play today, but was well off the pace at two-over for the tournament and in a share of 57th.
CRICKET
Warner dominates with ton
Opener David Warner thumped a maiden Twenty20 international century as Australia began their home summer with a 134-run thrashing of Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval yesterday. Warner’s unbeaten 100 off 56 deliveries helped Australia to a total of 233-2 on a sunny afternoon, before Australia’s bowlers tore through Sri Lanka to leave the tourists limping to 99-9 in reply in the first of a three-game series. Captain Aaron Finch shrugged off an injury doubt to blast 64 before being caught slogging, while Glenn Maxwell hammered 62 from 28 balls. Spinner Adam Zampa finished with 3-14 to be the pick of the bowlers, with fast bowlers.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
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