GOLF
Morikawa secures Sony lead
Collin Morikawa on Thursday displayed wisdom beyond his 22 years in strong winds to vault to a two-shot lead after his opening round at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The Californian handled the windswept conditions with aplomb, although riding his luck at times after some errant drives, while running up five birdies in a five-under-par 65 at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. Australian Matt Jones and Americans Ted Potter, Ryan Palmer and Sam Ryder shared second place after they all posted rounds of three-under-par 67. Ten players were locked in a tie for sixth place in a round that was suspended due to darkness with a handful of players still out on the course. Morikawa, born in Los Angeles of Hawaiian and Japanese heritage, turned professional in June last year and took only six starts to clinch his first PGA Tour victory at the Barracuda Championship in Nevada. Part of an exciting wave of fearless young players with seemingly unlimited potential, he is already ranked 55th in the world, but has said that he needs to sharpen up his driving to stay atop the leaderboard. “Next few days I have to hit a few more fairways and we’ll be good from there,” Morikawa said.
GOLF
Veerman leads by one shot
American Johannes Veerman on Thursday fired nine birdies in a flawless 62 to lead the South African Open Championship by one shot as he maintained a great start to his first European Tour season. The key to the nine-under-par round at Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg for the 27-year-old was finding 17 greens in regulation. Having picked up two birdies on the front nine, Veerman claimed three in a row from 10 and four more from 15 to 18 to head Italian Nino Bertasio and South African J.C. Ritchie. After just qualifying for a maiden European Tour, Veerman has proved his worth with two top-10 finishes in three starts before arriving in South Africa. Bertasio, whose No. 357 world ranking puts him 30 places below Veerman, had a chance to lead the field after an eagle-three at 17 left him at nine-under. However, after being just short of the green on the final hole in two, he chipped past the pin and failed to hole a par putt. Ritchie, a 25-year-old seeking his first European Tour victory, birdied eight holes and did not drop a shot in warm, dry conditions.
SOCCER
Torino advance to quarters
Torino on Thursday beat Genoa 5-3 on penalties to reach the Coppa Italia quarter-finals after both sides were tied 1-1 after extra time. Andrea Favilli put Genoa ahead after 14 minutes against their Serie A rivals in Turin, but Lorenzo de Silvestri pulled the hosts level on 23 minutes. Genoa goalkeeper Andrei Radu denied an Andrea Belotti header in the second half, with the Torino captain also missing a chance for the winner in injury time. Torino played the final 15 minutes of extra time a man down after midfielder Souahilo Meite was sent off for a second yellow card. The game went to a shoot-out, with Torino goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu saving Ivan Radovanovic’s effort and Alex Berenguer slotting in the winning penalty. Five-time winners Torino, who last won the trophy in 1993, are to meet either AC Milan or SPAL in the quarter-finals. Holders SS Lazio open their title defense against Serie B side US Cremonese on Tuesday next week.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
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