GOLF
LPGA boss resigns
Mollie Marcoux Samaan on Monday said she is to resign on Jan. 9 as LPGA commissioner. Liz Moore, the LPGA’s chief legal and technology officer, is to be interim commissioner until a committee hires a new one. Marcoux Samaan did not cite a specific reason for resigning except to mention spending more time with her three children. “With the LPGA positioned for continued growth, it’s time for me to have more time to cheer on our three amazing children as they live their dreams while I continue to pursue my passion for building leaders, uniting communities and creating value through sports, particularly women’s sports,” she said in a statement. The LPGA said prize money increased by more than 90 percent while she was in charge.
Photo: AP
CRICKET
CA names new CEO
Cricket Australia (CA) yesterday named sports administrator Todd Greenberg as its new chief executive officer, replacing Nick Hockley. Greenberg was most recently the boss of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, representing players in negotiations with the national governing body. He is also a former chief executive of Australia’s National Rugby League. “Thanks to the work of the current administration the game has strong fundamentals in place,” Greenberg said in a Cricket Australia statement. “I want to ensure we build on this momentum so Australian cricket continues to thrive.”
RUGBY UNION
NZ’s Sevu Reece fined
New Zealand winger Sevu Reece yesterday was fined NZ$2,000 (US$1,170) by a Christchurch court after he smashed a car into a garage at a suburban address while intoxicated last year. Reece was charged with taking a car “dishonestly and without claim,” but not in circumstances amounting to theft, and intentionally damaging the car owner’s garage door after the incident on Nov. 15 last year. Police later reduced the charge to a single count of willful damage, which Reece admitted. The 27-year-old was granted a discharge of his conviction at Christchurch District Court. The incident occurred after Reece was asked to leave a suburban address by its occupants for being disrespectful to other house guests, police said in their summary of facts. Reece yesterday apologized to the family outside the court. “Standing here today I just want to say that I’m really, really sorry for my behavior that’s led to us being here in court today,” he told reporters, adding that he had quit drinking for over a year.
TENNIS
Neale Fraser dies
Neale Fraser, who won three Grand Slam singles titles and guided Australia to four Davis Cup titles during a 24-year career as team captain, has died. He was 91. Tennis Australia yesterday said in a statement that the sport “has lost one of its giants.” Fraser beat Australian tennis great Rod Laver to win Wimbledon in 1960, in between sweeps at the US Open where he won the singles, men’s doubles and mixed titles in 1959 and 1960. Laver posted a tribute to his “dear mate and fellow lefty” on X. Fraser “was a true gem in a golden era of Australian tennis legends — an incredible World No. 1, a Grand Slam champion, and a Davis Cup icon,” he wrote. “Neale bested me in 2 major finals, pushing me to become a better player. I’ll miss you dearly, buddy.”
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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