Paula Creamer shared a three-way lead with Angela Park and Jane Park at the HSBC Women’s Champions yesterday, as world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa lurked dangerously two strokes behind.
On a lightening-interrupted opening day, Creamer gritted her teeth to stroke a 67 despite feeling sick and achy as she attempts to go better than her third place finish last year.
Joining her at five-under-par was fellow American Jane Park and Brazil’s Angela Park.
PHOTO: AFP
They all lie one in front of Japan’s resurgent Ai Miyazato and South Korea’s Lee Seon-hwa, who was leading by a stroke when lightening forced the players off the Tanah Merah course mid-afternoon.
It clearly rattled the world No. 10 who hit two bogeys in her final three holes on her return to scupper any chance she had of being outright leader.
Defending champion Ochoa fired a steady round of 69 to be tied for sixth with a group of four other players.
The Mexican, who won her opening event of the season last weekend in Thailand, went to the turn at one under and ground out two more birdies in the race to the clubhouse.
But it was a disappointing day for Taiwan’s Yani Tseng, the world No. 2, who struggled to a 72 to be five adrift of the leaders.
“For some reason when I’m sick I tend to play a little better than I normally do,” said Creamer, who said she felt “nauseous, terrible — like chills and aching and all of that.”
“It definitely wasn’t heat ... it must have been something I ate. I haven’t been feeling well for the last couple of days,” she said.
“I’m just going straight home, probably just drinks lots of fluids. But I feel a lot better than I did in the morning,” Creamer said.
The newly engaged Ochoa was dominant last year and with her arch-rival Sorenstam now retired, she is the hot tip to win back-to-back victories here.
But she wasn’t completely happy with the way she played.
“I hit too many balls long but hopefully I can get closer and it will be a better day tomorrow,” she said. “But for sure I’m happy. I need to be a bit more aggressive and go a bit lower in my scoring.”
Jane Park, in her second full-time year of the LPGA Tour, has yet to win an event and was a surprise joint leader.
She admitted she needed to work on her concentration if she wanted to be in the mix on Sunday.
“I’m hitting the ball very well and it was a good round but I’m obviously the underdog here,” said the Californian, who had a well-decorated amateur career before turning professional in 2007.
“I just need to put together four solid rounds and stay focused, which is my biggest obstacle. My problem is that when I am not hitting the ball I start thinking of other things and I need to try and be more focused,” she said.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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