A sick Phil Mickelson didn’t crawl out of bed until barely an hour before the final round, but it did not stop him from winning the CA Championship on Sunday.
“I knew I was going to play well. That’s why they say ‘beware of the ailing golfer,’” he said after edging fellow American Nick Watney by one stroke at Doral’s Blue Monster.
Mickelson claimed his first victory in a World Golf Championships event, shooting 69 to finish at 19-under-par 269. Under the circumstances, it was one of the best victories of his career. He also moved into second in the world rankings behind Tiger Woods.
The left-handed American was ill with what he described as a virus and felt so bad on Saturday night that he got his caddie to drive him to a hospital.
Watney shot 70 for 18-under, while compatriot Jim Furyk (67) stormed home for third place on 16-under, with Tiger Woods equal ninth on 11-under.
■PUERTO RICO OPEN
AFP, RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO
Michael Bradley sank a birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday to capture the Puerto Rico Open.
Bradley drained an 11-footer to edge Jason Day and Brett Quigley at Trump International Golf Club.
With a closing round of two-under-par 70, Bradley finished at 14-under 274.
“I’m almost 43 and you don’t know really how many opportunities you’re going to have,” Bradley said. “I’m not Tiger Woods. So when I do have an opportunity, come a Sunday, that maybe have a chance to win, it’s probably a little more special.”
Day and Quigley both finished at 13-under with Bart Bryant and Greg Chalmers another shot back in a tie for fourth.
Bradley collected US$630,000 for his third PGA Tour win and first since the Doral-Ryder Open in 1998.
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 and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
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
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
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