Johan Edfors of Sweden extended his lead at the inaugural Black Mountain Masters after yesterday’s second round, with Filipino legend Frankie Minoza hot on his heels.
The big-hitting Edfors carded 68 for a two-day total of 132, 12-under, at Black Mountain Golf Club, widening his overnight lead to three strokes in the Asian Tour event.
However, fellow Swede Jesper Parnevik missed the cut after a disappointing 77.
But Minoza, 49 and boasting 16 professional titles across Asia and Japan, rolled back the years to fire 68 for a share of second place on 135, alongside Australian Darren Beck, who shot a 66 thanks to two eagles. Another Australian, Jason King, returned his second consecutive 68 to lie one stroke back, while Thai Chapchai Nirat and South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul go into the weekend rounds five off the pace after a 68 and 71 respectively.
Edfors, a three-time winner in Europe, was disappointed to drop his first shot of the tournament at his last hole, after five earlier birdies.
“I played pretty solid and took advantage of the par-fives. It was a solid round, despite what happened on the last,” said Edfors, 33, who was happy that he was able to keep his small army of Swedish fans thrilled. “It’s nice that they are out here cheering for me. It feels like you’re in Sweden.”
Minoza, who plans to attend the Champions (Seniors) Tour Qualifying School in the US later this year, faded on his inward nine, dropping two straight bogeys to spoil a card that included four birdies and an eagle.
The 30-year-old Beck, who enjoyed an impressive rookie season last year, moved up the leaderboard with two eagles and another birdie on his front nine.
Three more birdies took him to eight-under for the day, but he topped his drive on the 16th hole into a bush, which led to a costly double-bogey.
“It is pretty embarrassing as you have the TV cameras, who don’t follow you all day and then they’re there to catch that,” Beck said.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one