Australian Lindsey Wright, seeking her first LPGA title, fired a seven-under 64 on Saturday to share the lead with US veteran Cristie Kerr at the US$2.2 million Michelob Ultra Open.
Wright, coming off a fourth-place finish at the LPGA Kraft Nabisco in the first women’s major of the season, fired a bogey-free round to stand on 15-under par 198 after 54 holes at Kingsmill.
South Korea’s Kim In-kyung was third on 199, one stroke ahead of compatriot Kim Song-hee with world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa of Mexico and Americans Wendy Ward and Natalie Gulbis sharing fifth on 203.
Ochoa, who led by three when the day began in quest of her first Kingsmill crown, soared to a 74.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng was tied for 13th on 207 and compatriot Teresa Lu was tied for 20th on 208.
■PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
REUTERS, PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA
Players Championship leader Alex Cejka of Germany made two bogeys in his opening nine holes as he slipped to 10 under par, while world No. 1 Tiger Woods started to move up the leaderboard.
Cejka birdied the fifth at TPC Sawgrass but then dropped shots at the seventh and ninth.
Britain’s Ian Poulter, who was in second place overnight, also bogeyed the ninth hole when he, like Cejka, missed a straightforward putt.
American Kevin Na was nine-under par after producing three birdies and a bogey on his opening nine.
Woods got himself in trouble on the 11th where he had to play left-handed out of the trees and made a bogey but he finished strongly with birdies on the 16th and 17th to leave himself just four shots off the lead.
■ITALIAN OPEN
AFP, TURIN, ITALY
Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Italian Open. The 32-year-old goes into the final round 11 under par, one in front of Finland’s Roope Kakko.
Two behind in joint-third are Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin and South African Thomas Aiken.
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
RSS