India’s Jeev Milkha Singh is battling time as he prepares to lead a strong Asian Tour cast at the US Open this week with the aim of delivering Asia’s first major title.
The year’s second major starts at Bethpage State Park’s Black course in New York today and joining Singh will be Angelo Que of the Philippines and Korean trio K.J. Choi, Bae Sang-moon and Charlie Wi.
It will be a walk down memory lane for Jeev, the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, as he made his major debut at the US Open at the same venue back in 2002.
PHOTO: REUTERS
However, the 37th ranked player in the world will have to shrug off a rib injury he picked up during the recent Celtic Manor Wales Open where he finished a commendable joint sixth. The Indian, who has been drawn alongside his namesake Vijay Singh and Choi, was to decide last night if he is fit enough to compete in the US Open.
After missing the cut at the US Masters in April by one stroke, Jeev will be determined to win his fitness race and compete in the US Open where world No. 1 Tiger Woods is the title holder. His form has been solid with two recent top-10s in Europe while he was also fourth at the WGC-CA Championship in Doral, Florida earlier this season.
The immensely talented Choi is also expected to sparkle at Bethpage.
The powerful South Korean has come close to winning Asia’s first major on several occasions where he finished third at the Masters Tournament in 2004 and was the halfway leader at the British Open last year before finishing tied 16th.
Choi endured a slow start to his season, posting only one top-10 at the Northern Trust Open where he finished joint third but he showed a welcome return to form at the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago by placing 13th.
Que, last year’s Philippine Open champion, and Bae, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour, will make their US Open debuts and take their places alongside the world’s best players after a successful qualifying campaign in Japan.
Que finished second to qualify for his second major test while big-hitting Bae, winner of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open last month, was third in the qualifiers.
Wi, a seven-time winner on the Asian Tour and a regular on the US PGA Tour, earned his US Open place after topping his sectional qualifying in California.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that