Thailand’s Kwanchai Tannin left the field trailing in his wake yesterday as he recorded a convincing seven-stroke victory at the Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia.
He fired a final round four-under 68 at Emeralda Golf and Country Club for a winning total of 16-under 272. Thailand’s Wisut Artjawanat finished joint second along with Indonesian Johannes Dermawan. Both players shot 71s.
Andik Mauluddin, a rising star in Indonesia, and Anthony Fernando from the Philippines finished joint fourth, returning rounds of 68 and 67 respectively.
Kwanchai, who ended joint third last week at the Indian Open, said fitness was the key to his peak form over the past two weeks.
“I have to thank [trainer] Boonchu [Ruangkit] and his wife for pushing me to go to the gym over the past three months. They told me to get fit, so I have been going three or four times a week,” said Kwanchai, whose mother is the sister of top Thai golfer Prayad Marksaeng.
He began the day with a four-shot lead and on the front nine made five birdies and one bogey to make the turn in four-under and virtually put both hands on the trophy.
■MIDEA CHINA CLASSIC
AFP, SHUNDE, CHINA
China’s Liang Wenchong shot a three-under 68 yesterday to go 11-under and one stroke ahead of Australian Andrew Martin (69) after the third round of the Midea China Classic.
Zhang Lianwei, the 2006 champion, stormed into contention at yesterday’s event, part of the OneAsia Tour, with a 63 to move to eight-under with Australian Craig Scott, who carded a 68 at the Royal Orchid International Golf Club.
Alex Wu Ashun, China’s rising star, and New Zealander Michael Long each shot 68 to finish six-under with Stephen Leaney, the 2003 US Open runner-up, who carded a 71.
Liang birdied holes one, nine and 18 in a second straight bogey-free round and put himself in the driving seat.
Martin, the 2004 Australian Amateur champion, birdied holes one, four and eight, but suffered a double-bogey on 10 after putting his tee-shot in the water. The 25-year-old rebounded with birdies on 12 and 13, before dropping a shot on the par-three 15th.
Also See: Campbell swoops with eagle for share of PGA lead
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
RSS