Taiwan golden girl Yani Tseng powered to a share of the lead with South Korea’s Choi Na-yeon at the wind-swept USLPGA Hana Bank Kolon Championship yesterday.
Tseng, who burst onto the scene last year by becoming the first rookie to win a women’s major since South Korea’s Pak Se-ri in 1998, stroked a two-under-par 70 for a two-round total of 139.
Choi is alongside her, but overnight leaders Anna Grzebien and Meaghan Francella fell off the pace, as did world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, who is floundering 10 shots behind after an uncharacteristic 79.
The conditions were tough with howling winds and rain that forced the players off for 80 minutes.
Tseng, who finished her round before play was suspended, was happy to be in the lead.
“Yes, I thought I played okay today. It was tough conditions for most of the day, and it was really windy. I am happy I am leader right now, but Sunday I hope I can try to play better,” Tseng said.
■SINGAPORE OPEN
AFP, SINGAPORE
Ian Poulter blew a commanding five-shot advantage yesterday to share the third round clubhouse lead with Thomas Levet and Kodai Ichihara at the Singapore Open.
The flamboyant Englishman played 15 holes yesterday morning to conclude his second round and was on fire with a sizzling 64, opening up a huge lead from Sweden’s Daniel Chopra and Taiwanese qualifier Chan Yih-shin.
But Poulter’s touch deserted him when he came back out for his third round, dropping four shots in the six holes he played before a lightning storm ended play early, with no-one yet finished.
As Poulter was struggling, Frenchman Levet and Japan’s Ichihara were picking up shots.
All three are eight under for the tournament, with Australia’s Andrew Dodt and China’s Liang Wenchong a shot further back in a share of fourth.
Chan shot a 68 for a spot at seven under, while compatriot Lin Wen-tang was at three under after a mediocre 70.
■WORLD MATCH PLAY
AFP, CASARES, SPAIN
American Anthony Kim set up a rematch with Australian Robert Allenby and England’s Ross Fisher a meeting with Masters Tournament champion Angel Cabrera in the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain, on Friday.
Kim eagled the 18th to beat Scott Strange and set up a clash with Allenby three weeks after a controversial Presidents Cup tie in which the Australian made late-night drinking allegations about his 24-year-old opponent.
Allenby has since apologized and the pair have spoken, but the controversy was set to pave the way for an interesting encounter yesterday.
After two wins on the opening day, Kim had to be beaten by four holes by Strange not to progress.
And he produced one of the shots of his life, a 274-yard three-wood to four feet on the final hole, in his Group A to deny tournament outsider Strange a last four spot.
Kim, who won his first two games, was four down to the Australian after 17 holes and would have gone out by a single hole, but Strange only parred the last, leaving the way clear for the American.
Allenby, meanwhile, beat England’s Oliver Wilson by two holes in Group B to seal his semi-final spot. Fisher beat India’s Jeev Milkha Singh to top his Group D in the new format and so made it to the last four. In Group C, Cabrera progressed with ease.
Also See: Golf downturn parallels financial meltdown: Jacklin
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
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
RSS