The LPGA’s two-week break hasn’t slowed Cristie Kerr, who fired a six-under 66 on Friday to seize a two-shot lead in the inaugural US$1.4 million Bell Micro Classic.
Kerr, who won the Safeway Classic before the break, nabbed seven birdies with one bogey at Magnolia Grove’s The Crossings course on the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
At nine-under 135, Kerr was two shots in front of Angela Stanford.
Kerr teed off at the 10th and opened with a birdie. She picked up shots at 14 and 16, with her only bogey of the day in between.
Four more birdies coming home, including a 22-footer at No.9 to cap her round, moved Kerr into the lead. She said the wind didn’t bother her too much.
Stanford signed for a bogey-free 67 that included five birdies. She also started her round on the 10th and had two birdies on her outward run. Stanford added three more birdies coming in for a seven-under total of 137.
Australian Michelle Ellias (70) was third at 138, with Reilley Rankin (69) another stroke back.
Anna Rawson and Feng Shanshan, who shared the overnight lead, both posted 73s and were in a group of five at four-under.
Australia’s Rawson birdied three of her first four holes to get to eight-under, but didn’t have another birdie the rest of the day.
In addition, she surrendered four shots over her final 14 holes with two bogeys and a double-bogey at the par-four 11th.
Feng, the only Chinese player on the LPGA Tour, had her second eagle of the week, a birdie and four bogeys.
Paula Creamer, who won on this course last year in the LPGA Tournament of Champions, rallied to make the cut with a 69 that boosted her to three-over.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
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