GOLF
Taiwan’s Chien finishes 4th
Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun on Sunday finished with an eight-under-par 280 to tie for fourth at the LPGA Founders Cup in Clifton, New Jersey, her best performance so far this year. The 33-year-old narrowly missed a third-place finish with two birdies in the fourth round, but a bogey on the 13th hole left her with just a one-under-par 71. Tied with Chinese duo Yin Ruoning and Lin Xiyi, Chien earned a US$127,984 payday in the tournament. Her previous best finish this year was in March, when she tied for 13th place with Yin and Sweden’s Linn Grant at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. At the Founders Cup, Rose Zhang of the US rattled off four birdies in her final five holes to card a six-under-par 66 to finish 24-under to claim her second professional title.
Photo: AP
RUGBY UNION
Cane to retire from Test play
New Zealand captain Sam Cane is to retire from Test rugby at the end of this year, the side said yesterday, calling time on a World Cup-winning 12-year international career. “Having played 95 Tests — 27 as captain — the 32-year-old has decided to focus on spending more time with family and sign a long-term contract with Suntory Goliath in Tokyo,” New Zealand Rugby said in a statement. His retirement is not a complete surprise, as the All Blacks have not played since South Africa beat them in the World Cup last year and Cane was already on a sabbatical in Japan. Cane said the prospect of a three-year deal with the high-spending Tokyo club was too good to pass up. “I had to weigh up everything and, in the end, with a young family, it seemed like the best decision to help set up our future,” he said. Cane won the World Cup in 2015 with New Zealand and has twice been on Super Rugby championship-winning sides with the Waikato Chiefs.
SOCCER
Enrique bemoans loss
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique on Sunday said that matches with celebrations often end badly after his side fell 3-1 to Toulouse ahead of lifting their Ligue 1 trophy in front of fans. Despite their semi-final Champions League loss against Borussia Dortmund last week, fans at the Parc des Princes were thrilled as PSG clinched their record-extending 12th league title two weeks ago. However, Toulouse spoiled the party by handing the champions only their second league defeat of the season. “Matches with celebrations usually end badly, that’s my experience as a professional,” former Barcelona coach Enrique told reporters. “Toulouse were better with and without the ball, they were better from start to finish. There is little to say. I’m a bit disappointed.” PSG fans also paid tribute and bid farewell to the club’s all-time top scorer Kylian Mbappe after the France captain on Friday confirmed he would leave the club at the end of the season. “The fans have paid Mbappe the tribute he deserved, he is a club legend despite his youth,” the Spaniard said. “He still has a couple of games left with us, but I wish him the best of luck with his career.”
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
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
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