GOLF
Grayson Murray dies at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died on Saturday, a day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, the PGA said in a statement. American Murray, who was 30, won his most recent title at this year’s Sony Open and had pulled out of the Charles Schwab tournament during the second round citing an illness. Murray, who picked up his first title on the PGA Tour in 2017, reached a career-high 46th in the world rankings after his Sony Open win. “We were devastated to learn — and are heartbroken to share — that PGA Tour player Grayson Murray passed away this morning. I am at a loss for words,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. The PGA did not disclose a cause of death.
RUGBY UNION
Otago advance to quarters
Otago Highlanders yesterday cemented a place in the Super Rugby quarter-finals with a 39-3 thumping of Fijian Drua, leaving four teams to fight for the last playoff berth. The home side ran in five unanswered tries in Dunedin, New Zealand, to notch their biggest win of the season and leave Drua among the sides battling for survival in next weekend’s final round of matches. Drua, who have lost all seven of their away matches this season, remain eighth. Victory over the seventh-placed Melbourne Rebels in Lautoka on Saturday would guarantee them a quarter-final spot.
ATHLETICS
Chebet breaks 10k record
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet on Saturday broke the women’s 10,000m world record with a victory in 28 minutes, 54.14 seconds at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meet in Eugene, Oregon. The 24-year-old, a two-time world championships medalist at 5,000m and a cross-country world champion, broke the record of 29:01.03 set by Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey in Hengelo on June 8, 2021. Chebet’s victory in a race designated as Kenya’s Olympic qualifier established her as a favorite for gold at the Paris Games in August.
TENNIS
Ruud wins third Geneva title
Casper Ruud on Saturday downed Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Tomas Machac to win a third Geneva Open title and head into the French Open with a trophy in his racket bag. The world No. 7 Norwegian beat 44th-ranked Czech Machac 7-5, 6-3 in 1 hour, 47 minutes. Second seed Ruud won the Geneva title in 2021 and 2022. Ruud was the runner-up in the last two French Opens, and a third Geneva title gives the 25-year-old a timely boost as he makes the journey to Paris. Nobody has won more matches on the ATP tour this year than Ruud.
SOCCER
Leverkusen win German Cup
Granit Xhaka on Saturday scored the only goal as a 10-man Bayer 04 Leverkusen beat Kaiserslautern 1-0 to lift the German Cup in Berlin and give the club the league-cup double. Crowned Bundesliga champions last month, Leverkusen were made to fight hard against their second-division opponents, playing with a man down after Odilon Kossounou’s second yellow late in the first half. Leverkusen bounced back from Wednesday’s Europa League final loss to Atalanta BC — which ended both their season-long unbeaten run at 51 games and their hopes of a treble.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
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
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