GOLF
Schauffele wins The Open
Xander Schauffele on Sunday said a “sense of calm” helped him win The Open Championship, as the American claimed his second major just two months after triumphing at the PGA Championship. The 30-year-old Californian delivered a faultless, zen-like six-under-par final round at Royal Troon to emerge from a congested leaderboard and clinch the Claret Jug. Schauffele finished on nine-under par for the championship, two shots ahead of England’s Justin Rose and Billy Horschel of the USA. Taiwan’s C.T. Pan, who earned a berth after finishing second at the John Deere Classic earlier this month, was cut after the second round.
MOTORSPORTS
Norris lets Piastri win
Lando Norris on Sunday kept Formula One fans on tenterhooks as he ignored pleas by McLaren to hand back the lead to teammate Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but after finally giving way he conceded the Australian deserved to win. The Briton’s eventual compliance allowed Piastri to celebrate a first victory and a one-two finish that sent McLaren second overall. “I didn’t deserve to win the race today. Simple as that. So the fact I was in that position was incorrect,” Norris told reporters. “I shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. I shouldn’t have been given that hope of ‘I’m here, I’m leading a race.’” Norris said he was always going to give back the place but, as a racing driver, was obviously going to question the situation and challenge the orders. “I was going to wait until the last lap, the last corner,” he added.
TENNIS
Energy off after loss: Nadal
Rafael Nadal would head to the Paris Olympics chasing a third gold medal, but on Sunday said his “level was so far from what it should be” after losing the Swedish Open final. The 38-year-old Spanish great went down to a straight-sets defeat to Portuguese journeyman Nuno Borges in his first final since capturing a 14th French Open in 2022. “The level was so far from what it should be. Probably the energy too,” Nadal said. “It has been a long week with long matches. Even if my body, I don’t have damage, that’s important — but mentally and physically, I am not used to playing four days in a row and playing long matches.” Nadal was playing his first tournament since an opening round exit at the French Open in May. He skipped Wimbledon to focus on the clay court ahead of the Olympics, which are being played at Roland Garros, the site of 14 of his 22 Grand Slam triumphs.
SOCCER
Fishcake fury cancels match
A match in the Norwegian top-flight between Rosenborg BK and Lillestroem was on Sunday suspended after fans showed their displeasure with the video assistant referee (VAR) by throwing fishcakes on the field. The protests started from kickoff and after a two-minute bombardment of fishcakes, the referee stopped the match and sent the players to the dressing room. The match was restarted, but the protests intensified, with tennis balls and smoke bombs being thrown onto the field. The referee abandoned the match around the half-hour mark with the score 0-0. VAR has stirred controversy in the Eliteserien, with several clubs’ supporter unions claiming that the time referees spend making decisions using the system ruins matches.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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