The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Four-try Toulouse end crisis talk
- Golf: Furyk grabs lead at PGA Tour Championship
- Thien How and Wee Kiong upset world No. 12 pair to reach semis
| Four-try Toulouse end crisis talk Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:00 PM PDT PARIS:Nineteen-time French champions Toulouse ruthlessly crushed talk of crisis at the heavyweight club by handing out a four-try, bonus-point 35-6 mauling of Bayonne on Friday. Former All Black Luke McAlister finished the match with 20 points as the defending champions, and four-time European Cup winners, moved into second spot in the Top 14 table. Toulon, who have the only perfect record in the division with five wins in five matches, lead the way, two points in front of Toulouse, ahead of their match on Saturday against Castres. "We needed to rediscover our passion. This is sport, we are not working in a factory," said Toulouse manager Guy Noves. "This was a good Toulouse performance at a level where we should be at this stage of the season and with the European Cup starting in a few weeks." Last week's 34-20 loss against Perpignan was Toulouse's second in five games, but they were untroubled against Bayonne. Fijian winger Timoci Matanavou scored the opening try of the game after 16 minutes following good work by centre Florian Fritz and Romain Millo-Chluski after Bayonne had lost possession. French international flanker Yannick Nyanga added a second try, five minutes after the interval with winger Vincent Clerc creating the opportunity. McAlister converted to add to his three first half-penalties. Replacement flanker Jean Bouilhou added the third try in the 71st minute before McAlister grabbed the fourth, shrugging off the challenge of compatriot Joe Rokocoko, in the dying moments. Fly-half Benjamin Boyet kicked Bayonne's only points with two first-half penalties. "We were eaten up," said Boyet. "We didn't know how to rival Toulouse physically and we spent all the second period in their territory. Courage is not enough." - AFP |
| Golf: Furyk grabs lead at PGA Tour Championship Posted: 21 Sep 2012 04:44 PM PDT ATLANTA, Georgia: Jim Furyk, seeking a second playoff crown and Tour Championship title in three years, birdied seven of the first 10 holes on Friday to grab the lead after two rounds of the $8 million PGA event. The 42-year-old American, who has not won since capturing this crown in 2010, fired a six-under par 64 to stand on seven-under 133 after 36 holes in the 30-man showdown to determine the US PGA season playoff champion. Fuyrk led by one stroke over England's Justin Rose with Americans Bubba Watson and Bo Van Pelt two off the pace and Americans Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar three shots adrift. Former World No. 1 and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods, who shared the lead with Rose after the first round, fired a 73 to stand on 139 after the second round. Furyk, who failed to qualify for last year's playoff finale, opened the front and back nines with birdies and sizzled in between, sinking three birdies in a row starting at the par-4 third and adding two more at the par-4 seventh and par-5 ninth. Furyk struggled into the clubhouse with bogeys at the 13th, par-5 16th and par-3 18th while mixing in birdies at the par-5 15th and par-4 17th to keep himself atop the leaderboard. Every man in the field has a chance to claim the $10 million playoff crown and some can do it without winning the tournament title depending on where other players finish. Based on current placings, Furyk would finish second to World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, who won two prior playoff series events as well as his second major title at last month's PGA Championship. Northern Irishman McIlroy, one of five players who can take the playoff crown with a victory no matter where anyone else finishes, fired a 68 to stand in a share of seventh on 137 with Americans Zach Johnson and Robert Garrigus. McIlroy birdied the par-3 sixth, took a bogey at the par-4 14th but answered with an eagle at the par-5 15th. Woods, also among the five who can win the bonus by winning the event, began with a bogey, responded with a birdie at the third then sandwiched birdies at the seventh and ninth around a double bogey at the par-4 eighth. After bogeys at the 11th and 12th, Woods birdied the 13th but stumbled again with bogeys at 16 and 17. Watson, the reigning Masters champion, and Rose, who shared the lead with Woods after day one, made back-nine charges after so-so starts. Rose sandwiched bogeys at the sixth and eighth around a birdie at the seventh, then fired back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 and added another at the par-5 15th, then answered a bogey at 17 with a closing birdie. Watson went birdie-bogey to begin his round, then began the back nine with a birdie and added another at the 13th and back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17. Van Pelt had back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes, then back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and sixth. He charged with four birdies in a row starting on the par-4 eighth but stumbled with bogeys at 15, 16 and 18 with only a birdie at the 17th to avoid a worse fall from Furyk's heels. - AFP Scores on Friday after the second round of the $8 million US PGA Tour Championship (par-70, USA unless noted): 133 - Jim Furyk 69-64 134 - Justin Rose (ENG) 66-68 135 - Bubba Watson 69-66, Bo Van Pelt 67-68 136 - Dustin Johnson 69-67, Matt Kuchar 67-69 137 - Rory McIlroy (NIR) 69-68, Robert Garrigus 68-69, Zach Johnson 68-69 138 - Carl Pettersen (SWE) 71-67, Brandt Snedeker 68-70 139 - Rickie Fowler 71-68, Webb Simpson 71-68, Ryan Moore 69-70, Tiger Woods 66-73 140 - Luke Donald (ENG) 71-69, John Senden (AUS) 72-68, Jason Dufner 70-70, Phil Mickelson 69-71, Steve Stricker 67-73, Scott Piercy 67-73 141 - Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 70-71, Hunter Mahan 68-73, Adam Scott (AUS) 68-73 142 - Sergio Garcia (ESP) 69-73 143 - Keegan Bradley 70-73 144 - John Huh 74-70 145 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 72-73 147 - Ernie Els (RSA) 72-75 149 - Nick Watney 75-74 - AFP |
| Thien How and Wee Kiong upset world No. 12 pair to reach semis Posted: 21 Sep 2012 04:26 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: It was a sad day for Japan's chief coach Park Joo-bong as his top two pairs were made to eat humble pie by Malaysians in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open in Tokyo yesterday. Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong pulled the rug from under World No. 12 Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata with a 21-19, 21-11 win to set up a semi-final date with their more illustrious compatriots Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong. Second seeds Kien Keat-Boon Heong continued their winning streak against Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato with a 21-10, 17-21, 21-10 victory. It was their fifth win over the World No. 13 Japanese pair. As for Thien How-Wee Kiong, it will be their first appearance in the semi-finals of the Super Series after crashing out in the last-eight stage of four previous legs on the circuit. The win over Hashimoto-Hirata was their third big scalp since the Malaysians' partnership was forged at the Denmark Open last year. At that tourney, Thien How-Wee Kiong stunned China's Guo Zhengdong-Chai Biao before upsetting Indonesians Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano at the Indonesian Open this year. Today, Thien How-Wee Kiong, ranked world No. 29, will be highly motivated to overcome Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who are eyeing their first Super Series title in two years. The other semi-final will be between South Koreans Kim Ki-jung-Kim Sang-rang and Japan's Hiroyuki Saeki-Ryota Taohata. There was another blow for Japan in the mixed doubles when top seeds Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying laboured to a 21-18, 28-26 win over Kenichi Hayakawa-Misaki Matsutomo. They face another Japanese pair, Takeshi Kamura-Kohari Yonemoto, in the semi-finals. Peng Soon-Liu Ying have a great chance to reach their first ever Super Series final where they are most likely to play Mohd Rijal-Lilyana Natsir for the title. The Indonesians ended the run of Wee Kiong-Ng Hui Lin in the quarter-finals. In the men's singles, top seed Lee Chong Wei had few problems stopping his younger compatriot Chong Wei Feng 21-15, 21-15. Chong Wei faces Indonesia's Simon Santoso for a place in the final. Simon thrashed former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat 21-9, 21-14. The other semi-final will be between Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand and Hu Yun of Hong Kong. |
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