The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Adam Scott ends Aussie jinx with Masters playoff win (Updated)
- Isner wins first clay court title
- Chong Wei inspires Malaysia to first Axiata Cup
| Adam Scott ends Aussie jinx with Masters playoff win (Updated) Posted: 14 Apr 2013 06:52 PM PDT AUGUSTA (Georgia): Adam Scott sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to beat Angel Cabrera and win the 77th Masters, becoming the first Australian golfer to capture the green jacket. Nine months after making bogeys on the last four holes to squander a British Open lead at Royal Lytham and two years after sharing second at the Masters, the 32-year-old from Adelaide won his first major title in impressive fashion. "I don't know how that happened," Scott said. "It seems a long, long way from a couple years ago, or last July when I was trying to win a major. It was incredible." Scott and Cabrera both birdied the 18th hole to finish deadlocked after 72 holes on nine-under par 279. Each parred the hole again to open the playoff and both had birdie putts at the second playoff hole, the par-4 10th. Cabrera just missed his 12-footer and Scott followed with his winning putt, thrusting his arms into the air with joy after the ball curled into the cup to signal the end of a journey from Down Under to the top of the golf world. It was Scott's second celebration after an emotional 20-foot birdie at 18 in regulation that Cabrera matched with a stunning approach to four feet and a birdie putt of his own. "There was a split second I thought I had won," Scott admitted. "You never count your chickens. It was time to step up and see how much I wanted it." Cabrera, the 2007 US Open and 2009 Masters champion, shared a hug with Scott after the final putt. "That's how golf is," Cabrera said. "I came back. I had my chance to win it. Adam is truly a good winner. He's a great person and a great player and I'm happy for him." Cabrera would have been the second-oldest Masters champion at 43, trailing only Jack Nicklaus winning the 1986 Masters at age 46. The 43-year-old grandfather is ranked 269th in the world. Australian Jason Day was third on 281, two strokes ahead of world number one Tiger Woods and Aussie Marc Leishman with Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and American Brandt Snedeker sharing sixth on 284. Woods, a 14-time major champion who has never won a major when he did not at least share the 54-hole lead, has not won a major title since the 2008 US Open and not won the Masters since taking his fourth green jacket in 2005. The Masters was the only major that no Aussie had won, the Augusta National jinx a painful jinx - now shattered forever - that included three heartbreaking defeats for two-time British Open champion Greg Norman. Norman took a bogey at the 18th in the 1986 Masters to hand Jack Nicklaus his 18th and last major title. In 1987, Norman lost a Masters playoff when Augusta native Larry Mize holed a miraculous chip shot. In 1996, Norman suffered the greatest last-round collapse in major golf history, leading by six over Nick Faldo only to lose by five to the Englishman. "He inspired a nation of golfers," Scott said. "Part of this definitely belongs to him." Scott and Day shared second in 2011, falling short when South African Charl Schwartzel became the first man to birdie the last four holes to win a major. Scott, who uses an anchored putting stroke, fired a 69 and Cabrera a 70 in the last round. Day could only watch Scott and Cabrera make their stunning shots at the 18th hole and ponder what might have been. A day after closing with back-to-back bogeys, Day opened with a birdie and followed with an eagle at the par-5 second, but stumbled back with bogeys at the par-3 sixth and par-4 ninth. Day ripped off a run of three birdies in a row starting at the par-5 13th to put himself into the lead, but bogeys at the 16th and 17th left him third after a closing 70. "It was really tough," Day said. "Pressure got to me a little bit." Woods, fell eight strokes off the lead before making a late charge that came up short, firing a 70 to share fourth. "I played well," Woods said. "Unfortunately I just didn't make enough putts. I certainly had an opportunity. I thought if I shot 65 I could win it outright." Bogeys at the fifth and seventh dropped Woods back, but he birdied the ninth and 10th, then the par-5 13th and 15th to reach five under, unable to gain enough ground on the leaders on the wet, undulating greens of Augusta National. "I had a hard time getting accustomed to the speed," Woods said. "It was so much slower with the rain. I left every putt short." Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old Chinese schoolboy who is the youngest player in Masters history, fired a 75 to finish on 12-over 300. He will receive the low amateur's Silver Cup. - AFP |
| Isner wins first clay court title Posted: 14 Apr 2013 05:10 PM PDT HOUSTON (Texas): Fifth seeded John Isner claimed his sixth career title and first on clay by beating Nicolas Almagro in straight sets in the final of the US Clay Court Championships on Sunday. The hard-serving American blasted seven aces en route to a 6-3, 7-5 win over the Spanish clay court specialist at River Oaks Country Club in Houston. Isner, who was the runner-up in this event last year, went one better this time, being broken just once in the 81-minute match. "I've always known I could play well on clay," said Isner. "This week is a little surprising, as Monday was the first day I hit a ball on clay since September. "I knew it was going to be a tough adjustment and that I had to find a way to get through my first match. My second match was really close. I felt I played better each and every round. I played well yesterday and even better today." Even though all 12 of Almagro's career titles have come on clay, he couldn't make it 13 on Sunday, failing to overcome four double faults and three service breaks. "He did a really good job today," Almagro said of Isner. "He played aggressive. "He served like normal, but today was tough for me. I want to congratulate him, because he's a really good player and a good person and I think he did a good job this week." Isner, who finished second to Juan Monaco last year, avenged that loss with a three-set win over the Argentine in the semi-finals on Saturday. The world number 23 Isner had lost both previous matches to Almagro, including a five-set loss in the Davis Cup semi-finals in 2012. Almagro was seeking to win his first title in 2013 and, like Isner, was appearing in his first final of the year. He fell to a 17-7 season record and a 12-7 mark in Tour finals. Isner earned US$82,000 in first place prize money. - AFP |
| Chong Wei inspires Malaysia to first Axiata Cup Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:39 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: It was baby luck all right as world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei oozed class to steer Malaysia to their first US$1mil Axiata Cup at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in Cheras yesterday. Just two days after becoming a proud father of his newborn son Kingston, Chong Wei returned to court and crushed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-12, 21-15 to turn saviour for Malaysia. His win saw Malaysia going on to beat Thailand 3-1 in a full-house stadium for their most memorable mixed team title and their biggest pay cheque of US400,000. Prior to this, Malaysia's only other mixed team achievements were gold medals at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games. Yesterday, the other points came through the doubles shuttlers – mixed pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying and men's top pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong. The only one that Malaysia missed was through women's singles shuttler Sonia Cheah. World No. 5 Peng Soon-Liu Ying pulled off one of their best matches this season to blow away Thailand's Sudket Prapakamol-T. Saralee 21-16, 21-15 while Kien Keat-Boon Heong were a class above Boonsak Ponsana-A. Songphon when they easily sealed the tie with a 21-10, 21-17 win. The 30-year-old Chong Wei was delighted that he had accomplished his mission for Malaysia. "We have never won any major mixed team title – especially at home and I wanted to make sure that we nailed one for the home fans," said Chong Wei. "Liew Daren or Chong Wei Feng could have played but the point was not guaranteed. We discussed it last night (Saturday) and I decided to play to help the team." The fact that Daren had lost tamely to Tanongsak at the preliminary round was also a reason for Malaysia's decision to field the two-time Olympic Games silver medallist Chong Wei. "We knew it would be difficult for Sonia to win against Ratchanok (Intanon). Our hope was on the mixed doubles and Peng Soon-Liu Ying played superbly to level the score at 1-1. I am glad that I won and Koo and Tan wrapped it up." Chong Wei said that winning his first match as a father was certainly an additional bonus. "My son Kingston has brought me luck. Mew Choo and baby are still in the hospital and will be discharged tomorrow. I will be joining them in the hospital after this," said Chong Wei. Peng Soon was also happy that they put up an inspiring show. "We were totally in form today and won in straight games to give an advantage to our team," said Peng Soon. "I was not too well yesterday but today, I was fresh and able to complement my partner. Before the Axiata Cup, we had struggled but a good win today had lifted our spirits," added Peng Soon, who will next head to the India Open Super Series April 23-28 with Liu Ying. National singles coach Rashid Sidek was proud of the team's achievement and said that the decision to field Chong Wei made all the difference for the team. He said that it would put the team on the right mood ahead of the Sudirman Cup at the Putra Stadium from May 19-26. Results Third-place playoff: Asia All Stars bt Indonesia 3-1 (Tai Tzu-ying bt Lindaweni Fanetri 21-18, 22-20; Lee Hyun-il bt Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka 21-19, 16-21, 21-6; Tarun Kona-Ashwini Ponnappa lost to Debby Susanto-Mohd Rijal 21-16, 16-21, 15-21; Bao Chunlai-Zheng Bo bt Hendra Setiawan-Mohd Ahsan 21-12, rtd.) Final: Malaysia bt Thailand 3-1 (Sonia Cheah lost to Ratchanok Intanon 16-21, 17-21; Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying bt Sudket Prapakamol-T. Saralee 21-16, 21-15; Lee Chong Wei bt Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-12, 21-15; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Boonsak Ponsana-A. Songphon 21-10, 21-17) |
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