JEDDAH: The Saudi national golf team are preparing to defend their Pan-Arab Golf Championship title in Jordan by playing in a number of overseas tournaments.
The young quartet of Othman Almulla, Khaled Attieh, Saud Al-Sharif and Ali Al-Sakha stormed to victory in the 36th staging of the event at Gala Golf Club in Muscat last year, winning the team event by a remarkable 16 strokes. Attieh then completed a Saudi double by winning the individual crown, although his studies may prevent him from defending his title.
Attieh and Al-Sharif will warm up for Arab golf’s blue-riband event by playing in the Asian Amateur Championship at the Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand. Kingdom No. 1 Almulla, who will lead the national team in the prestigious four-team three-to-count annual event, has just completed his eight-leg stint on the MENA Tour where he finished eighth overall in the amateur division.
Al-Sharif, 17, will be in Tunis to represent Saudi Arabia in the Pan Arab Junior (Under-18) Champion-ships Oct. 31 to Nov. 4. Al-Sharif then joins teammates Almulla, Attieh, Ali Alsakha and Abdurahman Almansour in Malaysia for the Nomura Cup Nov. 9 to 12.
Meanwhile, Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, CEO of the Public Investment Fund, has been appointed as the new President of Saudi Golf Federation (SGF), Yousuf Eddiweesh is the vice president in a major reshuffle announced by the General Sports Authority that has seen 13 new federation heads appointed and eight sport federations created.
“The best thing that ever happened to golf,” national golf team coach Ali Balharith told Arab News of the appointment of Al-Rumayyan. “We are excited. Al-Rumayyan could do a lot in the promotion of golf in the country. He is passionate about golf being a golfer himself.” Balharith, 64, is widely considered the grand old man of Saudi golf. He was there as a player when Saudi Arabia first competed at Pan Arab in 1979 as well as when the national team pulled of the historic double last year in Oman, ending a 37-year wait for victory, this time as a coach.
Saudi golfers ready to defend Pan-Arab title
Saudi golfers ready to defend Pan-Arab title
Lewis Hamilton wins pole position in the sprint for Ferrari at the Chinese F1 Grand Prix
- Hamilton arrived in China after a disappointing season-opening race last weekend in Australia, where he finished 10th
- He only managed fourth fastest in opening practice Friday for a modest improvement in Shanghai
Hamilton arrived in China after a disappointing season-opening race last weekend in Australia, where he finished 10th. He only managed fourth fastest in opening practice Friday for a modest improvement in Shanghai.
He topped the first section of sprint qualifying, before the dominant McLaren of Lando Norris took over in SQ2. An aborted lap from the McLaren driver, following a mistake on his final lap, handed Hamilton his chance – and the seven-time world champion took it in stunning style with less than a minute remaining.
Hamilton’s time was just 18 one-thousandths of a second ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, with Mercedes’ George Russell closing out the top-five.
“I didn’t expect that result, but so, so happy and so proud,” Hamilton said. “I think obviously the last race was a disaster. Clearly we knew that there was more performance in the car but we just weren’t able to extract it,” in Melbourne.
“So to come here to a track that I love — and the car really came alive. The team did a fantastic job to get the car ready and yeah, I’m a bit in shock.”
Pakistan win toss, bowl in third New Zealand T20
- Pakistan’s two changes were both to their bowling attack
- Afridi, Abrar Ahmed replace Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali
AUCKLAND: Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl in the third Twenty20 against New Zealand in Auckland on Friday as they bid to stay alive in the five-match series.
New Zealand made one change from the side that won the second game of the series by five wickets in Dunedin on Tuesday to go 2-0 up, recalling Kyle Jamieson in place of fellow-seamer Zac Foulkes.
Jamieson took three wickets when New Zealand won the opening match by nine wickets in Christchurch.
Pakistan’s two changes were both to their bowling attack and included handing a T20 debut to Abbas Afridi.
Seamer Afridi and legspinner Abrar Ahmed replace seamers Jahandad Khan and Mohammad Ali.
New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Hay, Michael Bracewell (capt), Ish Sodhi, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears
Pakistan: Mohammad Haris, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (capt), Irfan Khan, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Butler triple-double leads Warriors over Raptors as Curry hurt
- The Bucks bounced back from their loss at Golden State on Tuesday with a 118-89 romp past the short-handed Lakers in Los Angeles
- The Pacers won another close one in Indianapolis, where Bennedict Mathurin scored 28 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in a 105-99 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets
LOS ANGELES: Draymond Green scored 21 points and Jimmy Butler added a 16-point triple-double as the Golden State Warriors held off the Toronto Raptors 117-114 on Thursday despite an early exit for Stephen Curry.
Butler added 11 rebounds and 12 assists for the Warriors and Green chipped in seven rebounds, five assists and four steals as Golden State kept their hold on sixth place in the Western Conference and direct entry into the playoffs.
Trailing by as many as seven in the third quarter, Golden State took a 93-92 lead into the final period even after losing Curry, who took a frightening fall under the basket.
Curry, who was nursing a sore back before he sat out Tuesday’s win over Milwaukee, was treated on the court before departing with what the team called a pelvic contusion.
“He just kind of fell on his pelvic, tailbone area,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, adding that Curry was having an MRI scan after the game to assess the injury.
“He was trying to come back (into the game), he thought he might’ve been able to come back and we just decided not to risk anything,” Kerr added.
In other games the Bucks bounced back from their loss at Golden State on Tuesday with a 118-89 romp past the short-handed Lakers in Los Angeles.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 23 off the bench for Milwaukee, who were without Damian Lillard who sat out with a sore right calf.
The Lakers, still without superstar LeBron James as he recovers from a groin injury, also had Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves on their long list of absentees, both with sprained ankles.
James’s son Bronny James and Dalton Knecht led the Lakers’ scoring with 17 points apiece, Bronny connecting on seven of his 10 shots on the way to his first double-digit scoring game.
But Milwaukee led by as many as 35 in the wire-to-wire victory, which kept the fifth-placed Bucks one game behind the fourth-placed Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers won another close one in Indianapolis, where Bennedict Mathurin scored 28 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in a 105-99 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The Pacers have now won three straight games by six or fewer points to improve to 40-29 — boosting their lead over the Bucks and Detroit Pistons for fourth place.
Myles Turner scored 23 points with 10 rebounds and five blocks, including a huge rejection of Keon Johnson with 22.2 seconds left in overtime that preserved a two-point lead.
T.J. McConnell and Mathurin added two free-throws apiece in the waning seconds to seal the victory for a Pacers team again without star guard Tyrese Haliburton because of a sore back.
Mathurin had sent it to overtime with three free-throws to tie it up at the end of regulation.
“Another amazing finish,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. “Mathurin was spectacular, especially in the fourth quarter.”
Brooklyn’s Trendon Watford was ejected late in the fourth quarter after a scuffle that saw Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard and Turner receive technical fouls. Nembhard was ejected in overtime after getting a second technical for jawing with officials.
The New York Knicks, third in the East, failed to find their offensive groove in a 115-98 loss to the Hornets in Charlotte.
The Knicks have dropped six of their last nine games and again felt the effects of Jalen Brunson’s continued absence with a sprained right ankle.
LaMelo Ball scored 25 points to lead the Hornets and Miles Bridges added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the hosts, who snapped a two-game skid.
OG Anunoby scored 25 for the Knicks and Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 points and 10 rebounds, but New York never led after the opening quarter.
Gauff and Sabalenka advance in Miami but Rybakina falls
- Defending champion Danielle Collins survived some late nerves to get past Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-4 7-6 (7/3) and book her place in the round of 32
- Naomi Osaka, the 2022 Miami finalist, defeated 24th seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 6-4 to earn a meetup with American wildcard Halley Baptiste
MIAMI GARDENS: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and third-seeded Coco Gauff eased through their second round matches at the Miami Open on Thursday but seventh seed Elena Rybakina crashed out to American Ashlyn Krueger.
Sabalenka beat Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-3 6-0 in a contest which lasted just 58 minutes while Gauff made even shorter work of her match, beating 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-0 6-0 in just 47 minutes.
For Sabalenka, who was beaten in the Indian Wells final by Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva on Sunday, it was a comfortable start to her bid in South Florida.
“I’m super happy to get this win. A bit tricky with the conditions, and I didn’t have much time to adjust, so just happy with the performance today,” said the Belarussian, who said the contrast with conditions in California was striking.
“I feel like it’s a bit slower here, probably because of the balls, everything, it’s much heavier on the body.
“Then it was windy. It was a bit like different stadium. It’s just like everything new, and I had few days to adjust. That was a bit tricky, but I think I handled pretty well. So happy to get through,” she added.
Gauff, who has made a slow start to the season, said it had simply been a case of everything falling into place for her from the outset.
“I was definitely playing well today, and maybe she wasn’t playing her peak great tennis. I don’t think anyone who is playing their best tennis will have that scoreline today, so I’m not going to sit here and say she played her best tennis,” she said.
Gauff, who suffered a surprise exit to Belinda Bencic at Indian Wells last week, said she wasn’t trying to prove any point about her form.
“I know where I personally stand in my game. Yes, it’s not been up to my standards, but at the same time, you know, we are just March and our season ends in November. There is a lot of time to improve.
“Today I wasn’t going in with that in my mind. It just happened to be a great day for me,” she said.
Krueger, the 20-year-old Texan, claimed her first win over a top-10 opponent beating 2023 Miami Open finalist Rybakina 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in 1 hour and 50 minutes.
The American, ranked 40th in the world, will face Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the next round.
Defending champion Danielle Collins survived some late nerves to get past Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-4 7-6 (7/3) and book her place in the round of 32.
Naomi Osaka, the 2022 Miami finalist, defeated 24th seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 6-4 to earn a meetup with American wildcard Halley Baptiste.
Baptiste enjoyed an upset 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over 12th seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina.
In the men’s draw, exciting 18-year-old Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca enjoyed plenty of support from compatriots in the crowd in a 6-7 (1/7) 6-3, 6-4 win over Learner Tien.
With the Brazilian flags waving and football-style chanting, Fonseca’s big hitting proved too much for the 19-year-old Californian.
“I knew it was going to be a difficult match. I knew Learner was going to fight until the end, he’s a great fighter. He knows how to play, he’s very smart,” said Fonseca.
“So I needed to go until the end and I just went to it hard and the Brazilian crowd was with me today,” Fonseca said.
In an all-American clash, Reilly Opelka beat Christopher Eubanks 6-3 7-6 (7/4) to improve to 4-0 in their head-to-head record.
The tall Opelka won all 26 of his first-serve points in the second set and wrapped up the 85-minute win with an ace.
Hamilton wants a faster Ferrari to challenge McLaren at F1’s sprint weekend in China
- For seven-time world champion Hamilton, China is a chance for a reset after a difficult Ferrari debut at Melbourne’s Albert Park last weekend
- China’s Sprint weekend format will be another challenge for F1’s six rookies
SHANGHAI: McLaren’s dominance, Lewis Hamilton’s bid to bounce back after a disappointing debut for Ferrari, and the death of Eddie Jordan have generated headlines as Formula 1 prepares for its first Sprint weekend of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Lando Norris arrived in Shanghai atop the drivers’ standings for the first time following his win at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last Sunday, but it was his qualifying pace for McLaren — and not just holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen — that had his rivals on edge ahead of practice.
McLaren’s pace
Mercedes driver George Russell went so far as to say McLaren could win every race this season, describing its raw pace advantage as “bigger than Red Bull has ever had.” But, while Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri strongly refuted the claim — stating the form would change between rounds — the rest of the paddock wasn’t so sure.
“They’re definitely ahead,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said. “The gap in qualifying, the gap that there was (in Australia, 0.385sec to the nearest non-McLaren) is more or less what there is.”
“I think we are around Mercedes and Red Bull in terms of lap times if we put everything together,” Leclearc said, “so there’s still a big chunk to get McLaren then.”
It’s unclear if a new technical directive will shuffle the order in China, with FIA, the sport’s governing body, cracking down on rear wing flexing with a tougher static load test.
None of the drivers were forthcoming, as to what triggered the FIA’s new interpretation, or who it was most expected to impact.
“We don’t have to change anything,” Norris said. “Ours is fine. In fact, ours was probably too good, and we probably weren’t pushing the limits enough. If this technical directive had been applied last weekend, we would’ve been fine.
“It seems to be directed (at) other teams, which probably means we should push it a little bit more.”
Hamilton primed for improvement
For seven-time world champion Hamilton, China is a chance for a reset after a difficult Ferrari debut at Melbourne’s Albert Park last weekend, where he qualified eighth, briefly took the lead, but couldn’t hold onto it because of the team’s tire strategy.
But the 40-year-old, who is F1’s most successful driver with a record 105 GP wins and 104 pole positions, says he still needs more time to bring the full force of his experience to his new team.
“As I get more comfortable and more knowledgeable about the car, I can start making more decisions,” Hamilton said of his preferred set up. “I’m having those discussions, and I’m going to lean a little bit more with adding my experience hopefully a bit more in it.”
Hamilton is hopeful that the Australian GP was an outlier for him and for Ferrari.
“I hope so,” he said. “I think our car looked pretty decent on Friday (in Australia) and even on Saturday morning. So, I think it’s a bit of a one-off.”
Another tough test for F1’s rookies
China’s Sprint weekend format will be another challenge for F1’s six rookies. The track has been completely resurfaced and there’s just one practice session, making it more difficult to get a baseline setup before Sprint qualifying.
Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli said it feels like a return to F2, with its compacted schedule, but the Italian knows what he has to do
“You want to finish free practice and say ‘Okay, like I got to a good level of driving. I’m not so far from the limit and I know where I have to make the step for qualifying,’” Antonelli said. “The important thing is going to be to get as close as possible to the limit without making any big mistakes.”
At Racing Bulls, Isack Hadjar is ready to put the pain of Melbourne behind him, having put his car into the Turn 2 barrier on the formation lap.
In the aftermath of his crash, Hadjar was seen walking back to the garage crying with his hands up to his helmet. Red Bull motorsport consultant Doctor Helmut Marko said it was embarrassing, but Hamilton’s father, Anthony, sought Hadjar out for some reassuring words.
“It was a nice moment, sharing time with someone like Anthony as well — obviously, the dad of my idol,” Hadjar said. “So that was quite a special moment. And Lewis sent me a message later that day. Really classy guys.”
RIP Eddie Jordan
Sadness descended on the F1 community on Thursday with news that ex-team owner Eddie Jordan had died.
Beloved throughout the sport “EJ” ran the Jordan team from 1991 to 2005. His humor, strong opinions and deep contacts made Jordan a popular media pundit after he sold the team – with his most recent project being the “Formula for Success” podcast he co-hosted with ex-F1 driver David Coulthard.
The 76-year-old Jordan also acted as the manager for design great Adrian Newey when he left Red Bull for Aston Martin last year.
Jordan was undergoing cancer treatment before he died. His family issued a statement, published by rugby club London Irish, where Jordan was a patron, to say he “passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town.”
Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle, who drove for Jordan in 1996, led the emotional tributes from the sport.
“What a character. What a rock star. What a racer,” Brundle posted on social media. “So many drivers owe you so much, you gave us our chances and believed in us.”
Racing
The first Sprint weekend for 2025 begins at the Shanghai International Circuit on Friday, with a single practice session at 11.30 a.m. local time (0330 GMT) before sprint qualifying at 3.30 p.m. (0730 GMT).
