Brooke Henderson goes wire-to-wire at LPGA season opener

Brooke Henderson of Canada with the trophy after winning the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club on Sunday in Orlando, Florida. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 23 January 2023
Follow

Brooke Henderson goes wire-to-wire at LPGA season opener

  • In windy and sometimes difficult conditions, the 25-year-old Canadian played steadily, making sure not to give much hope to a group behind her 

ORLANDO, Florida: Brooke Henderson sets a goal of winning multiple LPGA Tour titles at the outset of each season. She didn’t wait long to collect her first trophy of 2023.

Henderson was dominant throughout and delivered a 2-under 70 on Sunday at Lake Nona to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

In windy and sometimes difficult conditions, the 25-year-old Canadian played steadily, making sure not to give much hope to a group behind her trying to mount any sort of challenge. She began her day leading by three and eventually won by four, finishing the event at 16-under 272. It was her 13th LPGA victory.

“It is so exciting,” Henderson said. “I always try to win a couple times each year, so to get one right way out of the gate takes a little bit of pressure off. ... It’s exciting to be in contention, and even more exciting to hoist trophies.”

Henderson has had her eye on a Tournament of Champions title for a while. She hadn’t finished outside of ninth in the event the past four seasons, and she was a runner-up to Danielle Kang a year ago. Sunday marked her 16th consecutive round under par on the LPGA dating to 2022, and her 16th consecutive score under par in this tournament.

Winning also helps her put to rest a frustrating end to 2022. She withdrew with a back injury in her second-to-last start at the Pelican Women’s Championship in November, and managed the pain enough to tie for seventh in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

From there, it was rest and rehab before switching into new clubs. There were 14 new clubs in the bag at Lake Nona, including the putter, which helped to produce 19 birdies on a very strong test of golf.

Henderson entered the week at No. 7 in the women’s world ranking. She was asked if her season-opening triumph might open the door to other big goals, such as being No. 1, or being the LPGA’s player of the year.

“That would be awesome,” Henderson said. “Obviously, I had the dream start.”

Second-year LPGA pro Maja Stark of Sweden showed a nice finishing kick by shooting 5-under 31 on her final nine. She tied for second alongside England’s Charlie Hull. Both shot 69, Hull doing so for the fourth consecutive day.

Stark has committed herself to adding multiple hours each week to her time spent practicing putting, and it showed in her hot play over the final nine holes. Three over through seven, she birdied six of her final 10 holes.

“It gives me a lot of confidence,” Stark said. “I feel I’ve had a good week with my driver and some good irons. The putting, too. I feel like if it keeps going like this, could be the best year yet.”

Hull was pleased with her finish given the challenges of trying to get her game ready in England in mid-winter. She spent three days practicing in Morocco before continuing on to Orlando.

Henderson was patient on Sunday, doing most of her damage on Lake Nona’s par 5s, making birdies on three of them. When she birdied the ninth hole, she had a four-shot lead over Nelly Korda, and she rebuilt the lead to four once again with one last birdie at the par-5 15th.

Korda, at No. 2 the highest-ranked player in this winners-only field because No. 1 Lydia Ko skipped the tournament after getting married, made only three birdies and settled for fourth for a second consecutive year. For Korda, the week was a tale of two nines; she played the front nine in 1 under par for the week, and the second nine in 10 under. Henderson was 10 under on the front nine.

“Yeah, the front nine and I didn’t really get along too well,” said Korda, who shot 72 on Sunday. “Hopefully next year we’ll become better friends.”

Korda said she was disappointed with the outcome, but having played her first tournament with new equipment, at least she had a game plan going forward.

“What’s good is that I have a lot to work and I’m very excited about it,” she said. “I have four weeks (off from the tour) to kind of grind and see where my game is.”

Tennis player and former Davis Cup captain Mardy Fish ran away with the celebrity division, making 152 points in the Modified Stableford format. Fish also won the title two years ago. Former MLB pitcher Mark Mulder (136 points) was runner-up.

Annika Sorenstam, a 72-time winner on the LPGA and Lake Nona resident who played among the celebrities and athletes, tied for third with military veteran Chad Pfeifer.


Slot not surprised by flying start at Liverpool

Updated 13 sec ago
Follow

Slot not surprised by flying start at Liverpool

Liverpool: Arne Slot said he is not shocked by a stunning start to life in charge of Liverpool as the Reds have stormed to the top of the Premier League and Champions League.
The Dutch coach has won 14 and drawn one of his 16 matches in charge in all competitions as the holders have also progressed to the League Cup quarter-finals.
Slot appeared to have a tough ask to follow Jurgen Klopp.
But he has built on the solid foundations left by the German after Liverpool finished third in the Premier League behind Manchester City and Arsenal last season.
“Surprise isn’t the right word I’d use because I knew the quality of our team. But quality is one thing, to be consistent is a second thing,” said Slot at his pre-match press conference ahead of hosting Aston Villa on Saturday.
“From the moment I started working with them I saw how much energy they put in on a daily basis and that is I think the reason you can be consistent.”
Liverpool were inspired by the power of the Anfield crowd to come from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 last weekend to move two points ahead of City at the top of the Premier League.
A similar atmosphere helped blow Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen away 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Slot is keen to keep his players’ feet on the ground but is happy for the fans to get excited about the possibility of just a second league title in 35 years.
“If the end result of them being excited is to bring the atmosphere of the second half against Brighton and the whole game against Leverkusen, I am hoping they will keep being excited because that atmosphere helped us a lot,” added the former Feyenoord boss.
Diogo Jota remains sidelined but should return after November’s international break.

Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

Updated 08 November 2024
Follow

Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

  • Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title for 3rd time
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif promises to set up world-class facilities for sportsmen

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif for winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in Qatar for the third time, Pakistani state-run media reported on Thursday.
Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title in a thrilling final on Nov. 6. He outclassed Ali 5-3: 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118 and 93(80)-4.
“Asif made the entire nation proud by winning the international championship for the third time,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The talented youth of Pakistan are highlighting the country’s name in the fields of sports.”
The IBSF, founded in 1971, is the governing body for billiards and snooker worldwide. It represents 85 member countries and is recognized by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports and the International Olympic Committee.
Asif, 42, first won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2012 and went on to win it again in 2019. His victory ties him with India’s Pankaj Advani who has also won the World Snooker Championship thrice.
The Pakistan prime minister said Asif’s family and coach also deserved recognition, adding that providing quality facilities to Pakistani players was top priority of his government.
“The government is making all possible efforts to provide international standard facilities to the players,” he added.
 


Raphinha’s evolution into a more versatile scorer is a big part of Flick’s great start at Barcelona

Updated 08 November 2024
Follow

Raphinha’s evolution into a more versatile scorer is a big part of Flick’s great start at Barcelona

BARCELONA: Raphinha knew he would have a hard time getting off Barcelona’s bench with the soccer world enthralled by teen phenom Lamine Yamal and the club eyeing to sign another hot prospect in the attack.

Instead of pouting, he evolved.

While the entire Barcelona team improved under new coach Hansi Flick, no player has made such a leap forward this season as Raphinha.

His 12 goals and team-leading 10 assists across all competitions are a big part of why Barcelona is playing its best soccer since the exit of Lionel Messi more than three years ago.

But if one player looked to be on the out when the season started, it was the Brazil forward.

Raphinha seemed destined to become a second-choice right-side winger after 17-year-old Yamal helped Spain win the European Championship in dazzling style. To make matters worse, the club was heavily linked to a possible transfer bid to pry Spain left-side winger Nico Williams away from Athletic Bilbao.

That move never materialized for Williams, but Raphinha was still left with either playing in a new position or being a backup to Yamal.

And when Flick gave him the chance to have a new role, he made the most of it.


England gives call-up to more new faces in final squad before Thomas Tuchel takes over

Updated 08 November 2024
Follow

England gives call-up to more new faces in final squad before Thomas Tuchel takes over

LONDON: Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall were called up to the England squad for the first time on Thursday as interim coach Lee Carsley made his final selection before Thomas Tuchel takes charge.

Tuchel does not start until January after being hired to lead the national team’s bid to win the 2026 World Cup.

Carsley will oversee England’s final Nations League games against Greece and Ireland and has continued to look toward a new generation of players, having already handed debuts to Angel Gomes, Morgan Gibbs-White and Noni Madueke since taking over on a temporary basis from Gareth Southgate in August.

Carsley said had not discussed his selection with Tuchel.

“He hasn’t had any influence on the squad selection. I’ve spoken to him by text, but it’s literally congratulations,” he said. “I think he’s highly respectful of the job that not only myself, but the staff are doing.

“We’ve been left to it, like we always have.”

England plays Greece in Athens on Nov. 14 and Ireland at Wembley on Nov. 17.

Carsley will resume his role as England Under-21 coach after those games.


Man City seek to end mini-slump as Liverpool soar

Updated 08 November 2024
Follow

Man City seek to end mini-slump as Liverpool soar

  • Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have become so accustomed to success that three straight defeats feels like a major crisis
  • Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of his final game as interim manager of Manchester United and winless Wolves play fellow strugglers Southampton

LONDON: Injury-hit Manchester City are desperate to snap their losing streak in their final Premier League game before the international break as Chelsea aim to deepen Arsenal’s misery.

Elsewhere in the English top flight, Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of his final game as interim manager of Manchester United and winless Wolves play fellow strugglers Southampton.

Here are some of the key talking points ahead of the action this weekend.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have become so accustomed to success that three straight defeats feels like a major crisis.

Last week City, who face Brighton on Saturday, were ousted from the League Cup by Tottenham.

Their 32-match unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end at Bournemouth before Sporting Lisbon beat them 4-1 in the Champions League — ending another long unbeaten stretch.

Guardiola’s men, gunning for a fifth consecutive Premier League title, are just two points behind league leaders Liverpool but will be wary of losing further ground.

Midfielder Bernardo Silva says the club’s multiple injury worries are not an excuse for their poor form but he admits the international break, which starts after the weekend, comes at a good time.

“At the moment with the injuries that we have and the psychological part as well, it will be good to have that rest, but before that we have a big game again,” he said.

One positive for City in their defeat to Sporting was the return of Kevin De Bruyne, who came on as a late substitute after seven weeks out of action.

If results go against them, Arsenal could find themselves eighth in the Premier League by the time they kick off against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s men have picked up just one point from their past three league games and lost their midweek Champions League clash against Inter Milan 1-0.

Arteta was upbeat despite the defeat at the San Siro, where captain Martin Odegaard made a welcome return to action after being absent since late August.

But defeat against in-form Chelsea plus a win for Liverpool would leave Arsenal, runners-up in each of the past two seasons, 10 points off top spot.

Thierry Henry said on CBS Sports that if Liverpool and City win at the weekend and Arsenal lose, his former side could be out of the title race.

“It would be extremely difficult because you (would) have too many teams to catch... I don’t see two teams collapsing,” he said.

Arne Slot has won 14 of his first 16 games in charge of Liverpool in all competitions.

The club had a relatively kind fixture list at the start of the season but they show no signs of letting up — taking seven points from games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton in recent weeks and boasting a perfect record in the Champions League.

Liverpool have also beaten two Premier League teams, West Ham and Brighton, on their way to the League Cup quarter-finals.

Former Feyenoord boss Slot brushed off a question about whether he was finding his new job “easy” after Liverpool’s thumping 4-0 win against German champions Bayer Leverkusen this week.

“Every team that plays against us is in the top of their game,” he said. “And if you want to win that, you always have to be consistent in your intensity, and that’s not always easy but that is what’s needed.”

Liverpool have a tough run of fixtures coming up, starting with Aston Villa at home on Saturday, but so far they have proved they have what it takes.

Fixtures

Saturday (1500 GMT unless stated)

Brentford vs. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace v Fulham, West Ham vs. Everton, Wolves vs. Southampton, Brighton v Manchester City (1730), Liverpool vs. Aston Villa (2000)

Sunday (1400 unless stated)

Manchester Utd vs. Leicester, Nottingham Forest vs. Newcastle, Tottenham vs. Ipswich, Chelsea vss. Arsenal (1630)