Sports India

Thailand’s Thammanoon Srirot fired a superb five-under-par 66 as he moved up to joint fourth position in the second round at The Golf Tournament in Omaezaki.

Thammanoon, a five-timer winner on the Asian Tour, carded six birdies against a lone bogey to a six-under-par 136 total. Korea’s SK Ho maintained his strong showing after a 68 in tied second position, three strokes behind leader Soushi Tajima.

China’s Liang Wen-chong was in joint seventh position after a 70 while Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza was in tied 23rd spot alongside Indian star Jeev Milkha Singh.

Arjun Atwal continued his fiery form as he moved to three under par after 11 holes before darkness halted play at the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee in the second round on the US PGA Tour. The Indian talent was among the frontrunners when he fired a six-under-par 64 in second place after the first round on Thursday.

After scoring a 67 in the first round, Korea’s KJ Choi was two under par after 12 holes. American Jason Bohn took the clubhouse lead after a 64 on Friday.

India’s Jyoti Randhawa was the highest ranked Asian player when he shot a three-under-par 69 in the second round at the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe. He was in joint 28th position after a two-day total of seven-under-par 137 in the European Tour event. Sweden’s Robert Karlsson took over the lead after a 66.

Thongchai, a two-time Asian number one, made the cut in tied 37th spot after a 71 on Friday. The Thai shot three birdies against two bogeys at the Gut Kaden Golf Club.

Thongchai was in joint 37th spot alongside Shiv Kapur who was amongst the biggest mover when he carded a sizzling 66 in the second day. He fired seven birdies as his only stumble was a bogey at the par four 10th hole. Singapore’s Mardan, after a poor 76 on Thursday, missed the cut when he shot a 73 in the second round.

Jeev Milkha Singh returned an impressive three-under 68 card to rise to the tied 10th spot after the second round of the 120 million yen Omaezaki Golf Tournament here on Friday.

The seasoned pro dropped a bogey on each nine against five birdies to accumulate a two-day total of four-under 138 and remain in contention for another top-five finish at the Japan Golf Tour event.

Playing his back nine first, Jeev parred the first five holes before dropping a shot on the 15th, his sixth, but recovered with back-to-back birdies on the next two holes to be one-under at the halfway mark.

Resuming his journey, Jeev parred the first two holes before slotting three birdies over the next five holes. The Indian, in fact, could have joined five others at the tied fifth position but for the dropped shot on the final hole.

At the top of the table, Soushi Tajima carded a brilliant four-under 67 to take his two-day tally to 10-under 132, opening up a three-shot lead over the S K Ho-Tomokazu Yoshinaga duo.

An erratic front nine over which had one double bogey and two bogeys saw Jeev Milkha Singh slide down 18 places to be tied 28th after the third round on Saturday at the golf tournament in Omazaeki.

Jeev shot one-over 72 to total three-under 210 after three days here.

The lead continued to be in the possession of Soushi Tajima, who despite a round of even par 71 was 10-under and one shot clear of the field.

Jeev had a disastrous start with a bogey on first and another on fifth. He also double bogeyed the eighth and despite birdies on fourth and seventh he was two-over for front nine. On the back stretch, he was one-under with a birdie on 13th.

Jeev has had four top-10 finishes in six starts in Japan but will need a great final round to get an another top-10.

Behind leader Tajima, there were three players, Australian Paul Sheehan (67), thai Thammannoon Srirot (68) and the consistent S K Ho (69) all at nine-under. Five players were at eight-under and they Toru Taniguchi and Tomohiro Kondo.

Jeev will need a round of about five-under to have a shot at a top-10 finish once again.

Corey Pavin maintained a one-shot lead over Jason Bohn in the hot and humid U.S. Bank Championship, but still had work to do in the second round.

The 46-year-old Pavin, who opened with a 9-under 61 on Thursday, was 12 under with seven holes left when play was suspended because of darkness.

Bohn was 11 under after playing 35 holes Friday. He shot a 65 in the first round and added a 64 in the second on the Brown Deer Park course.

Jeff Sluman (65), D.J. Trahan (65), Jerry Kelly (67), Nathan Green (64) and Arjun Atwal were 9 under. Atwal had seven holes left in the second round.

Exactly half the players, 78, were unable to complete the round.

Defending champion Ben Crane was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. He parred the par-5 sixth hole, but signed for a 3. Crane, who played 36 holes Friday, had rounds of 67 and 72 to finish at 1 under.

Jyoti Randhawa had a superb back nine at the Gut Kaden Golf and Land Club, but cooled off on his second nine for card a four-under 68 to be tied 21st after the first round of the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe.

India’s other challenger, Shiv Kapur brought in a level par round of 72 and was tied 103rd, needing a good second round to make the weekend.

Meanwhile, Lee Westwood led the field at nine-under 63 after a bogey-free round which gave him a one-shot lead over South African Retief Goosen and Robert Karlsson of Sweden.

The 33-year-old Westwood has twice won at Gut Kaden in the past. One of his wins came in 2000 when he beat Tiger Woods on the final day.

Randhawa, starting on the 10th, birdied the first two holes he played and added two more on 15th and 18th to make the turn at four-under.

On the second nine, the front half of the course, Randhawa bogeyed the fourth and birdied the sixth.

Kapur, who played the British Open last week, had a roller-coaster of a round with two birdies but followed both of them by bogeys to finish at par.

If Westwood wins, it could put him in contention for a place in the European Ryder Cup team that faces the United States at K Club in Ireland in September.

Also in line for a place on the team is second placed Karlsson, who seven weeks ago won in the Celtic Manor Wales Open.

Sharing fourth place was Frenchman Gregory Havret with a flawless 65, a card similar to compatriot Jean-Francois Remesy and European Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam.

Arjun Atwal shot a PGA career low 64 to earn second place after the first round of the US Bank Championship. He was only surpassed by Corey Pavin, who shot a PGA record low 26 on the front nine for a three stroke lead over the rest of the field.

Insight: Low rounds on Thursdays are one thing, but lets see who shoots a 64 on Sunday. This tourney is far from over.

Three-time Pac-10 champion USC was picked Thursday to win the conference football title again, but unlike the previous two years, the Trojans were not a unanimous choice.
USC garnered 18 of 29 first-place votes in a preseason poll of West Coast media who regularly cover the conference. Overall, the Trojans totaled 276 points — 29 more than second-place Cal.

The Golden Bears, picked to finish second, received seven first-place votes, while third-place Oregon had three and fourth-place Arizona State one.

UCLA was picked to finish fifth, followed by Arizona, Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford, and Washington.

GOLF

Corey Pavin struggled to find the right description for his record-setting round.

It was somewhere between magical and downright weird.

Brilliant early and nervous late, the 46-year-old Pavin broke the PGA Tour’s nine-hole record with a front-nine 26 en route to a 9-under 61 and a three-stroke lead in the suspended first round of the rain-soaked U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

He birdied his first six holes and eight of the first nine in his bogey-free round.

“It seemed like it was a misprint up there, maybe,” Pavin said. “It was just one of those nine holes, once in a lifetime for me so far, anyway.”

Arjun Atwal opened with a 64, Skip Kendall and Cameron Beckman shot 65s and David Frost also was 5 under through 17 holes when play was suspended. Defending champion Ben Crane and 105 other players were unable to finish the round.

Pavin said he didn’t feel the start coming at the driving range, but he had his old caddy, Eric Schwarz, back for the second time after a six-month layoff.

“We’ve worked really hard on the (putter),” Pavin said. “It showed up at Hartford and it showed up here and those are the two tournaments since he came back on the bag.”

Michelle Wie shot a 6-under 66 for a share of the second-round lead with Lorena Ochoa and Karrie Webb in the Evian Masters in France.

Two-time champion Annika Sorenstam, defending champion and Pleasanton native Paula Creamer and Lorie Kane were tied for sixth at 6 under.

Loren Roberts shot a 5-under 65 for a share of the first-round lead in the Senior British Open in Turnberry, Scotland, with Peter Jacobsen and Craig Stadler.

Defending champion Tom Watson struggled with a 73.

England’s Lee Westwood shot a course-record 9-under 63 to take the first-round lead in the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship in Alveslohe, Germany.

TENNIS

Andy Roddick slowed down his play after straining his back late in the match and held on for a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2 victory over Scott Oudsema in the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles.

The top-seeded Roddick apparently hurt himself about midway through the final set and was in obvious pain.

Earlier, Robby Ginepri outlasted tour journeyman Kenneth Carlsen

7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals.

The 23-year-old Ginepri, beaten by Roddick in last week’s semifinals at Indianapolis, finally wore down Carlsen.

No. 3 seed Ginepri next will face No. 7 Dominik Hrbaty, who defeated Lars Burgsmuller 7-5, 6-4.

Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten said he will miss next month’s U.S. Open and Brazil’s Davis Cup match against Sweden in September because of a right thigh injury.

Arjun Atwal opened with a 64 and is in second place. Skip Kendall and Cameron Beckman shot 65s and David Frost also was 5 under through 17 holes when play was suspended. Defending champion Ben Crane and 105 other players were unable to finish the round

Jeev Milkha Singh sank three birdies in five holes over his second nine to record a three-under 68 in the second round of The Golf Tournament, Omazaeki, at the par-71 Shizuoka Country Hamaoka Course & Hotel.

Jeev, who may have been even better placed but for his bogey on the last hole, rose from overnight 30th to tied 10th, seven shots off the pace with a total of four-under par.

The leader continued to be Soushi Tajima, who added four-under 67 to his first round 65 to be 10-under, three clear of second placed SK Ho, who had a three-under 68 on the second day.

Ho was the best Asian Tour player at last week’s British Open with a tied 11th place finish.

“There are still 36 holes to go,” said Jeev, who in five years has yet to win on Japan Tour. This year, Jeev has four top-10 finishes in six starts in Japan.

The Chandigarh golfer improved his putting from 29 to 26 putts, but he dropped a crucial shot on his last hole of the day, the ninth.

He started on 10th and had a bogey on 15th, but recovered quickly with birdies on the 16th and 17th. He had birdies on third, fourth and seventh and was four-under, when he dropped a shot on ninth, but for which he would have been tied fifth.

Ho is tied for second with Tomakazu Yoshinaga (67) at seven-under, while Thammannoon Srirot (66) is fourth at six-under.

Five players including Satoru Hirata (66), Scott Laycock (70) and Paul Sheehan (71), Liang Wen Chong (70) and Ryoken Kawagashi (69) are tied fifth, one shot ahead of eight players, including Jeev, who are at four-under.

The second half of the season will be an eagerly awaited challenge as it marks the return of the Asian Tour stars that have proved their mettle during the mid-year break.

While many were enjoying the summer break with family and friends, a handful of Asian Tour stalwarts have kept a busy schedule in Japan, Europe and United States.

Among the players that took home a bag of experience was Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant who had an inspirational run when he finished in the top half of the table at The Open Championship on Sunday. India’s Jeev Milkha Singh walked tall with a top-ten finish at the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship in July as Thai sensation Thongchai Jaidee was ranked joint 12th at the Barclays Scottish Open.

“Although I played well this week, I don’t think I will return for the Dunhill Links Championship later this year as it will be too cold for me to handle. I would prefer to stay in Asia and play a handful in Europe,” said Thaworn.

Singh’s strong performance has not only kept his momentum going throughout the off season period but also helped reinforce his stature as one of the best in the region. His top-ten performance in Japan was backed by a superb showing in Ireland when he claimed fourth spot at the Smurfit European Open.

The Asian Tour young guns were also in the thick of the fray with India’s latest star Shiv Kapur and Aussie duo of Andrew Buckle and Jarrod Lyle making their debut appearance at the British Open.

It was an adventurous break for Buckle who competed in his first ever major. Buckle, who is ranked third on the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit, had to make a last minute dash to compete at Royal Liverpool Golf Club as he replaced South African Trevor Immelman. On the other side of the world, Buckle had previously chalked up a third place finish at the Peek n’ Peak Classic in New York.

“I definitely will come back to Asia for the Barclays Singapore Open (in September) and if I play well in the US, I might even come back early to Asia to play in a few more,” said Buckle.

Asian Tour’s Zhang Lian-wei and Liang Wen-chong will also create history in United States when they compete at The International at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado. It will be the first time two Chinese players will be in the field for a US PGA Tour event.

The excitement on the Asian Tour will continue with the staging of the Crowne Plaza Open, Brunei Open and Johor Open as the first three events lined-up for the second half of the season.

And with the quality performance displayed by the Asian Tour players on the international stage the past weeks, it merely reflects what is in store in the coming months when they tee off once again in search for glory in Asia.