Friday, March 7, 2014

Luiten wins Lyoness Open by two over Bjorn, second European Tour win

Joost Luiten at the Lyoness Open
Getty Images
Joost Luiten won the Lyoness Open with a 71 in the final round to finish at 17-under-par 271.
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By 
Associated Press 

Series: European Tour
ATZENBRUGG, Austria -- Joost Luiten of the Netherlands won the Lyoness Open by two shots on Sunday for his second European Tour title.
After holding a three-stroke lead overnight, Luiten shot a 71 in the final round to finish at 17-under-par 271 on the Diamond Country Club course.
''It's a great feeling, it's been a great week,'' said Luiten, whose previous win came at the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia in November 2011, two months after finishing third here in Atzenbrugg.
The victory was Luiten's third European Tour top-10 finish of the season and 20th overall. The win will move him up from 137th to just inside the top 100 of the world rankings.
Thomas Bjorn of Denmark (68) finished second at 15 under, while Liang Wen-chong of China (66) and Romain Wattel of France (69) shared third, another stroke off the pace.
Luiten bogeyed the first hole but led throughout the day. His closest challengers after the third round, Spaniards Jorge Campillo (72) and Eduardo de la Riva (73), failed to threaten.
''It was a long day. It started off with a bogey but I hit the ball nice,'' Luiten said. ''I made some mistakes on the greens, I didn't make a lot of putts. Luckily I made a birdie on the 16th, and it's always nice to finish with par and par.''
At the event two years ago, Luiten also led for most of the final round, but bogeyed the last hole and finished third, trailing winner Kenneth Ferrie of England by one stroke. This time, the Dutchman had a solid finish to his round to keep Bjorn, who followed up Saturday's 64 with a 68, at a distance.
Before Luiten teed off on the 14th hole, play was suspended for an hour because of thunderclouds.
''At that time I wanted to play on, but I think it was good to have a break,'' Luiten said. ''I wasn't playing really well before the break, so I got some food and tried to focus again.''
Defending champion Bernd Wiesberger shot a 69 to finish 14th at 8 under. The Austrian dropped a shot at the last hole, which might have cost him a starting spot at the U.S. Open, which begins Thursday at Merion in Ardmore, Pa.
''The bogey on the 18th was very disappointing,'' said Wiesberger, who needed a top-10 finish to stand a reasonable chance of qualifying. ''I've just made too many mistakes the whole week.''

Friday, December 27, 2013

Norman's Shootout celebrating 25th year

Norman's Shootout celebrating 25th year

AP - Sports
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) -- In the late 1980s, Greg Norman wanted to put together a golf tournament with a relaxed atmosphere and unique team format to benefit children's charities.
This is the 25th year Norman's event has been on the PGA Tour calendar. It has gone by seven names, and is now called the Franklin Templeton Shootout. It has gone from California to Florida, with the last 13 years at the Norman-designed Tiburon Golf Course at Ritz Carlton Resort. New features include a 5K run.
''Quite honestly, I never expected to go 25 years, especially in the circle silly season we slotted ourselves into,'' Norman said. ''Back in '89 starting off with four players and here we are 24 players, that's a testament to the tournament itself. ... I never anticipated making 25 years, never in my wildest dreams.''
The idea is the same. To have a fun, low-pressure event where players can bring their wives, bond with their teammates and can take part in pre-tourney festivities just before the holidays. Meanwhile, more than $12 million has been raised for children's charities.
The Shootout will start Friday with the 12, two-man teams playing modified alternate shot. The format changes to better ball on Saturday and a scramble on Sunday.
Norman is teaming with Jonas Blixt.
''He's young enough, he's strong enough, he can carry me around,'' Norman said. ''I'm always a big believer in seeing what the young talent is doing in the world.''
Nine of the top 50 players in the world ranking will compete, including No. 7 Matt Kuchar, No. 8 Steve Stricker, No. 13 Jason Dufner, No. 14 Ian Poulter, No. 15 Dustin Johnson and No. 24 Lee Westwood.
Also in the field is Kenny Perry, the Champions Tour Player of the Year and Charles Schwab Cup winner. He's the co-defending champ with Sean O'Hair.
With the purse at $3.1 million, every player is guaranteed at least $70,000 and the winners will each get $385,000.
Dufner is teaming with Johnson, and Poulter is paired with fellow English star Westwood.
Dufner won the PGA Championship this year for his first major title.
''I've been asked about (reflecting) a lot but I'm not sure what reflecting means,'' he said. ''When you live what you're doing, especially as golfers, you're trying to stay in the moment. I'm proud of what I did and how hard I worked to get there.''
Poulter, a four-time Ryder Cup player, has four, top-10 finishes this season.
Westwood has been in eight Ryder Cups. He's considered one of the best players on the tour not to have won a major and that was magnified in the 2013 British Open when he had a two-shot lead heading into the final round, only to shoot a 75 and lose to Phil Mickelson.
The label irks him.
''Every time I heard, 'I think, really?''' Westwood said. ''It's always nice to be the best player to have done something or not done it. I'll hit the next person that says it.
''Those are some amazing stats they keep putting up on the Golf Channel. Sixteen top 10s without winning a major, most majors ever played without winning a major, most top threes without winning a major. I've got all those categories completely.''
Westwood smiled.
But he made his point. No one asked him a follow-up question.
''He's got more than enough game, he knows it, and I'm sure he gets frustrated with all you guys saying he hasn't won one yet,'' Poulter said.

Canada's Justin Shin leads Web.com Q-school

Canada's Justin Shin leads Web.com Q-school

AP - Sports
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) -- Canada's Justin Shin shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course to take the first-round lead in the Web.com Tour qualifying tournament.
The 22-year-old former New Mexico State player holed two late chips, making a birdie on No. 6 and an eagle on No. 7.
''I never thought I would shoot 64,'' Shin said. ''My plan was to try and shoot 2 or 3 under today. I missed a lot of greens but my chipping and putting helped me out in some tough situations.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Jonathan Fricke, Chris Epperson and Jason Millard shot 65. Sainz, Fricke and Millard opened on the Nicklaus course, and Epperson played the TPC Stadium Course.
The players are competing for positions in the Web.com Tour's priority ranking used to form tournament fields, with the medalist (or co-medalists) guaranteed fully exempt status. Every player who is at PGA West is guaranteed a spot on the Web.com Tour next season. The six-round tournament will end Tuesday.

Tiger Woods' half-brother accused of making threat

Tiger Woods' half-brother accused of making threat

AP - Sports
Tiger Woods' half-brother accused of making threat
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Tiger Woods reacts after hitting into a bunker from the 18th fairway on the first playoff hole during the final round of the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
PHOENIX (AP) -- The half-brother of golf star Tiger Woods was arrested Thursday in Phoenix for allegedly making a false bomb threat at the government building where he works.
Phoenix police said 58-year-old Earl Dennison Woods Jr. is accused of calling in the threat at the Department of Economic Security building about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
Police say they were called after DES employees alerted building security.
More than 100 people were evacuated from the building before Woods came forward and told police the phone call was meant as a joke and he didn't expect his co-workers to take it seriously.
Police said Woods has been booked on suspicion of attempting to terrify, intimidate, threaten or harass others. They say Woods is apologetic and cooperating with the investigation. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.
Woods' daughter, Cheyenne Woods, is a professional golfer.

World sports diary from December 14 - December 21

World sports diary from December 14 - December 21

Reuters 
Dec 13 (Reuters) - World sports diary from Dec. 14 - Dec. 21
(all times GMT)
- - - -
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14
SOCCER
Premier League (1500 unless stated)
Manchester City v Arsenal (1245)
Cardiff City v West Bromwich Albion
Chelsea v Crystal Palace
Everton v Fulham
Newcastle United v Southampton
West Ham United v Sunderland
Hull City v Stoke City (1730)
La Liga
Osasuna v Real Madrid (1500)
Rayo Vallecano v Granada (1700)
Barcelona v Villarreal (1900)
Malaga v Getafe (2100)
Serie A
Catania v Verona (1700)
Juventus v Sassuolo (1945)
Ligue 1 (1900 unless stated)
Stade Rennes v Paris St Germain (1600)
Ajaccio v FC Lorient
Evian Thonon Gaillard FC v Stade de Reims
En Avant Guingamp v Monaco
Nantes v Toulouse
Nice v Sochaux
Bundesliga (1430 unless stated)
Bayern Munich v Hamburg
FC Augsburg v Eintracht Braunschweig
Hanover 96 v Nuremberg
Hoffenheim v Borussia Dortmund
Mainz v Borussia Moenchengladbach
Dutch Championship
NEC Nijmegen v Roda JC Kerkrade (1745)
ADO Den Haag v RKC Waalwijk (1845)
Twente Enschede v Go Ahead Eagles Deventer (1945)
Club World Cup, Morocco (to 21)
GOLF
PGA Tour: Franklin Templeton Shootout, Florida (to 15)
European Tour: The Nelson Mandela Championship, Durban (to
15)
ALPINE SKIING
World Cup: Women's Super G, St Moritz
Men's Giant Slalom, Val d'Isere
CRICKET
New Zealand v West Indies second test, Wellington (to 15)
Australia v England, Perth, third test (to 17)
GAMES
Southeast Asian Games, Myanmar (to 21)
- - - -
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15
SOCCER
Premier League (1330 unless stated)
Aston Villa v Manchester United
Norwich City v Swansea City
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool (1600)
La Liga
Almeria v Espanyol (1100)
Sevilla v Athletic Club (1800)
Atletico Madrid v Valencia (2000)
Serie A (1400 unless stated)
Fiorentina v Bologna
Genoa v Atalanta Bergamo
Lazio v Livorno
Parma v Cagliari
Udinese v Torino
Napoli v Inter Milan (1945)
Ligue 1
Girondins Bordeaux v Valenciennes (1300)
Lille v Bastia (1600)
Olympique Lyon v Olympique Marseille (2000)
Bundesliga
Schalke 04 v Freiburg (1430)
Dutch Championship (1330 unless stated)
SC Cambuur v Ajax Amsterdam (1130)
Feyenoord v Groningen
Utrecht v PSV Eindhoven (1530)
NFL
Week fifteen
Washington v Atlanta
San Francisco v Tampa Bay
Seattle v New York Giants
Philadelphia v Minnesota
New England v Miami
Buffalo v Jacksonville
Houston v Indianapolis
Chicago v Cleveland
Kansas City v Oakland
New York Jets v Carolina
Green Bay v Dallas
Arizona v Tennessee
New Orleans v St Louis
Cinncinati v Pittsburgh
ALPINE SKIING
World Cup: Women's Giant Slalom, St Moritz
Men's Giant Slalom, Val d'Isere
- - - -
MONDAY, DECEMBER 16
SOCCER
La Liga
Real Valladolid v Celta Vigo (2100)
Serie A
AC Milan v AS Roma (1945)
NFL
Week fifteen
Baltimore v Detroit
- - - -
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17
SOCCER
Capital One (league) Cup quarter-finals (1945 unless stated)
Leicester City v Manchester City
Sunderland v Chelsea
French League Cup (to 18)
ALPINE SKIING
World Cup: Women's Slalom, Courcheval
- - - -
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18
SOCCER
Capital One (league) Cup quarter-finals (1945 unless stated)
Stoke City v Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
CRICKET
New Zealand v West Indies third test, Hamilton (to 22)
South Africa v India first test, Johannesburg (to 22)
Pakistan v Sri Lanka first ODI, Sharjah
- - - -
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19
NFL
Week sixteen
Miami v Buffalo
- - - -
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20
SOCCER
La Liga
Elche v Malaga (2100)
Ligue 1
Monaco v Valenciennes (1930)
Bundesliga
Eintracht Frankfurt v FC Augsburg (1930)
Dutch Championship
RKC Waalwijk v Twente Enschede (1800)
CRICKET
Pakistan v Sri Lanka second ODI, Dubai
ALPINE SKIING
World Cup: Men's Super G, Val Gardena/Groeden
- - - -
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21
SOCCER
Premier League (1500 unless stated)
Liverpool v Cardiff (1245)
Crystal Palace v Newcastle United
Fulham v Manchester City
Manchester United v West Ham United
Stoke City v Aston Villa
Sunderland v Norwich City
West Bromwich Albion v Hull City
La Liga
Atletico Madrid v Levante (1900)
Villarreal v Sevilla (1500)
Granada v Real Sociedad (2100)
Real Betis v Almeria (1700)
Serie A
Livorno v Udinese (1700)
Cagliari v Napoli (1945)
Ligue 1 (1900 unless stated)
St Etienne v Nantes (1600)
Bastia v Montpellier HSC
Nice v Evian Thonon Gaillard FC
Stade de Reims v Ajaccio
Sochaux v Stade Rennes
Toulouse v En Avant Guingamp
Bundesliga (1430 unless stated)
Borussia Dortmund v Hertha Berlin
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen
Freiburg v Hanover 96
Hamburg SV v Mainz
Eintracht Braunschweig v Hoffenheim
Nuremberg v Schalke 04
Dutch Championship (1745 unless stated)
AZ Alkmaar v Heerenveen (1645)
Heracles Almelo v Vitesse Arnhem
NAC Breda v SC Cambuur
Feyenoord v PEC Zwolle (1845)
ALPINE SKIING
World Cup: Men's Downhill, Val Gardena/Groeden
Women's Downhill, Val d'Isere
- - - -
(Reporting by Caroline Helly)