SHANGHAI — Lin Yuxin struggled so much with the par-5 18th hole at Sheshan International that he thought it cost him in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

But he played it to perfection in the first sudden-death playoff in the 11-year history of the tournament, and his birdie on the second extra hole gave Lin the victory over defending champion Takumi Kanaya of Japan and allowed him to join Hideki Matsuyama as the only two-time winners of the Asia-Pacific Amateur.

In a playoff between the last two winners of Asia's biggest amateur event, Lin made a 7-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole at the 18th to extend the playoff, then won when he blasted out of a greenside bunker shot to 3 feet and made the putt.

The victory sends Lin to the Masters and the Open Championship next year.

''I'm happy to win this trophy back,'' said Lin, who won in 2017 when the tournament was in New Zealand. ''Just being able to get back to Augusta and [The Open], it's a great feeling. I can't wait to get back to those two amazing championships.''

He won by three shots in 2017. This one was up for grabs until the final hole, with as many as six players in the mix on the back nine.

Lin had a one-shot lead going to the 72nd hole when he found a fairway bunker left of the fairway and pulled his second shot into the water, trying to lay up. That led to bogey and a 4-under 68. Lin had also made double bogey on the 18th hole on Saturday, and bogey on the 18th hole in Friday.

''It was not my friend for most of the rounds, in the hazard three days in a row,'' Lin said. ''It turned out pretty good in match play.''

He was fortunate just to get into a playoff. His bogey dropped him to 10-under 278, tied with Kanaya and Yung-hua Liu of Taiwan. Kanaya had a 7-foot birdie putt to win in regulation, but it missed on the left side.

Kanaya made an 18-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, forcing Lin to make his 7-foot birdie putt to extend the playoff. Lin finally hit the fairway on the 18th on the second playoff hole, and his length allowed him to go for the green and put his second shot in a bunker left of the green to set up the birdie.

Lin becomes the third player to win in his home country. Antonio Murdaca of Australia won at Royal Melbourne in 2014, while Matsuyama won his first Asia-Pacific Amateur at Kasumigaseki Country Club - the course that will host next summer's Olympics competitions - in 2010.

Even with a four-way tie for the 54-hole lead, none of the overnight co-leaders made it to the playoff.

Liu had the best chance. He birdied four of the opening five holes to seize control, only to make double bogey on the ninth, when his approach rolled over the back of the green and nestled against a collar of thick rough. He stubbed his chip, hit the next attempt feet by the hole and missed.

Even so, Liu had a chance to win it on the par-5 18th until he three-putted for bogey, missing a 5-foot par putt that would have put him in the playoff.

Lin took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 14th, and he looked to have the winning touch down the stretch. From a collar just above the bunker on the reachable 16th, he hit a punch-and-run away from a pot bunker and onto the green to 7 feet, making birdie to reach 11 under. Then, he saved par with a 7-foot putt on the par-3 17th.

But from a fairway bunker on the 18th, he was too aggressive and pulled the shot into the water. Lin reached the front of the green and two-putted for a bogey.

Lin's victory means Chinese players now have four titles in 11 years at the Asia-Pacific Amateur. Along with his two victories, Guan Tianlang won in 2012 and Jin Cheng won in 2015. Japanese players have won three times.

The 120-man field featured players from 39 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region.

SHEFFIELD, England -- In the encyclopaedia of sporting truisms, the section about luck will be bigger than most. Fortune will be explained away with sayings like "you make your own luck" or "the more I practice, the luckier I get" etc, and so on, and so forth.

Luck is obviously a difficult thing to define -- something the ESPN Luck Index tries to do -- but however you characterise it Liverpool were lucky to maintain their perfect start to the season in their 1-0 win over Sheffield United. This was probably their worst performance of the season, partly of their own making and partly thanks to United doing what they have done for the last few years under Chris Wilder.

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Liverpool had been lucky long before Dean Henderson let Georginio Wijnaldum's moderate volley squirt through his grasp with 20 minutes remaining. Lucky that various basic mistakes hadn't been punished. Lucky that groggy performances all over the pitch ultimately didn't matter. Lucky that the Blades missed a selection of glaring chances, most notably by substitute Leon Clarke in the closing stages, hoofing the ball over the bar after a fabulous low cross by John Fleck.

"Winning on the cloudy days is important," Jurgen Klopp said afterwards, reluctant to say that his side were poor but at the same time admitting that Sheffield United would have deserved a draw. But really he carried the look of a man who won't be lingering over this performance for very long.

This was a classic lunchtime kick-off, players on both teams making errors you'd expect to see in a Sunday afternoon park game, the circadian rhythms of the teams perhaps thrown by having to play when they can still taste the toothpaste.

The wind swirled into the Kop in the way it often does at Bramall Lane, in a way that if this was a nondescript game in League One a couple of years ago it would make things all the more grim. But as this kicked off a Premier League weekend against the European champions, it only added to the atmosphere.

There's something about Bramall Lane when it's full that very much gives the feel of a big game, but resolutely not 'Premier League': it's old-fashioned, rough around the edges, a bit cramped and probably not fit for purpose in some respects, but it's great to have it back in the top flight.

Maybe all of that combined to throw Liverpool off a little. The Premier League leaders played a little like their alarms hadn't gone off and someone had burst into their hotel at 11:30 and said "Lads! The game starts in an hour!" before leading to the whole squad tumbling onto the bus, discombobulated, hopping as they pulled their socks on.

"We started well then lost the rhythm a little bit," Klopp added. "We didn't accelerate in the right moments, our angles were not right. Half spaces were open pretty often, and we had moments -- but not often enough."

The first half was slightly curious, in that it was an absorbing watch but not a huge amount actually happened. Moves started but didn't really create proper chances, until a long Virgil van Dijk pass over the top set Sadio Mane clear on goal: he encapsulated Liverpool's performance by dithering and slicing an effort that, with a clearer mind, he might have taken with more poise. Mane also hit the post and from the rebound, Roberto Firmino hesitated and allowed his effort to be blocked.

After the break Liverpool improved slightly, but not by much. They attacked but without much penetration, and in response Klopp brought on Divock Origi for Jordan Henderson meaning they were essentially playing with four forwards, but it wasn't any sort of tactical switch that led to the goal.

Of course it adds a pinch of spice to the whole thing that Henderson is a Manchester United player, on loan in Sheffield for a second season. Wijnaldum's effort was straight at him and all looked safe, before the ball rattled between his arms and dribbled between his legs and over the line. He made a similar mistake for England at the Under-21 European Championship in the summer, but it's an indication that those two mistakes aren't representative of his overall play that the home fans gave him a standing ovation as he walked off at the end.

From that point, Liverpool seemed to acknowledge their luck, happy hang onto the 1-0 win, stuff three points into their bag and get out of town quickly. Adrian was booked for some pretty flamboyant time-wasting with about ten minutes remaining. Firmino tried the old trick of wandering towards the far touchline when he knew he was about to be substituted, only to belatedly be reminded that subs can now simply depart the pitch at the nearest point.

Afterwards Wijnaldum said Liverpool would have lost a game like that a couple of years ago, which all fits in with the idea of them being Klopp's "mentality monsters," a team that win games through force of will as much as their own skill. Of course they're bound to say that, but deep down they will probably recognise this win was more down to fortune than fortitude.

This was a game to breathe in and forget, a slack performance they were lucky to get away with, but ultimately nobody at Liverpool will care. It was their 16th win in a row, only the second time in their history that they have won their first seven games of the season and a victory that put them eight points clear at the top of the table.

Lucky or not, they'll happily take that.

Hours after she was asked to explain a conflict of interest charge against her, former India woman's captain Shanta Rangaswamy resigned from the BCCI's cricket advisory committee (CAC). Rangaswamy told ESPNcricninfo that she sent in her resignation to the Committee of Administrators (CoA) late on Saturday evening, after all three members of the CAC had been served the conflict notice by BCCI ethics officer Justice (retired) DK Jain.

Rangaswamy said she has also resigned as the director of the Indian Cricketers Association (ICA), the formation of which was one of the key recommendations of the Lodha Committee that was tasked with scripting structural reforms at the BCCI.

The charge against Rangaswamy questioned her dual roles in the CAC and the ICA. Rangaswamy, 65, said her intention was to serve Indian cricket but the rules did not permit her and so she was stepping down. "I didn't want any needless controversy," Rangaswamy said. "Even for serving the game if there is a controversy, I felt I should steer clear and hence I have quit those positions."

The three-person CAC is headed by former India men's captain Kapil Dev, and former India batsman and coach Anshuman Gaekwad is the other member alongside Rangaswamy. This CAC was formed by the CoA to replace the original panel that was disbanded after Justice Jain upheld conflict of interest charges against two of the old panel's three members - Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman - while the third member, Sachin Tendulkar, stepped down.

The complaint against both CAC panels was filed by the same individual - Sanjeev Gupta, a life member at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. In both instances Gupta said that each of the CAC members was holding more than one position in Indian cricket, which was a clear violation of the conflict of interest rule that permitted only one post per person.

Queensland 9 for 322 (Khawaja 138, Heazlett 88, Pattinson 3-56) beat Victoria 168 (Sutherland 66, Steketee 4-25) by 154 runs

Usman Khawaja made a commanding start to his season with 138 off 126 balls as Queensland secured a handsome bonus-point victory over Victoria in Melbourne.

Khawaja and the in-form Sam Heazlett added 185 for the first wicket in pristine batting conditions although the Queensland innings was hauled back from 1 for 239 in 36th over to 9 for 322 as James Pattinson claimed 3 for 56 in his first outing of the season.

However, Victoria's top order was blown away in the chase as they slid to 5 for 37 in the 14th over with Mark Steketee picking up the impressive trio of Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson for single figures.

Bat dominated for the first part of the game as Khawaja and Heazlett laid into the Victoria attack. It was Khawaja's first innings of the season after the Ashes series in which he was dropped and he looked in excellent touch as he struck 16 fours and a six with his century coming off 94 deliveries.

There was some collateral damage during the opening stand when a strong sweep shot by Heazlett struck umpire John Ward on the foot at square leg. Initially Ward tried to shake it off but a short while later needed to leave the field with TV umpire Donovan Koch taking his place.

With Heazlett on track for a brisk century, to follow his half-centuries in Queensland's opening two matches, he edged a drive against Pattinson to give Victoria their first opening. Marnus Labuschagne started in fine style, timing the ball effortlessly, before getting a rough decision when he was given out caught off the arm playing a reverse sweep.

Matt Renshaw picked out long-on cheaply and when Khawaja departed the middle order couldn't quite take advantage of the foundation offered.

The total was soon looking huge, however, with Marcus Harris being caught behind off the third all of the innings then Steketee scythed through the middle order. Ben Cutting, playing his first one-day match for nearly two years, added the wicket of Glenn Maxwell and Victoria's hopes were gone.

Aaron Finch and Will Sutherland stopped the rot before Finch become Steketee's fourth. From 8 for 106, Sutherland's second half-century in consecutive innings prevented Queensland claiming a double bonus-point victory, which would have been theirs by keeping Victoria below 160, so that was a small consolation for the home side.

Tasmania 5 for 229 (McDermott 103, Jewell 64) beat South Australia 9 for 228 (Ross 82*, Lehmann 50, Faulkner 3-28) by five wickets

Ben McDermott struck an unbeaten 103, his fourth one-day hundred, to lead Tasmania to a convincing five-wicket victory against South Australia.

McDermott, the second-highest run-scorer in last season's tournament, and Caleb Jewell added an opening stand of 132 to break the back of the chase after Tasmania's quicks had done early damage. Alex Ross struck an unbeaten 82 to rescue the innings but South Australia could only post 9 for 228.

A flurry of late wickets made the margin look a little closer, but there was no repeat of the dramatic collapse that cost Tasmania victory against Victoria last week.

McDermott reached his hundred off 136 balls shortly before the end having anchored the innings impressively. Matthew Wade made 20 in his first innings of the season before being caught in the deep off Adam Zampa.

The victory was set up by the early inroads with South Australia's big three names at the top of the order dismissed in the first two overs. Callum Ferguson received an excellent delivery from Jackson Bird before Travis Head dragged on against James Faulkner who then nipped one through Alex Carey to leave South Australia 3 for 8.

Jake Lehmann struck a half-century as he and Ross added 65 for the fifth wicket and there was a 50-run stand between Ross and Cam Valente. When South Australia lost their eighth wicket in the 46th over it appeared they could be bowled out, but Kane Richardson helped squeeze out 36 runs alongside Ross.

It is not quite back to the drawing board for Australia, but they will be forced to rethink their plans to Chamari Atapattu after Sri Lanka's T20I captain struck a magnificent century at North Sydney Oval to put their attack under a type of onslaught they have not felt for a while.

Defending a score of 4 for 217 - based around Beth Mooney's own outstanding hundred - there was never the spectre of defeat looming over Australia, even as Atapattu regularly deposited balls into the stands, but the celebration from Megan Schutt when she finally got a yorker through in the closing stages suggested Australia were feeling the pressure after a West Indies tour where they were rarely tested.

A quick turnaround in the series, with the second match following on Monday evening under lights, doesn't give much time to assess plans but Atapattu will be a clear focus in the debrief.

"She's a clean striker of the ball and can take the game away from the opposition, which she has done pretty often in the past and has done against us before," Mooney said. "So we'll have to have a sit down and rethink our plans against her, but she was very impressive."

"Atapattu had a day out... but in terms of what we are trying to do in terms of getting better and being the greatest team ever, it's making sure we win games like that now rather than losing them" Beth Mooney

Though Australia continue to raise the bar in the women's game, with the T20 World Cup five months away it may serve them well to be put in situations where their resolve is tested although Mooney said the response to Atapattu's innings showed what they have learned over the last couple of years.

"It's been well documented that it's happened to us a few times, Atapattu has done it to us, Harmanpreet Kaur did it to us the semi-final at the World Cup, and we sat down and had a rethink about what we were trying to do," Mooney said. "Credit where credit is due, Atapattu had a day out. Unfortunately, she couldn't get her team over the line but in terms of what we are trying to do in terms of getting better and being the greatest team ever, it's making sure we win games like that now rather than losing them. We pegged her back pretty nicely and got her wicket at a crucial stage. In the past we haven't been able to do that so I think it was a pretty good effort in the end."

While the context around Atapattu's hundred - the first by a Sri Lanka player in women's T20Is and coming against the best team in the world - grabbed the attention in the second half of the game, Mooney's hundred was a masterclass of T20 batting as well, coming off 54 balls.

Her career-best 117 against England in 2017 came in a defeat as Danni Wyatt also reached three-figures, and Mooney joked that she had been reminded that she wasn't allowed to score hundreds on her own, but after missing out a couple of times against West Indies recently she was thrilled to make it count.

"The coaches joked with me when I walked off about how I felt and I said, 'yeah, some good, some bad' that's my general response, but you'd take a hundred at the start of the day. I'm pretty happy with how I've been hitting the ball, it probably just hasn't come off as I would have liked in the previous few games but nice to be scoring runs again."

Makin makes Momen sweat in ONO battle
By MATT COLES – Squash Mad Correspondent

Egypt’s Tarek Momen and France’s Camille Serme are both into the semi finals of the Oracle NetSuite Open 2019 after winning their respective quarter final matches at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco.

World No.3 Momen came from behind in his last eight clash with Wales No.1 Joel Makin to take the victory. The pair had only faced off once before on the PSA World Tour, with that meeting coming in the quarter finals of last year’s Qatar Classic, a match that the Egyptian won.

However, it was Makin that took his opportunities in the first game of this clash. He ran out into a 10-6 lead and although Momen saved one game ball, the Welshman was able to clinch the game to take the lead.

‘The Viper’ came out fighting to start the second game, winning the first four points. Makin battled back to level it at 5-5, but six straight points for the Egyptian sent the match into a deciding game.

Once again, it was Momen who took the early advantage in the third, running out into a 5-1 lead. This time it would not be one he would relinquish, as he went on to take the victory, booking his place in the semi-finals.

Momen admitted: “At the end of the game, it seemed like I could not put the ball away. Wherever I put it, he just dived and got it. It made me a bit edgy.

“The one at 9-6, I thought I had won it. I don’t know how he got those two balls back and all of a sudden we are playing a let. It was a tough match because Joel has been a rising star on the tour. His physicality is unbelievable and he has been improving his game which makes him harder to beat.

“I am happy with the way I played after the first game. It is best-of-three and you cannot lose focus. I did not start as sharp as I wanted, but I am very happy to have been able to have got back into a rhythm, and it was a pretty exciting match for the crowd as well.

“It is always a pleasure to make it all the way. We [along with wife Raneem El Welily] are still looking for that double final appearance, but let’s just take it one day at a time!”

The Egyptian will face Colombia’s World No.9 Miguel Rodriguez in the last four of the tournament after he defeated Scotland’s Alan Clyne in straight games in the final match of the night. Once again, Rodriguez looked in imperious form, as he took the first game in just seven minutes, restricting the Scot to three points in the cold conditions on court.

The second game was a tighter affair, with the pair locked in at 4-4. However, Rodriguez showed his class to push on and win it 11-6.

Rodriguez said: “He is very tough to play. I have played with him many times and he is a good retriever and he is very physical. I wanted to play fast paced today because it is very cold. I had to take my chances.

“I think at the beginning of the game I was hitting my targets and he made a few mistakes. At 7-1, he got a bit more patient, but I had a great push, and again in the second game to win it.

“This will be my second semi-final in San Francisco. I am very happy to be here and I thank the crowd for staying out tonight. And I can’t wait to have the same support tomorrow.”

In the women’s draw, French No.1 Camille Serme got the better of World No.9 Tesni Evans to reach the last four. The World No.3 had never lost to the Welshwoman on the PSA World Tour prior to this clash, having been successful in all ten of their previous meetings.

Once again in this one, it was the Frenchwoman that started the strong of the two, as she raced out into a 9-4 lead in the first, as the players both got used to the colder court conditions at Embarcadero Plaza.

However, Evans then won the next six points to lead 10-9. Both women then had to save game balls, as it went deep into a tie-break situation. Serme took it 15-13, but once again, it was the World No.9 that got the advantage in the second, leading 8-5 at one point. However, the Frenchwoman came fighting back to win it 11-9, booking her place in the semi-finals.

“To be honest, it is cold right now. Event hough we have been running around. I know it is the same conditions for all the players, but it is tough. It is not easy to get your targets in the back,” Serme admitted.

“As I said, we are running but I am still cold. I was just trying to stay positive despite the conditions. If you find a good shot, it is pretty hard to get it back.

“She had some amazing shots that, even though, I felt good with my legs, I could not get to it because it is so dead on court. I was a bit lucky with some bounces as well, but I am glad to be through.

“I am very excited to be through. Last year I did not make it to the glass court, so I am happy to have made it this year. I have added another round on that as well which is a positive so I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Serme will face Egypt’s World No.5 Nour El Tayeb, who progressed to the semi-finals following the withdrawal of United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy due to an adductor injury. 

About tonight’s withdrawal from @ONOSquash… ☹️☹️ @PSAWorldTour pic.twitter.com/iWuyTN9XEZ

— Amanda Sobhy (@itssobhytime) September 28, 2019

PSA World Tour Gold Oracle NetSuite Open 2019, Embarcadero Plaza, San Francisco, USA.

Men’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half):
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 2-0: 11-3, 11-6 (20m)
[2] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [6] Joel Makin (WAL) 2-1: 7-11, 11-5, 11-7 (46m)

Women’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half):
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [6] Amanda Sobhy (USA): Walkover
[2] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [7] Tesni Evans (WAL) 2-0: 15-13, 11-9 (31m)

Men’s Semi Finals:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v [2] Tarek Momen (EGY)

Women’s Semi Finals:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [8] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [2] Camille Serme (FRA) 

Report by MATT COLES (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA

For once, the dreaded five-day turnaround that a Rugby World Cup occasionally throws up may actually play into Ireland's hands.

Bodies and minds will be tired, but at least the prospect of Russia on Thursday leaves little room for the Irish camp to dwell on their defeat by Japan.

Although Joe Schmidt and his team will welcome the opportunity to quickly move on, Saturday's result in Shizuoka is going nowhere and, barring a considerably more catastrophic showing on Thursday, it will live far longer in the memory than the next game.

While Japan will rightly take the plaudits for a performance with game-changing implications for the sport in their country, Ireland are left to answer questions as to how and why they ended up on the wrong end of a result that has made headlines around the world.

There is no question that Japan were good value for their win. They outplayed their opponents at the breakdown, out-thought them with the ball and outmuscled them in big moments to give oxygen to a crowd who sensed something special was in the making.

Carty's day of two halves

Jack Carty's outing at fly-half was reflective of the Irish performance.

Twenty minutes into the match and Carty, in just his second international start, was enjoying the type of performance that makes your name a very hard one to take off any team-sheet.

His adventurous approach and willingness to take calculated risks had resulted in Ireland's two early tries and while even the kicks that didn't quite work, including an attempt to find Keith Earls with a cross-field effort when an easy three points were on offer, he excited rather than frustrated the Irish fans.

While Carty was enjoying his first World Cup start, Ireland's line-out continued to function as it had against Scotland, creating momentum going forward and giving them an exit platform in their own territory.

They were ahead 12-3 after 22 minutes, and the pattern that most had expected before the game began to emerge.

But all the while, Japan kept probing.

Flinging the ball out from the back, putting kicks in behind which only for the bounce could have resulted in two Kotaro Matushima tries and ferociously attacking every breakdown.

And then it began to happen. Japan's relentlessness prompted cracks in the Irish system that turned the game in the hosts' favour even when they still trailed on the scoreboard.

"We got penalised for a few off-sides and then we became hesitant," reflected Schmidt.

"Once we became hesitant we couldn't really put the same pressure on them that they were putting on us."

Crowd takes team to new heights

It was a pressure that came from all sides of the Ecopa Stadium.

Carty kicked a restart dead and the crowd screamed as though a try had been scored. Shota Horie picked off Rory Best's overthrown line-out and they sensed blood.

When they turned over an Irish scrum with an almighty shove in the 36th minute, it is no exaggeration to say that the crowd celebrated as though the game was won.

Japan, on the front foot with quick ball and a crowd greeting every inch gained as though it was the difference between winning and losing, were too much for Ireland to contend with.

With the game now being played entirely on Japan's terms, Ireland appeared out of ideas of how to stem the flow.

The missed tackles that have plagued their worst performances of a bumpy year returned to the fore - they racked up 20, more than twice as many as they had against Scotland.

"The longer the game went, the more oxygen they got from penalties and from the skill that they showed," said Schmidt.

"They got a real roll on."

By the time Kenki Fukuoka went over in the corner, party time in Shizuoka was in full-swing.

Brave Blossoms taking the game forward

That the try came after Ireland had botched an opportunity to clear the danger after absorbing a lengthy passage of pressure, only for Chris Farrell to run into CJ Stander after an Irish scrum, was evidence of a team truly rattled.

By then, Japan had broken them. Relentless Japan, whose intensity alone caused Ireland a world of trouble.

Add to that an unerring sense of adventure and confidence with no shortage of skill and power to back it up, and you have a host nation who have, just two games into their campaign, succeeded in moving rugby much further into the mainstream.

Samoa and Scotland now stand between the hosts and a place in the knock-out stages.

One can only imagine the atmosphere that would accompany a quarter-final involving Japan.

As for Ireland, it is Russia where five points are now the non-negotiable necessity as well as the expectation.

Defeat by Japan is not terminal, but Ireland must now conjure up something truly magnificent if Saturday's result is not to define their World Cup.