I Dig Sports
Defending champions, aiming to tread familiar paths
Zheng Peifeng is one of four past men’s singles winners on duty this year; notably all present at the recent 2019 ITTF World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open.
Portugal’s Marcos Freitas won in 2014, whilst being the runner up last year; Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting succeeded in 2015. In Olomouc as last week in Bulgaria, Marcos Freitas must qualify, Wong Chun Ting is the no.11 seed.
In Panagyurishte, the Hong Kong star was beaten in a dramatic second round encounter by Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna, not present on Olomouc, his attentions being focused on the Africa Games in Rabat; Marcos Freitas lost to Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, the champion elect and the player for whom the ITTF World Tour Czech Open has a special place.
Record breaker
On the afternoon of Sunday 27th August 2017, he won the men’s singles title beating Germany’s Timo Boll in the final; at the time he was 14 years and 61 days old; in so doing he smashed the previous youngest ever record into smithereens. The prior best was that recorded by China’s Yu Ziyang; he was 16 years and 30 days old when he won the men’s singles title at the GAC Group 2014 ITTF World Tour Japan Open.
In Olomouc Tomokazu Harimoto is the top seed and could we experience a repeat of the final two years ago? It is not beyond the bounds of possibility. Timo Boll is the no.3 seed one place ahead of colleague Dimitrij Ovtcharov and one behind Brazil’s Hugo Calderano. Next in line is the Japanese duo of Koki Niwa and Jun Mizutani, followed by Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu and England’s Liam Pitchford.
However, it is the next two names that attract the attention; Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Germany’s Patrick Franziska complete the top 10 seeded places. Both have been in outstanding form this year and are currently enjoying a rich vein of success. In July, on the ITTF World Tour in Australia, Patrick Franziska beat Fan Zhendong and Sweden’s Mattias Falck, before losing narrowly to Xu Xin. At the T2 Diamond on Johor Bahru, Lin Yun-Ju caused China more food for thought. He accounted for both Ma Long and Fan Zhendong en route to gold.
Likewise four champions
Similarly, in the women’s singles event four previous champions appear on the entry list. Additional to Kasumi Ishikawa, also the runner up in 2017, her nemesis on that occasion, colleague Mima Ito is on duty. Likewise, Romania’s Elizabeta Samara, successful in 2014 and Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin, gold medallist in 2016, compete.
Elizabeta Samara and Yang Xiaoxin start their adventures in the qualification tournament. Meanwhile, Mima Ito occupies the no.2 seeded position ahead of colleague Miu Hirano and Korea Republic’s Suh Hyowon. Singapore’s Feng Tianwei is the next in line followed by China’s He Zhuojia; Japan’s Saki Shibata and Hitomi Sato complete the top eight names.
However, is the favourite for the title amongst those names? Arguably not! Chen Xingtong, the winner last week in Bulgaria, when beating colleague He Zhuojia in the final, is the player in form. She is the no.11 seed and alongside He Zhuojia has a special mission. No player representing China has ever reached the women’s singles final at an ITTF World Tour Czech Open.
World champions
Somewhat differently in the men’s doubles and women’s doubles events, no prior pair that has secured the title appears on the entry list. The men’s doubles partnership to catch the eye is that of Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan; the enigma! They won the men’s doubles title at the Liebherr 2013 World Championships in Paris but together have never reach an ITTF World Tour final!
In Olomouc they have a major opportunity, they are the no.3 seeds; just one problem could their colleagues spoil the party? Liao Cheng-Ting and Lin Yun-Ju occupy the top seeded spot ahead of Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Lam Siu Hang.
Notably, earlier this year in March Liao Cheng-Ting and Lin Yun-Ju emerged successful at the 2019 ITTF Challenge Oman Open; a situation similar to that of Japan’s Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki, the women’s doubles top seeds. In May they won in both Slovenia and Croatia. Equally, just as with Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan could the biggest threat to title aspirations be from colleagues?
Runners up last week in Bulgaria, Miu Hirano and Saki Shibata occupy the no.3 seeded position behind the combination of Slovakia’s Barbora Balazova and the host nation’s Hana Matelova.
Note Bulgarian winners
A prominent status for Barbora Balazova, it is the same in the mixed doubles; partnering colleague Lubomir Pistej, the duo occupies the no.2 seeded spot ahead of Austria’s Stefan Fegerl and Sofia Polcanova. Winners last year in Australia, Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee head the list; but beware of the pair who just miss out on a top eight seeded spot.
The winners in Bulgaria, Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito are together again.
BRAINERD, Minn. – Minnesota native Jason Line won a race for an NHRA-record 16th straight season on Sunday, racing to the victory at his home track during the 38th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd Int’l Raceway.
In other racing, it was a double-up victory for Don Schumacher Racing for the first time this year as Leah Pritchett (Top Fuel) and Ron Capps (Funny Car) won in their respective categories.
Line, the No. 1 qualifier, used a run of 6.597 seconds at 209.10 mph in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro to beat Erica Enders’ 6.604-second run at 207.59 mph in the final round.
It is Line’s 49th victory and first in 2019. It is his second career Brainerd win, but Sunday marked the first time he could celebrate at his home track, as his 2014 event win was completed in Indy after a rain delay.
Line knocked off Wally Stroupe, Alex Laughlin and Deric Kramer to reach the final round. Enders, the No. 2 qualifier, beat Shane Tucker, Chris McGaha and Seattle winner Matt Hartford to reach her 48th career final round, but Line edged her out to grab the memorable win in front of family and friends.
“This is very cool,” Line said. “As we get older, you realize these moments are going to be few and far between and less chance of them happening, so it’s very special. Right now it feels special, but it’s going be feel more special later on, for sure. It was just a great weekend and a fun day. We had a great car and you want to win here in front of your friends and family. To see them and see how happy they are, it’s super special. This place has been a big part of our lives.”
In Top Fuel, Pritchett picked up her first win of the season and eighth in her career thanks to a 3.732-second pass at 321.04 mph in her MOPAR Dodge dragster, sending her past Mike Salinas in the final round. Pritchett, who earned her second Brainerd win, knocked off Kyle Wurtzel, defending event winner Billy Torrence and Seattle winner Austin Prock to reach the final round.
Salinas got past Luigi Novelli, Clay Millican and Doug Kalitta to reach the final round for the fifth time in his career. Pritchett’s victory is the first Top Fuel win of the season for DSR, and the nitro double-up for the team comes a race after rival John Force Racing did the same in Seattle.
“I was proud to be the one to put on the final win light (today) for DSR, and this is the perfect time to be able to get the momentum for our season,” Pritchett said. “Looking at the time sheets, we made four incredible runs and that’s something that the crew chiefs have been able to do consistently, and it’s coming together at the perfect time. Between the racecar that we have, the team and what we’re asking it to do, (the car) is performing beautifully, and I couldn’t be more happy.”
Funny Car’s Capps won for the sixth time in Brainerd, going 3.946 seconds at 324.28 mph in the final round in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to beat DSR teammate Tommy Johnson Jr.’s 3.947-second run at 319.98 mph. It is Capps’ third win in 2019 and 64th of his career.
Capps beat defending world champ J.R. Todd, Jack Beckman and Shawn Langdon en route to the finals, while Johnson drove past Tim Wilkerson, points leader Robert Hight and No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan to reach his 52nd career final.
Capps fell to longtime rival John Force in an emotional final round in Seattle, a race that gave Force his 150th career win, but Capps rebounded in impressive fashion on Sunday at one of his favorite races on the NHRA circuit.
“I had my hands full today,” Capps said. “This is a race that we circle on the calendar because it’s fun, but you want to race this race and get the finishing touches on your tune-up. This is a crucial and they’ve done such a great job here. Both lanes are equal and you really want to have your act together leaving this race. I’m so happy we’ve had great success here and we had a great running car today.”
Cantlay (65) gains success for Tour Championship, Prez Cup despite loss
MEDINAH, Ill. – Patick Cantlay couldn’t catch Justin Thomas on Sunday, but he did secure his spot on the U.S. Presidents Cup team and guarantee himself an 8-under-par start at next week’s Tour Championship.
Playing with Thomas in the BMW Championship’s final grouping, Cantlay managed to cut Thomas’ six-shot overnight lead down to just two through 10 holes.
But he could pull no closer, ultimately signing for a round of 7-under 65 and settling for second, three back. He cited missed birdie putts at 12 and 14 and a missed eagle try at 15 as the shots that could have really put the pressure on Thomas.
“When you are as far behind as I was, you kind of need everything to go right,” he said.
Sunday didn’t yield his third PGA Tour victory, but it did put him in position to potentially take the FedExCup next week at East Lake. Second in the points standings, Cantlay will start the Tour Championship behind only Thomas. It’ll be Thomas at 10 under, Cantlay at 8 under and 28 other guys trailing along, all fighting for the top prize of $15 million.
Unsure just what to make of the weighted scoreboard, Cantlay said he’ll do what he always does – come up with a plan for the golf course, stick to that, and “let the chips fall where they do.”
As for his automatic berth to the Presidents Cup – his first U.S. team since the 2011 Walker Cup – that got Cantlay excited.
“I really love it,” Cantlay said, referring to team golf. “I’ve heard great things about Royal Melbourne and I’m excited to have a good week with the guys.
“Something I’ve learned is the more time you can spend with the best players in the world, the better your game can get if you draw on the right things. I’m definitely going to have my eyes open that week.”
Monday qualifier Barron tops Couples to win Champions event
ENDICOTT, N.Y. - Doug Barron became the 13th Monday qualifier to win a PGA Tour Champions event, holing two 15-foot birdie putts after a rain delay to beat Fred Couples by two strokes Sunday in the Dick's Sporting Goods Open.
Making his second senior start after turning 50 last month, Barron closed with a 6-under 66 at En Joie Golf Club to finish the wire-to-wire victory at 17-under 199. With Couples in the clubhouse after a 63, Barron returned from the rain delay to hole the first 15-footer on the par-4 15th to break a tie for the lead, then doubled the advantage with the second one on the par-3 17th.
The 59-year-old Couples was back at En Joie for the first time in 24 years. He won the PGA Tour's 1991 B.C. Open at the course.
Full-field scores from the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open
Barron is the first Monday qualifier to win since Willie Wood in the 2012 event at En Joie, and the first to win wire-to-wire. After tying for fifth in the Senior British Open in his Champions debut, Barron got into the field Monday with a 66 at The Links at Hiawatha Landing.
Barron was winless on the PGA Tour in 238 starts, playing the defunct B.C. Open seven times at En-Joie. In 2009, three years after losing his PGA Tour card, Barron became the first player to be suspended by the tour for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He was suspended for one year.
Woody Austin was third at 13 under after a 67.
Scott McCarron, the 2017 winner, had a 69 to match Colin Montgomerie (66) at 12 under.
Scheffler wins Korn Ferry Tour Finals opener; Hossler clinches PGA Tour return
Scottie Scheffler fired a 4-under 67 to capture the opening event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals by two shots Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. The rookie out of Texas also took a huge step toward fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour.
Scheffler birdied three of his first six holes and only needed a pair of birdies on the back nine of a difficult Scarlet Course to finish at 10 under, ahead of a three-way tie for second that included Scheffler’s former teammate Beau Hossler, LSU product Ben Taylor and past Tour winner Brendon Todd.
Scheffler’s victory netted the Dallas native 1,000 points, which pushed him past Xinjun Zhang and Robby Shelton in the KFT’s combined points list. Scheffler was among the 25 players to receive their Tour cards after last week’s regular-season finale in Portland, but he and the rest of that group are playing for priority in the three-event Finals.
Also, 25 more cards are available to the leading point-getters in the Finals, which is why Hossler, Taylor and Todd all clinched cards Sunday. Hossler played on Tour last season but failed to make the FedExCup Playoffs. Taylor was bumped from the top 25 after last season’s Portland Open and had to spend another season on the KFT. Todd hasn’t won since the 2014 Byron Nelson and is No. 490 in the OWGR.
Brandon Hagy, the 54-hole co-leader, shot 71 to slip to T-5 with Robert Streb. The other third-round co-leader, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, carded a 77 and finished T-32.
Curtis Luck and Justin Harding were part of a four-way tie for seventh while Oklahoma State alum Viktor Hovland tied for 11th.
Poston, Kokrak among those feeling power of Tour Championship bubble
MEDINAH, Ill. – Two weeks after summiting the mountain, J.T. Poston walked off the 18th green at Medinah Country Club with visible frustration that broke through on even his otherwise placid visage.
Poston went bogey-free for 72 holes en route to winning the Wyndham Championship, his first PGA Tour victory and one that transformed his season. But Sunday at the BMW Championship, it was an untimely bogey on the 72nd hole that ended that season tantalizingly short of East Lake.
Poston started the week 36th in points, and he endured an unexpected walk to work Sunday after a roof fire at his hotel forced an evacuation. He moved inside the top-30 bubble thanks to a strong final round that included three straight birdies on Nos. 14-16.
But after pushing his 3-wood into a bunker off the 18th tee, Poston made a costly bogey that dropped him from 30th to 32nd in the final standings.
It’s an important cutoff for the 26-year-old, who’s in the Masters for his Wyndham victory but would have also qualified for the U.S. Open, The Open, the WGC-HSBC Champions and WGC-Mexico Championship by advancing to the Tour Championship.
“That’s why we play. A win’s great, everything’s great but one of my goals at the beginning of the year was Tour Championship,” Poston said. “Gave myself a chance coming into today, and really gave myself a chance there with a couple to go.”
While Poston was left on the outside looking in, the point projections broke in favor of veteran Jason Kokrak. Kokrak’s 209th career PGA Tour start ended with a T-19 finish at Medinah, and after signing his card he was sitting at No. 31 in the standings. But Poston’s subsequent bogey put him back inside the number, and it means that the 34-year-old who has never won on Tour will make his first Masters appearance next spring.
“Being eight years on Tour, that would mean the world. To not win and make the top 30 is a pretty solid year,” said Kokrak, who jumped from 32nd to 30th this week. “That would definitely mean I’m in all the biggest events. I can make my own schedule a little bit easier. Go through the year a little bit different than I normally do.”
Kokrak won’t be the only player making his Masters debut in 2020 as a result of qualifying for East Lake. Abraham Ancer (10th) will make his first Augusta appearance thanks in large part to last week’s runner-up finish in New Jersey, while Sungjae Im went from 26th to 24th and will be the only rookie at the Tour Championship.
Kokrak also wasn’t the only player to move into the top 30 this week. Hideki Matsuyama’s third-place result vaulted him from 33rd to 15th, while Lucas Glover went from 41st to 29th.
Glover’s 10-year U.S. Open exemption for winning at Bethpage expired this year, but he’ll now have a spot at Winged Foot next summer despite struggling down the stretch with a bogey on No. 16 and a double on No. 17. He’ll also make his first East Lake appearance since 2009, and next year will mark his first Masters invite since 2014.
While Kokrak, Matsuyama and Glover all moved in, three other players saw their seasons end abruptly outside Chicago. Open champion Shane Lowry fell from 25th to 33rd after a T-48 finish at Medinah, while Andrew Putnam went from 30th to 34th and Harold Varner III dropped from 29th to 38th. Both Putnam and Varner would have qualified for their first Masters trips with a Tour Championship berth.
The Memphis Grizzlies have granted Dwight Howard's representatives permission to speak with other teams that might be interested in the veteran center, league sources told ESPN.
One of those teams is the Los Angeles Lakers, who are exploring options at center after DeMarcus Cousins was lost with a torn ACL.
The Lakers' interest in Howard is more "due diligence" at this point, a team source said.
Howard played one season for the Lakers, in 2012, then spurned them for the Houston Rockets in free agency.
CLEVELAND -- Indians ace Corey Kluber was removed from a minor league start after one inning with abdominal tightness.
The team said Kluber, who hasn't pitched in the majors since breaking his arm during a start on May 1, was taken out of Sunday's game for Triple-A Columbus in Charlotte, North Carolina, for precautionary reasons. The two-time Cy Young winner was making his third start as he attempts to return from the injury.
Kluber walked two and didn't allow a run in his one inning. The 33-year-old was scheduled to spend Monday in Cleveland -- an off day for the Indians -- before re-joining the club in New York.
It's not yet known if Kluber's abdominal issue is a setback. The Indians have been hoping he might be able to pitch for them during the playoff push in September.
Kluber won the Cy Young in 2014 and 2017.
Cincinnati Masters: Daniil Medvedev and Madison Keys triumph in respective finals
Russia's Daniil Medvedev and American Madison Keys recorded straight-set victories to win the men's and women's Cincinnati Masters titles in Ohio.
Medvedev, who defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-final, beat Belgium's David Goffin 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 to win his first ATP Masters 1,000 title.
Victory means the 23-year-old will become world number five on Monday.
Keys, 24, beat two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5 7-6 (7-5) to win a second title of the season.
The win will see Keys - ranked 18th - return to the world top 10.
In her first hard court final since finishing as runner-up at the 2017 US Open, the American twice recovered from 5-3 down to take the victory.
Meanwhile, eighth-ranked Medvedev held his nerve in the first set tie-break and broke serve immediately in the second before seeing out the win in one hour 41 minutes.
LONG POND, Pa. – Felix Rosenqvist was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and later released after being involved in a five-car crash on the opening lap of Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.
Rosenqvist was collected in a five-crash crash in turn two, which started when Takuma Sato came down across the nose of Ryan Hunter-Reay as the field charged towards turn two.
The resulting crash also collected James Hinchcliffe, Alexander Rossi and Rosenqvist, who clipped Sato’s when it came back up the track. Rosenqvist’s car partially flipped and rode the outside wall before coming to rest at the exit of turn two.
Rosenqvist was taken to the infield car center, where it was decided he would be taken to a local hospital for further evaluation according to IndyCar Director of Medical Services Dr. Geoffrey Billows.
“Felix we’re just sending down to the trauma center for a little bit more evaluation,” Billows said. “He’s got non-life-threatening injuries. I think he’ll be fine. He walked to the ambulance on his own.”
NTT IndyCar Series officials announced shortly after 5:40 p.m. that Rosenqvist had been evaluated by officials at a local hospital and was set to be released.
Felix Rosenqvist has been evaluated at local hospital and will be released shortly ?#ABCSupply500 // @FRosenqvist pic.twitter.com/osrUVCCAPh
— NTT IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) August 18, 2019
Rosenqvist later confirmed via Twitter that he had been released from a local hospital.
Just got cleared from the hospital. Definitely feel lucky escaping without any serious injuries after visiting the catch fence there… Good to see @scottdixon9 back in the championship hunt! On to Gateway next weekend ?? #NTTDataRacing #Pocono
— Felix Rosenqvist (@FRosenqvist) August 18, 2019
The incident on the first lap of the race damaged the catch fencing on the outside of turn two, resulting in a 45-minute red flag period to repair the damage.
It is the second-straight year a violent crash has taken place in turn two early in the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. Last year on the sixth lap Robert Wickens crashed violently in turn two, leaving him severely injured.
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