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Sun Yingsha crowned champion once again

Claiming her first women’s singles title at the Seamaster 2017 Japan Open in Tokyo, two years later in Sapporo and it’s Sun Yingsha who has emerged as champion for a second time on Japanese soil following a thrilling final against Liu Shiwen.

Establishing an early 2-0 lead qualifier Sun Yingsha made the stronger start of the two finalists but not long after it was Liu Shiwen who held the advantage with the World champion earning three games in a row to move 2-3 ahead. Down on the scorecard and with momentum against her but 18-year-old Sun Yingsha remained calm, responding with back-to-back game wins to prevail by a 4-3 margin (11-4, 11-9, 4-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3).

Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin seal gold

At the final hurdle of the men’s doubles event it was China’s Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin who emerged as champions with the no.6 seeded pair proving too strong for German qualifiers Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang (12-10, 11-9, 11-7).

Success in Sapporo marks Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin’s third title-winning display as a pair while the latter player collects his second men’s doubles gold of the year having partnered Liang Jingkun to victory at the season opener in Budapest.

Seniority not status prevails

Seniority prevailed, Chen Meng and Liu Shiwen, the no.5 seeds, beat Chinese national team colleagues, Sing Yingsha and Wang Manyu, the top seeds, to win the women’s doubles title. They succeeded in four games (11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9).

Chen Meng and Liu Shiwen seized the initiative from the very start; both were very severe on the opening attacking strokes. It was their second career ITTF World Tour women’s doubles win as a partnership; in 2015 they had won on home soil in Chengdu.

Xu Xin beats Fan Zhendong

An all Chinese men’s singles semi-final, the verdict went in favour of Xu Xin, the no.3 seed, he beat Fan Zhendong, the top seed, in seven games (5-11, 11-4, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8, 11-3).

The contest ebbed and flowed, Fan Zhendong electing for “Time Out” when leading 8-5 in the fifth, Xu Xin following suit when ahead 8-6 in the sixth game. Crucially in the seventh game, Xu Xin came out all guns blazing; at the change of ends he led 5-1; Fan Zhendong reduced the arrears to 6-3 but that was the last success he was to enjoy.

Touch of class

Men’s Singles: Semi-Final

Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju, the no.16 seed, beat China’s Sun Wen (6-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-9, 11-4) to reserve his place in the men’s singles final.

After losing the opening game, Lin Yun-Ju found a rhythm to his play, his control outstanding, he won the first nine points of the second game. He secured the third and fourth games being able to match Sun Wen in every department. In the fifth game, Sun Wen established a 4-2 lead, he didn’t win another point.

World champion books final place

China’s Liu Shiwen, the no.4 seed, beat the host nation’s Miu Hirano, the no.9 seed (9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-3, 12-10) to book her place in the women’s singles final.

Advice from Ma Lin, the Beijing 2008 Olympic champion, Liu Shiwen imposed her authority on proceedings after losing the opening game; Miu Hirano had any opportunity to reduce the deficit when leading 10-8 in the fifth game. Liu Shiwen responded, won four points in a row to end matters.

It was the seventh time when Liu Shiwen and Miu Hirano had met on the international stage, it was the seventh time Liu Shiwen had prevailed.

Repeat performance

Sun Yingsha beat Chinese national team colleague, Chen Meng, the no.2 seed (5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 14-12, 11-6); thus she repeated the performance of two years’ earlier when in 2017 she had beaten Chen Meng in the final. The defeat meant the run of success enjoyed this year came to an end, previously she had won in Budapest and in Shenzhen.

Quick short efficient attacking strokes from Sun Yingsha proved a telling factor; crucially in the fourth game Chen Meng called “Time Out” at 12-all but then lost the next two points; itbvwas the pivotal stage of the contest.

Order of Play (Local Times)

10.00 am Semi-Final: Women’s Singles – Sun Yingsha (CHN) v Chen Meng (CHN)
10.50 am Semi-Final: Women’s Singles – Miu Hirano (JPN) v Liu Shiwen (CHN)

11.40 am Semi-Final: Men’s Singles – Sun Wen (CHN) v Lin Yun-Ju (TPE)
12.30 am Semi-Final: Men’s Singles – Fan Zhendong (CHN) v Xu Xin (CHN)

1.20 pm   Final: Women’s Doubles – Sun Yingsha / Wang Manyu (CHN) v Chen Meng / Liu Shiwen (CHN)

2.10 pm   Final: Men’s Doubles – Fan Zhendong / Xu Xin (CHN) v Benedikt Duda / Qiu Dang (GER)

4.00 pm   Final: Women’s Singles
5.15 pm   Final: Men’s Singles

Frazon Wins, Wheatland Crowns Midseason Champs

Published in Racing
Saturday, 15 June 2019 21:45

WHEATLAND, Mo. – Cody Frazon had been knocking on the door of his first Lucas Oil Speedway feature win, with three top-five finishes this year alone.

Finally, he knocked down that door Saturday night.

Frazon made a late pass of Toby Ott and went on to capture the O’Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks 25-lap main event, the headliner on Midseason Championship night.

Also picking up feature wins in the program presented by the Bolivar Herald-Free Press and NMI-VMG Marketing were Joe Duvall (Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds), Kris Jackson (Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods) and Todd Shute (Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models).

Jackson also celebrated a Midseason Championship with his third straight win. Other midseason champs were Paden Phillips (USRA Modifieds), Toby Ott (Street Stocks) and Kaeden Cornell (ULMA Late Models).

Each midseason champion received a $500 bonus. Victory Lane Track Action Race Review contributed $1,000 toward the bonus and Lucas Oil Speedway management matched the contribution with another $1,000.

The total of $2,000 was split among the points leaders in the four divisions.

In the evening’s featured division, Frazon went around Ott with two laps remaining and held on to prevail by .721 seconds.

“I had no idea tonight would be the night,” Frazon said of his breakthrough win. “What better night than $750 to win?”

Frazon started third, but had a poor start and fell out of the top five in the early going. But he rallied for a memorable win.

“I had a really terrible start,” Frazon said. “I couldn’t figure it out to be honest. I just started hitting some marks that were working for me.”

Ott and Bob Barnett spent the first 15 laps running side by side, trading the lead four times as Barnett used the top groove and Ott the inside line.

The race was caution-free until Daniel Deason and James Flood, in a battle for third, came together and spun going into turn three.

On the restart, Ott got a good start and Barnett lost the runner-up spot to Frazon. It was a sign of things to come.

“That wreck obviously closed the gap for me and I could see Toby was losing a little bit where he was running,” Frazon said. “I knew if I kept running underneath him, kept trying and kept trying, I would get it.”

From there, Frazon reeled in Ott, with Johnny Coats finishing third and Marc Carter fourth.

“I want to congratulate that guy,” Ott said, pointing toward Frazon. “He pulled off one heck of a race. I knew it was coming for him.

“I feel fortunate to be up here,” Ott added of his midseason title. “There are some good cars here, like (Frazon) and others who are tough.”

Duvall roared from his 14th-starting position and into the lead before the midpoint en route to the Pitts Homes USRA Modified feature win.

Duvall, a frequent United States Modified Touring Series competitor, was dominant in finishing ahead of second-place Robbie Reed, Phillips and Jason Pursley.

Phillips’ run was good enough to vault him past Jon Sheets for the midseason championship.

The points race was thrown into a jumble on lap two when Sheets – who led by six points at the start of the night – spun and hit the wall in turn three. He was unable to continue.

Reed started fourth and passed pole-starting Pursley for the lead on lap two. Meanwhile, Duvall scooted from 14th and into third by lap five as the race’s third caution came out.

Duvall slid past Reed in turn four to finish lap nine to take the lead and pulled away from there.

Midseason Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod track champion Jackson continued his roll, picking up his third straight feature win at Lucas Oil Speedway.

He led all 20 laps and finished .608 seconds ahead of runner-up Taylor Moore.

It also was his third feature win of the week. Jackson won in Iowa on Wednesday and at Midway Speedway in his hometown of Lebanon on Friday.

Jackson had nearly a two-second lead wiped out when the race’s lone caution waved with four laps to go. He handled the restart without any issues and opened a comfortable lead when another yellow, as he was taking the white flag, forced him to endure one more restart.

Moore finished second, ahead of third-place JC Morton, who rallied from 11th, and Eric Turner.

Shute led flag-to-flag to claim the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Model feature, holding off Johnny Fennewald by just under one second.

It was the first feature win of the season in just his second start at Lucas Oil Speedway for Shute.

Cornell passed Larry Ferris for third place with two laps remaining. That was good enough to protect Cornell’s points lead as Aaron Marrant, who began the night six points behind, was 10th.

Scott Bogucki Completes ASCS Weekend Sweep

Published in Racing
Saturday, 15 June 2019 22:30

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Making it a sweep on the weekend in South Dakota with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, Australia’s Scott Bogucki parked his Sawblade.com No. 28 in victory lane Saturday at Black Hills Speedway.

Taking off with the lead on the start, Bogucki opened his advantage quickly following a caution on lap two.

Finding slower traffic on lap seven with John Carney II and Sam Hafertepe Jr. in pursuit, the race for a second changed hands, with Hafertepe making the pass off the second turn as Carney was held behind a slower car.

Reeling in Bogucki as slower traffic built around the leaders, Hafertepe found the back bumper of the No. 28 on lap 12.

Looking top and bottom for room to pass, Hafertepe found his shot on lap 14 with Bogucki stuck to the bottom entering the first and second turns.

With Ryan Bickett in the mix, Bogucki dove for the slide, but came up short, making contact with Bickett and launching the No. 17b up the track into Hafertepe – who ended up going upside down in the second turn.

Making it into the work area, the team barely made repairs for Hafertepe to rejoin the field.

On the contact, Bogucki noted, “I apologize to those two guys first and foremost. I hadn’t ventured near the bottom the whole race and it was a lot slicker than I thought and things went back. We were fortunate that we didn’t get damaged and were able to stay out front.”

Keeping Carney at bay on the restart, Bogucki again stretched his lead until the caution lights came on again on lap 18 for Jordon Mallett.

Peeling to the bottom of the track on the restart, Carney took his shot at the lead.

Pulling even with Bogucki off the first turn, clean air and momentum again proved the better for the No. 28, despite a scare in slower traffic on the final lap, with Bogucki crossing 1.336 seconds ahead of John Carney II.

“Sometimes that’s the disadvantage of leading and he got a good run on me and luckily I had enough momentum to get back by him where I could cover him and not slip out of the rubber,” said Bogucki on the restart.

Grabbing third was Blake Hahn, with Roger Crockett fourth. Moving up from 12th, Harli White completed the top five.

Matt Covington made up two spots to sixth, while Robbie Price was the night’s hard charger after a run from 17th to seventh. Despite getting upside down and having to secure the top wing in place with a ratchet strap, Hafertepe came back to finish eighth.

Tucker Doughty and Alex Hill filled out the top 10.

The finish:

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki [2]; 2. J2-John Carney II [1]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn [4]; 4. 11-Roger Crockett [5]; 5. 17W-Harli White [12]; 6. 95-Matt Covington [8]; 7. 21P-Robbie Price [17]; 8. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [3]; 9. 2X-Tucker Doughty [6]; 10. 77X-Alex Hill [7]; 11. 17B-Ryan Bickett [9]; 12. 86-Donovan Peterson [10]; 13. 88-Travis Reber [18]; 14. 11M-Mindy McCune [21]; 15. 77-Damon McCune [22]; 16. 0J-Jeremy McCune [11]; 17. 14B-Ben Holmberg [16]; 18. 14-Jordon Mallett [14]; 19. 2K-Kevin Ingle [13]; 20. 8X-Randy Dolberg [20]; 21. 2-Shad Petersen [19]; 22. 15-James Sires [15].

Lap Leader(s): Scott Bogucki 1-25

Hard Charger: Robbie Price (+10)

Bubak Completes Sweep Of DCRP 305 Nationals

Published in Racing
Saturday, 15 June 2019 23:00

DODGE CITY, Kan. – The Lubbock Wrecker Service DCRP 305 Sprint Car Nationals turned out to be a lucrative venture for Arvada, Colorado’s Jake Bubak and the Dubose/Wells-powered Coyote Candle Company No. 74b Maxim sprint car team.

After topping both the Thursday and Friday preliminary features, Bubak topped the Triple 8 Trucking Dash for Cash to earn the pole position for Saturday night’s 30-lap championship feature atop the Dodge City Raceway Park clay oval.

He then led every lap to run his weekend winnings to $6,300 – including $1,500 in lap money and the $3,000 feature winner’s share.

It wasn’t as easy as it may sound though, as Liberal native and current Nebraska resident Jason Martin kept the pressure on throughout and briefly slid past Bubak on a pair of occasions only to have the latter successfully counter the move.

Martin first slid past Bubak in turn four momentarily after a lao four restart and then repeated the move in traffic on the 17th circuit.

Bubak successfully navigated past a pair of lapped cars and then found open track once again when a final caution waved with a dozen laps remaining.

Bubak reached the tail of the field once again in the final pair of laps, but was able to keep Martin at bay.

“I felt like I wasn’t as good as I needed to be in traffic, but we made it work,” Bubak commented afterward. “Once he showed me the bottom down in turn three and four, I changed my line up some and got a lot better.”

Martin settled for runner-up honors in the Myers-powered Trucks Plus/Midwest Linings No. 5x Eagle and collected an added $850 in lap money after holding down the second position over final 27 rounds.

After winning last year’s DCRP 305 Nationals, Fairview, Oklahoma’s Jake Martens claimed the show position in the Myers-powered Martens Machine Shop No. 48 Eagle, with Tony Bruce Jr., advancing four positions over the final half of the race to capture fourth.

Brian Herbert rounded out the top five ahead of Taylor Velasquez, Zach Blurton, Jeremy Huish, Luke Cranston and Brandon Anderson.

Steven Shebester held down fourth until the lap 18 caution, when he suffered race-ending damage after contact with a spinning lapped car.

In the accompanying 15-lap IMCA Sport Modified feature event, multi-time and defending track champion Jeff Kaup battled into the lead early and went on to snap a winless streak dating back a full calendar year, to last June 16.

A winner of 18 DCRP features since the 2012 season, Kaup’s first win of the season came ahead of Brian May, with Mike Lunow, Bart Baker and Mike Appel rounding out the top five.

The finish:

A-main (30 laps): 1. 74b-Jake Bubak (1) [$4,500], 2. 5x-Jason Martin (4) [$2,850], 3. 48-Jake Martens (3) [$2,330], 4. 11x-Tony Bruce, Jr. (8) [$1,400], 5. 97-Brian Herbert (2) [$1,120], 6. 21x-Taylor Velasquez (13) [$900], 7. 2J-Zach Blurton (9) [$800], 8. 88J-Jeremy Huish (21) [$700], 9. 49x-Luke Cranston (5) [$600], 10. 55b-Brandon Anderson (7) [$500], 11. 0-Steven Richardson (15) [$475], 12. 911-Ty Williams (11) ]$450], 13. 28-Tracey Hill (18) [$425], 14. 45d-David Luckie (12) [$400], 15. 72-Ray Seemann (17) [$400], 16. 78-Tanner Conn (16) [$400], 17. 16s-Steven Shebester (6) [$400], 18. 98-J.D. Johnson (20) [$400], 19. 45-Monty Ferriera (190 [$400], 20. 27-Andy Shouse (14) [$400], 21. 32k-Chris Kelley (10) [$400], 22. 2b-Brett Becker (22) [$400].

Lap Leader(s): Jake Bubak 1-30.

It’s All Sunshine In Port Royal USAC Sprint

Published in Racing
Saturday, 15 June 2019 23:15

PORT ROYAL, Pa. – For Tyler Courtney, June 15 and Port Royal Speedway mean far more than just another stop on the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series schedule.

Port Royal was the half-mile dirt oval where his late mentor, Bryan Clauson, recorded his record sixth and final Eastern Storm win in 2016.

Saturday night also marked what would’ve been Clauson’s 30th birthday.

Courtney, the defending series champion, was bound and determined to make his own personal mark to honor BC on this night during round three of the 13th annual Eastern Storm, and make a mark he did by leading all 30 laps in dominant fashion.

Afterward, Courtney said he felt there was a spirit helping him along the way.

“We’ve kind of struggled all week,” Courtney admitted. “But I think we had somebody looking down on us tonight. This one’s for him. He’s done a lot for my career. He’s done a lot for everybody on this team. Even without him being here, he helped us more than he knows.”

The emotional victory for Courtney aboard his Clauson-Marshall-Newman Racing/NOS Energy Drink Spike-Rider Chevy appeared as smooth as silk for 30 laps with barely any threats posed en route to his second series victory of the year.

His half-mile record with the series in 2019 now includes wins at Eldora and Port Royal to go along with a podium finish at Terre Haute.

Courtney started from the outside of the front row and was seemingly gone, ripping the top, as Chris Windom attempted to keep pace in second.

His lead stretched out to three-quarters of a straightaway over Windom in the first-third of the race, until 2015 Port Royal winner Robert Ballou made contact in turn three, heavily damaging the torsion bar and the left rear wheel to sideline for the rest of the night.

Courtney had been solid as a rock at Port Royal in his previous two campaigns, but Windom, who lined up second on the next restart, was victorious in both of those races.

Windom’s best opportunity to get past was to dive low in one to the inside guardrail to throw the slider on the restart. He did just that when racing resumed on lap 12, but there wasn’t enough mustard on the fastball to surge ahead.

Tyler Courtney in action at Port Royal Speedway. (Rich Forman photo)

Yellows and restarts were the only things tugging on Courtney’s cape this night, as each time Courtney stood on the throttle, his competition was left in the distant past.

The separation from Courtney to Windom was instantly a half-straightaway while Windom found himself with a 10-car length lead over the fierce battle for third between Kevin Thomas Jr., Chase Stockon and new track record holder C.J. Leary.

At the midway point, Thomas slid by Stockon on the bottom of turn three. Stockon countered to regain third exiting four. Stockon’s grasp on the spot was hanging in the balance and Thomas was able to pick Stockon off in turn two on the 16th lap.

By turn four of the same lap, Leary had slid by Stockon to take ownership of fourth to begin the second half of the 30-lapper.

Meanwhile, Courtney was cruising with nothing but Warren Alston’s double checkers on his mind and in front of him with six laps remaining.

That was until third-running Thomas, who was on the topside of turn three and in the midst of a joust with Leary for third, suffered a blown right rear tire which sent him hard into the outside guardrail with a mighty wallop.

The incident ended Thomas’ night with a disappointing 18th-place finish and placed a huge dent in his Eastern Storm title chances, where he dropped from second to eighth.

Four lapped cars separated race leader Courtney and second-running Windom on the lap-25 restart, negating any reasonable chance for Windom to toss a slider for the lead heading into turn one.

Instead, all Windom could do was stay pat on the topside while the lappers cooperated on the bottom.

Once again, any notion of anyone else having a shot at taking down Courtney was all for naught, as Courtney opened it up to a lead of three seconds, while Leary tried to step up a spot by challenging Windom, to no avail.

Courtney finished off a sterling performance by setting his fastest lap of the race on the 30th and final lap, ultimately taking his second Eastern Storm victory by 3.15 seconds over Windom, Leary, Stockon and Justin Grant.

“I think we just came to the conclusion that we weren’t really having fun,” said Courtney of struggles earlier in the week. “So, we went back to the basics, ‘have some fun.’

“(Port Royal) is a place that suits our style, high speed, and when you get to run it nice and straight up against the wall like that, it’s a lot of fun.”

Courtney’s win was the 19th of his AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Seroes career, moving him to within two of 1967 champion Greg Weld’s 21 victories for 28th on the all-time list.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

Sweet Outguns Schuchart In Knoxville Thriller

Published in Racing
Saturday, 15 June 2019 23:45

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Reigning Knoxville Nationals winner Brad Sweet proved on Saturday night that he hasn’t forgotten the way to victory lane at Knoxville Raceway.

Sweet prevailed over Logan Schuchart in a thrilling and frenetic finale to the Brownells Big Guns Bash at the black-dirt, half-mile oval, passing the Shark Racing driver for good with eight to go and driving away down the stretch.

In a 25-lap feature that featured three different leaders and three lead changes in the second half of the event, Sweet ultimately prevailed by one second at the checkered flag in the No. 49 NAPA Auto Parts machine for Kasey Kahne Racing.

That didn’t mean his fourth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the season – and the 38th of his Outlaw career – was easy, however. Sweet noted in victory lane it was anything but.

“That (No.) 1s is very underrated. If he (Schuchart) gets up front in one of these (Knoxville) Nationals, he’s going to be tough to beat,” Sweet said of Schuchart. “He’s got a great-handling race car, he can time (moves) well and Logan’s getting better and better as a driver. He definitely got me up on the wheel there tonight; that was about all I had to be able to hold him off and beat him.”

The feature rolled off just before 1 a.m. CT, after showers led to a lengthy rain delay before hot laps.

“When the track is fast like that, it’s really tricky, because everything is happening way faster than you want it to,” noted Sweet of the heavy, lightning-quick surface the field was faced with. “You still have to hit that narrow bottom, though, and that was the key tonight … was getting the low line to work.”

After missing the feature on Friday night at Knoxville, Lance Dewease and the Don Kreitz-owned No. 69k came back 24 hours later and started from the pole after winning the DIRTvision Fast Pass Dash.

Dewease started strong, too. Despite a false start on the initial green flag and a caution with three laps scored for a stalled Trey Starks in turn two, the Pennsylvania kingpin paced the first 13 circuits with ease, opening up as much as a one-second lead before getting into lap traffic just before halfway.

That was when Sweet turned up the wick, powering to the inside in turns three and four to take command on the 14th round. Just as quickly, Sweet brought Schuchart with him into second, and a ferocious battle for supremacy was on.

Schuchart wasn’t content to ride, shooting past Sweet on the outside to assume the top spot down the backstretch with 10 to go, but Sweet had a counter-play lined up and ready to go.

With seeming ease, Sweet retaliated on lap 18 with a dive to the inside entering turns one and two, sliding across Schuchart’s line to break his momentum and taking a lead he wouldn’t relinquish again.

Though Schuchart didn’t come away with a win in the end, he admitted a runner-up finish and “being in contention” was exactly what his Shark Racing team needed going into the Knoxville Nationals in August.

“I was watching Brad and Lance there for a little while. I could hit the bottom early in the race, and any time you can run the bottom pretty snug here, that’s a good sign,” said Schuchart. “Once I got the lead, it was just tough to hit the bottom that many times consistently … and I just felt more comfortable going back to the top, especially with lap cars there.

“It ended up hurting me, but this team won the Nationals, and we ran them down and passed them,” Schuchart added. “In my book, that’s something to be proud of.”

Daryn Pittman rallied through the field from 10th on the grid to complete the podium, with Sheldon Haudenschild and David Gravel following in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Dewease fell back to sixth at the checkered flag, ahead of Friday winner Brian Brown, Shane Stewart, Carson Macedo and Lynton Jeffrey. KSE Hard Charger Ian Madsen came from 25th to finish 11th.

The finish:

Brad Sweet, Logan Schuchart, Daryn Pittman, Sheldon Haudenschild, David Gravel, Lance Dewease, Brian Brown, Shane Stewart, Carson Macedo, Lynton Jeffrey, Ian Madsen, Terry McCarl, James McFadden, Dominic Scelzi, Donny Schatz, Brent Marks, Kraig Kinser, Jason Sides, Sawyer Phillips, Matt Juhl, Justin Henderson, Trey Starks, Jacob Allen, Kerry Madsen, A.J. Moeller.

Blackhawks trade for Pens defenseman Maatta

Published in Hockey
Saturday, 15 June 2019 18:37

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired defenseman Olli Maatta in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Dominik Kahun and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft.

The Blackhawks had been looking to upgrade their blue line after missing the playoffs for the second straight season. The 24-year-old Maatta, who helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, ranked third on the Penguins with 116 blocked shots in 60 games last season.

Kahun, who turns 24 on July 2, played in all 82 games for Chicago in his first NHL season. The Czech-born German finished with 13 goals and 24 assists.

The deal was announced Saturday.

Maatta's contract runs through the 2021-22 season with an average annual value of $4,083,333. The Finn was selected by Pittsburgh with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2012 draft.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Jordan Spieth struggled on the greens during the third round of the U.S. Open, and part of his issues may have stemmed from the dining room.

Spieth was nowhere to be found before his 12:22 p.m. PT starting time at Pebble Beach, showing up to the putting green behind the first tee just minutes before he stepped to the tee box alongside Nate Lashley. That absence wasn’t a scramble as much as it was a conscious choice by Spieth to shake things up, one that he admitted may have backfired.

“I didn’t give myself enough time to go through my normal routine today,” Spieth said. “I did a little early session and then from there I went in and ate lunch instead of putting, and it didn’t pay off today.”

Spieth was a longshot to contend after opening with rounds of 72-69, but any thoughts of adding another U.S. Open title to the one he snagged at Chambers Bay four years ago flew out the window with a third-round 73, where he was stuck in neutral. Spieth opened his round with 10 straight pars, made double bogey on No. 11 and didn’t make a single birdie until rolling in a 5-footer on the final green.

“My speed control just wasn’t as good as the last couple days, and that was simply it,” Spieth said. “If I see one of them go in early, on No. 3 or 4, I probably make five or six of them. It’s just, the hole started to look smaller and smaller every hole that they didn’t go in.”

The sluggish round dropped Spieth to 1 over for the week, and he’ll begin the final round in a tie for 33rd, 12 shots behind Gary Woodland. While he may look to budget his time a little differently before hitting the course Sunday afternoon, he did find a silver lining from an otherwise frustrating situation that stemmed from a late lunch.

“I wasn’t hungry out there,” he said. “So that’s the good news.”

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Just before Matt Kuchar stepped over a 3-foot putt to close out his third round at the U.S. Open, a hush that had fallen over the gallery lining the 18th green was suddenly broken.

“You’re a tightwad, Kuchar!” screamed one fan from the grandstand behind the green, a call that was clearly heard by Kuchar and playing competitor Chesson Hadley. It elicited an unsteady groan from the spectators in the immediate vicinity and was followed by a mix of boos and calls of “Kuuch.”

The comment harkened back to Kuchar’s mishandling of a compensation situation with his fill-in caddie at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in the fall, one of multiple controversial moments that have dotted a season in which the 40-year-old has played some of the best golf of his career.

Kuchar seemed to look in the fan’s direction after scooping the ball from the hole, having closed out an even-par 70 that left him at 5 under and six shots behind Gary Woodland.

“Fortunately, as a whole, everybody has been great. Every now and then you get somebody that does that,” Kuchar said. “Nice to hear that guy get jeered afterwards.”

Winless since 2014 entering this season, Kuchar has won twice and added a pair of runner-up finishes while leading the season-long points race. But he’s also had some hiccups, including the caddie situation in Mexico, a tap-in concession that wasn’t against Sergio Garcia in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, and an unsuccessful attempt to sway a rules official regarding an embedded ball at the Memorial.

But the mix of great results and controversial headlines isn’t lost on Kuchar, who hopes to tune out any subsequent hecklers during the final round while he tries to chase down Woodland on the course where he logged his lone prior top-10 finish in the U.S. Open (T-6 in 2010).

“I’ve never had any controversy, so it’s been an interesting year up to this point with the bits of controversy I’ve been through,” Kuchar said. “But listen, it’s been such a thrill playing good golf, having a couple of wins. Winning is such a challenge, and to get two this season has been a thrill for me. And being in contention, golf is fun when you’re in contention.”

Woodland, Rose co-favorites entering Sunday at U.S. Open

Published in Golf
Saturday, 15 June 2019 16:09

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Gary Woodland may have a slight edge over Justin Rose on the leaderboards lining Pebble Beach, but in the eyes of oddsmakers it’s a dead heat heading into the final round of the U.S. Open.

Woodland shot a 2-under 69 Saturday, and at 11 under he will carry a one-shot lead over Rose into the final round as he looks to win his first career major. The duo have a significant cushion over their next closest pursuers, with Brooks Koepka, Chez Reavie and Louis Oosthuizen all three shots behind Rose and four behind Woodland.

The situation led the oddsmakers at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook to list Woodland and Rose both at 7/4 heading into the final round. Woodland started as an 80/1 longshot when odds first opened last month, while Rose opened at 16/1.

Koepka, who is looking to become the first player since 1905 to win this event three straight years, is next at 5/1 – the same odds he opened with following his PGA win in May.

Here’s a look at the full list of odds via Westgate on the contenders heading into what could be an exciting finale along the California coast:

7/4: Gary Woodland, Justin Rose

5/1: Brooks Koepka

10/1: Rory McIlroy

12/1: Louis Oosthuizen

25/1: Chez Reavie

60/1: Matt Kuchar

100/1: Jon Rahm

150/1: Henrik Stenson

200/1: Chesson Hadley, Graeme McDowell, Matt Wallace, Danny Willett, Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele

300/1: Dustin Johnson, Byeong-Hun An

100/1: Field (all other players)

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