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MIAMI — An on-fire Tiger
Woods will take a four-stroke
lead over Graeme McDowell
into Sunday's final round of the
WGC-Cadillac Championship
after shooting a five-under-par
67 at Doral on Saturday.
Woods, searching for his
76th PGA Tour victory, finished
his third round in fine
style with a 16-foot birdie putt
on the 18th, highlighting his
outstanding work on the greens
so far in the tournament.
The 14-times major winner
finished the day at 18-under
for a 198 total, while McDowell's
three-under par 69 put him
on 14-under at 202.
The debate over whether
Woods is "back" will not be
over until he wins a major
championship again, but on
this display he will be the favourite,
on form and not just
Ashraful, Rahim
in record stand
against Sri Lanka
Page 18
reputation, at the Masters next
month.
Woods, who won in January
at Torrey Pines, has made 24
birdies through 54 holes — a
personal record at this stage in
a tournament and he has never
lost a final round where he has
led by three or more strokes.
"He putted fantastically
today," said playing partner
McDowell. "He controlled
every part of his game very
well, very few loose shots.
He's going to be a tough man
to catch tomorrow."
Woods, who started
with a two-stroke lead over
McDowell, began his round in
blistering fashion by collecting
birdies on his first three holes
and added four more before
heading to the clubhouse with
only two blemishes on his card,
a bogey on the fifth and on the
17th. The bogey on the penultimate
hole came courtesy of a
freak incident where his ball
stuck in the top of a palm tree,
forcing him to take unplayable
lie and a penalty stroke.
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
Woods was powerful and
mostly accurate off the tee but
also was outstanding with his
short irons.
"I'm hitting the ball further
and it is just about adjustments.
I had to re-establish the
new numbers and new feels
and it took a little bit of time
and I worked on it. It is starting
to pay off," said the world
number two.
McDowell, also striding the
course in confidence, made an
equally lightning start with an
eagle on the first and a birdie
on the third, reaching the turn
at four-under.
The Northern Irishman lost
his momentum with a bogey
on the 11th and a double on the
14th, where he got in trouble in
the rough.
The 2010 US Open winner
bounced back though with a
superb eagle on the par-four
16th, where he drove over the
back of the green and then
superbly chipped in from 22
feet.
Phil Mickelson and Steve
Stricker are both five shots off
the lead, tied for third place,
after shooting rounds of 69.
Mickelson had hoped for a
final round pairing with Woods
and a chance to avenge him for
the defeat in the 'Duel at Doral'
in the 2005 Ford Open but he
still believes he can catch his
old rival.
"I'm going to have to play
a really incredible round on
Sunday but I really don't have
to play that different than I
played today," said Mickelson.
"I threw away five or six shots
on and around the greens. I just
can't afford to give away those
shots."
England salvage
draw against
New Zealand
Page 18
England scrape past Italy in Six-Nations
ITALY’S Edoardo Gori kicks the ball during the Six-Nations against England at Twickenham Stadium yesterday. — AFP
Nadal defeats Harrison easily
INDIAN WELLS — With the tennis
world watching closely, Rafa Nadal made
a successful return to Indian Wells with a
7-6, 6-2 victory over Ryan Harrison in the
second round of the BNP Paribas Open
on Saturday.
Though initially looking a little rusty,
the Spanish left-hander showed no visible
sign of discomfort after being sidelined
for seven months last year by a left knee
injury before sealing a commanding win
in just over an hour and a half.
Playing his first match on a hardcourt
surface in 346 days, Nadal edged a close
first set 7-3 in the tiebreak, then broke
Harrison's serve in the third and fifth
games of the second to take firm control.
The Spanish world number five, who
had his left knee taped up through the
match, served out to book his place in the
third round, ending Harrison's brave challenge
with an overhead smash to spark
loud roars from the crowd.
"It was a good victory for me today
against a good opponent," Nadal, who
clinched the Indian Wells title in 2007
and 2009, told reporters. "I am satisfied
to be in the next round. That's the most
important thing.
"Two weeks ago, I didn't really know
if I would be here playing. I am happy
to be here. I am happy to be in the third
round."
Asked how he felt after the match,
Nadal replied: "I am fine. My physical
performance needs to improve. My movements
need to improve. Matches like this
help for me sure, no?
Nadal, who has enjoyed a successful
tournament run on clay in recent weeks,
was given an electrifying welcome by a
vocal crowd when he first walked out on
to the showpiece Stadium Court at the Indian
Wells Tennis Garden.
He made a confident start, racing into
a 4-1 lead before his 73rd-ranked opponent
broke back in the seventh game to
take the opening set into a tiebreak.
Nadal, who had occasionally blasted
his ground strokes long as he tried to find
his range, stormed 5-1 ahead in the tiebreak
before wrapping up the set in 54
RAFAEL Nadal waves to the crowd
after defeating Ryan Harrison in
Indian Wells on Saturday. — Reuters
minutes after he struck a deep forehand
which forced an error by Harrison.
The Spaniard did not look back,
breaking Harrison in the third game of
the second set with a stunning crosscourt
pass and also in the fifth with a dipping
forehand service return which the American
could not retrieve.
While Nadal did not attempt to slide in
his customary manner as he moved from
side to side in some of the longer baseline
rallies, he did not appear to be in any discomfort
on the surface expected to trouble
him most following his knee injury.
The Spaniard, who returned to the
ATP circuit last month in South America
where he competed in three relatively
minor claycourt events, winning two of
them after reaching all three finals, will
next face Leonardo Mayer of Argentina.
Mayer brushed aside Russian Mikhail
Youzhny 6-2, 6-3 earlier in the day.
AZARENKA BEATS HANTUCHOVA
Australian Open champion and top
seed Victoria Azarenka recovered from a
sluggish start to beat Slovakia’s Daniela
Hantuchova 6-4 6-1 in the second round.
Trailing 1-4 in the opening set, the
pony-tailed Belarusian then gave herself
a wake-up call and seized control by winning
11 of the next 12 games to improve
her record this season to 15-0.
Azarenka clinched the first set with an
ace, then broke Hantuchova for a sixth
time in the seventh game of the second
when the twice former champion dumped
a backhand into the net.
In other matches, former U.S. Open
champion Samantha Stosur eased into the
third round with a commanding 6-3 6-4
victory over American teenager Madison
Keys while fourth-seeded German Angelique
Kerber swept past Romania’s Irina
Begu 6-3 6-2.
Results: Men’s 2nd round: Benoit Paire
(FRA) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER x21) 6-4,
6-2 Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt Fernando Verdasco
(ESP x29) 6-1, 6-0 Kevin Anderson (RSA) bt
David Ferrer (ESP x4) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Leonardo
Mayer (ARG) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS x30)
6-2, 6-3 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x18) bt Wayne
Odesnik (USA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 Roger Federer (SUI
x2) bt Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-2, 6-3 Jerzy Janowicz
(POL x24) bt David Nalbandian (ARG) 7-6
(7/4), 4-6, 6-3 Gilles Simon (FRA x13) bt Paolo
Lorenzi (ITA) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)
bt John Isner (USA x15) 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-4 Ivan
Dodig (CRO) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA x28) 6-4,
6-2 Andreas Seppi (ITA x20) bt Daniel Brands
(GER) 7-5, 6-4 Florian Mayer (GER x27) bt David
Goffin (BEL) 6-4, 6-2 Richard Gasquet (FRA
x10) bt Bernard Tomic (AUS) 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 Ernests
Gulbis (LAT) bt Janko Tipsarevic (SRB x9)
6-2, 6-0 Rafael Nadal (ESP x5) bt Ryan Harrison
(USA) 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 Tomas Berdych (CZE x6) bt
Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-2, 6-4
Women’s 2nd round: Jamie Hampton (USA)
bt Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE x20) 6-3, 6-3 Julia Goerges
(GER x21) bt Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 6-3, 6-3 Angelique
Kerber (GER x4) bt Irina-Camelia Begu
(ROM) 6-3, 6-2 Yanina Wickmayer (BEL x30)
bt Mirjana Lucic (CRO) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Peng Shuai
(CHN x32) bt Alexandra Dulgheru (ROM) 6-0,
4-6, 6-3 Samantha Stosur (AUS x7) bt Madison
Keys (USA) 6-3, 6-4 Nadia Petrova (RUS x10)
bt Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 6-2, 6-3 Garbine Muguruza
(ESP) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x17)
6-3, 1-6, 6-4 Ana Ivanovic (SRB x11) bt Taylor
Townsend (USA) 6-1, 6-2 Magdalena Rybarikova
(SVK) bt Lucie Safarova (CZE x16) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL x28) bt Monica Niculescu
(ROM) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. — Reuters/AFP
LONDON — A disjointed and
error-strewn England needed
a brilliant goalkicking display
by Toby Flood to beat Italy 18-
11 at Twickenham yesterday
and set up a Six-Nations championship
decider against Wales
in Cardiff next Saturday.
England will have to play
a lot better to secure a win
that would give them their
first Grand Slam since 2003
and their second title in three
years while Wales, who beat
Scotland 28-18 on Saturday
for their third tournament win,
would retain their title if they
won by eight points.
Flyhalf Flood, playing instead
of the injured Owen Farrell,
scored England’s points as
he landed all six of his penalty
attempts but Italy played most
of the rugby and completely
dominated the second half,
scoring the only try through
winger Luke McLean.
England led 12-3 at halftime
but, instead of pouring
on the points to make Wales’
task tougher, they were forced
to defend for long periods, often
desperately, against a team
who had lost by an average
of almost 35 points on every
previous Twickenham Six-
Nations visit.
“We will have to be a lot
better than that,” England
coach Stuart Lancaster told
the BBC looking ahead to next
week’s showdown.
“It will be a big step up.
“I’m disappointed we weren’t
quite accurate enough. We let
the control slip in the second
half and Italy pushed us right
to the end.”
England actually started
full of running as, despite a
freezing arctic wind blowing
through Twickenham, it was
dry and firm underfoot.
However, they struggled
to turn that early dominance
into points and lost their way,
even when Italy were reduced
to 14 men. Four Flood penalties
to one by Luciano Orquera
had the hosts 12-3 ahead at the
break with the crowd ruing
three excellent try-scoring opportunities
wasted by poor execution
or decision-making.
A try eventually arrived 10
minutes after the restart but it
was Italy who claimed it, and
deservedly so, as they were
well on top. A horribly-sliced
clearance kick by Danny Care
went straight to an unchallenged
Alessandro Zanni and
Orquera then chipped wide for
McLean to score in the corner.
Orquera missed the conversion
and a penalty soon after
but Italy kept their spirits up
and, instead of fading in the
final quarter as they have so
often before, they stepped up
their game and took charge.
Showing some crisp passing
and real aggression at the
breakdown, the Italians poured
forward and forced England to
defend their own line for long
spells while barely venturing
over the halfway line themselves.
That defence held firm,
however, to prevent what could
have been a match-drawing try
and leave the fifth-placed Italians
frustrated at being unable
to add to the two points gained
from their first-day victory
over France.
“It was important to get
the win,” said England captain
Chris Robshaw. “We were
under no illusions, especially
after last year in Rome (when
England won 19-15).
“There were moments we
played very well but a little bit
of execution let us down.”
A seven-point win for
Wales would leave the teams
level on points and points difference
and see the championship
decided on tries scored.
Wales have scored seven to
England’s five in the first four
rounds. If the two end level
on tries too, the title would
be shared. Italy have now lost
three in a row and host Ireland
in their final game.
Their fullback Andrea Masi
was named man of the match
and was frustrated not to have
taken something from the
game. “It was a very good performance,”
he said. “We came
from two poor games and we
played better rugby with much
more physicality.” — Reuter
Sizzling Woods takes commanding lead at Doral
TIGER Woods and Graeme McDowell walk off the 18th
green after the third round of play in Doral. — Reuters
Long, Baun lift All-England titles
CHINA’S Chen Long and Denmark’s Tine Baun poses with their trophies yesterday. — AFP
BIRMINGHAM — World No 1 Lee Chong
Wei, who deferred retirement after the Olympics
to make a few last attempts on the major
titles, found himself denied in yesterday’s final
of the All-England Open.
Lee also found himself with an impressive
new rival, Chen Long, a 24-year-old, who
fought off brave fight-backs by the favourite in
each game to triumph 21-17, 21-18.
Last year Lee lost the title to Lin Dan. Now
the Chinese legend may have a good successor,
on the evidence of Chen's marvellous
containment and rallying ability, and increasing
patience and judgement on when to make
pouncing attacks.
Chen also carried himself like a champion.
He never panicked when the match got tight,
and handled the pressure like a player who
may go on to win many more big titles.
"This is very important — a top, world class
tournament, and winning it has given me a lot
of experience," he said. "I am very excited
about that."
It suggests that Lin may not need to come
out of semi-retirement and make an attempt to
defend the world title in Guangzhou in August
for China to win it again.
For Lee this was a disappointment. The 30-
year-old started both games slowly. He was 0-7
down before he got going, and 1-6 down in the
second game, and both deficits proved a little
too much to make up. He moved beautifully as
usual, but could not force his attacks through
Chen's brilliant defence when he tried to ambush
the second seed, and did not have quite
enough energy in the tank to apply pressure
with a few extra-fast rallies. He did fight hard,
getting back to 17-19 in the first game and to
a brief lead at 15-14 in the second. But Chen's
speed and consistency never slackened or wavered
and proved decisive, as Lee conceded.
"This was my best," said Lee.
Earlier, Tine Baun became the oldest All-
England women's singles winner of the open
era when she beat the youngest singles finalist,
Ratchanok Intanon, in an uniquely emotional
final.
The 33-year-old's 21-14, 16-21, 21-10 win
over the 18-year-old brought to an end the career
of one of the outstanding players of the
past ten years, and the only one to threaten Chinese
dominance.
The Dane decided to compete this year as
a "last adventure" but instead, as seventh seed,
surprised herself by winning the All-England
title back and taking it a third time. —AFP
Stricker, who gave putting
lessons to Woods on the eve
of this tournament, may privately
wonder if that was the
best-timed gesture and he conceded
that Woods looks hard
to budge.
"You know what kind of
closer he is. When he gets a
lead in a tournament it is tough.
He doesn't let too many guys
in usually," said Stricker.
World number one Rory
McIlroy made six birdies as
he recovered from a poor start
of a bogey on the third and
a double-bogey on the next
hole.
McIlroy, still feeling his
way back to form after intensive
work on his swing, carded
a one-under 71 and is threeunder
for the tournament, 15
strokes behind Woods and tied
in 30th place. — Reuters
Brumbies
power to
victory
SYDNEY — Jake White's
ACT Brumbies swept aside
the New South Wales Waratahs
to extend their lead at
the top of rugby's Super 15
series as defending champions
Waikato Chiefs lost for
the first time this weekend.
The Brumbies, rocked by
a season-ending knee injury
to Wallaby breakdown ace
David Pocock, smashed the
Waratahs in a bonus point
35-6 win to charge to a fivepoint
lead at the top of the
southern hemisphere provincial
championship.
The Chiefs, who beat the
Sharks in last year's final,
lost ground going down 36-
34 to the Western Stormers
in a thriller in Cape Town,
but came away with two bonus
points to lead the New
Zealand conference. The
2011 champions Queensland
Reds kept in touch with the
leaders with a 23-13 win
over the Rebels in an Australian
derby in Melbourne.
Seven-time champions
Canterbury Crusaders have
yet to win this season after
falling 29-28 to the Hurricanes
in Wellington, while
South Africa's Central Cheetahs
won their first game
of the campaign against
the Otago Highlanders
36-19. —AFP
Northern Bulls
down Blues
AUCKLAND — The Northern
Bulls completed a South
African whitewash over New
Zealand sides with an upset
28-21 win over the Auckland
Blues in their Super 15 clash
at Eden Park yesterday.
"It's pretty good, I must
say," declared Bulls skipper
Pierre Spies.
"It's a great day for us.
I'm thankful and humble and
it was a great team effort.
It's not easy coming here
to win." Both the Bulls and
Blues went into the match
brimming with confidence
after winning their opening
two matches, but the Aucklanders
could not reproduce
the forward power they had
previously shown.
Coach John Kirwan had
raised eyebrows with a raft
of changes to his side, including
starting five debutants.
It was a gamble that
did not pay off a week before
the Blues have a bye,
leaving captain Ali Williams
distraught.
"We just didn't turn up.
I'm gutted," he said. "We
had earned some respect
(with two wins) and then we
lost it just like that. We've
got ourselves to blame. We
didn't attack, we didn't play
the game we trained for."
The Blues had first points
on the board with a penalty
by fly-half Baden Kerr, playing
only his second Super
Rugby match, in an early
kicking duel with Morne
Steyn which saw the Blues
take a 6-3 lead.
However, the Bulls were
always threatening, and a
quarter of the way into the
game they produced two
tries in five minutes to go
15-6 ahead. — AFP
Knicks crush
Utah Jazz
LOS ANGELES — The
New York Knicks were without
Carmelo Anthony and
Amar'e Stoudemire, while
the Utah Jazz were without
direction or passion.
The Knicks easily overcame
the absence of their
star forwards on Saturday
night and rode a huge game
from their reserves to a 113-
84 home victory over the
listless Jazz, who completed
a winless road trip.
J R Smith scored 24
points and Steve Novak added
a season-high 20 for the
Knicks.
Results: NY Knicks bt Utah
Jazz 113-84, Brooklyn Nets bt
Atlanta Hawks 93-80, Washington
Wizards bt Charlotte Bobcats
104-87, Memphis Heat bt New
Orleans 96-85, Denver Nuggets bt
Minnesota Timberwolves 111-88.
— Reuters