20/05/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | MAY 20, 2025

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Scheffler triumphs at Quail Hollow World No. 1 outduels Rahm to win PGA Championship W ORLD NO. 1 Scottie Scheffler captured his third major title yesterday, outdueling Spain’s Jon Rahm down the back nine in the final round to win the PGA Championship by five strokes. take for the rest of the year,” Rahm said. Scheffler took home a US$3.42 million (RM15.5m) top prize from a record US$19 million (RM86m) purse. “I’m proud of how I did this week just staying in it mentally and hitting the shots when I needed to,” Scheffler said.

Winner confirms failed driver test before major start

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER knew the issue would come up eventually, but the newly minted winner of the PGA Championship found himself answering questions yesterday about non-conforming clubs. Scheffler confirmed that his driver had been tested in the past week and he had to make a change, which didn’t prevent him from capturing his third major and first Wanamaker Trophy by five strokes at Quail Hollow Club. The World No. 1 player could even joke after the victory that the new driver didn’t

reported that Rory McIlroy had been forced to switch to a different driver after his favourite TaylorMade weapon was deemed non-conforming in a test conducted on Wednesday. “So the driver testing is something that regularly happens on Tour,” Scheffler said. “My driver did fail me. We had a feeling that it was going to be coming because I’ve used that driver for over a year. I was kind of fortunate for it to last that long.” The US Golf Association routinely tests driver heads randomly at PGA Tour events and major championships to determine whether their spring like effect is conforming. Spring-like effect refers to the elasticity of the clubface, which allows it to spring back upon impact with the ball, much like a trampoline. A driver that is conforming one week could be non conforming the next, due to minute changes in the clubface as a result of the wear and tear of hitting balls. Scheffler noted that “with the amount of practise that I do, I felt like I was fortunate for it to last that long.” – Field Level Media “After three months coming here making this result means a lot to me, a lot to my team also. We worked a lot to be here. Happy also with my family and everything,“ he said. “A special thank you to my brother, who, rather than being here, is in Imola to watch Formula 1,“ he concluded to the laughter of the crowd. The Spaniard Alcaraz has now beaten Sinner in their last four meetings, firing a warning shot to his rivals ahead of the upcoming French Open where he is set to defend his title. “Beating Jannik, winning Rome. Both things mix together and give (me) great confidence going to Paris,“ Alcaraz said. – Reuters “If he’s winning in Roland Garros and he’s going farther, I think much better he’s going to feel. He’s going to be a really dangerous player in Paris.” “He’s (one of) the best players in the world. It doesn’t matter that he was out of the tour for three months. Every tournament he’s playing, he plays great. The numbers are there. He wins almost every match he plays. “That’s why I’m even more focused when I play against him. If I don’t play at my best, 10 out of 10, it’s going to be impossible to beat him.” – AFP

a victory. He also matched Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros as the only players in the past century to win their first three majors by at least three shots. Rahm, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion, captured the 2024 season crown in the LIV Golf League, but has not won a title this season in the Saudi-backed series. Majors remain the only place where top PGA Tour and LIV stars compete. Third-ranked Xander Schauffele closed with a 22-foot birdie putt to shoot 68 and finish on 283. Five-time major winner Rory McIlroy, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning last month’s Masters, fired a closing 72 to finish on 287. World No. 2 McIlroy skipped media interviews after all four rounds at a layout where he has won four times and owns the course record of 61. – AFP Alcaraz storms to Italian Open title

Scheffler, the 2022 and 2024 Masters champion, became the 10th consecutive American to win the event, firing a level par 71 at Quail Hollow to finish on 11 under 273 and defeat countrymen Harris English, Davis Riley and Bryson DeChambeau, tied for second on 5-under. “I knew it was going to be a challenging day. Finishing off a major championship is always difficult,” Scheffler said. “I did a good job of staying patient on the front nine. I didn’t have my best stuff, but I kept myself in it, and I stepped up on the back nine.” Rahm stumbled to a 73 to finish on 280 and share eighth after a bogey at 16 and double bogeys at 17 and 18. “Pretty fresh wound right now, but there have been a lot of good happening this week and a lot of positive feelings to

affect his accuracy yesterday, when he was hitting to the left. “No. I think that was my fault,” he said. PGA Tour players having their drivers tested came to the forefront on Saturday, when SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio first

“This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time. It was a grind out there. I think at one point on the front I maybe had a four or five-shot lead, and making the turn, I was tied for the lead. “To step up when I needed to the most, I’ll remember that for a while.” After suffering a right hand injury last December, Scheffler only won his first title of the year two weeks ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. The major victory was Scheffler’s 15th career PGA Tour triumph, all in a span of three years and 94 days, with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods the only players to hit the mark faster. Scheffler, whose nine titles in 2024 included Paris Olympic gold, converted his eighth consecutive 54-hole lead into

Jobs

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Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy after winnning the final against Jannik Sinner. – REUTERSPIC

CARLOS ALCARAZ had little trouble dismantling Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final, sealing a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory to snap the world No. 1’s 26 match winning streak and break the hearts of the home crowd yesterday. Alcaraz edged a tense opening set in a tiebreak after he and Sinner traded blows from the baseline on a warm evening in front of a packed Centre Court crowd. However, from the second set onwards, Alcaraz silenced the home crowd as he completely outplayed Sinner, cruising to victory in their first ever clash in a Masters 1000 final. “I’m proud of myself, with the way I approached the match mentally. Tactically, I think I played pretty well from the first point until the last one,“

Alcaraz said in an on-court interview. “I’m just really happy to get my first Rome (title), hopefully it’s not going to be the last one.” For Sinner, it was particularly disappointing that he could not make it a double celebration for Italy after compatriot Jasmine Paolini won the women’s title a day earlier. Sinner was playing his first tournament since winning the Australian Open in January and was hoping to become the first Italian man to triumph in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976, but he had to settle for second best. Sinner, who was making his comeback this week after serving a three-month doping ban, thanked his family for their support. set semifinal en route to the Roland Garros trophy 12 months ago, has few doubts the Italian will again be a major contender in the French capital. “The level he has played in this tournament is insane after three months without playing, without any tournament,” said Alcaraz. “I mean, what he has done, it’s amazing. I mean, it’s something that I have to have respect on that. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to be better and better. This week of practising, he’s going to feel better.

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Carlos expects Jannik threat at Roland Garros CARLOS ALCARAZ won the Italian Open yesterday after beating Jannik Sinner in straight sets but expects his rival to be “really dangerous” at Roland Garros as he steps up his return from a three-month doping ban.

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Yesterday’s showdown could well be a prelude to the French Open final, with Sinner and Alcaraz set to be kept apart in the draw as the latter returned to second in the rankings yesterday. Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in a five

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