23/07/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | JULY 23, 2025

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Heir to Tiger’s throne? Scheffler draws comparisons to Woods after dominant British Open win

Meredith Scudder (left) and Scottie Scheffler attend Netflix’s “Happy Gilmore 2” New York premiere on Monday. – AFPPIC

S COTTIE SCHEFFLER had already cemented his place among golf’s all-time greats, but his command ing four-shot victory at the British Open reignited comparisons to Tiger Woods. Sunday’s final round of the British Open at Royal Portrush was one of the more anticlimactic finishes to a major in recent memory and left many in the world of golf wondering if Scheffler was the heir to Woods’ throne. “I look everywhere and I try to find some kind of a weakness, somewhere where he can get derailed, and I just can’t find it,” NBC Sports analyst and former Ryder Cup-winning captain Paul McGinley said. “He might even prove to have more longevity than Tiger Woods.” Making comparisons to 15-times major champion Woods may be prema ture but world No. 1 Scheffler, a four-time major winner, is playing in a league of his own and showing no signs of slowing down. “I don’t think we thought the golfing

ranked golfer in the world is also the longest since Woods occupied the top spot for a record 281 weeks from 2005 to 2010. “In a historical context, you could argue that there’s only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie’s been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive,” said world No. 2 Rory McIlroy. Scheffler, who will undoubtedly be favoured wherever he tees it up for the foreseeable future, will get a chance to become only the seventh player to com plete the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors at next June’s US Open. But despite an ability to make a com plicated game seem simple at times and leave fellow competitors in awe, Scheffler is not ready to entertain talk about com parisons to Woods. “He was inspirational for me growing up. He was a very, very talented guy, and he was a special person to be able to be as good as he was at the game of golf.” – Reuters

world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here’s Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,” said 2024 British Open champion Xander Schauffele. “You can’t even say he’s on a run. He’s just been killing it for over two years now. He’s a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us.” Scheffler won the Masters in 2022 and 2024, earned his first PGA Championship title this year followed by his fourth career major with his British Open tri umph. The 29-year-old Texan joined Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as the only players to win a Masters, PGA Championship and British Open before age 30. “What he’s doing is so dominant and so clinical,” said NBC Sports analyst Brandel Chamblee. “I can’t help but think that we are on an inevitable march towards one of the greatest careers in the history of golf.” Scheffler’s 149-week run as the No. 1

Top 10 LIV golfers at The Open LIV GOLF’S major drought will extend into 2026, but the breaka way league did have a surprise top-10 finisher at Royal Portrush for The Open Championship. Here’s a breakdown of how each of the 20 LIV players fared at Royal Portrush. 1 Bryson DeChambeau (-9, T10) : DeChambeau leading the LIV the first three majors of the year, Rahm admitted he just couldn’t find his groove at Royal Portrush. His low round was a 69 on Saturday, and the Spaniard was never a factor this week. T4 Lee Westwood (-3, T34) : The Englishman qualified

Notices

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Pogacar ‘ready to fight Vingegaard’ for title

IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAYA AT KUALA TERENGGANU IN THE STATE OF TERENGGANU DARUL IMAN, MALAYSIA (COMMERCIAL DIVISION) COMPANIES (WINDING-UP) PETITION NO.: TA-28NCC-22-07/2025 In the Matter of Section 465(1)(e) and Section 466(1)(a) of the Companies Act, 2016 And In the matter of LAN MAJU ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION SDN BHD (Company No. 941025-A) And In the Matter of Companies (Winding-Up) Rules 1972 BETWEEN LNC ENGINEERING WORKS SDN BHD (Company No. 646272-X) … PETITIONER AND ADVERTISEMENT OF PETITION NOTICE is hereby given that a petition for the winding-up of the abovenamed Company by the High Court at Kuala Terengganu was,on the 7th July 2025 presented to the said Court by LNC Engineering Works Sdn Bhd of No. 15, Jalan Bunga Melur 8, Taman Suria Jaya, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. And that the said Petition is directed to be heard before the Court sitting at the High Court of Malaya at Kuala Terengganu at 9.00 o’clock in the forenoon on the 9th September 2025; and any creditor or contributory of the said Company desiring to support or oppose the making of an order on the said petition may appear at the time of hearing by himself for his Counsel for that purpose; and a copy of the petition will be furnished to any creditor or contributory of the said Company requiring the same by the undersigned on payment of the regulated charge for the same. The Petitioner’s address is at No. 15, Jalan Bunga Melur 8, Taman Suria Jaya, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. The Petitioner’s Solicitors is Messrs Liaw & Partners of E-07-01,Block E, Plaza Mont Kiara, No. 2, Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. Dated this 23rd July 2025. t.t. …………………… Messrs Liaw & Partners Solicitors for the Petitioner abovenamed NOTE: Any person who intends to appear on the hearing of the said petition must serve on or send by post to the abovenamed Messrs Liaw & Partners of E-07-01, Block E,Plaza Mont Kiara,No. 2,Jalan Kiara,Mont Kiara,50480 Kuala Lumpur, a notice in writing of his intention so to do. The notice must state the name and address of the person,or if a firm, the name and address of the firm,and must be signed by the person or firm, or his or their Solicitors (if any) and must be served, or, if posted, must be sent by post in sufficient time to reach the abovenamed not later than twelve o’clock noon on 8th September 2025. [REF: LP.LIT.035.24(H)] LAN MAJU ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION SDN BHD (Company No. 941025-A) … RESPONDENT

TADEJ POGACAR said yesterday he was ready to fight every kilometre with arch rival Jonas Vingegaard in his bid for a fourth Tour de France title. Far from resting on his laurels with a four-minute lead in the standings, defending champion Pogacar insisted his thoughts were on closing out the win in the six days of riding left. On the second rest day in the 21-day, 3,400km slog around France, Pogacar appeared much more mature than the 20-year-old who won the first of his three titles in 2020. “You learn every week, every day on this race that you must stay focused,” said the 26-year old Team UAE rider. “This is my sixth Tour. I miss the white jersey (for the best rider under 26), you know, but yes I’ve grown up, got more mature,” said Pogacar. He said he had also grown into this Tour. “Nobody liked those stages at the start of the Tour, it was quite nerve-wracking, but you need to be focused,”he said of the first week when he appeared a little annoyed at times.

Pogacar headed into the Pyrenees last week second only to surprise leader Ben Healy of Ireland. But he grabbed the lead by winning two of the tough, mountainous triptych of stages, emerging 4min 13sec ahead of second-placed Vingegaard, with promising German rider Florian Lipowitz third. “I’m actually enjoying the Tour now,” he said. Asked about whether he his exertions on the Tour, Pogacar said the only thing he was sure about was giving it everything in the final week in France. “Some riders are planning holidays. Not me. I’m thinking about the six days left. I haven’t decided about racing the Vuelta. I’m not planning anything until after this Tour,” he said. As the peloton prepares to soar into the Alps, Pogacar said he was prepared for an attack from Vingegaard. “It’s going to be tough. We are ready for a fight. With everybody, but especially Jonas, we’ve seen how strong he is.” – AFP planned to take part in the Vuelta a Espana, which begins on Aug 23, or if he prefered to take a break after

for The Open for the first time in three years and then made some early noise by going 3 under through his first seven holes of the tournament. Westwood wasn’t able to maintain the momentum for 72 holes and closed with a 73 that included a triple bogey on Sunday. 7 Jason Kokrak (-2, T40) : Kokrak hasn’t made many waves with his performance and cruised his way through four rounds at Royal Portrush without breaking 70. But that was good enough for a T40 – the best finish among players who failed to post at least one score in the 60s this week. 8 Henrik Stenson (-1, T45) : The 2016 Open champion rebounded from an opening 75 to make the cut. The author of one of the most dramatic finishes in Open history was unable to generate much drama over the weekend this time, closing 69-71. 9 Marc Leishman (E, T52): Leishman book-ended a 73 and a 75 with a pair of 68s. The Australian was never really a threat after going 3 over through his first 12 holes of the event. Leishman did go 4 under over the next 40 holes but was unable to maintain the momentum. 10 Phil Mickelson (+1, T56) : A hole-out as part of an open ing 70 was Mickelson’s highlight for the week. He faded with a 72 on Friday that was followed by a 76 on Saturday. Mickelson did rebound for a closing 67 that saw him climb 10 spots on the leader board.

pack would not have been a sur prise at the start of the week despite his shaky history on links courses. But his rally to a tie for 10th was especially impressive considering his 78 on Thursday left DeChambeau ahead of only seven players in the entire field. The two time US Open champion fired a 65 on Friday to make the cut and then posted 68-64 over the weekend to finish at 9-under. 2 Tyrrell Hatton (-7, T16): The Englishman played his way onto the first page of the leader board through 54 holes, but Hatton’s legendary temper was on full display during a disappointing 72 on Sunday. After battling to stay in contention on the front nine, Hatton went 1-over on the back to slide out of the top-20. 3 Dustin Johnson (-6, T23): There was a DJ sighting on the weekend of a major for the first time since The Open last year. It didn’t appear the drought was going to be snapped after open ing with a 73, but Johnson went 69-67-69 to quietly move his way up the leaderboard. T4 Sergio Garcia (-3, T34): Desperately trying to regain his form in time to convince European captain Luke Donald to consider him for the Ryder Cup, Garcia also made the cut on the number and then closed with a 68 for his low round of the tourna ment. T4 Jon Rahm (-3, T34) : After solid showings at each of

‘DeChambeau already on Ryder Cup roster’ RYDER CUP captain Keegan Bradley commit ted to Bryson DeChambeau being part of the US roster at Bethpage Black in September. players on the planet.” DeChambeau, a two-time US Open winner and currently No. 15 in the world, was fifth in points heading into the Open at Royal Portrush.

In a text message to Sports Illustrated , Bradley confirmed there was a spot reserved for DeChambeau regardless of whether he remains in the top six in points to earn an auto matic qualifying bid. DeChambeau was fifth in points when The Open Championship ended on Sunday. “Bryson is going to be a very important piece to us winning the Ryder Cup,” Sports Illustrated reported of Bradley’s text message yester night. “He brings so much. He brings energy, pas sion but most importantly, he’s one of the best

After the top six automatic qualifiers are settled, Bradley will select the remaining six players to play on his Ryder Cup roster in Farmingdale, New York. DeChambeau finished tied for 10th at the Open at 9-under. He left Northern Ireland on Monday thinking about being part of the US team. “I hope I can bring a lot of energy and a tsu nami of a crowd that’s going to be rooting for Team USA,” he said. – Field Level Media