The Korea Herald

Shanshan Feng takes LPGA lead

WATERLOO, Ontario (AP) ― Shanshan Feng took a two-stroke lead Saturday in the LPGA Tour’s Manulife Financial Classic, shooting a 4-under 67 in calm conditions at Grey Silo.The 24-year-old Chinese player had a 15-under 198 total. She made a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth, had two birdies and dropped her first stroke of the week with a bogey on the par-4 16th.“I got off to a very good start, 4 under through six holes,” Feng said. “Then actually, I couldn’t make a lot of putts. I missed a lo

GolfJune 8, 2014

French classic

PARIS (AP) ― Nothing came easily for Maria Sharapova in the French Open final.Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults. Shots that would be winners against most opponents were retrieved by Simona Halep and sent right back. Leads that usually hold up vanished in a blink. On a muggy afternoon, with the temperature in the high 70s, points were lung-searing struggles.Sharapova was up to the task. In an entertaining and undulating championshi

More SportsJune 8, 2014

Ryu Hyun-jin picks up seventh win of season vs. Rockies

Ryu Hyun-jin (Yonhap)Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers earned his seventh win of the season on the road against the Colorado Rockies on Friday, keeping the National League's highest-scoring offense at bay.Ryu improved to 7-2 this year after giving up two runs over six innings on eight hits at Coors Field, a notorious hitter-friendly park in Mile High City. Ryu struck out two and walked two, while lowering his ERA from 3.09 to 3.08.This was his fourth straight victory since coming off the d

BaseballJune 7, 2014

Ryu Hyun-jin picks up seventh win of season vs. Rockies

Nadal, Murray reach semis

PARIS (AFP) ― Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal defeated compatriot David Ferrer as well as the Paris gloom on Wednesday to reach his ninth French Open semifinal where he will face Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.The world No. 1 recovered from dropping his first set of the tournament to record a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 win while seventh-seeded Murray defeated home hope Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0.Wednesday’s win took the 28-year-old Nadal’s record in Paris to 64 victories and just one loss and

More SportsJune 5, 2014

Choi named vice captain for Presidents Cup

South Korean PGA Tour veteran Choi Kyung-ju has been named a vice captain for a team of non-European international stars at next year’s Presidents Cup scheduled on his home soil.At a press conference held in Ridgedale, Missouri, on Wednesday, local time, Choi was announced as the vice captain to Zimbabwe’s Nick Price for the biennial competition.The Presidents Cup pits a team of Americans against a squad of international players representing non-European nations in match play over four days.Choi

More SportsJune 5, 2014

Choi named vice captain for Presidents Cup

Hong aims to reach round of 16

MIAMI (Yonhap) ― South Korean national football head coach Hong Myung-bo is a reticent type who doesn’t normally talk about specific goals for his team.Yet in a candid session with South Korean journalists Wednesday here, Hong laid out a clear objective for his 23-man squad at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil.“I know I’ve never talked about our goal, and to be honest, it is to make it out of the group stage,” Hong said with a smile.“Once past that stage, no one can predict what can transpir

More SportsJune 5, 2014

Morse, Perez HRs lead Giants over Reds 3-2

CINCINNATI (AP) ― Juan Perez hasn’t gotten many at-bats in the majors. He didn’t need a whole lot of experience to know what was coming this time. Left-hander Tony Cingrani was going to throw a first-pitch fastball.The young outfielder got it and hit it out.Perez and Michael Morse homered with two outs in the sixth inning on Wednesday night, rallying the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 victory that ended the Cincinnati Reds’ longest winning streak of the season at four games.San Francisco won for

More SportsJune 5, 2014

Getting defensive

MIAMI, Florida (Yonhap) ― South Korean midfielder Han Kook-young isn’t flashy by any stretch of the imagination. And yet he is still a coach’s dream, a type of unassuming, hard-working player whom soccer cognoscenti could appreciate. As South Korea prepares for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil at its camp in Miami, the 24-year-old said he will continue to make sacrifices for the team.“I am trying not to have any regrets each day,” Han told reporters Tuesday before practice at St. Thomas Uni

SoccerJune 4, 2014

Sharapova rallies to reach semis

PARIS (AP) ― This is what Maria Sharapova does. She digs herself a big hole in a match, then figures a way out, no matter what it takes.She hits shots left-handed. Takes her time between points. Pumps her fists and screams “Come on!” after her opponent’s mistakes. And wins.Did it in the fourth round at the French Open, turning things around by winning the last nine games. Did it Tuesday, too, reeling off nine of the last 10 games to put together a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over 35th-ranked Garbine M

More SportsJune 4, 2014

Platini hits back at Qatar claim

NYON, Switzerland (AP) ― FIFA vice president Michel Platini has criticized a British newspaper for linking him to corruption claims about Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid.The Daily Telegraph led Tuesday’s edition reporting that Platini secretly met with his FIFA board colleague Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar “shortly before” the World Cup vote in December 2010.The claim follows the rival Sunday Times alleging that bin Hammam, who FIFA expelled in 2012, paid soccer officials millions of dollars to support

SoccerJune 4, 2014

Nadal keeps winning in Paris

Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns a shot at the French Open on Monday. (AFP-Yonhap)PARIS (AP) ― Maybe, just maybe, Rafael Nadal was a tad vulnerable, the thinking went before this French Open.He had lost three times on his beloved red clay already this year, more defeats than he ever had on the surface before heading to Roland Garros.Then came an admission, after the Grand Slam tournament’s third round, that his back was bothering him and slowing his serves.Well, leave it to the eight-time French Ope

More SportsJune 3, 2014

Indians end Red Sox’s win streak

CLEVELAND (AP) ― Once Justin Masterson found the strike zone, he stayed there.And there was little the Red Sox could do about it.Masterson shook off a rocky start and pitched seven scoreless innings as the Cleveland Indians ended Boston’s seven-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory Monday night.Masterson (3-4) walked four in the first three innings, but got a huge strikeout to escape a bases-loaded threat in the first and settled in to win for the first time in five starts. He allowed just thre

BaseballJune 3, 2014

Thousands of fans show up for Brazil’s training session

GOIANIA, Brazil (AP) ― Thousands of fans watched Brazil’s final training session Monday before its World Cup warm-up game against Panama.Fans arrived early at the Serra Dourada Stadium to get a glimpse of the players who will try to win the World Cup at home beginning next week.Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari made reference to 20,000 people watching on, but initial estimates by police said between 5,000 and 10,000 supporters were at the stadium. Attendance at the 50,000-capacity Serra Dourada had been

SoccerJune 3, 2014

Korea keeping close tabs on Russia

MIAMI, Florida (Yonhap) ― Fully aware of the importance of the opening group match at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, South Korea is closely studying Russia in the buildup to the big event, a midfielder said on Monday.Ahead of the team’s practice at St. Thomas University in Miami, midfielder Park Jong-woo told reporters that the team watched videos of Russia for the third time earlier in the day.The South Koreans had studied the Russian team in two video sessions before arriving in the United Stat

SoccerJune 3, 2014

Lewis takes top ranking from Park

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (AP) ― Stacy Lewis is back on top.And this time, she’s ready to stay there for a while.Lewis won the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Sunday to take the top spot in the world ranking from Park In-bee, finishing with a 4-under 67 for a six-stroke victory.No. 1 for four weeks early last year, Lewis ended Park’s 59-week run in the top spot.“It feels great,” Lewis said. “I feel like I’ve played a lot of good, consistent golf over the last year and I felt like I deserve to be he

GolfJune 2, 2014

Hwang shows his versatility

MIAMI, Florida (Yonhap) ― Although he will likely end up being a backup at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil, South Korean defensive back Hwang Seok-ho said Sunday he still cherishes the opportunity to represent his country at the sport’s grandest event.“I can’t wait for the World Cup,” Hwang said at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida, where the rest of the 23-man squad is training ahead of the June 12-July 13 tournament. “I don’t know if I am going to get another chance to be on a Worl

SoccerJune 2, 2014

Korea’s opponents go undefeated

South Korea’s Group H opponents at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil have collectively gone undefeated in their prep matches for the big tournament, providing a glimpse into what can be expected in games that will matter later this month.Belgium and Russia have played two matches in the past week, and Algeria has played one match in the buildup to the World Cup.Belgium is the top-ranked nation in Group H at No. 12 and is favored to win the group in Brazil. The Belgians routed Luxembourg 5-1

SoccerJune 2, 2014

Yu Darvish fans 12 as Rangers avert sweep

WASHINGTON (AP) ― After getting pummeled by Washington in two straight games, the Texas Rangers were eager to stop the Nationals’ seemingly interminable parade around the bases.Yu Darvish gave the Rangers just what they needed to avert a humbling sweep.Darvish struck out 12 over eight innings, Leonys Martin broke open a scoreless duel with a homer in the seventh and Texas secured a 2-0 victory Sunday.The Rangers won despite losing an apparent run in a rare double challenge on the same play. Mana

BaseballJune 2, 2014

Park In-bee to fall from No. 1 in women's golf rankings

South Korean LPGA Tour star Park In-bee will fall from the No. 1 spot in the women's world golf rankings after more than a year on top.Stacy Lewis of the United States cruised to her second win of the season at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway, New Jersey, on Sunday, local time. She will move up from No. 2 to No. 1 when the newest rankings are announced later in the day, ending Park's 59-week reign at the top of women's golf.Lewis shot a three-round total of 16-under at the tournament for a

GolfJune 2, 2014

Lewis leads at ShopRite

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (AP) ― Stacy Lewis moved into position to take the top spot in the world, shooting a bogey-free 8-under 63 on Saturday to match the 36-hole record in the ShopRite LPGA Classic.The second-ranked Lewis had a 12-under 130 total on the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club.A victory Sunday would guarantee Lewis the No. 1 ranking, which Park In-bee has held for 59 straight weeks after taking it from Lewis. Park, playing in the windier afternoon session, had

GolfJune 1, 2014