DALY CITY, California (AP) ― With the 18th pin and a championship in sight, Lydia Ko found herself in the rough again in a day filled with off-target drives. The teen told herself she just needed one more important chip with the tournament on the line.Poised and unflappable, Ko made the perfect pitch up to the green and birdied the final hole for her first LPGA Tour victory as a professional and third in all, holding off Stacy Lewis and Jenny Shin on Sunday in the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA

GolfApril 28, 2014

SEOUL/LOS ANGELES (Yonhap) ― Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered his second loss of the Major League Baseball season on Sunday after a shaky start against the Colorado Rockies.Ryu dropped to 3-2 after allowing six earned runs on nine hits in five-plus innings against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium, as Colorado took the game 6-1. Ryu was relieved by Brandon League with no out in the top sixth after Josh Rutledge’s three-run homer.Ryu allowed leadoff hits in four of the six innings and

BaseballApril 28, 2014

AVONDALE, Louisiana (AP) ― As Noh Seung-yul exhaled and tilted his head back in a skyward gaze on the 18th green, his South Korean countryman and fellow PGA Tour player, Yang Yong-eun, charged toward him, spraying him with bottled beer.Noh smiled, removed his hat, held both arms out and soaked it all in.The 22-year-old overcame windy conditions and the pressure that goes with attempting to secure a maiden PGA Tour triumph, shooting a 1-under 71 on Sunday to win the Zurich Classic by two shots.He

GolfApril 28, 2014

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― Stacy Lewis matched playing partner Lydia Ko with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 and added another on the 17th to take a one-stroke lead Saturday in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.The third-ranked Lewis and fourth-ranked Ko each shot 4-under 68 at Lake Merced. Winless since the Women’s British Open in August, Lewis had a 10-under 206 total.Ko won the Canadian Women’s Open as an amateur the last two years and took the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters in December in T

GolfApril 27, 2014

AVONDALE, Louisiana (AP) ― If Noh Sueng-yul can hold on to the lead in the Zurich Classic, he’ll do it front of fans who can appreciate how much bigger Noh’s mission is than simply winning his first PGA Tour event.Wearing yellow and black ribbons on his hat to honor victims of the April 16 South Korean ferry accident, Noh used a string of birdies late in his round Saturday to surge two strokes ahead of Keegan Bradley atop the leaderboard.It is Noh’s first career lead through three rounds on the

GolfApril 27, 2014

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― After a sleepless night before his managerial debut, Ryan Giggs saw his Manchester United team reawaken Old Trafford with a comfortable victory over Norwich on Saturday to end a tumultuous week that started with David Moyes’ dismissal.United asserted itself over Norwich after a tedious start, with Wayne Rooney scoring twice ― the first from the penalty spot ― and Juan Mata also netting a brace after coming off the bench to complete a 4-0 win in the English Premier Leag

SoccerApril 27, 2014

PHOENIX (AP) ― Pinch hitter Cody Asche hit a two-run double in Philadelphia’s four-run eighth inning and the Phillies rallied after a shaky start by Cliff Lee to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 on Saturday night.The Phillies fell behind 5-0 in the first three innings as Lee struggled.Philadelphia rallied by scoring two runs off Bronson Arroyo in the seventh and four more in the eighth against Joe Thatcher and Trevor Cahill (1-5).Jeff Manship (1-0) allowed a hit and two walks in an inning and J

BaseballApril 27, 2014

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― Karine Icher and her caddie husband, Fred, evaluated the conditions and course at challenging Lake Merced and decided on a Day 1 strategy: stay short of the pin and putt uphill.The move worked beautifully, and Icher delivered the most consistent performance on a day there weren’t many in the debut of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.“I think it’s the key on this course,” Icher said. “It’s a tough golf course, especially with the wind and temperature. It gets so cold.

GolfApril 25, 2014

MESA, Arizona (AP) ― Michael Phelps is 0 for 1 in his comeback to the pool.The 22-time Olympic medalist lost to Ryan Lochte in the 100-meter butterfly final at the Arena Grand Prix on Thursday night.Lochte touched first in 51.93 seconds, second-fastest in the world this year. Phelps took second in 52.13 in his first meet since retiring after the 2012 London Olympics.“I swam a final again,” a smiling Phelps said. “I said I wanted to be around 52.0 and I would be completely happy with that.” He is

More SportsApril 25, 2014

Kim Ki-tai has offered to step down as manager of the last-place LG Twins, the Korea Baseball Organization team announced. The Twins added they haven’t accepted his resignation offer, after Kim said he wanted to quit to take responsibility for the Seoul-based team’s slow start to the season. They said bench coach Cho Kye-hyun will serve as the interim manager.Kim didn’t appear for Wednesday’s game against the Samsung Lions, fueling speculation that he had either been fired or had resigned. The T

BaseballApril 24, 2014

South Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min got a no-decision in his fourth minor league start on Wednesday.Starting for the Norfolk Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on the road, the right-hander pitched five innings and allowed two runs, both unearned, on eight hits and two walks.Yoon left the game with the Tides up 4-2, but the IronPigs tied the score in the bottom of the eighth and won with a sacrifice fly in the ninth.Yoon remained at 0-3 with

BaseballApril 24, 2014

PAJU (Yonhap) ― Controversial South Korean footballer Park Chu-young, dealing with charges of special treatment over his rehab program, said on Thursday he is determined to let his action on the field speak for itself.Park met the press before starting his rehab program at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul. The forward for Watford in the second English division returned home earlier this month to treat inflammation on his right foot.After completing his trea

SoccerApril 24, 2014

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― A beaming Michelle Wie explained her oversized visor as a necessary new addition after recently discovering wrinkles at age 24, then good-naturedly defended her unique, hunched-over putting stroke because Jack Nicklaus uses it.Improved sun protection and short game aside, Wie is riding high after a comeback win in her home state of Hawaii last week. Now, she returns to familiar ground in the Bay Area looking to build on her first LPGA Tour victory in nearly four year

GolfApril 23, 2014

MADRID (AP) ― Chelsea capitalized on its defensive strategy, playing to a 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.Jose Mourinho’s ultra-defensive tactics worked at the Vicente Calderon Stadium despite the early exit of injured goalkeeper Petr Cech in the 18th minute. Mark Schwarzer came on with Cech’s long-term replacement, Thibaut Courtois, playing in the opposite goal, on-loan from Chelsea.Atletico nearly broke through in the final 15 minut

SoccerApril 23, 2014