LONDON, Canada (AFP) ― South Korea’s Ryu So-yeon fired a bogey-free opening round of nine-under par 63 Thursday to seize a one-stroke lead over compatriot Choi Na-yeon at the LPGA Canadian Women’s Open.Ryu, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion, hit all 14 fairways and needed only 25 putts, reaching 16 of 18 greens in regulation and chipping in with a sand save to stand atop the leaderboard.“I really feel great about that, especially because before I was going to tee off my warming up shots were r

GolfAug. 22, 2014

Son Yeon-jae, the South Korean rhythmic gymnast, has emerged as one of the most visible athletes in the country in recent years, thanks as much to her frequent appearances in commercials as to her athletic accomplishments.Though Son often tops national surveys on the country’s favorite athletes, the 20-year-old has also had her share of detractors, who argue that her records so far don’t warrant nearly as much publicity as she’s been getting and that she’s just a pretty face.Her girl-next-door c

More SportsAug. 21, 2014

LONDON, Canada (AFP) ― New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, a 17-year-old seeking her third consecutive LPGA Canadian Women’s Open title, tees off Thursday trying to join Meg Mallon and Pat Bradley as three-time winners.The South Korean-born prodigy was an amateur when she won in 2012 at age 15 and last year when she took the title in Edmonton.But world No. 3 Ko has already won twice this year on the LPGA Tour in her first professional season, taking the Swinging Skirts Classic and Marathon Classic.“The firs

GolfAug. 21, 2014

INCHEON (Yonhap) ― South Korea will take on Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Laos in the group stage of the men’s soccer tournament at the upcoming Asian Games at home.At the draw held in the Asiad host city of Incheon, just west of Seoul, Thursday, South Korea ended up in Group A with the three countries.The men’s competition features 29 nations. There will be five groups of four nations and three groups of three teams.South Korea is seeking its first Asiad gold in men’s football since 1986. It finis

SoccerAug. 21, 2014

LONDON (AP) ― Arsenal held on with 10 men to draw 0-0 at Besiktas in the Champions League playoff round Tuesday, while Bayer Leverkusen is better placed to advance after winning 3-2 at FC Copenhagen.Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey was sent off with 10 minutes left in the first leg match in Istanbul after being shown a second yellow card for tugging Oguzhan Ozyakup’s shirt.“For me it’s unbelievable to get the second yellow card when you see the kind of fouls they have made today it’s not serious,

More SportsAug. 20, 2014

The gymnast they call the “God of Vault” will be going after his second straight Asian Games gold when the continental competition opens next month in Incheon.Yang Hak-seon, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion in the men’s vault, first shot to fame by winning the vault title at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.It was Yang’s first gold medal at a major international competition at the senior level. He went on to win his first world title in Tokyo the following y

More SportsAug. 20, 2014

With the start of the Asian Games on their home soil a month away, South Korean athletes vowed Wednesday to put on excellent performances for their people toiling under the impact of the sluggish economy and a major man-made maritime accident more than four months ago.At their joint press conference held at the National Training Center in Seoul, the nation’s largest training ground for amateur athletes, athletes from 20 sports who took the stage all had one thing on their mind: delivering a mess

More SportsAug. 20, 2014

BARCELONA (AP) ― Neymar and Luis Suarez played for the first time since their dramatic World Cup exits, with the Brazilian star scoring twice Monday and showing no signs of his devastating back injury in Barcelona’s 6-0 rout of Mexican champion Leon in a preseason tuneup.The last time Suarez played he infamously bit an Italian opponent at the World Cup, drawing a four-month ban from competitive matches.The Uruguayan striker, who has since transferred to Barcelona from Liverpool, was cheered by h

SoccerAug. 19, 2014

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reacts after being introduced on Monday. (AFP-Yonhap)LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Sweating, clapping and shouting until he was nearly hoarse, Steve Ballmer introduced himself to Los Angeles Clippers fans at a rally on Monday celebrating his new ownership of the NBA team.The former Microsoft CEO made his way through the crowd inside Staples Center to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” exchanging high-fives and chest-bumping as he took the stage in front of 4,500 fans.Ballmer paid a reco

More SportsAug. 19, 2014

PITTSFORD, New York (AP) ― Park In-bee successfully defended her title in the LPGA Championship, beating Brittany Lincicome with a par on the first hole of a playoff Sunday to end the United States’ major streak at three.On the playoff hole on Monroe Golf Club’s par-4 18th, Park hit her second into the rough behind the hole. Lincicome hit her approach to the left fringe, nearly identical to her position on the final hole of regulation when she made a bogey to fall in the playoff.Lincicome chippe

GolfAug. 18, 2014

When Shim Chan-koo started his company in 2000, he never knew his company would grow this big. Now sports have become the life’s work of the 43-year-old CEO of Sportizen, and his company is the oldest and one of the largest sports marketing firms in Korea.He is even dubbed the Jerry Maguire of Korea for thriving in an area where people thought it was impossible to succeed. Shim recently acquired Belgian soccer club, AFC Tubize, blazing a trail in the Korean sports marketing industry. The purchas

SoccerAug. 18, 2014