PHOENIX (AP) ― Top-ranked Park In-bee birdied her final three holes for a 6-under 66 and a share of the JTBC Founders Cup lead among the early starters on Thursday. Coming off a victory two weeks ago in China in a Ladies European Tour event, Park closed with a tap-in birdie on the par-4 ninth after nearly holing a pitching wedge from 134 yards at Desert Ridge’s Wildfire Golf Club. “It was a very solid round,” Park said. “Very good irons today.” Morgan Pressel was 7 under after eight holes in her

GolfMarch 21, 2014

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) ― Masters champion Adam Scott was feeling ill when he arrived at Bay Hill. One majestic round with the putter made him feel a lot better on Thursday. Scott made five putts from about 20 feet or longer, two of them for eagle and one of them from off the green for birdie, and matched the course record with a 10-under 62 to build a four-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  The conditions were close to perfect. So was his work on the greens. “I made a lot of putts toda

GolfMarch 21, 2014

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida (AP) ― Lauren Davis defeated Zhang Shuai of China 6-2, 6-3 at the Sony Open on Wednesday as former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro withdrew with a left wrist injury.The 20-year-old Davis started 2014 ranked No. 72 and moved up to No. 55. From 1-1 in the first set, Davis jumped ahead to a 4-1m lead. In the second set, Zhang started with a 3-1 lead, but Davis won the next five games to take the match.“I’m playing really well and I have a lot of confidence,” Davis sai

More SportsMarch 20, 2014

MANCHESTER (AP) ― Robin van Persie ushered Manchester United into the Champions League quarterfinals ― and potentially saved his manager’s job ― with a hat trick in a 3-0 victory over Olympiakos that completed one of the competition’s greatest comebacks on Wednesday.On one of the memorable European nights at Old Trafford, Van Persie scored three times in a 27-minute span either side of halftime to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg. A slew of brilliant saves by David de Gea were also key

SoccerMarch 20, 2014

South Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min will begin his first U.S. season in the minors.The Baltimore Orioles said Wednesday, local time, that they have optioned Yoon to their Triple-A affiliate in Virginia, the Norfolk Tide, where the right-hander is expected to be a starter.Yoon, 27, signed a three-year contract worth $5.575 million in February. He didn’t pitch his first preseason game until last week, after getting his work permit in a drawn-out process that forced him to travel to Canada for a few

BaseballMarch 20, 2014

TAMPA, Florida (AP) ― Jarrod Parker, Kris Medlen and Luke Hochevar are out for the season, Patrick Corbin and Brandon Beachy might join them in the operating room.All over spring training, there’s been an outbreak of wrecked elbows and pained pitchers.Next stop, those dreaded words: Tommy John surgery.“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Tommy John himself said Tuesday. “Tommy John surgery will grow exponentially in the next 50 years.”“I really think there will come a day when if you have 12 pitcher

BaseballMarch 19, 2014

LONDON (AP) ― Chelsea ended England’s one-year absence from the Champions League quarterfinals, beating Gala-tasaray 2-0 Tuesday night on first-half goals by Samuel Eto’o and Gary Cahill to complete a 3-1 aggregate win.“It was everything we wanted it to be. We knew it was going to be a tough game and they hardly threatened,” Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said. “It was a very controlled, very professional performance from all of us.”In the night’s other match, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in

SoccerMarch 19, 2014

INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) ― Roger Federer could have been upset about losing a close final in one of the biggest events outside the Grand Slam tournaments.But the blow of a three-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday was softened by knowing how far he had come since injuring his back a year ago at Indian Wells.Last spring, Federer took a seven-week break. After Wimbledon, he re-injured his back and found himself questioning everything, leading to an uneven year for som

More SportsMarch 18, 2014

Olympic medalists and world champions will perform at South Korean figure skating icon Kim Yu-na’s final ice shows this spring, the skater’s agency said Tuesday.According to All That Sports, Denis Ten of Kazakhstan, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the men’s singles, and Alexei Yagudin of Russia, the 2002 Olympic gold medalist and the four-time world champ in the men’s singles, will headline the star-studded cast.Kim, who retired from competition after last month’s Winter Olympics in Soch

More SportsMarch 18, 2014

There are several South Korean footballers plying their trade in Europe and Asia, but the hottest player for the country today is based in the domestic league.Kim Shin-wook, a striker for Ulsan Hyundai in the top-flight K League Classic, scored in his fourth straight game on Sunday, helping his club to a 3-0 win over Gyeongnam FC at home and further improving his chances of making the South Korean team for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil this summer.Kim has netted a goal in each of Ulsan’s first tw

SoccerMarch 17, 2014

South Korean teenager Shim Suk-hee was crowned the women’s overall champion at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal on Sunday.Shim earned 102 total points by virtue of winning three races, becoming the first South Korean overall champ in the women’s competition since Cho Ha-ri in 2011.Another South Korean, Park Seung-hi, finished second overall with 73 points.Shim, 17, won three medals in her first Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, last month.  She anchored the 3,000 m r

More SportsMarch 17, 2014