Latest - New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox has dropped out of contention at the European Tour's UK Championship in Birmingham.
Photo: Photosport Ltd 2020
Fox has double-bogeyed the 18th hole to card a one-over 73 in the third round to now be five-under par for the tournament.
He's tied for 11th place and is now seven shots behind the leader, South Africa's Justin Walters.
After a bogey-free second round, Fox had a mixed third.
He managed five birdies, but his round was blotted with four bogeys and the double on the 18th.
Lee falls further back in PGA Tour playoff tournament
New Zealand number one Danny Lee has left himself with a lot of work to do to secure a spot at next week's Tour Championship.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Lee's tied for 47th place after three rounds of the second PGA Tour playoff tournament in Illinois.
He's projected to fall to 48th on the overall tour standings, with only the top 30 playing the championship event.
Lee is nine-over par, 10 shots behind the leaders, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and world number one Dustin Johnson, who are two shots clear of the field heading into the final round.
Meanwhile, Lydia Ko is tied for 43rd after two rounds of this week's LPGA Tour tournament in Arkansas.
Norwegian pulls on first yellow jersey of the Tour
Alexander Kristoff has won the opening stage of the Tour de France, while Thibaut Pinot was one of several riders to take a tumble on a rain-hit ride in Nice.
Photo: AFP
Norway's Kristoff outsprinted Danish world champion Mads Pedersen after 156 km around Nice as well as Pinot, who trailed by some distance. However, Pinot will be credited with the same time as the winner since the massive crash occurred within three kilometres of the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais.
Dutchman Cees Bol finished third.
Colombian Nairo Quintana, twice a Tour runner-up, fell earlier while Pavel Sivakov, one of defending champion Egan Bernal's key lieutenants, hit the ground twice.
Pre-stage favourites Sam Bennett, Caleb Ewan and Giacomo Nizzolo also crashed on slippery roads as rain wreaked havoc during the stage.
Organisers postponed the start of the Tour de France by several weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Reuters
Panthers continue winning streak
The Penrith Panthers have won their 11th straight match in the NRL to close in on the minor premiership.
Photo: NRL / Gregg Porteous
The Panthers have beaten the Wests Tigers 30-6 in Sydney to now sit five points clear at the top of the competition ladder.
The result leaves the Tigers 11th on the table and ends their faint finals hopes.
Earlier, the Cronulla Sharks beat the North Queensland Cowboys 28-12 in Sydney to consolidate their place in the top eight.
The Sharks remain eighth, but are now four points clear of the Warriors who have won for the fourth time in six matches.
Gunners lift Community Shield
Arsenal 's beaten Liverpool 5-4 on penalties to lift the Community Shield, the curtain-raiser for the English domestic season, after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw on a chilly afternoon at Wembley.
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and defender David Luiz with the Community Shield Photo: AFP
Gunners captain and match goal-scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang blasted home the final kick of the afternoon to complete the north London side's second win over the league champions in the space of six weeks after a shortened summer break.
Mohamed Salah, Fabinho, match goal-scorer Takumi Minamino and Curtis Jones all scored for Liverpool in the shootout, but late substitute Rhian Brewster blasted his shot onto the bar.
Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Cedric Soares and David Luiz all scored for the Gunners, before Aubameyang finished the job to lift his second trophy within a month following the side's FA Cup final win over Chelsea on Aug. 1.
- Reuters
Osaka withdraws from final ahead of US Open
Japan's Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from her final against Victoria Azarenka in the Western & Southern Open at Flushing Meadows because of a left hamstring injury.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"I'm sorry to have to withdraw today with an injury," Osaka said in a written statement. "I pulled my left hamstring yesterday in the second-set tiebreak and it has not recovered overnight as I had hoped.
"This has been an emotional week and I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support."
The 22-year-old two-time Grand Slam winner defeated Belgium's Elise Mertens on Friday in their semi-final after she had initially said she would not compete in the match in a protest over racial injustice in the United States.
Osaka's injury means Belarusian Azarenka wins her first title since 2016.
The tournament was the final tune-up for the U.S. Open, which starts on Monday.
- Reuters
Djokovic still perfect this year
Novak Djokovic has kept his unbeaten streak in 2020 alive as he survived a terrible start to defeat Milos Raonic 1-6 6-3 6-4 in the final of the Western & Southern Open.
Photo: Photosport
The 17-time Grand Slam winner fended off Raonic's mighty serve to extend his 2020 winning run to 23-0, clinching his 80th career title and equalling Rafael Nadal's record of 35 Masters 1000 wins.
Battling through a neck injury, Djokovic struggled early in the match as he produced four double faults in the first set. Raonic took advantage of the world number one's misfiring serve to close out the set in just 30 minutes.
Djokovic, who had beaten the 29-year-old Canadian in all 10 of their previous match-ups, came roaring back, unleashing his powerful forehand and winning four straight games in the final set.
The tournament, a final tune-up ahead of the U.S. Open, which begins on Tuesday (NZT), was staged in front of empty stands at Flushing Meadows instead of its usual venue in Mason near Cincinnati, Ohio. The tournament formed part of a secure bubble that was created due to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Reuters
Hamilton claims record-extending 93rd pole position
Lewis Hamilton has stormed to a dominant pole position in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas who completed a front-row lockout for Mercedes while rivals Ferrari endured a miserable day.
Lewis Hamilton Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Briton, who leads the overall standings by 37 points from Red Bull's Max Verstappen, lapped the seven-km Spa-Francorchamps track in a record time of one minute 41.252 seconds, 0.511 seconds clear of Bottas.
Verstappen was once again best of the rest in third for Red Bull. The Dutchman was 0.526 seconds off Hamilton's pace.
It is a record-extending 93rd of Hamilton's career and he dedicated it to 'Black Panther' film star Chadwick Boseman who died of colon cancer.
It was the 35-year-old's fifth pole from seven races this season and a record-extending sixth at the Spa-Francorchamps track.
- Reuters
Waratahs keep finals hopes alive
The New South Wales Waratahs have beaten the Melbourne Rebels 38-32 in their Super Rugby AU clash in Sydney, but the margin of victory was probably not enough to ensure the home side qualify for the playoffs of the domestic competition.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Rebels captain Matt Toomua kicked a late penalty to give his side a vital bonus point that should be a factor in determining the composition of the top-three placings.
The Waratahs have a bye in next Saturday's final round of the regular season and have finished on 19 points.
The Rebels, who are on 15 points, could finish third if they beat the winless Western Force next Saturday.
The Brumbies sealed top spot on Friday with a 31-14 win over the also winless Force in Canberra to move to 28 points.
The Queensland Reds are second on 21 points and face the Brumbies in Brisbane next Saturday.
- Reuters
Positive tests ahead of rescheduled IPL
Two players and 11 other people have tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in the United Arab Emirates for the Indian Premier League (IPL), while all-rounder Suresh Raina has pulled out of the tournament for personal reasons.
This year's IPL will be played in the UAE from Sept. 19 due to the situation of the pandemic in India where there have been a reported 3.46 million cases and 62,550 deaths due to the virus.
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) said 1,988 tests had been carried out between Aug. 20 and 28 across the teams and other officials in the UAE as part of its health protocols.
"Thirteen personnel have tested positive of which two are players," the board said in a statement.
The board did not specify who the 13 personnel represented in the 13th edition of the tournament but local media in India said all of them were from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp.
Three-time IPL champions CSK also lost Raina, who is second, after India captain Virat Kohli, in the all-time list of highest run-getters in the popular tournament.
"Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season," Chief Executive Kasi Viswanathan said on the team's Twitter feed.
- Reuters
