Lam Chih Bing made the best of challenging weather on Thursday to take the early lead at the Singapore Open with a 4-under-par 67. Australia's Adam Scott was hindered by the wet weather and snarly rough on the opening day of the $5 million tournament, as big guns Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington also struggled to get going. Play was suspended around midday local time due to the stormy weather and resumed about two hours

Shin Ji-yai won the Mizuno Classic for her second LPGA Tour title and ninth international victory of the year, shooting a 5-under 67 on Sunday to easily hold off Mayu Hattori at Kinetsu Kashikojima.   The Women's British Open winner and the first player to sweep the Korea LPGA Tour's three majors in a season, Shin finished at 15-under 201 for her second victory of the year in Japan. The 20-year-old South Korean star earned

Annika Sorenstam defeated Ye Liying in the second hole of a playoff Sunday at the Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open, giving the Swede her fourth title of the season. Sorenstam, who is retiring from golf at the end of the season, shot a 7-under 65 to tie Ye at the end of regulation in the 54-hole Ladies European Tour event. Both finished on 13-under 203.

HAIKOU, China -- Helen Alfredsson gets a kick out of calling herself "Grandma," particularly when it suits her. It did Sunday. The 43-year-old Swede shot a 7-under 65 on Sunday to win the Grand China Air tournament, beating 19-year-old Yani Tseng of Taiwan by three strokes for her second victory of the season. Alfredsson joked about her age earlier this season after winning the Evian Masters for the third time. She was at it again

NEW DELHI -- The Asian Tour is closely monitoring whether the global financial meltdown impacts the U.S. PGA Tour but is hopeful it would not hurt its own rapid growth. "We are fairly worried," Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han told Reuters of the downturn. "It depends on what happens on the U.S. PGA Tour. Their tournaments are bigger budgets, more money, especially the American banks putting in a lot of money.  

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean Bae Sang-moon shot a 2-under 69 Sunday to win the Korean Open, finishing a stroke ahead of Ian Poulter. Poulter (70) bogeyed the 16th and 18th holes to blow his lead. American Anthony Kim (71) tied for third with South Korean Kim Wi-joong (72). The 22-year-old Bae totaled 11-under 273 at the Woo Jeong Country Club and won $240,000 to climb to fifth on the Asian Tour's Order of

SEOUL, South Korea -- Kim Wi-joong shot a 2-under 69 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Korea Open. The South Korean was at 10-under 203 after a round of five birdies and three bogeys at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club. American Anthony Kim (67), Englishman Ian Poulter (69) and South Koreans Bae Sang-moon (67) and Kim Dae-sub (69) were tied for second. "Before playing this week, my goal

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ South Korea's Kim Wi-joong shot a 4-under 67 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead in the Korea Open, while American Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim followed his opening 64 with a 73 to drop three shots back. "I had no control over my distance," said Anthony Kim, a two-time winner this year on the PGA Tour. "I have to tighten up my driver now. It was not a good

SEOUL, South Korea -- U.S. Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim took an early lead at the Korea Open with a 7-under 64 on Thursday, finishing the opening day two shots ahead of the field.    The Korean-American, one of the sport's rising stars, carried on where he left off for the U.S. in Kentucky.   The 23-year-old held a two-shot lead over local Kim Jong-myung (66) in the $1 million Asian Tour event at the

CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland -- The European Masters will be co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours next year, the first golf tournament on European soil to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour.   The move, announced Friday, is a partial response to the development of the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour, which has cut into the quality of the field at the tournament this week. "The FedEx Cup is one of the constant challenges faced

SUNNINGDALE, England – If you were in any doubt that Korean golfers are in the process of taking over women’s golf, then all you have to do is look at the numbers here at the Women’s British Open. For the first time in this championship, the number of Koreans matches the number of Americans in the field – 31 players apiece. Last year there were 26 Koreans to 31 Americans. Next year could mark another

From Golf WorldBy Ron SirakChina has lurked as a defiant mystery for thousands of years. First, as an exotic series of dynasties guiding a creative culture that gave the world paper, movable type and gunpowder—while at the same time holding outsiders at arm''s length. More recently, China groaned beneath the weight of a closed society under which that entrepreneurial spirit was suffocated by Communist rule. Of the great ancient empires, China had the least interest

From Golf DigestIt''s 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the day before the China Open starts, and a press conference is taking place in the media center at the CBD International Golf Club, on the outskirts of Beijing. Liang Wen-chong, 29, the best Chinese golfer, is holding court. He provides long answers in Mandarin. Through an interpreter, each one becomes a single sentence in English. For Westerners in China, so much gets lost in translation."What does

From GOLF.comSports Illustrated published a story on the country as a burgeoning golf mecca in 2003. The relatively new golf trail''s name, however, evokes images of the war.That''s why it''s perfect. It''s a guaranteed attention-getter. I haven''t been there (the boss said in his rejection note that it had something to do with budget issues), but you can check out the courses at hochiminhgolftrail.com, where you''ll find this brochure-style prose: "From the bustle of modern

From GOLFWEEKFinal scores with relation to par and earnings from the Pine Valley Beijing Open, played May 8-11 at the par-72, 7,259-yard Pine Valley Golf Resort and Country Club in Beijing, China (Note: a-amateur):1. Hiroyuki Fujita$158,500 67-65-72-72--276  -12Keep reading.... 

From The Futures Tour WebsiteShe could have taken the more predictable route. And if it weren’t for golf, she probably would be sitting in an office cubicle in Hong Kong, making a very good living as an investment banker.But JEEHAE LEE of Seoul, South Korea, has never opted for the easy path. Not when she entered Yale University as a student-athlete. And certainly not now as a second-year professional on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.“Golf is

From The Sporting LifeThe Royal and Ancient Club is to use £100,000 of Open Championship profits to support the HSBC China Junior Golf Programme.The programme was launched last May, attracting over 1,200 junior golfers to attend seven tournaments and two summer camps, and this year the game is being taken into schools, resulting in more than 70,000 more boys and girls being introduced to golf.Keep reading....

From GolfweekThe first LPGA tournament to be played in China will take place Oct. 24-26 at the Haikou West Golf Club in Hainan’s capital, Haikou, the LPGA announced Tuesday.The event will be called the Grand China Air LPGA. Grand China Air is a subsidiary of the HNA Group, one of the four largest airline companies in China.Keep reading....

From The Economic TimesThere has been an incredible amount of money invested in cricket’s Indian Premier League. This is great for the maturity of the Indian sports management and promotion industry. Finally domestic cricketers beyond the starting Indian 11 are getting paid decently. Their earnings are starting to match the earnings of India’s top golfers like Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa who routinely have been pulling in an average of Rs 3-4 crore per

From The BBCNorthern Ireland''s Darren Clarke claimed a one-shot lead at the end of the third round of the BMW Asian Open after firing a five-under-par 67.Clarke, seeking his first European Tour win in five years, started one shot behind Robert-Jan Derksen but five birdies saw him overtake the Dutchman."I played really well. I''m very pleased with the way I hit the ball," he said.Keep reading....

From GOLF.comBEIJING (AP) — Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands and China''s Zhang Lian-Wei both shot 3-under 69s on Friday for a share of the lead at the midway point of the Asian Open.Derksen and Zhang had a one-stroke advantage over Northern Ireland''s Ryder Cup regular Darren Clarke, who also shot a 69 in the second round of the $2.3 million jointly sanctioned European and Asian Tour event (scores).Keep reading....

From ESPN.comBEIJING -- Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands and China''s Zhang Lian-Wei both shot 3-under 69s on Friday for a share of the lead at the midway point of the Asian Open.Derksen and Zhang had a one-stroke advantage over Northern Ireland''s Ryder Cup regular Darren Clarke, who also shot a 69 in the second round of the $2.3 million jointly sanctioned European and Asian Tour event.First-round leader Peter O''Malley of Australia (74) and England''s Miles

From ESPN.comSHANGHAI, China -- Australian veteran Peter O''Malley shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Asian Open on Thursday.O''Malley, who has only won one European Tour event in the past 13 years, led a group of four who shot 4-under 68s: Sweden''s Henrik Stenson, India''s Jeev Milka Singh, Oliver Wilson of England and Finland''s Mikko Ilonen.The 42-year-old O''Malley had six birdies and one bogey to lead the

From GolfweekFinal scores with earnings and relation to par from the Token Homemate Cup, played April 17-20 at the par-71 Token Tado Country Club (Nagoya) in Mie, Japan (Note: earnings in yen):1. Katsumasa MiyamotoY22,000,000 71-66-73-66--276  -8Keep reading.... 

From ESPN.comBEIJING, China -- Damien McGrane of Ireland won the China Open by nine strokes on Sunday to clinch his first European Tour title.McGrane, who carried a three-stroke lead into the final day, held firm where others succumbed to the wet conditions, firing a 1-over 73 to finish with at 10-under on the CBD International course.Britons Oliver Wilson and Simon Griffiths, and France''s Michael Lorenzo-Vera tied for second, with defending champion Markus Brier of Austria,