France’s Levy wins Volvo China Open
BEIJING: Alexander Levy overturned a seven-stroke deficit in the final round to win the Volvo China Open in a sudden-death playoff on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Frenchman became the first two-time winner of the tournament when he beat Dylan Frittelli on the first playoff hole after the South African squandered a big lead.
The pair finished tied at the top of a congested leaderboard at 17-under par 271 after Levy closed with a fiveunder 67 and Frittelli — who was seven in front of the Frenchman at the start of the day and four clear of his nearest rival with nine holes to play — shot a final-round 74.
Replaying the par-5 18th, Levy sealed victory when he drained a 15-foot putt for birdie after Frittelli missed his birdie attempt and settled for par at the Topwin Golf and Country Club.
“Early on, I was never really thinking I could win this tournament,” Levy said. “I only started thinking (of winning) when I saw the leaderboard on 15 and I was only one shot behind.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the winner’s circle.”
Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal, who led at the halfway stage, ended a frustrating final day on the greens with a birdie at the last to finish outright third, just one shot behind at 16-under, after closing with a 72.
Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger (67) and England’s Chris Wood (68) tied for fourth at 15-under. South Korea’s former PGA Championship winner Y E Yang shot a 66, the best score of the day, to finish level with England’s Ross Fisher (67), a further shot adrift.
Frittelli, a teammate of Jordan Spieth when they were both at the University of Texas, looked to be cruising towards his first European Tour title after opening up a fourshot lead with nine holes to play.
The 26-year-old, who lost a playoff at the 2016 Australian PGA Championship, did not drop a single shot in his previous two rounds. But he saw his lead suddenly slashed in half when he double-bogeyed the par-5 12th after his errant drive ended up resting against a tree and he had to take a drop.
He made amends when he drove the green on the 299-yard par-4 15th and made birdie. But he dropped another shot at the par-3 16th and was unable to pick up another birdie, which would have won him the title, at either of the last two holes.
“It stings a little bit,” said Frittelli. “I let it go there in the end but I’m still proud of the way I played this week, it’s a great result — 17 under par on this golf course is nothing to scoff at. Tuesday to open round two at home against Sunday’s winner between Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers. Golden State has been nagged by injuries, including a calf injury to star forward Kevin Durant, and health issues with coach Steve Kerr, who has missed two games and is uncertain for the remainder of the playoffs. The other Western Conference semi-final showdown matches Texas rivals San Antonio and Houston, their first playoff meeting since 1995 after a season where their four meetings all went down to the final minute. ‘King’ of the road - James has won at least once on the road in 27 consecutive playoff series dating to 2009 and in 35 of 38 over his 14-year career. “I just like the adversity of the road,” James said. “I love the ‘Tonight is not the night’ LeBron slogans. I love the ‘You’re overrated’ and all those things.” He might hear it a lot. Despite 31 home wins, second best in the NBA this season, the Cavaliers won’t have the home-court edge again in the playoffs if form holds.
Cleveland and Toronto each went 51-31 this season and while Cleveland went 3-1 against the Raptors to gain the home-court edge, three meetings were last year and the last had many key players sitting out to rest.
The Raptors pushed Cleveland to six games last year and won’t likely vanish easily this time. “I know what we have in that locker room, and that’s some fighters and scrappers,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
The Celtics, 2-2 against Washington this season, expect to have guard Isaiah Thomas for game one after her attended his sister Chyna’s funeral on Saturday. She was killed in an auto accident two weeks ago, but Thomas has not missed a game.
“I don’t know (how he played),” Bradley said. “It’s truly amazing.” Celtics coach Brad Stevens is more concerned about the man than the games.
“If he decides when he gets there that it’s too much, that’s OK. That’s fine,” Stevens said. “This (grieving) is a lot more important.”
Thomas averaged 27.8 points a game against the Wizards this season TAIPEI: Shiv Kapur claimed victory at the inaugural Yeangder Heritage in Miaoli, Taiwan on Sunday, beating overnight leader Yikeun Chang with an impressive eight-under-par 64.
The 35-year-old veteran from India ended strong, shooting five birdies in his closing seven holes and finished with a winning total of 16-under-par 272.
The win ends a long drought for Kapur, whose last Asian Tour title was 12 years ago when he was still a rookie.
It also marked a strong comeback for him after undergoing liver surgery last September.
“I really struggled last year,” said Kapur. while Washington guards John Wall and Bradley Beal together averaged almost 40 points against Boston.
Washington led the NBA with 20.7 fast break points and 9.2 steals a game in round one.
“It’s playoff time,” Beal said. “It’s winning time and we’re going to do whatever it takes.” Kerr status still uncertain - While Durant has rested his calf, Kerr missed practice again on Saturday as he battles nausea, headaches and neck pain related to back surgery two years ago. Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown guided Golden State in his absence and could be pressed into duty throughout the playoffs. He’s a former Cleveland coach who 10 years ago guided James and the Cavs into their first NBA Finals, where they lost to San Antonio.
The Spurs are powered by Kawhi Leonard while James Harden sparks Houston. Harden averaged 29.8 points, 12.5 assists and 9.0 rebounds against the Spurs, who boast the NBA’s top defense and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Leonard.
San Antonio was 3-1 against the Rockets but three games were decided by two points and the other by only six.