Bale bows out on bench as Madrid blow season finale Koepka smells PGA crown
Madrid, May 19: Real Madrid delivered a suitably dreadful end to their miserable season, and Gareth Bale was not even given the chance to say a likely goodbye, as Zinedine Zidane’s side were beaten 2-0 at home to Real Betis on Sunday.
Zidane had indicated this could be Bale’s final game ahead of an expected summer departure but the Welshman was left on the bench, made to watch on as three substitutes came on ahead of him at the Santiago Bernabeu.
None were able to revive another dreary and disjointed Madrid performance, which concluded both the season and first phase of Zidane’s much-hailed return as coach.
“The best thing for us is that it’s over and we can think about next year,” he said afterwards.
“Because things change, for sure.” will
As the players saluted the fans at the end, they were greeted by a chorus of whistles.
By then, Bale was already off down the tunnel, perhaps aware that any attempt at a farewell could be given an even colder reception.
VALENCIA HOLD ON
TO FOURTH Valencia held their nerve to secure La Liga’s last Champions League place on Saturday as a 20 victory over Real Valladolid ended the hopes of Getafe and Sevilla of snatching fourth.
Getafe had to better Valencia’s result at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla as they faced Villarreal, while Sevilla needed to beat Athletic Bilbao and hope both Getafe and Valencia lost.
Sevilla did their part by seeing off Bilbao 2-0 while Getafe drew 2-2 but Valencia ensured those results did not matter and reached the Champions League for a second consecutive year. Bethpage (United States), May 19: Defending champion Brooks Koepka overcame struggles to grab a seven-stroke lead after Saturday’s third round of the PGA Championship, the largest 54-hole advantage in tournament history.
Third-ranked Koepka, in prime position for his fourth major title, fired a level-par 70 at Bethpage Black to stand on 12-under 198 entering Sunday’s final round.
“I feel confident. I feel good. I feel excited,” Koepka said.
“It’s nice to have a sevenshot cushion. Just hit the center of the greens and try to par this place to death.
“(I’ll) just stick to my routine, do what I’m doing. I’m not thinking of seven-shot lead, winning the tournament. I’m thinking of what I need to do on the first shot first tee.”
The 29-year-old American owned a record edge over a pack on 205 that included top-ranked Dustin Johnson, fellow Americans Harold Varner and Luke List and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond. Brooks Koepka of the United States plays during the third round of the PGA Championship at the Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale, New York, on Saturday.
“It’s going to take something special to catch Brooks,” Johnson said. “But it’s definitely do-able on this course.”
The best final-round comeback by a PGA winner was seven strokes by John Mahaffey in 1978. “We’re all pretty much playing for second,” List said.
Matt Wallace, trying to become the first Englishman to win the PGA since Jim Barnes in 1919, shot 70 to share sixth on 206 with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
No one in major golf history fired a lower 36-hole score than Koepka’s 12under 128, and his sevenstroke advantage was the second-largest major halfway lead, trailing only Henry Cotton’s nine-shot edge in the 1934 British Open.
If Koepka does capture the Wanamaker Trophy and the $1.98 million (1.77 million euros) top prize, he will be the first man to own back-to-back titles at two majors simultaneously. Koepka seeks a third consecutive US Open crown next month at Pebble Beach.
“He’s definitely, in these events, playing on a different level than most anyone else,” four-time major winner Rory McIlroy said of Koepka. “It’s awesome. It’s so good. It’s great to watch.”
Koepka’s routine tee blast and wedge approach made him a threat when he found the fairway.
He missed a six-foot birdie putt at the first but sank a five-footer at the second and a three-footer at the fifth to reach 14-under and lead by eight.
From there, Koepka grinded through troubles with success to sustain his huge lead.