SHARE
COPY LINK

GOLF

Sörenstam leading chase in Suzhou Open

Swedish golfer Annika Sörenstam has not given up hope of of securing her fourth tour victory of the year at the Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open in China. Sörenstam hit a second round 69 to hold on to second place on the leader board.

Sörenstam leading chase in Suzhou Open

China’s Ye Liying extended her lead after hitting a bogey-free second-round four-under 68 in wet conditions on Saturday.

Liying’s two-day total of 11-under 133 puts her five strokes ahead of South Korea’s Han Min-jee and Sörenstam.

Both Min-jee and Sörenstam checked out with a three-under 69 to put them in second place in the 200,000-Euro (250,000-dollar) contest with a two-round total of six-under 138.

Liying, who posted birdies on the 3rd, 5th, 11th and 18th holes, said she had played it safe in the second round to maintain her lead.

“I told myself to play it safe and add a few more birdies to strengthen my position,” said Liying.

“There’s no pressure on me. I’ll go into the final round and try and pick up a couple of strokes to keep my rivals out of reach.”

Karen Lunn of Australia and fellow Ladies European Tour player Anna Rossie of Italy recorded the lowest total in the second round by posting a five-under 67.

Sörenstam, the favourite to win before the start of the contest on Friday, said she thought she had played well.

“I hit 17 greens again today. I still give myself a chance to win this tournament. It’s not over until the full playing schedule is over.

“I feel very comfortable after playing three times (one pro-am) in this course. Some of my putts braked near the lip of the cup. I hope the putts will roll in tomorrow,” she said.

The Swede is calling it quits at the end of the season to start a family and focus on her business interests and is targeting her fourth victory this year.

FOOTBALL

Tennis courts and golf courses to reopen in Denmark

Danes will be able to take up their tennis rackets and golf clubs again after the country's two biggest sports associations announced that outdoor sports with no physical contact can resume again.

Tennis courts and golf courses to reopen in Denmark
Tennis will be one of the first sports to restart. Photo: Søren Bidstrup/Ritzau Scanpix
The Sports Confederation of Denmark and the country's other sports association DGI announced that they had agreed new guidelines for restarting group sports with the Danish Health Authority, in a press release issued on Tuesday. 
 
READ ALSO: 
 
“This is the first sign of sport opening up, and we are really pleased that the health authorities have given us guidelines so that some activities can start up again,” Charlotte Bach Thomassen, chair of the Danish sports association DGI, said. 
 
“Of course, joining together in sports clubs must be safe from a  health point of view, so it is important to be aware that in many sports associations you will not be able to meet physically.” 
 
 
DIF chairman Niels Nygaard told Ritzau that the announcement did not mean any organisation would be required to restart activities they did not regard as safe. 
 
“These are voluntary associations where there are differences from association to association and sport to sport,” he said. “Our recommendations are not a requirement for associations to start activities. They can do it if it can be done under safe conditions, and if they have doubts about whether it can be done, then they shouldn't do it.”
 
According to the joint press release, group sports can now restart if: 
 
  • they take place outside 
  • participants can keep a distance of two meters from others
  • participants pay special attention to hand hygiene
  • rackets, clubs or other props are frequently cleaned
  • participants cough or sneeze into your elbow or a paper towel
  • participants stay home if they have a fever, cough or muscle soreness. 
  • shared facilities such as clubhouses and dressing and shower facilities are not used 
 
SHOW COMMENTS