Archive of posts tagged Japan

Epson Tour, first title for Canadian Leah John

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Angelica Moresco

Canadian Leah John led the way and won the Four Winds Invitational with a 207 (63 70 74, -9) shot, sealing her first title on the Epson Tour. At the South Bend Country Club (par 72), in South Bend, Indiana, she prevailed by one shot over Americans Jennifer Chang and Melanie Green, second with a 208 (-8). With this result, the latter became the number one seed in the Race for the Card (order of merit), which at the end of the year will award 15 "cards" to the 2026 LPGA Tour to the top-ranked players.

Epson Tour, results

Hailee Cooper is in fourth place with a 209 (-7), Sophia Schubert (-6), Mohan Du (China), and Vivian Hou (Taiwanese), in fifth with a 210 (-6), and Anne Chen and Nika Ito (Japan), in eighth with a 211 (-5). The two Italians in the competition made the cut: Angelica Moresco, 63rd with a 146 (72 74, +2), and Roberta Liti, 89th with a 148 (74 74, +4).

Leah John, a 25-year-old from Vancouver in her second year on the tour and a graduate of the University of Nevada, started with a 63 (-9) in the first round, tying her personal best for the tour and the field, and then remained at the top. She had some emotional problems on the second and third. She bogeyed early and finished with a 74, two shots over par, with four birdies, four bogeys, and a double bogey. However, she still managed to avoid a playoff tie with Green and Chang. For the title, she received a check for $33,750 out of a prize pool of $225,000.

The rules of golf are relatively complicated compared to other sports because they are played outdoors, close to nature and animals. Respecting the rules is a fundamental element in the game of golf, which, almost always based on self-control and the free conscience of the players, often sees distorted results, sometimes consciously, but often unconsciously or through carelessness, due to the failure of many players to comply with the rules of the game. In addition to the rules, golf adheres to a code of conduct, known as etiquette, which generally means playing the game with due respect for the golf course and other players. Etiquette is an essential component of this sport.

Novak Djokovic recalls his amazing triumph at the Paris Olympics one year on

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Alexander Zverev

Exactly one year ago, Novak Djokovic achieved the last huge feat of his career by winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics against all odds. Everyone knows how much the Serbian legend has always loved representing his country, but he had never expressed his best tennis at the Games in previous editions, suffering some of the most painful defeats of his entire career.

The former world No. 1 had left the court in tears after being beaten by Juan Martin del Potro at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, in what Nole has always defined as one of the most atrocious disappointments he has experienced as a professional tennis player.

Almost all fans and insiders believed that Novak would have his last chance to reach this milestone in Tokyo in 2021, after the Olympics had been postponed by a year due to the pandemic.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was the top favorite in Japan, considering that he was virtually unbeatable that season having won the first three Majors of the year. Djokovic reached the semifinals in Tokyo without any effort, but his perfect mechanism jammed in the semifinals against Alexander Zverev when he was ahead by a set and a break. He suffered a shocking comeback and everyone thought that his dream had now been shattered.

Djokovic on his amazing run in Paris

The 38-year-old from Belgrade was not the top favorite in Paris last year, on a surface much more suited to the game than Carlos Alcaraz (who had won Roland Garros on those same courts a short time earlier). The former world No.1 had an exceptional run, enhanced by an impeccable performance against Carlitos in the final.

Exactly one year after that magical triumph, Djokovic expressed his feelings: “Oh my gosh, I’ve watched this video probably one million times. Not recently, now I’ve made a little break, but now you’re inspiring me to watch it again and again. It just stands out as probably the highlight of my career, considering the amount of time and years that I waited for that — or haven’t waited — I worked for it.

But the heartbreaking losses in the previous four Olympic Games that I played, unable to make that final step and reach the finals and fight for gold. It was the only big accolade that I missed, that I haven’t achieved in my career, and then coming at the age of 37, it is something very unique, unforgettable.

PGA Tour, final tournament of regular season

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Adam Scott

It's the final tournament of the PGA Tour regular season, and the stakes are high. The Wyndham Championship will take place from July 31st to August 3rd in Greensboro, North Carolina. Among the 156 competitors, there will also be an Italian: Matteo Manassero. On the Sedgefield Country Club course, the competition will be fierce to qualify for the top 70 of the FedEx Cup, who will compete in the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis from August 7th to 10th, the first of three playoff events. The field includes not only 10 of the world's top 40, but also all the players ranked 60th to 109th in the FedEx Cup. While it's true that 70 players will advance to the first postseason event, it's also true that the top 100 of the FedEx Cup, at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship, will confirm their full roster for the 2025-2026 season.

Pga Tour, news

Among the competition's most anticipated players is Keegan Bradley. Ranked seventh in the world, the 39-year-old from Woodstock, Vermont, could play the dual role of player-captain for the United States in the 45th Ryder Cup from September 26 to 28 in Farmingdale, New York. This year, Bradley, ranked 10th in the FedEx Cup, has achieved five top-10 finishes in 17 events, including the Travelers Championship. The winner of the tournament will secure not only $1,476,000 (8,200,000 total prize money) and 500 FedEx Cup points, but also an exemption to participate in The Sentry, THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters Tournament, and the PGA Championship in 2026.

Not since 2007 (when the FedEx Cup was founded) has the Wyndham Championship boasted a field of this caliber, with 21 of the world's top 50 and 22 of the FedEx Cup's top 50. If England's Aaron Rai defends the title he won in 2024, Americans Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Ben Griffin, Andrew Novak, Max Greyserman, Akshay Bhatia, and Kurt Kitayama (fresh from his exploits in the 3M Open) will be chasing the feat. With them are Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, England's Matt Fitzpatrick and Harry Hall, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, South Korea's Sungjae Im, New Zealand's Ryan Fox, Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard, and Australia's Adam Scott, runner-up in 2021 and 7th in 2023. For Manassero (147th in the FedEx Cup), the 32-year-old from Negrar di Valpolicella (Verona), after two consecutive cuts in Europe in the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open (the last Major of 2025), this is a chance to confirm the good results he showed on the PGA Tour last June in the Canadian Open, where he finished 6th after also leading at the end of the third and penultimate round.