LONDON: Li Haotong of China made four eagles on Saturday, including two in his last two holes, to grab a share of the lead with American Dustin Johnson at the Saudi International at the end of a third round in which Sergio Garcia was disqualified for damaging two greens.
Haotong’s incident-filled round of 8-under 62 — which also included a double bogey — finished with him driving the green at the 17th to set up a 6-foot putt for eagle before making a 3 at the par-5 18th.
Three of his eagles came on par 4 holes.
Johnson started the third round with a three-stroke lead and shot 65. The world No. 3 and Li were 16 under overall and five strokes ahead of Tom Lewis, who shot 62 for third outright.
Garcia was disqualified for “serious misconduct,” the European Tour said in a statement, after he shot 71.
The former Masters champion said “in frustration, I damaged a couple of greens, for which I apologize for, and I have informed my fellow players it will never happen again.”
Meanwhile, Haotong was quick to thank his lucky stars after his miraculous round at the Royal Greens.
“I think it was very, very lucky today. Those eagles, especially last couple shots, were really solid, but apart from that, honestly, my play, wasn’t that good. But I did made a lot of par putts.”
When asked about his round and its remarkable finish with his final eagle, Haotong said: “It was another lucky bounce on that one. I mean, off the tee, driving the bunker about two yards short to carry the bunker, and bounce over the bunker, it was lucky.
“Quite exciting on that one,” he added.
The Chinese superstar was confident of holding on to Johnson’s coat-tails, especially after his win in the region last year, when he triumphed in Dubai over Rory McIlroy.
“I just want to play my best, especially compared to last week.
“So I just have to put myself in the position, hopefully I get used to that feeling and play and enjoy myself on the final round.”
Front-runner Johnson was pleased with his efforts on Saturday.
“I thought I played well. Probably played just as well as I did (on Friday).
I gave myself a lot of opportunities, made a lot of good putts and just holed a few more (on Friday) than I did today, that was the only difference,” he said.
And the American paid tribute to the efforts of Haotong on the back nine.
“I heard when I was done, that’s pretty impressive. Four eagles in a golf tournament is pretty good, but four in one round, you take that any day.”
Johnson has won majors and PGA tournaments all over the world, but victory in Saudi Arabia would mark his first win on the European Tour, something Johnson is keen to achieve.
“It’s definitely an opportunity for me to see what I’ve got and I definitely would like to win a regular European Tour event. I’ve played in a few now. That’s something I haven’t done and so that would be a nice little way to send it back to the US (on Sunday).”
Li Haotong’s heroic round puts pressure on co-leader Dustin Johnson in Saudi Arabia
Li Haotong’s heroic round puts pressure on co-leader Dustin Johnson in Saudi Arabia
- Johnson started the third round with a three-stroke lead and shot 65
- Haotong’s incident-filled round of 8-under 62 saw him draw level with the American
Memphis Grizzlies rally, nip Spurs on late block
- Luka Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 points as Los Angeles won in New Orleans 111-103 to win their third straight
- Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as Cleveland won in Indianapolis, sending Indiana to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss
NEW YORK: Cam Spencer scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Santi Aldama blocked a potential game-winning shot by De’Aaron Fox with 5.2 seconds remaining to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 106-105 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Spencer gave the Grizzlies the lead with 37.3 seconds to go on a baseline jumper. A minute earlier, he had connected on a 3-pointer to trim San Antonio’s lead to 105-104. Jaren Jackson Jr. matched Spencer with 21 points and had nine rebounds. Jock Landale contributed 19 points and nine boards and Vince Williams Jr., returning from a lengthy injury absence, finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Victor Wembanyama came off the bench to lead the Spurs with 30 points. Julian Champagnie added 23 points and eight rebounds and Stephon Castle had 15 points and eight boards before fouling out with 3:13 to go.
The Grizzlies played without starters Ja Morant, Cedric Coward and Zach Edey. Morant missed his second straight game with a right calf contusion and his 18th game overall of the team’s 36 contests because of a variety of injuries. Coward sprained his left ankle in Sunday’s loss at the Lakers.
Lakers 111 Pelicans 103
Luka Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 points as Los Angeles won in New Orleans to win their third straight. Doncic also had 10 assists while James had eight boards and eight assists.
Doncic had 11 first-quarter points and 16 at the half despite missing all six of his 3-point shots. Deandre Ayton paired 18 points with 11 rebounds as the Lakers opened the fourth on a 9-0 run to take control of the game.
Trey Murphy III had a career-high 42 points for New Orleans, who frittered away a position of strength to suffer their eighth successive defeat. Zion Williamson added 15 points and Derik Queen posted 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Cavaliers 120 Pacers 116
Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as Cleveland won in Indianapolis, sending Indiana to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss.
Evan Mobley had 20 points and Jarrett Allen finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won four of their last five. Sam Merrill also scored 19. Cleveland won despite resting Donovan Mitchell, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer at 29.8 points per game, and losing Dean Wade after eight minutes when he re-injured his left knee.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 22 points, Jay Huff scored 20 and Johnny Furphy had nine points and 11 rebounds. The Pacers’ most recent win was Dec. 8 over the Sacramento Kings. Indiana, which had lost 12 consecutive games four prior times since joining the NBA in 1976, owns the worst home record in the league at 5-15.
Timberwolves 122 Heat 94
Anthony Edwards scored 26 points in 29 minutes, and Minnesota cruised to a win over Miami in Minneapolis.
Jaden Daniels added 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting for Minnesota, which won its third game in a row. Julius Randle (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (13 points, 17 rebounds) each registered double-doubles, and Naz Reid scored 14 points off the bench.
Norman Powell. Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware grabbed 11 rebounds apiece. One bright spot for the Heat was the return of Tyler Herro, who played for the first time since Dec. 9. He showed no signs of a right big toe injury as he finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench.
Wizards 120 Magic 112
CJ McCollum scored 27 points and Alex Sarr added 23 to go along with eight rebounds, fueling host Washington past Orlando. Justin Champagnie had 17 points off the bench for Washington, who made 31 of 33 shots from the free- throw line.
Bilal Coulibaly recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Wizards, who have won five of their last seven.
Orlando rookie Jase Richardson scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. Desmond Bane scored 15 points, Paolo Banchero had 14 and Tristan da Silva added 13 for the Magic, who committed 19 turnovers that led to 29 points by Washington. The Magic whittled a 26-point deficit down to two late in the game, but a 10-2 Wizards run sealed their victory.
