Palmer shoots 62, joins lead at low-scoring Byron Nelson

Ryan Palmer pumps his fist after finishing the 9th hole during the second round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, on May 13, 2022. (AP)
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Updated 14 May 2022
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Palmer shoots 62, joins lead at low-scoring Byron Nelson

  • The Nelson was the only 2020-21 tournament with more than 2,000 birdies (2,007)
  • There were 38 eagles in the first round Thursday, the most for a single round this season

McKINNEY, Texas: Jordan Spieth thought the course for his hometown Byron Nelson would play more difficult after yielding more birdies in its debut than any other tournament on the PGA Tour last season.

The three-time major winner says he couldn’t have been more wrong, and is frankly surprised over how little he thinks was done the first two days to make TPC Craig Ranch a stiffer test.

Ryan Palmer, one of the Dallas-area players in the shadow of Spieth and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, shot a 10-under 62 on Friday and was tied at 15 under with Sebastián Muñoz and 40-year-old tour rookie David Skinns.

Muñoz, a Colombian who lives in the Dallas area and went to college at North Texas, was even through 13 holes coming off his second 60 of the season — a first on the PGA Tour — before birdies on three of four holes for a 69. Skinns shot 63.

Justin Lower, another older tour rookie at 33, was alone in fourth, a shot behind the leaders after a 66.

“I mean, a 60 yesterday and a lot of 8s (under) and 7s all over the board,” said Spieth, who shot 65 and was three shots off the lead in a group that includes defending champion K.H. Lee.

“It’s just, a lot of tees are up, it was very surprising,” Spieth said. “I think they were looking at the weekend as a lot less wind and so they used more of the easier pins the first two days because I can only name one or two pins on this golf course that were not the easiest two locations that are on the greens. I’m a little surprised at how, on a not-so-difficult golf course they have also set it up a little easier for us, too.”

The Nelson was the only 2020-21 tournament with more than 2,000 birdies (2,007). There were 38 eagles in the first round Thursday, the most for a single round this season.

Charl Schwartzel had one of the Friday eagles in a round of 65 that put him at 13 under. The 2011 Masters winner drove into a greenside bunker on the 316-yard, par-4 14th and holed out from there.

The top-ranked Scheffler, who came in with four wins in six individual events capped by the Masters victory, shot a 68 and was 9 under after two rounds alongside his fellow former Texas Longhorns in Spieth and Lee.

Palmer, who finished his opening round with an eagle on the par-5 18th, started on the back nine and birdied six of the last seven holes on that side, then added four more on the front in a bogey-free round.

The 45-year-old hasn’t won an individual event since 2010 in Hawaii. Palmer lives in nearby Colleyville and is a member at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, where the tour returns in two weeks after the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

Palmer had a two-shot lead halfway through his last Texas stop in San Antonio in early April before shooting 7 over on the weekend. He is a four-time winner, including the 2019 Zurich team event in New Orleans with Jon Rahm.

“I spent 19 years doing this, unbelievable that I’ve been here that long, and these young guys ... you got to play such great golf to beat ‘em,” Palmer said. “We’re in position again and we’ll learn from what we learned in San Antonio and try and do it here.”

Lee won the rain-plagued Craig Ranch debut at 25 under while Spieth tied for ninth, his personal best in a tournament he badly wants to win because of his remarkable pro debut at the Nelson as a 16-year-old Sunday contender in 2010.

There’s no hint of rain this time in McKinney, about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas, and the wind was brisk the first two days. Combine that with the expectation of the rough being more of a factor a year after a February deep freeze wiped it out, and Spieth figured scores would be higher.

Instead, he found himself calling out the moved-up tee box on the par-5 ninth, which played just 474 yards and an average nearly three-quarters of a stroke below par Friday. It was the easiest hole on the course.

The Tom Weiskopf-designed course also has wide fairways and large greens.

“Some familiarity to me with some of the courses I played back in South Africa,” said Schwartzel, who tied for third at 21 under last year. “I don’t feel claustrophobic off the tee. It gives me a bit of space, and once I can get it in play, iron play is not much of a problem. So just really comfortable.”

Skinns, an Englishman with no top-25 finishes in 20 PGA Tour appearances spread out over nearly a decade, had five consecutive birdies starting on the par-3 seventh in his career-best round.

Lower hasn’t finished higher than tied for 15th in an individual event. He paired with Dylan Wu to tie for 10th in the team event in New Orleans.

The ninth-ranked Spieth and No. 17 Joaquin Niemann, also at 12 under, lead the list of 10 among the world’s top 30 in the field.

No. 13 Hideki Matsuyama was 11 under, a shot better than eighth-ranked Justin Thomas, who spent the first two days in the group ahead of Spieth, his good friend and house guest for this week.

No. 11 Dustin Johnson was 7 under, and 12th-ranked Xander Schauffele rallied from 3 over for the tournament early in the second round with eight birdies over 10 holes to make the cut on the number at 5 under.

The rest of the top 30 players missed the cut: 10th-ranked Sam Burns, the runner-up to Lee at the Nelson last year; Will Zalatoris (28th), another player in his hometown event; and Kevin Kisner (30th).


Sebastian Muñoz sizzles to 63 for three-shot lead; Torque, Fireballs share top spot in team race

Updated 24 September 2023
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Sebastian Muñoz sizzles to 63 for three-shot lead; Torque, Fireballs share top spot in team race

  • The 63 left him at 13 under, three shots ahead of Crushers GC’s Anirban Lahiri, who shot his second consecutive 66 to move to 10 under
  • Torque will be seeking their fifth team victory of the season

SUGAR GROVE, Illinois: Thanks to a brilliant 8-under 63, Torque GC’s Sebastian Muñoz will take a three-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf Chicago.

Now comes the difficult part — converting that lead into a victory at Rich Harvest Farms.
 
That’s been an issue for the 30-year-old from Colombia, whose best individual finish since joining LIV Golf this season was a second place in Orlando.
 
“I don’t want to take care of the lead because I don’t have good experiences with that in the past,” said Muñoz, whose last professional win came in 2019.

“… It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be challenging, especially me talking about it now. But I’m going to do what I’ve been doing.”

One of five co-leaders after the first round, Muñoz opened his second round Saturday with three birdies before holing his second shot at the par-4 fifth hole from 123 yards for eagle.

It was the first of two eagles in his round, the other coming at the par-5 10th.
 
The 63 left him at 13 under, three shots ahead of Crushers GC’s Anirban Lahiri, who shot his second consecutive 66 to move to 10 under.

Three players – 4Aces GC captain Dustin Johnson, Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer and RangeGoats GC’s Thomas Pieters – are five strokes back at 8 under.
 
Fueled by Muñoz’s low round, Torque moved into a tie for the team lead at 22 under, with David Puig (68) and Mito Pereira (70) also supplying counting scores.

The Fireballs also are at 22 under after counting scores from Ancer, Carlos Ortiz (68) and Eugenio Chacarra (69). The Aces and Crushers share third at 18 under.
 
Torque will be seeking their fifth team victory of the season. If that happens and the Aces finish no better than third, then Torque will assume the lead in the season-long team standings.
 
Meanwhile, Muñoz will seek to deliver the team’s first individual trophy. “It’s time for an individual win for us,” he said.

From Lahiri’s perspective, it’s also time for him to end his individual drought. His last professional win was in February 2015 when he won twice that month.
 
He’s been close to ending the drought since joining LIV Golf last year, finishing second in Boston in his debut event, and adding two more runner-up finishes this season — three shots behind Talor Gooch in Adelaide and seven strokes behind Cameron Smith last month in Bedminster.
 
“I’ve had a few too many seconds,” said Lahiri, who opened with an eagle Saturday en route to a bogey-free round.

“… I can’t control what Sebastian or anyone else does, so I’m just going to focus on my process and what I’m trying to do on the golf course.”
 

Of the top five players on the leaderboard, three still have a chance to finish the season-long individual race inside the bonus-paying top three.

Johnson, the defending individual champion, is currently eighth in points, while Muñoz is 12th and Lahiri 15th.
 

Based on the second-round leaderboard, Muñoz is projected to move into third place.
 

Four rounds are left in the regular season — Sunday’s final round in Chicago and next month’s LIV Golf Jeddah, which will be followed by the Team Championship in Miami.

TEAM COUNTING SCORES

Here are the standings and counting scores for Saturday’s second round of the team competition at LIV Golf Chicago. The three best scores from each team count in every round for their total team score. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.

T1. TORQUE GC (-22): Sebastian Muñoz 63, David Puig 68, Mito Pereira 70 (Rd. 2 score: -12)

T1. FIREBALLS GC (-22): Abraham Ancer 66, Carlos Ortiz 68, Eugenio Chacarra 69 (Rd. 2 score: -10)

T3. 4ACES GC (-18): Dustin Johnson 66, Peter Uihlein 69, Pat Perez 70 (Rd. 2 score: -8)

T3. CRUSHERS GC (-18): Anirban Lahiri 66, Bryson DeChambeau 69, Paul Casey 72 (Rd. 2 score: -6)

5. RANGEGOATS GC (-17): Talor Gooch 67, Thomas Pieters 67, Harold Varner III 71 (Rd. 2 score: -8)

T6. MAJESTICKS GC (-16): Ian Poulter 67, Henrik Stenson 67, Lee Westwood 69 (Rd. 2 score: -10)

T6. STINGER GC (-16): Dean Burmester 69, Louis Oosthuizen 70, Charl Schwartzel 71 (Rd. 2 score: -3)

8. RIPPER GC (-15): Marc Leishman 68, Matt Jones 70, Cameron Smith 71 (Rd. 2 score: -4)

9. SMASH GC (-11): Brooks Koepka 69, Jason Kokrak 71, Chase Koepka 72 (Rd. 2 score: -1)

T10. CLEEKS GC (-10): Richard Bland 66, Martin Kaymer 69, Graeme McDowell 69 (Rd. 2 score: -9)

T10. HYFLYERS GC (-10): Phil Mickelson 68, Brendan Steele 68, James Piot 69 (Rd. 2 score: -8)

12. IRON HEADS GC (-4): Scott Vincent 69, Kevin Na 70, Sihwan Kim 73 (Rd. 2 score: -1)


Europe rally to pull even with US at 8-8 going into final day of Solheim Cup

Updated 24 September 2023
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Europe rally to pull even with US at 8-8 going into final day of Solheim Cup

  • Ciganda, the only Spaniard in the European team, won both of her matches Saturday to maintain a perfect record
  • The contest will be decided by the 12 singles matches on Sunday, when Europe will try to win an unprecedented third straight Solheim Cup

CASARES, Spain: Led by home-crowd favorite Carlota Ciganda, Europe picked up the pace at the Solheim Cup to pull even with the US entering the decisive singles matches Sunday.

Ciganda, the only Spaniard in the European team, won both of her matches Saturday to maintain a perfect record as Europe drew level with the US at 8-8 after splitting the morning foursomes and winning the afternoon fourballs.

Captain’s pick Emily Pedersen and rookie Linn Grant also won both of their matches on Saturday to help Europe come from behind at Finca Cortesin.

The contest will be decided by the 12 singles matches on Sunday, when Europe will try to win an unprecedented third straight Solheim Cup. The Europeans arrived as favorites but had to rally after the Americans took a 4-0 lead in Friday’s first session.

“I’m out of words, but we have to remember we are not there yet, there are still 12 points up for grabs tomorrow,” Europe captain Suzann Pettersen said. “We made quite a comeback, now we are tied and we’ll put it in fifth gear and keep going. If you look at how we started after yesterday’s morning, we’ve come a long way.”

The US kept their two-point lead from the first day after the teams split the morning session on Saturday, but Europe were in control during most of the afternoon and ended up winning it 3-1.

“We certainly would have liked to have won a few more points today, but I’m not upset about our position,” US team captain Stacy Lewis said. “I mean, if you look straight at the scoreboard, you would say momentum goes to Europe, but I can tell you the way the girls feel and the way I feel about how we played today, I like our momentum.”

Lewis rested some of her players on Saturday and none will be playing all five matches this week. Pettersen will have three players going all the way — Pedersen, Grant and Leona Maguire.

The Europeans sealed Saturday’s victory when Ciganda and Grant defeated Danielle Kang and Lilia Vu 2 and 1 in a match in which both teams made plenty of birdies. Europe were 8-under par through nine holes but only 1 up over the Americans. Grant made six birdies in a row to start the match. Carlota had a clutch birdie on the 16th to help Europe seal the win.

“So, so happy for Carlota to come here to Spain. Literally bring her A game. She’s been under a lot of pressure, probably mostly from herself. But the way she’s handled it so far has been very, very impressive,” Pettersen said. “That match in the afternoon between Carlota, Linn and the Americans was just unbelievable to watch.”

Ciganda is the only player to win all of her matches. She won three straight sessions after sitting out the opening one on Friday.

“Playing in Spain in front of my family, home crowd, friends, I just love it,” Ciganda said. “I’m embracing this week. I think it’s been great. I still have a big day tomorrow, but I’m just trying to enjoy it.”

Maguire and Charley Hull earlier defeated Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing 4 and 3. Maguire, who thrived in her Solheim Cup debut two years ago, made birdies on nearly half of her holes.

“Suzann was pretty clear on what our job was today, so mission accomplished,” Maguire said. “One more day to give it our best shot and I think that’s the great thing about this team, there’s so much fight in this team. We’ve never given up.”

The Americans won its lone point in the afternoon when Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin finished 2 up against veterans Caroline Hedwall — who had not played previously this week — and Anna Nordqvist, one of the vice captains for Europe.

Pedersen, playing in her fourth consecutive session, teamed up with Madelene Sagstrom for a 2 and 1 win over Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee.

“I think Emily’s a great pick, isn’t she?” Pettersen said. “I think she’s done fairly well.”

In the morning, Swedish rookies Grant and Maja Stark kept it close for Europe by making crucial birdie putts on their final two holes to help the hosts keep the deficit at 7-5. Stark and Grant defeated Kang and Lee 1 up in the final group to secure a 2-2 split.

“I think we came out with a more aggressive mindset today. Losing yesterday was not fun. Our first loss ever,” Grant said. “So we kind of had a different view of it today and just went out and crushed it from the start.”

Europe got the first point on Saturday with Ciganda and Pedersen winning 2 and 1 against Jennifer Kupcho and Vu, the world No. 2 who is yet to win a match at Finca Cortesin.

Korda, ranked No. 3 in the world, and US Women’s Open champion Allizen Corpuz gave the US their first point by cruising 5 and 3 past Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier in the final morning group. Boutier, the top-ranked European who was playing some of the best golf ahead of the Solheim Cup, remains winless.

US veteran Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang picked up their second win by defeating Maguire and Nordqvist 1 up. The American duo was rested in the afternoon session.


Lewandowski, Cancelo lead Barcelona to 3-2 comeback win over Celta with 3 goals in final 10 minutes

Updated 23 September 2023
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Lewandowski, Cancelo lead Barcelona to 3-2 comeback win over Celta with 3 goals in final 10 minutes

  • “It was a great fightback,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández
  • “I made many mistakes, but you just have to keep focused and play until the end,” Cancelo said

BARCELONA, Spain: Robert Lewandowski scored two late goals before João Cancelo snatched the 89th-minute winner to lead Barcelona to a 3-2 comeback win over Celta Vigo at home in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Rafa Benítez was eying his first big win since returning to coaching in Spain with his team ahead 2-0 before Lewandowski struck in the 81st minute. Cancelo then set up Lewandowski to equalize in the 85th before the Portugal right back completed the turnaround.
“It was a great fightback,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández, who signed a contract extension through 2025 on Friday. “It is true we were disorganized at times and didn’t make the ball flow like in other games, but the team won in faith and courage.”
Barcelona are tied on points with the surprising Girona at the top of the table after their fellow Catalan club routed Mallorca 5-3. Real Madrid are one point behind both before visiting Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Jorgen Strand Larsen put Celta ahead in the 19th and substitute Anastasios Douvikas made it 2-0 in the 76th while their five-man defense held the defending champions in check — until the final minutes.
Cancelo joined Barcelona on the final day of the transfer window on loan from Manchester City. He has made an immediate impact by giving Barcelona a versatile right back, and it was never more evident than when he joined in a last-gasp push against Celta.
After Lewandowski had given Barcelona hope by scooping a shot over goalkeeper Ivan Villar, Cancelo acted as a midfielder to provide an assist for the Poland striker to make it 2-2. His next move was to make a run through the heart of the defense where he met a lobbed pass by Gavi Páez and guided it home.
Cancelo said he was relieved to have helped his new team after having had what he called a poor performance after turning the ball over several times.
“I made many mistakes, but you just have to keep focused and play until the end,” Cancelo said. “We didn’t play well and Celta did well defending its area. But it is always better to play poorly and win, than to play well and lose.”
It was a bitter loss for Benítez, who took over Celta this summer for his first job in Spain since his short-lived stint with Real Madrid in 2015. Celta have only one win in six games under the coach that led Valencia to league titles back in 2002 and 2004.
“I think we played well for most of the game, but in that final stretch I have the feeling their last two goals were preventable,” Benítez said. “Tiredness could have played a part, but those goals can be stopped if you are well positioned. I hope this helps us grow because for 80 minutes we were superb.”
Barcelona lost midfielder Frenkie de Jong near the end of the first half. Gavi Páez replaced him. Xavi said that De Jong would undergo tests to determine the nature of the injury.

GIRONA GROWS
The undefeated Girona are the revelation of the season so far. The modest team from Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region that are partially owned by Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership have won five straight games after drawing their opener.
After beating Granada 4-2 last round, they have now scored nine goals in their past two games.
“(Being at the top of the standings) is anecdotal, we are happy for the victory. Winning five in a row in the first division is not an easy task,” coach Míchel Sánchez said.
“Even more important than the results is the sensation we have, knowing that we are competing well and have a clear idea of how we want to play.”
Mallorca went ahead early through a fourth-minute penalty converted by Vedat Muriqi. But Girona roared back with goals by David López, Artem Dovbyk, Iván Martín, Yangel Herrera and Sávio before substitute Ábdon Prats reduced the deficit for Mallorca with a late brace.
Also, Sevilla drew 0-0 at Osasuna.


Juventus fall to first defeat of season as 3 glaring errors contribute to 4-2 loss at Sassuolo

Updated 23 September 2023
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Juventus fall to first defeat of season as 3 glaring errors contribute to 4-2 loss at Sassuolo

  • It was Juve’s first loss of the fledgling campaign after three wins and a draw
  • It was the third straight league match in which Leão scored

MILAN: Juventus fell to their first loss of the season after three glaring errors contributed to a 4-2 defeat at struggling Sassuolo in Serie A on Saturday, including a bizarre late own goal.
Bianconeri goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny first gifted the home side the lead when he failed to make a routine save on a shot from Armand Laurienté in the 13th minute.
Another mistake from Szczęsny gave Sassuolo a 3-2 lead in the 82nd and Juventus then added a comical own goal in injury time.
Szczęsny left his goal to take a free kick near the corner flag, passing the ball across the pitch to Gatti as Juventus tried to launch a final attack in search of an equalizer. However, the defender came under quick pressure and passed the ball back toward the goal — seemingly forgetting that his goalkeeper was not there — and it bobbled into the empty net.
It was Juve’s first loss of the fledgling campaign after three wins and a draw. On Tuesday they play Lecce, which are the only side still undefeated in the Italian league along with Inter Milan.
Sassuolo had only three points from their opening four matches but took the lead when Laurienté’s shot went straight at Szczęsny but the power behind the strike saw the ball bounce off the goalkeeper’s gloves and off the turf before going into the back of the net.
Juventus leveled in the 21st when Federico Chiesa whipped in a cross from the left but, under pressure from United States midfielder Weston McKennie, Matías Nicolás Viña prodded the ball into his own net.
Domenico Berardi restored Sassuolo’s lead shortly before halftime when he swept a finish into the bottom left corner but the home side’s hopes of getting an impressive win appeared to evaporate when Chiesa’s effort was deflected in with 12 minutes remaining.
However, Sassoulo went ahead again four minutes later after Szczęsny palmed Laurienté’s fierce strike straight at Pinamonti, who headed in the rebound for his fourth goal in three matches.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Gatti added the worst howler of the day right at the end.

LEÃO SCORES AGAIN
Rafael Leão appears back to his best and the AC Milan forward helped the Rossoneri bounce back from a disappointing week with a 1-0 win over Hellas Verona in Serie A on Saturday.
Leão scored the only goal of the delayed match in the eighth minute to help his team get back to winning ways. Milan were humiliated 5-1 by Inter Milan in the city derby last weekend before being held 0-0 by Newcastle in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.
It was the third straight league match in which Leão scored. The 24-year-old forward had a mixed campaign last season as he appeared distracted by off-the-field issues with his contract, which he renewed in June.
A mistake by the Verona defense allowed Olivier Giroud to win the ball back in midfield and he sent it through to Leão, who used his impressive pace to surge between two opposition players and slot into the bottom right corner.
The match almost didn’t go ahead, however, as the San Siro pitch was waterlogged following heavy rain and hail in the hour before kickoff. It eased off and the water drained quickly so the match was able to get underway 25 minutes late.
Christian Pulisic went close to doubling Milan’s lead in the 72nd when he raced into the right side of the area and left Verona defender Paweł Dawidowicz scrambling as the US international turned and curled in a shot, which Lorenzo Montipò managed to palm out from under the bar.
Milan moved level on points with league leader Inter, which play at Empoli on Sunday.


Record-setting Kane hits hat-trick as Bayern rout Bochum

Updated 23 September 2023
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Record-setting Kane hits hat-trick as Bayern rout Bochum

  • Kane fired in Bayern’s second just 13 minutes in, before scoring a penalty in the second half
  • With six goals in five games, the England captain now has more goals in his first five league matches than any other player in Bayern’s history

BERLIN: Harry Kane on Saturday bettered a record first set by legendary German striker Gerd Mueller when he hit a hat-trick in Bayern Munich’s 7-0 rout of Bochum which took the champions back to the top of the Bundesliga.
Kane fired in Bayern’s second just 13 minutes in, before scoring a penalty in the second half. He added a third with two minutes remaining when he tapped in a low cross from Leroy Sane.
With six goals in five games, the England captain now has more goals in his first five league matches than any other player in Bayern’s history, beating the mark of Mueller (1965), Miroslav Klose (2007) and Mario Mandzukic (2012) who all scored five times in their first five games for the club.
“I’m happy to play my part and I hope there will be many more to come. So far so good,” said Kane.
Kane said he would toast the win with a first-ever visit to Munich’s Oktoberfest beer festival later on Saturday.
“When I came here I said I wanted to get to know the culture and the city — what better place than that?“
Bayern have now beaten Bochum 7-0 in three of their past five fixtures.
Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel praised his side’s “very deserved win” saying it was “a fantastic day at the office.”
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Matthijs de Ligt, Leroy Sane and Mathys Tel — again from the bench — also got on the scoresheet.
Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern, who conceded two goals late in Wednesday’s 4-3 home win over Manchester United in the Champions League, kept a clean sheet for just the second time this season from seven matches.
Bochum remain winless.
Borussia Dortmund overcame dogged Wolfsburg at home, winning 1-0 thanks to a late goal from veteran forward Marco Reus.
Dortmund manager Edin Terzic rejigged his midfield as part of six changes after Tuesday’s poor performance in a 2-0 loss away at Paris Saint-Germain, with Reus celebrating victory on his first start of the season while captain Emre Can was pushed to the bench.
Reus continued his habit of being the first to score in a match, with 62 of his 116 Bundesliga goals for Dortmund being the opener.
Reus called the win “a step forward” but admitted “it was OK today, but of course not our benchmark.”
RB Leipzig continued their winning ways this season, a late Timo Werner goal giving them a 1-0 victory at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
The win, Leipzig’s sixth from seven matches in all competitions, helped them climb back into the top four.
Union Berlin’s midweek exertions at Real Madrid, their debut Champions League fixture, took their toll as they went down 2-0 to Hoffenheim in the German capital.
Union fought hard in Madrid, the score 0-0 until an injury-time strike from former Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham saw Real snatch the three points in the Champions League clash.
Union fell behind early on Saturday, Italy captain Leonardo Bonucci giving away a penalty which Andrej Kramaric converted, before Hoffenheim’s Maximilian Beier added another in the first half.
Elsewhere, 10-man Augsburg picked up their first league victory the season, coming from behind to beat Mainz 2-1 at home.
In Saturday’s late game, Werder Bremen host winless Cologne.