Sports
Tiger Woods Eyes First Title In Five Years
Tiger Woods had the crowd roaring, but rookie Corey Conners held his nerve to stay one stroke ahead of the former world number one after three rounds of the Valspar Championship.
Woods, playing his fourth US PGA Tour event since returning in January from spinal fusion surgery last April, fired a four-under par 67 that left him tied for second on eight-under 205 alongside former US Open champion Justin Rose of England and American Brandt Snedeker.
They’re chasing Conners, who carded a 68 for 204 to maintain the lead he has held since the first round.
But once again Woods was the center of attention, and after years of battling injury he gave his fans what they wanted to see.
“The environment was incredible,” Woods said of the boisterous gallery that followed him.
“People were into it… it’s been incredible.”
“I’ve played myself right there into contention, so it should be a fun Sunday,” said the 14-time major champion, who is chasing an 80th US PGA Tour title.
The 42-year-old, who has spoken of playing with a “new body” after the fusion surgery, swung with a clubhead speed measured as the fastest in the field.
His sharp short game was on full display when he chipped in for birdie from 30 feet away in the greenside rough at the par-four ninth, his ball rolling neatly into the middle of the cup.
“Nine was good,” Woods said. “It rolled in just like a putt, which was nice.”
Woods hasn’t been in this good a position to add to his total since he finished tied for 10th at the Wyndham Championship in August of 2015, and he hasn’t lifted a trophy since the 2013 World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational.
After his birdies at the ninth and 10th, Woods was tied with Conners for the lead.
He couldn’t convert birdie opportunities from within eight feet on his next two holes, and his lone bogey of the day at 13 saw him briefly drop three behind Conners — who had just made his sixth birdie of the day at 12.
Woods responded in style, blazing a drive 327 yards at the par-five 14th to set up a birdie that put him back at eight-under.
Conners bogeyed 16 to see his lead shrink.
But he got up and down for par from a bunker at 17, and when his ball moved slightly on the 18th green he stayed calm, consulted a rules official and finished out with a par.
“I tried to get relaxed as early as possible and fortunately got off to a good start and kind of settled me down nicely,” Conners said. “Kept things pretty solid throughout the round.”
Woods will play in the penultimate group on Sunday alongside Snedeker who also carded a 67 while Rose fired a five-under 66 — highlighted by an eagle at the 11th — to reach eight-under.
Sports
Robinho To Serve A 9 Year Jail Term Over Gang Rape
Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will reportedly serve a nine-year jail sentence for gang rape – Imposed on him by an Italian court — in Brazil, judges in Brasilia has ruled.
The 40-year-old was found guilty in Italy in 2017 and according to Globo, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ), made the ruling on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
The former Premier League player, whose real name is Robson De Souza, was one of six men who were found guilty of a§§aulting an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.
In January 2022, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed his final appeal against the conviction, according to the report.
Robinho claims he is innocent and has been living in Brazil for the past seven years. It came after nine of the court’s 15 ministers had voted in favour of the decision to incarcerate the footballer in Brazil.
Globo also claims that the ex-footballer, who also spent time at AC Milan and Real Madrid, will now be arrested in Santos, where he currently resides.
Robinho, who was 28 and was playing for AC Milan at the time, admitted during his appeal to having ‘contact’ with the woman, but the Brazilian insisted it was consensual.
The Milan Court of Appeals found Robinho had ‘belittled’ and ‘br¥tally h¥miliated’ the victim as it upheld his original sentence in December 2020.
Intercepted phone calls between the Brazilian and those allegedly involved in the assault were used as key evidence in his initial conviction.
Sports
Former Tennis Champion, Tania Okpala Returns To Tennis After Rehabilitation
Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has revealed that former tennis champion, Tania Okpala, has resumed playing on the courts.
This development follows Soludo’s assurance that she would undergo rehabilitation after a video surfaced online showing her in distress on the streets of Awka, pleading for assistance.
In an update on his social media handle on Thursday, Soludo expressed his satisfaction with Okpala’s return, stating, “Tania Okpala is back on the courts!
“A few months ago, social media was flooded with a viral video showing Ms. Tania in a distressing state on the streets of Awka. I am pleased to report that we have successfully restored Tania to her winning ways.”
Okpala, who hails from Anambra and has a Belarusian mother, represented Nigeria in the 1990s.
Here are pictures of her in the tennis court.
Sports
AFCON: Victor Osimhen Now Cleared To Join The Other Super Eagles Ahead Of Tomorrow’s Game
Good News has it that Victor Osimhen has finally joined the Super Eagles Nigeria team in Bouake, Ivory Coast.
He has been given the clear from the medical team on the abdominal discomfort issue. Earlier it was reported that the player could not join the rest of the team who flew to Ivory Coast ahead of Tomorrow’s football match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
He’s fully fit and ready to play in the Semifinals against South Africa tomorrow.
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