Ernie Els won his second straight tournament in the Middle East, rallying to take the Qatar Masters by one shot after carding a seven-under 65 in the final round on Sunday. The third-ranked South African, who finished with a 12-under 276, fired seven birdies to come back from a five-stroke deficit overnight.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington fired a nine-under 63 to grab a share of the Honda Classic lead on Sunday, then won a three-man play-off to claim his first title on the United States PGA Tour. Harrington’s sizzling final round included 11 birdies and saw him vault from a tie for 21st to a three-way tie for first alongside Fiji’s Vijay Singh and American Joe Ogilvie.
The Waikato Chiefs scored two first-half tries and then defended ferociously to beat the Auckland Blues 18-9 in a Super 12 rugby match at Waikato Stadium on Saturday. Wingers Loki Crichton and Sosene Anesi scored tries in a three-minute spell midway through the first half to lift the Chiefs to a 15-3 half-time lead.
The SWD Absa Eagles defeated the Border Bulldogs 35-20 in a Vodacom Cup game played at Outeniqua Park on Saturday. The half-time score was 18 -8 in favour of the home team. The Eagles earned a valuable bonus point with their four tries scored. The game was typical of a first game of the season and both teams were guilty of poor handling.
A hat-trick by Santos’ Jean MarcIthier helped to bury the second-division outfit Cemforce from Kimberley by 6-0 in an Absa Cup knockout match played at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday. However, credit must go to Cemforce, who never said die and chased every ball as if their lives depended on it.
The Lions got the defence of their Vodacom Cup crown off to a shaky yet somewhat satisfying start as they ran in four tries to two to beat the plucky Griffons 29-14 at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon. The home team led 17-7 at the break. The Lions were pushed hard by the Griffons for most of the first 40 minutes.
The Eagles virtually made sure of a Supersport Series semifinal place as they nearly beat the Lions in three days at Sedgars Park on Saturday. With a day to go, the Lions — after being forced to follow-on — trail by six runs with three second innings wickets in hand. Starting day three at 104 for three, the Lions squandered the good start.
Mamelodi Sundowns proceeded to the quarterfinals of the Absa Cup competition after their 2-1 win in extra time over Jomo Cosmos at the HM Pitje Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday. Paul Masehe fired a powerful shot across Cosmos goalkeeper Avril Phadi, who got a hand to the ball but failed to stop it going inside the net.
Supersport United overwhelmed Tornado with skill and experience in their 8-0 drubbing and booked a place in the quarterfinals of the Absa Cup at Caledonian Stadium on Saturday. United were in control throughout the first stanza and led 4-0. The hosts opened the floodgates as early as the eighth minute through Lungisani Ndlela.
Twenty-seven-year-old Western Province-Border captain Ashwell Prince saw an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands on Saturday, on the second day of the second Castle Lager/MTN Test between South Africa and Zimbabwe at Supersport Park on Saturday. Prince scored an undefeated maiden Test century.