Monday September 2, 2019 23SPORTS
17-year-old takes 3-shot lead in LPGA Portland Classic
Unheralded Noh seizes lead
Koulibaly own goal hands Juventus dramatic win to ruin Napoli comeback
Yealimi Noh hits on the 16th hole during the third
round of the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic on
Saturday in Portland, Oregon. Photo: VCGUS teenager Yealimi Noh fired
eight birdies in an eight-under-
par 64 on Saturday to take a
three-shot lead over Hannah
Green after three rounds of the
LPGA Portland Classic.
Noh, who made the field
through Monday qualifying,
posted the low round of the
day at Columbia Edgewater
Country Club in Oregon for a
19-under- par total of 197.
“I was hoping for a good
week, but to be in contention,
I’m really excited,” said Noh,
who turned professional in Jan-
uary at age 17.
“Yesterday, too, I was just
like, I couldn’t really sleep. I
was excited to come out and try
to move on moving day.”
She roared past Australia’s
Green, who held a five-shot
overnight lead after rounds of
64 and 63 but finished the day
with a one-over 73 that left her
on 200.
“The greens were a lot
quicker, I think a lot quicker
than the practice green and
maybe that threw a few people
off,” said Green, winner of
the Women’s PGA Champion-
ship this year for her first LPGA
title.
“It certainly surprised me
once I got out there, and I still
found it really difficult, even
towards the end of the round,
to get the pace correct,” added
Green, who had back-to-back
birdies at the fourth and fifth
but three bogeys the rest of the
way – including at 18.
“But the pins, I didn’t find
too difficult,” Green added.“You could easily be on the
wrong side of the pin, but I
think just with it becoming
a bit firmer and a little bit of
wind made a huge difference
today.”
South Korea’s Kim Sei-
young also seemed to feel it,
following up her 11-under 61
of Friday with a 73 that left her
eight off the pace.
Canadian Brooke Hender-
son and American Brittany
Altomare shared third on 202.
Henderson carded a 67 while
Altomare signed for a 68.
Henderson is the last Mon-
day qualifier to win an LPGA
tournament, a victory that came
at the 2015 Portland Classic.
She recalled being “just
terrified” as she set out in the
final round with a five-shot leadthat she was determined not to
squander.
But Henderson added, “It’s
the opportunity of a lifetime,
and you can make it easier on
yourself if you can go out and
play one round well, as opposed
to going to Q-School. If you
can capitalize, it changes your
whole life.”
That’s not lost on Noh, who
with a win would gain member-
ship to the LPGA tour which
she could take up immediately
or defer to the 2020 season.
“It would change my entire
like, year, my life,” she said
when asked what a win would
mean to her.
“That would just be a dream
come true.”AFPSOCCER
Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly
scored an injury-time own goal to hand
Juventus a 4-3 Serie A victory in Turin
on Saturday after the visitors had fought
back from three goals down.
Goals from Danilo, Gonzalo Higuain
and Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Italian
champions a 3-0 lead with less than half
an hour remaining.
Napoli refused to give up as Kostas
Manolas and Hirving Lozano scored
within two minutes of each other before
Giovanni di Lorenzo completed a stun-
ning comeback.
But Koulibaly volleyed a free kick into
his own net in stoppage time to hand
Juve an early advantage in the Serie A
title race and leave Napoli coach Carlo
Ancelotti ruing a missed opportunity.
Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri was
denied a reunion with his former club
as he sat in a different section of the
stadium to aid his recovery from pneu-
monia, but he would have been pleased
with his team’s performance in the first
half.
Substitute Danilo needed just 26 sec-
onds to score after replacing the injured
Mattia De Sciglio, finishing off a flowing
counterattack led by Douglas Costa.
Within three minutes Higuain made
it 2-0 after he fired into the top corner tomark his third goal in six league games
against his former employers, before
Sami Khedira curled a shot off the cross
bar.
Ancelotti reacted at the break by
introducing Mario Rui and debutant
Hirving Lozano, but the game appeared
to be over as a contest just after the hour
mark when Ronaldo opened his account
for the season with a well-taken finish.
The match turned on its head in the
space of three minutes when Manolas
pulled one back with a header before
substitute Lozano converted Piotr Zie-
linski’s cross to reduce the deficit to
one goal with more than 20 minutes
remaining.Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret pro-
duced an outstanding save to tip a Costa
strike onto the bar but the momentum
was with the visitors and Di Lorenzo got
in front of Juventus debutant Matthijs
De Ligt to bundle in from a free kick and
complete the comeback.
But the game was lost in heartbreak-
ing fashion when Koulibaly diverted Mi-
ralem Pjanic’s free kick into his own net
in the 92nd minute.ReutersInjury-hit
Steven Defour
leaves Burnley
SOCCER
Midfielder Steven Defour is
leaving Burnley for family rea-
sons and will continue his ca-
reer in Belgium, the Premier
League club said Saturday.
Defour joined Burnley from
Anderlecht in August 2016 for
a then club record fee reported
to be about 7.35 million pounds
($9 million) and made 58 ap-
pearances during a three-year
stint in England that was dis-
rupted by injuries.
Manager Sean Dyche said
the 31-year-old Belgium inter-
national had reached a mutual
agreement with the Lancashire
club to terminate the remain-
ing 10 months of his contract
so he could return home.
“We were looking forward
to him playing some part for
us later in the season, but for
family reasons it is more ap-
propriate for him to return to
Belgium,” Dyche told the club
website.
Defour, who helped Burnley
finish seventh in the Premier
League in the 2017-18 season,
said he wished he could have
spent more time on the pitch.
He suffered a serious knee
injury in January 2018 and was
restricted to six league appear-
ances last season by a calf prob-
lem. He has not played this
season because of another calf
injury.
“It’s been a really hard last
year and a half,” Defour said.
“Unfortunately, I had some
severe injuries I was trying to
come back from and it didn’t
work out the way I wanted it to.
“I think this is the best solu-
tion for everyone.”
Defour did not reveal his
next club but local media re-
ported earlier on Saturday that
he was in talks to join FC An-
twerp.ReutersPage Editor:
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