MIAMI — 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 80^th 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 10^th 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 10^th, 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 14^th to set up a birdie that put him back at eight-under.

CONNERS RELAXED
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 18^th 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 11^th — to reach eight-under.

Rose said his eagle “ignited things” for him. He rolled in a 20-foot birdie at the 12th and added another at 15.

“I putted really, really well on the back nine,” Rose said. “Every putt I had I thought it was going to go in.”

But even playing in a different group, Rose was aware of the electricity surrounding Woods.

“We’ve been hearing it all week,” Rose said. “I think two or three times on the golf course our paths crossed, there’s a lot more fuss going on the periphery.” — AFP

THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) welcomed a new partner for the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup after it inked a partnership deal with Honda Philippines, Inc. (HPI) last week.

In ceremonies held at the Solaire Resort and Casino on Friday, March 9, officials of both the PBA and Honda, along with executives of Cignal TV and some local basketball stars, formalized their banding together in presenting the next conference of the local professional hoops league which will begin next month.

Through the partnership, the two groups hope to draw from each other’s strengths as brands in forwarding their respective thrusts as organizations.

“Basketball has been a part of the Philippine culture and the Filipinos’ love for the sport is nothing short of amazing. We hope that through this partnership, HPI can extend its support to Filipino talents, especially in the PBA league,” said HPI President Daiki Mihara at the partnership launch.

“We want to expand our sizeable foothold in the Philippines as a market leader in the motorcycle industry, by innovating technologies that improve the quality of life. We also see the value of partnering with institutions like the PBA especially that our motorcycles appeal to the young and active fans of the league,” added the HPI official.

As part of the deal, Honda will be the title sponsor of the Commissioner’s Cup with the company’s branding and “The Power of Dreams” campaign prominently featured during broadcast of games.

These are apart from other planned activations by Honda throughout the duration of the tournament which are designed to further enhance fan experience. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

THE National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) will hold the Mindanao leg of the 2018 National Age Group Chess Championships set March 23-25 at the Baywalk Hotel in Mati City, Davao Oriental that will serve as a qualifying tournament for the ASEAN Chess Championship in Davao City this June.

Organized by Chess Events Internationale, the three-day event will be divided in 10 categories — the 20-and-Under for girls and boys, 18-Under for girls and boys, 16-Under for girls and boys, 14-Under for girls and boys, 12-Under for girls and boys, 10-Under girls and boys and 8-Under girls and boys.

“We are honored to have been given the chance to host this event, which is the very first of its kind to be held here in our city,” said Mati City Mayor Carlo Rabat.

The winners of each divisions will advance straight to the ASEAN Chess Championship where FIDE Master titles and International Master norms are at stake.

Cash prizes and medals will also be up for grabs for the top 10 finishers in each category.

PBA LEGEND Marlou Aquino has been proving to become the most seasoned “Kuya” among the members of the Bulacan quintet, which continued to roll in the ongoing MPBL-Anta Rajah Cup.

The Ligo Sardines-backed Bulacan Kuyas walloped the Valenzuela Classic-Yulz, 92-83, to extend their winning streak to four on Saturday night at the Olivarez Sports Complex in Parañaque City.

Now the hottest team in the tournament put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with former PBA MVP Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner, Bulacan’s four straight wins catapulted the squad in a three-way tie for second places along with its victim and the Quezon City Capitals-Royal Manila, all carrying 5-3 win-loss records.

“We’re now rediscovering our winning attitude,” said Bulacan coach Chris Baluyot, who guided the Kuyas to the preseason championship. “It would be difficult to have a losing skid, but our winning mentality in the preseason is back.”

JR Taganas and Stephen Siruma both played a career game in leading the Kuyas to their latest triumph.

The hard working, beefy front-liner finished with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Mr. Siruma contributed 17 markers.

Mr. Aquino, the 6-foot-9, former Rookie of the Year, played quality minutes anew, scoring six points and blocking two shots.

Bulacan’s victory overshadowed Parañaque’s second win in a row.

The Gamboa Coffee-backed Patriots edged the Imus Bandera-GLC Truck and Services, 79-77, for their first home win.

The breathtaking, down-the-wire encounter that saw both teams exchanging leads six times had to be decided until the final buzzer sounded.

Orly Daroya’s tip-in had to be reviewed by game officials, but in the end, decided to nullified the basket as it came a split second late, allowing the Patriots to escape with the win. The loss was the sixth in eight games for the Bandera, who are now on the brink of elimination.

The Patriots got a big lift from ex-PBA players Harold Arboleda and Juneric Baloria in snapping the Bandera’s two-game run.

Mr. Arboleda, who played briefly for the NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA, came away with a double-double performance of 12 points and 15 rebounds, allowing the Patriots to notch their second consecutive win to forge a tie for sixth to seventh places with the Navotas Clutch-Big J Sports with the same 4-4 win-loss record.

Mr. Baloria, who played alongside Mr. Arboleda with the Perpetual Help Altas in the NCAA, contributed only five markers, but his go-ahead three-pointer in the 1:42 mark of the final period put the Patriots on top, 78-77.

Parañaque head coach Aric del Rosario, who used to handle Messrs. Arboleda and Baloria in the NCAA, was happy to see his old wards stepping up big.

The two hard-fought wins of Parañaque, according to Mr. Del Rosario, was a product of hardwork. — Rey Joble

AROUND 300 entries all over the country joined the 2018 DanceSports Council of the Philippines, Inc.’s (DSCPI) first quarter ranking and competition organized by DSCPI President Becky Garcia at the Ballroom Hall of Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig City on Saturday.

World DanceSport Federation licensed adjudicators Cristian Gheorghe Parnescu from Romania, Marcel Keijzer from Netherland, Yen-Ming Peng from Chinese Taipei, Tin Hung Po from Hong Kong, Peck Hoon Sim from Singapore, Sow Yeng Loo from Malaysia and Keiji Ukai from Japan presided over the competition.

The competition was supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Board, GNK Ballroom, C+H Multimedia Solutions, Inc., Flawless, Retro DCG-FM 105.9, Studio AK and The Greenery Bulacan.

The DSCPI Board of Directors are Chairman Atty. Noel Laman, Secretary-General Atty. Andy Fornier, Deputy Secretary-General and Sports Director Emma Nieto, Treasurer Gloria Alcala and Directors Marvie Cojuangco-Yulo, Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, Edward Hayco, Alejandro Herrera, Chona Mercado, Nanette Mendoza, Rebecca Jose, Girme Gutierrez, Luis Morales and Miguel Antonio “Mike” Ozaeta.

BACOLOD — Never letting up until the very end, Manila Southwoods yesterday ran away with the Regular Men’s title in the PAL Interclub to take another step towards duplicating a feat done just once before.

Comfortably ahead going into the final day at Marapara here with a 20-point lead, the Carmona-based squad didn’t leave any room for anyone to stage a comeback and amassed a closing 146 for a 72-hole 551 tally for a fourth straight title, just one shy of the record.

Southwoods, which became just the third team to win four consecutive times, prevailed by an astounding 41 points over Luisita, which nipped Canlubang by eight.

The margin of victory is one of the biggest and downplayed Southwoods’ dominance of the field, and, more importantly, it moved the squad within another title of matching a five-year run by Canlubang from 2006-2010.

“This only goes to show that our grassroots program continues to work,” an elated Thirdy Escaño, Southwoods’ non-playing skipper, said of the victory, which came just over a month after tournament host PAL was given a four-star rating by Skytrax, the global body that rates airlines and airports all over the world.

The Sugar Barons actually had two four-year championship streaks, counting its victories from 2000-2003.

Luisita carded its worst score for the week, a 125, but clung on to runner-up position even after Cangolf charged with its best round in four days, a 133, for 502 overall.

Taisei Shimizu reprised his opening round brilliance by shooting a three-under-par 67 worth 39 points, with Chepe Dulay firing 38 and Yuto Katsuragawa assembling a 37 to make up for the bulk of Southwoods’ closing round.

The veteran Jun Jun Plana’s 32 was the fourth-best score for Southwoods, which got a measly 25 from pro-bound Jama Reyes.

Southwoods is also set to lose Tom Kim, last year’s individual champion, to the pro ranks, but Escaño believes that his squad if good for championship runs at least for the next three years.

“We have young, brilliant players still waiting for their chance to shine,” Escaño said. “Southwoods is committed to giving these players the break they need. We are simply giving back what the game of golf has given to us.”

Rodel Mangulabnan fired 33, Don Petil and Dan Cruz added 31 each and either 30s of Jingy Tuason and Leandro Bagtas counted for Luisita, which has also started building the core of its team with young talents the last three years. Jolo Magcalayo matched par for 36 points and Luis Castro added 35 for Canlubang, which hasn’t won this event since 2010.

This year’s Interclub’s Platinum sponsors this year are RMN and Manila Times, while major sponsors are MasterCard, The Philippine Manila Standard, Rolls Royce, Bombardier, TV5, Primax, BusinessWorld, Crossover and Fox.

TARLAC — Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance ruled the Stage Eight Team Time Trial in dominating fashion yesterday to continue to blow away the field in the Ronda Pilipinas 2018 presented by LBC that started at the provincial capitol and ended at the Tarlac Recreational Park here.

Towed by red LBC leader’s jersey holder Ronald Oranza and defending back-to-back champion Jan Paul Morales, the flying Navymen blazed their way to topping the 42.1-kilometer (km.) lap in 56.17 minutes, or about three minutes clear of closest pursuer Go for Gold Developmental team.

Army-Bicycology, skippered by Cris Joven, finished third in 1:00:10 in this race presented by LBC and supported by MVP Sports Foundation, Filinvest, Philippine Rabbit, CCN, Petron, Versa.ph, 3Q Sports Event Management, Inc., Boy Kanin, Franzia, Standard Insurance, Bike Xtreme, SH+, Guerciotti, Prolite, Green Planet, Maynilad, NLEX Sports, Lightwater, LBC Foundation and PhilCycling.

After eight grueling stages and with four more to go, Navy is untouchable at the helm with an aggregate time of 82:19:52 ahead of Go for Gold Developmental team with 82:52:24 and Army-Bicycology with 82:52:24.

And for Morales, who is also the team skipper, it’s all over but the shouting.

Navy, however, encountered some problems as they ended up with only four riders at the finish line — Oranza, Morales, Junrey Navarra and Archie Cardana.

Ronald Lomotos was already out after he was disqualified in the Stage Seven Individual Time Trial the day before for drafting while John Mark Camingao, Rudy Roque and El Joshua Cariño were all left behind.

It was enough though to seal the deal.

“Since only the fourth rider’s time will count in the TTT we had to drag Cardana near the finish line,” said Morales.

The race, which staked P1 million to the individual champion, will take a three-day breather and will resume on Thursday with the 207.2-km. Silang-Tagaytay Stage Nine.

It will wind up with the 147.8-km. Tagaytay-Calaca Stage 10 Friday, 92.72-km. Calaca-Calaca Stage 11 Saturday and the Stage 12 Filinvest criterium on Palm Sunday.