Latest news with #CanadianOpen
The Sun
7 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Letshanaa's US Open journey ends in quarter-finals
NATIONAL women's singles player K. Letshanaa saw her impressive US Open run come to an end in the quarter-finals after a straight-game defeat to India's Tanvi Sharma early Friday morning. The 21-year-old, who had hoped to secure her first Super 300 semi-final spot, fell 13-21, 16-21 in a 33-minute match. The loss also marked the conclusion of Malaysia's participation in the tournament. Earlier in the competition, Letshanaa delivered a stunning performance by defeating former world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the opening round. She followed that up with another strong showing against India's Aakarshi Kashyap in the second round. Letshanaa is now set to shift her focus to the upcoming Canadian Open in Markham next week.
The Star
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Letshanaa's US Open run ends in quarter-finals
PETALING JAYA: Women's singles shuttler K. Letshanaa's fine run in the US Open came to an end in the quarter-finals after she was beaten by India's Tanvi Sharma on Friday (June 27). Letshanaa, who was aiming to reach her first-ever Super 300 semi-final, saw her hopes dashed despite facing an opponent ranked only No. 66 in the world. The 21-year-old went down 13-21, 16-21 in 33 minutes, marking the end of Malaysia's campaign in the tournament. Earlier, Letshanaa had impressed with a sensational upset over former world champion Nozomi Okuhara in the first round, followed by a second-round win over India's Aakarshi Kashyap. Letshanaa will now shift her focus to the Canadian Open in Markham next week. Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
The Star
17 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Ewe Hock says Justin must be quick to address his flaws
PETALING JAYA: National men's singles shuttler Justin Hoh's (pic) early exit from the US Open has raised concerns, especially after undergoing four weeks of intensive training leading up to the tournament. Before making the long journey to Iowa, the 21-year-old had put in serious preparations with hopes of delivering a breakthrough result, particularly after the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) made the costly decision to fund his participation in the event. However, Justin failed to live up to expectations after falling to Taiwan's world No. 76 Liao Jhuo-fu in the second round. Ranked 43rd in the world, Justin was tipped to progress further but went down 15-21, 21-9, 17-21 in a 59-minute battle. The defeat dashed his hopes of replicating the strong run he enjoyed at the Taiwan Open earlier this month, where he reached the quarter-finals in another Super 300-level tournament. He had started his US Open campaign confidently, cruising past Belgium's Julien Carraggi 21-10, 21-10 in the first round. Former national shuttler Ong Ewe Hock believes Justin must urgently address his shortcomings if he wants to make the leap to the top level. Ewe Hock said the youngster needs to prove his worth quickly to be considered among the world's best. 'For me, it's unhealthy when you perform well while leading, but once your opponent takes the lead, you start feeling less confident. This is a weakness that he needs to address,' said Ewe Hock. 'This issue must be tackled in training sessions, and most importantly, the feeling of wanting to give up must be avoided. 'I believe Justin and his coach are aware of this, and they will work together to resolve it.' Justin will compete at next week's Canadian Open in Markham, where he is set to face Wang Po-wei of Taiwan in the opening round. Meanwhile, women's singles shuttler Wong Ling Ching failed to progress further after losing to Bulgaria's Kaloyana Nalbantova 20-22, 12-21 in the second round in the US meet. Fortunately, K. Letshanaa kept Malaysia's campaign alive by reaching the quarter-finals. She battled past India's Aakarshi Kashyap 21-17, 20-22, 21-13 and will next face another Indian opponent, Tanvi Sharma.
Global News
4 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
Graduate of University of Guelph program fulfils golf dream volunteering at U.S. Open
One graduate of a University of Guelph program helped maintain the golf course at the U.S. Open. Connor Brown graduated with a diploma in turfgrass management and participated in his first major professional golf tournament as a crew member between June 12 and 15. He said everything came full circle for him in Pennsylvania. 'When I was there during my internship at Oakmont, that was the year they actually did the big renovation on the golf course, from redesigning fairways and expanding the green, so I was a part of that, and I got to see that this week being played by the best golfers in the world,' Brown said. He completed a paid internship at Oakmont Country Club last year through the post-secondary school, and lasting for about four months. Story continues below advertisement Brown has always had an interest in the sport of golf. He began working on a golf course with his dad when he was 14 years old. He said he's always wanted to work in one of the high-end clubs where the pro golfers play. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I just love being outside and it's a great sport to be active, walking the golf course and no golf course is completely flat so you're always getting good exercise. You're always playing with friends and that's something that I've always loved when I was younger, and I still love today,' he said. Now, he gets the most joy out of producing golf courses at the highest level for other people to play on. Brown currently works as an assistant superintendent at the Oakville Golf Club, and he said the experience at Oakmont has only made him better at his job. He said his biggest takeaway from the tournament was getting to learn new things from different people. 'You're working with a lot of the best guys in the industry, and you can learn a lot of new things, new way of doing things,' he said. Brown said he might volunteer again at the U.S. Open after being invited by a course employee at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York, the host of the 2026 tournament. Story continues below advertisement He'd also like to volunteer at the RBC Canadian Open one day, too, and work alongside other U of G alumni. 'I'd love to be involved with the Canadian Open,' he said. 'Just over the past couple of years, I haven't been able to get down there because I've been in the U.S., and this year was the week before the U.S. Open.'
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
This college golfer is thrilled to represent his state school at the 2025 Rocket Classic
DETROIT — Graduation is always an emotional time full of celebrations for anyone. But Michigan State senior Ashton McCulloch had even more reason to celebrate, as he learned that he had earned one of the eight sponsor exemptions in the 2025 Rocket Classic, the PGA Tour event returning to Detroit on June 26-29. MSU men's golf coach Casey Lubahn and former Spartan athletic director and current tournament executive Mark Hollis surprised the star golfer with the news at his graduation. 'I had no idea what coach and Mr. Hollis were doing behind the scenes,' McCulloch said Friday, June 20. 'But to have my family, teammates and friends there was really cool. Kind of the best graduation gift I could have asked for.' STAR POWER: World No. 11 Hideki Matsuyama commits to 2025 Rocket Classic in Detroit The tournament, which runs from June 26-29 at Detroit Golf Club, is the PGA Tour's stop in Michigan. More than 36 top golfers are committed to play in the tournament, although recently crowned U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun withdrew on Friday. It is not McCulloch's first time playing in a PGA Tour event. In 2024, he participated in both the U.S. Open and the RBC Canadian Open, and he participated in his second Canadian Open earlier this month. He has never made the cut, missing it at the Canadian Open by one stroke two weeks ago. The Canadian Open is special for McCulloch because both courses were three hours from his hometown of Kingston, Ontario. Even though he didn't make the cut either time, he loved getting to play in front of friends and family in his home country. 'It's super cool to play in front of Canadians and have so many people behind your back cheering for you,' McCulloch said. Back from injury This year, the Canadian Open was McCulloch's first competition since returning from an injury that ended his season. In January, he learned he had broken a bone in his hand and torn a ligament, which he believes he suffered due to persistent training on practice mats. McCulloch's hometown and school are both in a cold climate, meaning that he's spent pretty much every offseason of his golf career training indoors on mats and not on grass, which is more responsive and less likely to cause injuries. McCulloch was in a cast for 2½ months and lost his senior season with the MSU golf team. He stayed with the team all year, helping to coach a young group to the NCAA regional in Tallahassee, Florida. He began playing again in May and said he will play at the Rocket Classic with no issues. McCulloch plans to return to MSU for his final season of eligibility, which is lucky for the Spartans — as he's among the best golfers in program history, holding the best single-season scoring average (70.89) and career average (71.74), both set his junior year. He was also the third player in program history to be named NCAA Freshman of the Year. (The first was Ryan Brehm, who will also be playing in the Rocket Classic.) In the era of NIL, he could almost certainly make more money transferring to a golf powerhouse such as Oklahoma State or Virginia. But McCulloch always has been committed to MSU. Lubahn was the first to call him when his recruitment window opened his junior year of high school. Even when more schools came calling after he had a breakout season later in his junior year, he kept his commitment. 'There was a lot more coaches that came and reached out and I went on those visits, but it was always the fact that (Lubahn) was the first one there,' McCulloch said. 'He believed in me when other coaches at a high Division I level didn't yet. And it just felt like home when I was there.' Close to home Now, he'll play a professional tournament in his second home. McCulloch has never played at Detroit Golf Club, but he believes that the classic build of the course with its tree lines will lend itself well to his strength in driving the ball. The difficulty for McCulloch lies not in any technical difficulty with the course, but in adjusting to the biggest stage in golf. The PGA Tour is intimidating, especially with players like World No. 4 Collin Morikawa participating. While he has played in a major before, which is the pinnacle of golf, every opportunity at the pro level is a nervewracking one. He's hoping to change that this weekend. 'I feel like I'm slowly gaining that confidence to be able to play against the best players in the world and feel comfortable,' McCulloch said. 'And I really feel like this week, being my fourth opportunity to play against those guys, I feel like I can finally break through and play how I know I can play.' It'll help that he'll have plenty of support. He has received multiple messages from MSU fans saying they will be in attendance and cheering him on. Kingston is six hours away as well, meaning he will have some family in attendance. And it's special for McCulloch to play on the border of both the countries he considers home. 'That helps a lot, obviously, to know that you're not alone, and also to have so many people that are supporting you, regardless of how you play,' McCulloch said. 'Obviously, they want me to play well. I want myself to play well, obviously. "But no matter what, I know that they're going to be out there supporting me and being there for me regardless of how I play because of the human I am. And that's definitely the most calming and best part about having all those people come out and watch.'
