BITS AND PIECES

Mediate wins first Champions Tour major

BENTON HARBOR, Michigan: Rocco Mediate holed out from a greenside bunker at the par-three 17th for birdie to close out a wire-to-wire victory at the Senior PGA Championship in Michigan on Sunday. The 53-year-old, who claimed his first Champions Tour major, posted a five-under-par 66 in the final round for a 19-under tournament record total of 265, beating Sam Snead’s score of 268 set in 1972.Mediate finished three shots in front of two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie (67) and was the first wire-to-wire winner at the event since Jack Nicklaus in 1991.German Bernhard Langer (67) and American Brandt Jobe (68) tied for third at 13-under. “The bunker shot, it was perfect,” said Mediate, who had looked in danger of dropping shots at the 17th before holing out from the sand. “That hole was good to me this week. I hit a couple of funny shots there and I made a par and a birdie.” Mediate, a six-time PGA Tour winner, said the experience of losing the 2008 US Open in a 18-hole playoff to Tiger Woods had helped him close out the win over Montgomerie, who has won three senior majors since joining the Champions Tour in 2013.”Absolutely, 100 percent,” Mediate said. “I played some of the best golf in my life that day and lost. Okay, to the best player in the world at that time. “But today I’m playing against pretty much the player in the world of our age. Bernhard, obviously too, but Colin doesn’t make a whole bunch of mistakes.”—Reuters

 ICC to announce Champions Trophy 2017 schedule tomorrow

LONDON: The International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive David Richardson will announce the schedule of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 on Wednesday (tomorrow) at The Montpelier Club, The Oval. The announcement marks one year to go to the first match of the tournament, which will be hosted by the ECB for the third time. Apart from hosts England,Australia, Bangladesh, defending champions India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa will take part in the 18-day-long event from June 1-18, 2017 during which 15 matches will be played at Cardiff Wales Stadium in Cardiff, Edgbaston in Birmingham and The Oval in London. The eight sides qualified for the tournament after finishing in the top eight of the ICC ODI Team Rankings on September 30, 2015

Ronaldo targets more Real glory after San Siro success

MILAN,Italy: Cristiano Ronaldo is hungry for even more silverware with Real Madrid after winning the Champions League on Saturday for the third time. The prolific Portuguese did not look fully fit and was far from his best in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid but he slammed home his team’s decisive fifth penalty in the shootout to seal Real’s second Champions League final success over their local rivals in three years. Ronaldo cited tiredness for his underwhelming display in the final, the last game of another gruelling season in which he played 48 competitive games and scored 51 goals, the sixth straight season in which he has netted over 50 times. “I’ve played more than 4,000 minutes, and I was number one in the team, again, with the most minutes. That means a lot to me. It means I am still good,” Ronaldo said. “In six years I’m scoring more than 50 goals, but I am asking for more. I am always at the top level. I just want to maintain that.” Ronaldo also won the Champions League in 2008 with Manchester United and, after his seventh season with Real, he reiterated that he wants to finish his career at the Bernabeu

Pirlo says no hard feelings over Euro omission

ROME: Andrea Pirlo says he has no hard feelings towards Italy coach Antonio Conte after the veteran playmaker was overlooked for next month’s European Championship in France. The 37-year-old midfielder, who plays for Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City, has featured in every major tournament for his country since Euro 2004 but that run ended when he was left out of the provisional squad last week. “I have spoken to Conte and there is no disappointment on my part,” Pirlo told Sky Sports Italia. “He knows what he has to do and what he should not do. We had discussions during the season and both parties made their own decisions. He is the coach and it’s only right he makes his decisions and decides what is best for him.” Conte said last week that Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco, who plays for Toronto, had paid the price for their decision to play in MLS.

PDCA congratulates Nadeem on PCB job

KARACHI: The Pakistan Disabled CricketAssociation (PDCA) has congratulated former Test cricketer and UBL Head of Sports Nadeem Khan on becoming a member of the new cricket committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The PDCA also congratulated former test cricketer Azam Khan on being appointed as batting consultant of Pakistan women cricket team for the tour of England.

 Inter-Division Women Hockey Tourney commences today

KARACHI: The Inter-Division Women Hockey Tournament 2016, organised by the Sindh Women Hockey Association (SWHA), commences on Tuesday (today) here in Karachi. The tournament will end on June 4. The SWHA had also conducted practice sessions prior to the tournament here at the Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium