• Abubo wins; Ballard still #2 • Els takes World Golf Championship • Earnhardt takes Talledega Abubo wins; Ballard still #2 Hawaii’s Megan Abubo convincingly beat Brazilian Maria ‘Tita’ Tavares in yesterday’s final of the inaugural Rip Curl Pro women’s
• Abubo wins; Ballard still #2
• Els takes World Golf Championship
• Earnhardt takes Talledega
Abubo wins; Ballard still #2
Hawaii’s Megan Abubo convincingly beat Brazilian Maria ‘Tita’ Tavares in yesterday’s final of the inaugural Rip Curl Pro women’s professional World Championship Tour competition at California’s legendary Malibu Beach.
Abubo, 26, from Oahu, dominated the final woman-on-woman match to claim the US$10,000 and the first stand-alone women’s World Championship competition on the Mainland.
Scores in the final reflected the tricky conditions, with Abubo posting a total of 11.50 points (out of a possible 20) for her best two rides, and the best single ride of the day, an 8.50 out of a possible 10 on her last ride. Tavares led Abubo after a six point ride early in the 30-minute decider, but the South American did not find another wave.
Today’s triumph marked Abubo’s best WCT event result in two years, and in the process she jumped from 15th before this event to 9th on the latest world rankings. It was her eighth WCT victory in 10 years as a professional.
Abubo beat good friends and Kauaians Keala Kennelly (7th seed) and Rochelle Ballard (2nd seed) in the quarters and semi respectively to reach the final.
Ballard’s semi-final berth helped narrow the ratings points gap between herself and Mulanovich, but the South American is still the firm favorite for the 2004 world title after a sensational year.
Australia’s six-time world champion Layne Beachley remains a mathematical chance to win a record 7th world title, though her loss in yesterday’s third round at Malibu makes another world crown extremely difficult to achieve. Simply, Beachley would have to win the final two WCT events of the year in Hawaii and get a little help from the five surfers in front of her.
Els takes World Golf Championship
THOMASTOWN, Ireland — The majors over, Ernie Els got a consolation prize Sunday by capturing his first World Golf Championship.
Els outlasted Thomas Bjorn in a brilliantly played duel at Mount Juliet, making a 6-foot birdie on the 17th hole and closing with a 3-under 69 to win the American Express Championship by one shot.
The victory, his fourth of the year, allowed the 34-year-old South African to move past Tiger Woods to No. 2 in the world ranking, and gave Els another chance to reach No. 1 by the end of the year.
Bjorn closed with a 4-under 68 and was within one shot of Els on three occasions. The 33-year-old Dane had a 70-foot eagle putt on the 17th hole, but ran it 10 feet by and missed the birdie putt coming back.
Earnhardt takes Talledega
TALLADEGA, Ala — Dale Earnhardt Jr. charged from 11th place to a victory and the series points lead in the last five laps of Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
His 14th career victory and fifth of the season also moved Earnhardt from third in the standings to a 13-point lead over Kurt Busch, who finished fifth.
Jeff Gordon, who came into the race with a one-point lead over Busch, finished 19th and fell to third, 61 points behind after three of the 10 races in NASCAR’s new 10-man playoff-style championship.
