Golf

Sta Elena Golf Club, Laguna, Philippines: An emotional Miguel Tabuena fell to his knees and kissed the turf at his home Sta. Elena Golf Club after winning the International Series Philippines on Sunday for the biggest victory of his career. A brilliant third straight round of seven-under 65, including a spectacular chip-in for birdie at the 15th, saw the Filipino stretch away to 24-under par and win by three strokes. The Japanese pair of Kazuki Higa (65) and Yosuke Asaji (67) finished joint second on 21-under to head a high-quality chasing pack. But the day was all about local hero Tabuena, playing with a colossal weight of expectation on his shoulders at his home course in front of family, friends and large crowds following his every move. The 31-year-old held his nerve until the final putt for par was safely in the cup. "I'm still on a high right now," said Tabuena, his voice cracking with exhaustion, elation and pure emotion. "I've always wanted to get my hands on one of these trophies and it was nice that the first one is at home, in my home club. "I'm so thankful for everyone who came out, my family, my friends." It was his fourth win on the Asian Tour but first on the elevated International Series of $2 million events bankrolled by LIV Golf. 'Dream come true' Tabuena dominated a loaded field containing four major champions to carry away the sparkling new trophy and a cheque for $360,000. "I'm speechless right now and exhausted, but I'm glad that we were able to get it done this week." The final group all started on 17-under par and it was Tabuena who made the early move with birdies at the second and third. The challenge from playing partners Sarit Suwannarut and Sampson Zheng melted away as they both carded 69 to finish at 20-under par in a share of fourth. It was a second successive Sunday of disappointment for Thailand's Sarit, who began last week's final round of the Macau Open with a two-shot lead only to card a three-over 73 and finish fourth. Tabuena moves to second in the International Series order of merit with three events to play. The series winner will be granted a place on the LIV Golf league roster for 2026. "It's certainly different playing at home," said Tabuena, who shed more tears as he was hugged by his mother Lorna, father Luigi, wife Sandra and 22-month-old daughter Paloma on the 18th green. "It's a dream come true. It's special." It was the most prestigious tournament ever staged in the Philippines but none of the major winners managed to make a run at Tabuena. Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 US Masters champion, was the best of them as a final-round 68 took him to 14-under par and a share of 12th. Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson was a shot further back after a 67 and the 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed finished on 11-under after a 70.

Tennis

Tokyo: Belinda Bencic said she surprised even herself by winning a second title of the season in Tokyo on Sunday, a year after returning to tennis from having a baby. The Swiss beat the Czech Republic's Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-3 in the Pan Pacific Open final, following up her success at the Abu Dhabi Open in February. Bencic gave birth to a daughter in April last year and returned to the WTA Tour six months later. The 28-year-old said she did not expect her comeback to "go this fast and this well". "I'm really enjoying my time back on tour and I think it's showing in the results," she said. "I couldn't be more happy and I'm definitely surprised. This was definitely not planned." Bencic was ranked 421 in the world at the start of the season but has climbed to 13 and is projected to rise even higher after her Tokyo win. It gave her the 10th WTA title of her career and came 10 years after she last appeared in the Pan Pacific final, where she lost to Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska. Bencic won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021. She said she was not sure when she launched her comeback if she would be able to return to the upper echelons of tennis. Her performance at the Australian Open, where she beat former world number one Naomi Osaka on the way to the last 16, convinced her to continue. "It's hard work but it's a lot of self-belief and a lot of mental belief as well," said Bencic, who reached a career-high ranking of four in February 2020. "I'm really happy to have this confirmation with myself that I'm able to try to even beat my best ranking from before." Magic miso soup Bencic, the number five seed, had to work hard for her victory in Tokyo, coming through three-set matches against Karolina Muchova and Sofia Kenin to reach the final. She said she was "feeling exhausted" after Saturday's semi-final but recovered with some Japanese miso soup and sushi. "Miso soup, I swear, it's great for recovery," she said. "It helped me a lot, I felt so much better after." Bencic was relentless against number six seed Noskova, who was looking for her first title this season and had a much less demanding route to the final. The 20-year-old won her quarter-final when Anna Kalinskaya retired injured early in the second set and was given a walkover in the semi-final when Elena Rybakina pulled out with a sore back. Noskova, who squandered 10 break points in the final, said the lack of match practice cost her. "I definitely didn't have such control over all the points or all of my balls as I did a couple of matches ago," she said. "I've never gone through a situation where I didn't really play for whole matches before reaching a final." The tournament was weakened by nine withdrawals before the first round began, including world top 10 players Jasmine Paolini and Jessica Pegula.

Motosports

Sepang, Malaysia: Alex Marquez dominated the Malaysian MotoGP on Sunday to clinch his third victory of the season, romping home more than two seconds ahead of fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta. Marquez, who confirmed his runner-up spot in the world championship standings this weekend behind brother Marc, won for the first time this year outside Spain following success at the Spanish and Catalan Grand Prix races. Honda's Joan Mir was third to make it an all-Spanish podium, with Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo completing the top five. Newly crowned world champion Marc Marquez was absent because of a season-ending injury. "We suffered two crashes on Friday and later on the feeling was not really perfect," said the younger Marquez, 29. "Really happy, it's a really important win for us to celebrate second (in the championship)," he added. Pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia, who won Saturday's sprint, started well on a hot and humid Sepang circuit to hold a slender lead in the first lap with Acosta and Marquez in hot pursuit. Marquez, who started second on the grid, made his move early in the second lap as the Ducati-Gresini star surged past Bagnaia during a sweeping corner, and maintained the lead until the finish line. Ducati's Bagnaia had a tailgating Acosta behind him as the front three left the chasing pack behind. As the race reached the halfway stage, Bagnaia's focus was to fend off intense pressure from Acosta, leaving Marquez to increase his advantage. Acosta's pressure eventually paid off as the KTM rider found joy on the 13th lap to overtake Bagnaia into second place. Unperturbed by the battle unfolding behind him, Marquez crossed the finish line in 40 min 09.249 sec. Bagnaia's afternoon ended with a bike issue late on that left him unable to finish the race. Earlier, the Moto3 race was delayed and shortened after a nasty collision involving newly crowned world champion Jose Antonio Rueda and Noah Dettwiler during the sighting lap. Both riders were airlifted to hospital but were conscious. "My prayers and thoughts are with the Moto3 guys," said Marquez. "Still in my stomach I have some stressed feeling, so just keep fingers crossed for them."