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EAST LONDON, South Africa -- Ricardo Santos of Portugal fired a 9-under 62 for a two-shot lead in the first round of the Africa Open on Thursday. Xavier Sua-Filo Jersey . Santos had five birdies going out and four birdies coming in for a flawless opening round at East London Golf Club. In a four-way tie for second were Denmarks Lucas Bjerregaard, Wales Rhys Davies, South Africas Garth Mulroy and Englands Richard Bland, who all shot 64s. Americans Brinson Paolini and John Hahn were among a group of six players tied for sixth, three off Santos lead. Santos was the 2012 rookie of the year on the European Tour and has a decent record in South Africa with top-30 finishes in his last five events. "Im very pleased to make a run like I did today," he said. "I hit the ball solidly from the tee and my putting was all good. To shoot minus nine you have to play awesome golf." One of the last finishers, Santos overtook the field with three birdies in his last five holes after starting on No. 10. They ensured he was two clear of the chasing pack, which includes one of the home favourites, Mulroy. Mulroy had an eagle on No. 3, six birdies and a bogey. Early leader Santos is one of a string of foreigners fighting home player dominance in South Africa. The four previous Africa Opens have been won by South Africans and George Coetzees victory at the Joburg Open last week was the ninth home win in the last 12 tour events in the country. Jeoffrey Pagan Jersey . Bayern led second-place Leverkusen by 10 points with a game in hand, while Dortmund was another four points off the pace. Freiburg midfielder Felix Klaus scored in the last minute as his side twice came from behind to climb provisionally out of the relegation zone. Keshawn Martin Jersey . -- Look at London Fletchers career stats, particularly the column of numbers under the letter "G.MINSK, Belarus -- Alex Ovechkin has been hospitalized with an apparent right leg injury suffered during Russias game with Germany at the world hockey championship Sunday. Coach Oleg Znarok would not reveal anything about Ovechkins injury other than to say he was taken to a local hospital. Znarok said information would be released later. "Of course its scary. We hope hes healthy and can play," said former Winnipeg Jets forward Alex Burmistrov. Ovechkin took an open-ice hit from Marcus Kink that appeared to make contact with his right knee, then flipped over and remained on the ice. The Russian captain and Washington Capitals star was down for two minutes before needing to be helped off by teammates, putting no pressure on his right leg. Ovechkin was injured in the third period of Russias 3-0 victory and did not return. "I hope nothing is wrong with him. I hope he is fine. Shiloh Keo Houston Texans. You never want to see that," said German goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who is also a teammate of Ovechkin. "We need him in Washington. He had 51 goals this year, he is one of the best players in the world so we need him up in Washington." There have been over 30 injuries at this tournament, but Ovechkins could turn out to be the most significant. Kink refused comment when asked his opinion of the hit. Montreal-born German coach Pat Cortina called it an "unfortunate incident" and added that Ovechkin was a "great ambassador" for the sport. The Washington Capitals issued the following statement on Sunday: "We are aware that Alex Ovechkin sustained an injury during todays game versus Germany. Our medical staff is working with Ovechkin and Team Russia to gather additional information at this time." ' ' ' |
