Li keeps the heat on leading rookie Couvra in Turkey
The 22-year-old rookie started the day in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard but pulled clear of the chasing pack courtesy of a five-under 66 at Regnum Carya on Friday.
Couvra has impressed during his maiden campaign at this level, having already posted four top-10 finishes, including fifth at the Hainan Classic last time out.
"I'm really happy about my game today - it's always good to have a bogey-free round," said world No.247 Couvra.
At 11-under par, Couvra leads by two from South Africa's Wilco Nienaber (65), with Li Haotong (65) a shot further back in third.
The 29-year-old from Shanghai, China remains in contention to win his fifth European tour event after claiming the Qatar Masters in Doha in February.
Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald (72) missed the cut on three over par, with Todd Clements (68) leading the British challenge on seven under in a tie for fourth.
The two Australians in the field both missed the weekend cut, with Daniel Gale (75) at even and Danny List (78) five-over the card.
With AAP.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
14 hours ago
- Perth Now
Fed-up Moloney pulls pin after Mexican stand-off
World title-chasing Australian boxer Andrew Moloney has lost patience and flown home after another late change to his IBF eliminator in Mexico. The super flyweight was due to fight Argi Cortes in Durango this weekend, with the winner awarded mandatory status to challenge Willibaldo Garcia for the crown. The fight had already been moved once and pushed back twice, the second delay occurring after Moloney (27-4) had landed and forcing his team to extend their time in the central Mexican town to almost five weeks. A filthy Moloney had vowed to take out his frustration on Cortes, given the final date change meant more time away from his family and missing his mother's 60th birthday celebrations. Another proposed venue change five days out from the fight - to Cortes's Mexico City home town nearly 1000km away, and at a higher altitude - was the final straw. So Moloney's camp, which included twin brother and former world bantamweight champion Jason, withdrew and flew home. Cortes (27-4-2, 11 KO) will instead fight Bairon Rodriguez in Mexico City this weekend, but the bout will not be recognised by the IBF. AAP understands Moloney's team will argue Cortes breached the terms of his contract and demand to be awarded mandatory status. It is the latest chapter in a frustrating career for the 34-year-old, who held the WBA's secondary super flyweight belt in 2019. A controversial trilogy loss to Joshua Franco stripped him of that status, before Moloney was spectacularly knocked out by superstar Junto Nakatani in a 2023 world title fight. He then copped a dubious points loss in an interim world title fight in Perth last year. That defeat to another Mexican, Pedro Guevara, prompted a furious Moloney to announce his immediate retirement, a declaration he walked back once the dust had settled. "Sometimes you feel like you're in the tunnel and there's no light at the end, but at the moment it's never been more clear," Moloney told AAP last week. "Beat these two guys in front of me. "I've just got this burning desire to become world champion again. "It's all I've thought about since losing it and I'm so close now, not going to let anything get in the way."
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Mourinho's Fenerbahce hit five to end Bos' Euro dream
Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce have surged into the Champions League qualifying play-offs by overturning a two-goal deficit against Robin van Persie-coached Feyenoord. The result was a blow for Socceroo defender Jordan Bos who had joined his boyhood club during the off-season and hoped to play with them in the Champions League. Bos had made the winning goal when Fenerbahce lost 2-1 in the Netherlands last week. The Turkish club fell further behind in the second leg of Tuesday's third qualifying round clash when Feyenoord defender Tsuyoshi Watanabe scored the opener in the 41st minute. Mourinho's team rallied quickly with two goals before half-time — the second by Colombia forward Jhon Duran, on a season-long loan from Saudi club Al Nassr — on the way to a 5-2 win. That meant Fenerbahce advanced 6-4 on aggregate. Fenerbahce will host Benfica or Nice in the first leg of the play-off round next week with a place in the lucrative 36-team league phase at stake. Benfica started the second leg against Nice with a 2-0 lead at home later on Tuesday. Daniel Arzani, another of Tony Popovic's European-based Australian players, didn't feature in Ferencvaros' 3-0 defeat of Bulgarian club Ludogorets. That took the Hungarian side through 3-0 on aggregate. Rangers advanced to the play-offs 4-2 on aggregate against Viktoria Plzen despite a 2-1 loss in the Czech Republic. The Scottish club will host the first leg of their play-off next week against Club Brugge who got three second-half goals in a 3-2 comeback win over Salzburg to advance 4-2 on aggregate. Russian-owned Pafos, the champions of Cyprus, beat Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine 2-0 to advance 3-0 on aggregate. Copenhagen beat its near neighbour Malmo 5-0, one week after a scoreless draw on the other side of the Oresund Bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden. Copenhagen's reward is a two-legged play-off against Swiss champions Basel.
Herald Sun
2 days ago
- Herald Sun
Grealish to join Everton as Premier League transfer window heats up
Don't miss out on the headlines from EPL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Manchester City winger Jack Grealish has agreed to join Everton on loan for the 2025-26 season, according to reports on Monday. Grealish fell out of favour with City boss Pep Guardiola last season and made just seven starts in the Premier League. The 29-year-old was left out of City's squad for the Club World Cup in the United States amid speculation that he was set to leave the Etihad Stadium. Everton have now agreed a deal for Grealish, who earns a reported £300,000 ($402,000) per week, ahead of the new Premier League campaign, which starts for the Toffees at Leeds on August 18. Jack Grealish is off to Everton. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP England international joined City from Aston Villa in 2021 for a then British record fee of £100 million. Grealish has won three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the FA Cup with City, but his form had dipped significantly since he played a key role in the 2022-23 treble-winning campaign. PALACE'S EUROPEAN BLOW Crystal Palace's appeal over their demotion from the Europa League to the UEFA Conference League was rejected Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The London club, who won last season's FA Cup, fell foul of UEFA's rules governing multi-club ownership. John Textor's stake in Lyon has cost Crystal Palace dearly. Picture:European football's governing body determined that as of March 1, American businessman John Textor had control or influence in Palace and French club Lyon. It means under UEFA rules they are unable to compete in the same European competition and Lyon held on to the Europa League spot by virtue of their higher league position. Palace appealed to CAS last month after Textor agreed to sell his 43 per cent stake in the Premier League club to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. However, that deal was struck well after UEFA's deadline of March 1 for multi-club conflicts to be resolved. 'After considering the evidence, the Panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a Board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA's assessment date,' CAS said in a statement. Crystal Palace won the Community Shield earlier this week. Picture:'The Panel considered that the UEFA Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as CPFC claimed.' Palace, who beat Liverpool on penalties to win the Community Shield after a 2-2 draw at Wembley on Sunday, will enter the UEFA Conference League in the play-off round later this month. Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, are set to replace Palace in the second-tier Europa League. BIGGEST TRANSFER MOVES SO FAR Liverpool have splashed out to defend their Premier League title as champions but face stiff competition from an Arsenal side desperate to shake off their tag as nearly men and a rejuvenated Manchester City. After storming to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title in Arne Slot's first season in charge, Liverpool have looked to build from a position of strength during a summer marked by tragedy. Portuguese forward Diogo Jota was killed in a car accident alongside his brother last month, plunging the club into mourning. The Reds have already spent £260 million ($350 million) on Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. However, after the departures of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, they are not yet done in strengthening their forward line and are expected to launch a fresh bid for Alexander Isak, with Newcastle demanding a British transfer record fee for the Swedish striker. New Liverpool attacking duo Hugo Ekitike (l) and Florian Wirtz. Picture: AP Photo/Dave Shopland Liverpool's rivals will hope Wirtz and Ekitike take time to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League after shining in Germany's Bundesliga, while there are defensive doubts for Slot's men to answer. The Dutch coach said his side need to defend better after leaky performances in pre-season were followed by defeat in the Community Shield to Crystal Palace on Sunday after twice blowing the lead. After finishing second for the past three seasons, Arsenal are longing for their first title in 22 years and have backed Mikel Arteta with another near £200 million investment in the transfer market. Spanish international Martin Zubimendi will be the new anchor of the midfield, while the signings of Christian Norgaard, Cristhian Mosquera, Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga add depth to the squad. But Arsenal's season is likely to be defined by whether Viktor Gyokeres proves to be the answer to their need for a prolific striker. Arsenal has high hopes for Viktor Gyokeres. Picture: John Walton/PA via AP The Swede struck 97 times in 102 games during two years at Sporting Lisbon, but the 27-year-old failed to make a breakthrough in the Premier League during his previous experience in England. After coming up short at Brighton, Gyokeres scored 41 goals in 121 games in England's second tier with Coventry and Swansea. 'He's a player that, when you leave him with the space one against one, he's going to destroy you,' said Arteta of his new striker. City were dethroned last season after an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles as the wheels came off for Pep Guardiola's men without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri. The Spaniard has been ruled out till September due to a setback in his return from a serious knee injury, but City have refreshed their squad with the additions of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki. After a first trophyless season since 2016/17, City expect to be back in the fight for the title. Chelsea were the last side other than City and Liverpool to lift the title back in 2017 and showed they are a coming force once more by winning the Club World Cup in the US last month. Rayan Cherki headlines Manchester City's off-season signings. Picture:The Blues finished fourth, 15 points behind Liverpool last season, but their transfer policy of investing heavily in scores of young prospects is beginning to bear fruit. Joao Pedro made an instant impact with three goals in three games at the Club World Cup after a £55 million move from Brighton and could solve Chelsea's need for a world class goalscorer. Manchester United have transformed their forward line with the signings of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo after finishing 15th last season. Beating United in the Europa League final was not enough for Ange Postecoglou to keep his job as Tottenham manager and former Brentford boss Thomas Frank has taken over in north London. Promoted trio Leeds, Sunderland and Burnley are aiming to avoid a worrying trend for the competitive balance. For the past two seasons all three promoted clubs have gone straight back down as the gap between the riches of the Premier League and the second tier continues to grow. Originally published as Premier League latest: Jack Grealish to join Everton on loan, Crystal Palace demoted to Conference League
