Minjee Lee makes move to stay in US Open title mix
Minjee Lee is close enough if good enough after making another move during the third round of the mega-money US Women's Open in Wisconsin.
As fellow Australian Hannah Green fell off the pace, Lee carved out a one-under-par 71 at the ever-testing Erin Hills Golf Club to pull within four shots of Swedish leader Maja Stark.
Lee was only two back on the back nine before a bogey on the par-4 15th left the dual major winner and 2022 Open champion in a tie for seventh at three under heading into Sunday's final round (Monday AEST).
Stark's third-round 70 earned her a one-stroke buffer over young Spanish sensation Julia Lopez Ramiro, a former world amateur No.1 who fired a 68 to surge to six under.
Chasing a second straight major after winning last month's Chevron Championship, Mao Saigo let a three-shot halfway lead slip with three consecutive bogeys on the fourth, fifth and sixth holes.
The Japanese sensation steadied and looked set to take a least a share of the lead into the final round until dropping two shots over the last two holes.
Saigo is tied for third with compatriots Rio Takeda (70) and Hinako Shibuno (72), with American world No.1 Nelly Korda (73) one shot further back in solo sixth.
After starting the day level with Lee at two under, Green posted a Saturday 73 to drop to one under and a share of 13th, six shots behind Stark.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
13 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tom Sermanni talks about the Matildas' evolution after his final game in charge
When Tom Sermanni first took charge of the Australian women's national football team, they were not playing in front of sell-out crowds. They were not even called the Matildas. As international team manager * - Australian women's team was first known as the Matildas in 1995 ** - Interim Matildas coach Sermanni's first home game as coach of the Female Socceroos, as they were still known back in 1995, was played in front of a handful of spectators at a training ground at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. His last was in front of a capacity crowd of 25,125 next door at Canberra Stadium on Monday night. That is a record not just for a women's football game in the ACT, but any football game played in the nation's capital. It is the highest attendance of any sport at the venue in almost six years. "It's bizarre," Sermanni reflected, following his final match as interim coach before Joe Montemurro steps into the role. "It's just been a phenomenal experience. I've never witnessed a crowd such as the Matildas crowd. "I kind of pinch myself when I go out and stand in front of it before the game starts. "I just can't believe I'm back and had the privilege to be back in this environment." As he ends his third, and probably final, stint at the helm of the Matildas, the landscape of women's football in Australia is unrecognisable from when he first encountered it. That is largely down to Sermanni, 70, himself. In his first tenure, from 1994 to 1997, the charismatic Caledonian led the Matildas to their first World Cup. But it was his contribution off the field that had the biggest impact. From a small office in the Canberra suburb of Hackett, Sermanni and a team of two or three running the entire women's program established the foundations for the National Training Centres that would incubate the golden generation of Australian women's football. "I think that was one of the things, if I look back, that we created that I feel was really beneficial," he said "And the second thing was the W-League. I think the W-League has been really instrumental in giving opportunities to domestic players that might not have had opportunities if we didn't have that league." In his second stint, from 2004 to 2012, Sermanni handed debuts to a crop of young players — including the likes of Sam Kerr, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord — who took the Matildas to another level and nearly a home World Cup final in 2023. But the decision to can the National Training Centres program in 2014 set back the development of new talent and left a shortage of new players coming through to replace them, Sermanni lamented. "We need to put resources into development," he said. "You don't notice your development collapsing overnight. It takes time, and then all of a sudden, we turn around and say, we've got all these great players, but they're 30-plus." Now unemployed, the longest-serving coach of the Matildas does not know what his future holds, but he left the door open to continuing his relationship with Football Australia. "We've had some chats, but there's been no particular concrete role. So I think everybody will just wait to see what happens when things change and things start to happen again," he said. "If there's something there, fantastic. If there's not, I'll be quite happy to leave the building and relax." AAP
The Age
22 minutes ago
- The Age
He's already Australia's biggest sports earner, now Oscar Piastri is climbing another list
'Success helps people shift up in their marketability. And then it's about how do you make hay while the sun shines and your and your marketability is high?' Berry said. 'For brands, it's about how do you try and identify people on the way up ... [which] is much more affordable and appealing than having to wait until they have ultimate success … when the fees that they would charge would be astronomical.' Piastri, who claimed a fifth grand prix win for the season in Spain at the weekend, inked a deal worth $41 million a year with McLaren in March, first reported in the Daily Mail UK and according to the Australian Financial Review. It was the seventh win of the Melburnian's Formula 1 career, and he leads the championship race by 10 points to his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Formula 1 contracts often also include bonuses for podium finishes or wins, the amount of which varies depending on the driver's agreement with their team. Forbes Australia estimates Piastri made more than $17 million in bonuses last year. Piastri's lucrative new deal, which will extend beyond 2026, rocketed him to the title of highest-paid Australian sports star, and bonuses from his five wins for the season will push him even further above the second highest-paid, the NFL's Jordan Mailata. The Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle, who last year was the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl victory, earns $24 million a season, which will jump to $33 million from 2026 after signing a three-year contract extension. Piastri's spot at the top of the table was, until last year, held by NBA player Ben Simmons, who came to the end of his Brooklyn Nets contract worth more than $63 million-per-year. He signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in February for $1.7 million per season, according to Fox Sports, following years of injury and underperformance. The NBA is a boon for Australian athletes, with many of the nation's highest-paid stars playing basketball in the United States, including Josh Green, Matisse Thybulle, Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey. Giddey is in the midst of contract negotiations, and veteran NBA reporter Brian Windhorst has speculated he could re-sign with the Chicago Bulls for about $47 million – a number that would see the 22-year-old surpass Piastri for the biggest annual salary (excluding bonuses and endorsements). 'The going rate for a starting point guard in the NBA is around $30 million [$A46.8 million],' Windhorst told ESPN, pointing to Immanuel Quickley on about $50 million a year. 'I'm sure Josh Giddey's hoping for something like that.' Australia's domestic sports stars pale in comparison, despite earning more than ever. In 2024, 10 AFL players pocketed salaries of at least $1.2 million, with the likes of Richmond's Tom Lynch, Melbourne's Christian Petracca and Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli among the top earners this year. In the NRL, Kalyn Ponga, Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster are reportedly among the highest earners, around the $1.3-$1.4 million mark. Professor of International Sport Business at Victoria University Hans Westerbeek said sports such as Formula 1 and NBA were the most lucrative because of their broad, global popularity. 'It's a very basic, simple marketing principle that the more eyeballs you attract, the more valuable the property is that attracts those eyeballs,' he said. He said performance was crucial but a sports personality's narrative power could also give them an advantage when negotiating deals. 'There's one very big factor that drives the value up beyond their performance, and that is their ability to tell stories, to create a story about not only those 90 minutes on the racetrack, or four quarters on a football field, but everything that happens before, during and after,' he said. 'When you're top of your discipline or top of your sport, your inherent value is higher than those who do not get onto the podium. Having said that, there's an increasing number of athletes who may never win an Olympic medal but still make a very healthy income because of the stories that they ... very strategically narrate on different social media platforms or in direct production with their management companies.' He pointed to the meteoric rise of Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout as an example of how an athlete who captured the public's attention was quickly snapped up by brands. The 17-year-old signed an estimated $6 million deal with adidas last year. 'It has this great story of a kid who suddenly is there and rivals one of the greatest of all time [Usain Bolt], and how quickly companies then jump on the bandwagon to sign him before he becomes too expensive,' Westerbeek said. Australian golfer Cameron Smith is also on the rich list, his deal to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League reportedly topping nine figures. LIV contracts are usually excluded from salary estimations because the number of years the deals span is unknown, meaning it is possible Smith is earning more than Piastri on an annual basis. Loading '[LIV] is a league fully owned by companies that directly associate with the government of Saudi Arabia, and it's very much a disrupter in what has been a very traditional sport. The Saudis have done this because they know what kind of influence a platform like golf, or F1 for that matter, has in it, in order for them to have some kind of power base in global sport,' Westerbeek said. Gemba's Berry said Netflix's Drive to Survive series had broadened the popularity of motorsport, but Piastri's on- track success had helped him climb the most marketable list above the other 263 Australian athletes the organisation tracked. In 2023, when Matildas fever swept the nation as Australia co-hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup, the most marketable athletes were Sam Kerr, Ash Barty, Daniel Ricciardo and Nick Kyrgios. Loading Berry said Ricciardo's reach was what made him more marketable compared to Piastri, for now, despite the fact he no longer competes in Formula 1. 'Obviously, where they are in their journeys is very different. Oscar's still at the start of his F1 journey … whereas Daniel is at the other end. Oscar's reach is growing, whereas Daniel's is stable.'
Sydney Morning Herald
23 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
He's already Australia's biggest sports earner, now Oscar Piastri is climbing another list
'Success helps people shift up in their marketability. And then it's about how do you make hay while the sun shines and your and your marketability is high?' Berry said. 'For brands, it's about how do you try and identify people on the way up ... [which] is much more affordable and appealing than having to wait until they have ultimate success … when the fees that they would charge would be astronomical.' Piastri, who claimed a fifth grand prix win for the season in Spain at the weekend, inked a deal worth $41 million a year with McLaren in March, first reported in the Daily Mail UK and according to the Australian Financial Review. It was the seventh win of the Melburnian's Formula 1 career, and he leads the championship race by 10 points to his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Formula 1 contracts often also include bonuses for podium finishes or wins, the amount of which varies depending on the driver's agreement with their team. Forbes Australia estimates Piastri made more than $17 million in bonuses last year. Piastri's lucrative new deal, which will extend beyond 2026, rocketed him to the title of highest-paid Australian sports star, and bonuses from his five wins for the season will push him even further above the second highest-paid, the NFL's Jordan Mailata. The Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle, who last year was the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl victory, earns $24 million a season, which will jump to $33 million from 2026 after signing a three-year contract extension. Piastri's spot at the top of the table was, until last year, held by NBA player Ben Simmons, who came to the end of his Brooklyn Nets contract worth more than $63 million-per-year. He signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in February for $1.7 million per season, according to Fox Sports, following years of injury and underperformance. The NBA is a boon for Australian athletes, with many of the nation's highest-paid stars playing basketball in the United States, including Josh Green, Matisse Thybulle, Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey. Giddey is in the midst of contract negotiations, and veteran NBA reporter Brian Windhorst has speculated he could re-sign with the Chicago Bulls for about $47 million – a number that would see the 22-year-old surpass Piastri for the biggest annual salary (excluding bonuses and endorsements). 'The going rate for a starting point guard in the NBA is around $30 million [$A46.8 million],' Windhorst told ESPN, pointing to Immanuel Quickley on about $50 million a year. 'I'm sure Josh Giddey's hoping for something like that.' Australia's domestic sports stars pale in comparison, despite earning more than ever. In 2024, 10 AFL players pocketed salaries of at least $1.2 million, with the likes of Richmond's Tom Lynch, Melbourne's Christian Petracca and Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli among the top earners this year. In the NRL, Kalyn Ponga, Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster are reportedly among the highest earners, around the $1.3-$1.4 million mark. Professor of International Sport Business at Victoria University Hans Westerbeek said sports such as Formula 1 and NBA were the most lucrative because of their broad, global popularity. 'It's a very basic, simple marketing principle that the more eyeballs you attract, the more valuable the property is that attracts those eyeballs,' he said. He said performance was crucial but a sports personality's narrative power could also give them an advantage when negotiating deals. 'There's one very big factor that drives the value up beyond their performance, and that is their ability to tell stories, to create a story about not only those 90 minutes on the racetrack, or four quarters on a football field, but everything that happens before, during and after,' he said. 'When you're top of your discipline or top of your sport, your inherent value is higher than those who do not get onto the podium. Having said that, there's an increasing number of athletes who may never win an Olympic medal but still make a very healthy income because of the stories that they ... very strategically narrate on different social media platforms or in direct production with their management companies.' He pointed to the meteoric rise of Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout as an example of how an athlete who captured the public's attention was quickly snapped up by brands. The 17-year-old signed an estimated $6 million deal with adidas last year. 'It has this great story of a kid who suddenly is there and rivals one of the greatest of all time [Usain Bolt], and how quickly companies then jump on the bandwagon to sign him before he becomes too expensive,' Westerbeek said. Australian golfer Cameron Smith is also on the rich list, his deal to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League reportedly topping nine figures. LIV contracts are usually excluded from salary estimations because the number of years the deals span is unknown, meaning it is possible Smith is earning more than Piastri on an annual basis. Loading '[LIV] is a league fully owned by companies that directly associate with the government of Saudi Arabia, and it's very much a disrupter in what has been a very traditional sport. The Saudis have done this because they know what kind of influence a platform like golf, or F1 for that matter, has in it, in order for them to have some kind of power base in global sport,' Westerbeek said. Gemba's Berry said Netflix's Drive to Survive series had broadened the popularity of motorsport, but Piastri's on- track success had helped him climb the most marketable list above the other 263 Australian athletes the organisation tracked. In 2023, when Matildas fever swept the nation as Australia co-hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup, the most marketable athletes were Sam Kerr, Ash Barty, Daniel Ricciardo and Nick Kyrgios. Loading Berry said Ricciardo's reach was what made him more marketable compared to Piastri, for now, despite the fact he no longer competes in Formula 1. 'Obviously, where they are in their journeys is very different. Oscar's still at the start of his F1 journey … whereas Daniel is at the other end. Oscar's reach is growing, whereas Daniel's is stable.'
