Norris beats Verstappen for pole position at F1’s Singapore Grand Prix

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — Eleven years after winning the title as a 20-year-old prodigy, Matteo Manassero moved into position to capture the prestigious BMW PGA Championship again on Saturday.

Manassero shot 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the third round.

Victory would cap a career revival for Manassero, who as a teenager was widely expected to become a golfing superstar. His game went into freefall, dropping the Italian onto the third-tier Alps Tour and to a world ranking of 1,705.

Back on the European tour this year, he won in South Africa in March and is in sight of a victory over a stacked field — containing Rory McIlroy — at the tour’s flagship event.

“Thinking of the difficult years, to be standing here right now in the lead — it feels amazing,” Manassero said. “My perspective has changed. I’m going to go out and enjoy tomorrow.”

Manassero, now ranked No. 101, pumped his fist after curling in a 12-foot putt at the last to seal a birdie-birdie-birdie finish and a back nine of 31 on the storied West Course that was drenched in heavy rain for much of the round. He made seven birdies and an eagle 3 at No. 4, and was 18 under for the tournament.

“I have to be honest, one of the best rounds I’ve ever played,” Manassero said.

McIlroy shot 66 after getting up and down for par at No. 18 after hitting into water off his second shot. The No. 3-ranked Northern Irishman, who won the event in 2014, was tied for second place with 2021 champion Billy Horschel, whose round of 65 included a run of seven straight birdies — featuring holed putts totaling 130 feet — from No. 8.

“The hole looked like the size of the Atlantic Ocean,” Horschel said.

Overnight leader Matthew Baldwin, who is ranked No. 363 and was dropping off packages for Amazon two years ago, shot 71 and was alone in fourth place after a round that began in pouring rain — necessitating preferred lies — and finished under a sunny sky outside London.

McIlroy, who also has two runner-up finishes at Wentworth, came from seven shots back at the start of the final round to win a decade ago and said catching Manassero might be just as difficult on Sunday.

“It’s good to see him back playing the golf that he is and where he’s supposed to be,” McIlroy said of Manassero, “so it’s going to be an exciting day.

“But if I get off to a fast start, it’s game on.”

Adam Cockerill of Teulon, Man., shot a third-round 71 to trail Manassero by 10 strokes.

Manassero would be a popular winner given the journey he has been on.

In 2009, he won the British Amateur, the silver medal at the British Open for low amateur and became No. 1 amateur in the world.

Within four years, he’d won four events on the European tour, capped by winning at the BMW PGA Championship to move into the top 25 in the world. Six years later, he briefly stepped away from a game he no longer loved, but is now back in the big time.

A victory would put him on track to qualify for next year’s Ryder Cup and to claim one of the 10 PGA Tour cards available each year from the European tour.

“I know what I’m doing much more,” Manassero said. “It’s not easy to compete at such a high level in tough conditions. It’s not like the ideal comfort zone but that’s what we work for. That’s what we try and achieve. Just happy where I am.”

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AP golf:

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TORONTO – Rebuilding the Toronto Raptors and making them one of the top teams in the NBA again is a project that starts from the ground up.

The Raptors 905, Toronto’s G-League affiliate, held open tryouts Saturday at the OVO Athletic Centre, the training facility for the NBA club.

Luke Winn, the organization’s director of prospect strategy, said the 905 were looking for at least one player from the tryout to attend training camp.

“I think this is a really important stage for the youth movement on the Raptors,” said Winn near the baseline of one of the practice courts. “We did four draft picks this year and a number of undrafted rookies we think are intriguing and our goal first and foremost is to develop them in a competitive and winning environment.

“It will be a success if those (rookies) are ready to contribute for the Raptors, regardless of what happens this season.”

A 15-game losing streak saw the Raptors finish last season 25-57 after a series of trades radically changed the roster and effectively ended the team’s 2019 NBA championship era.

Toronto then picked shooting guard Ja’Kobe Walter 19th overall in the NBA draft on June 26. Power forward Jonathan Mogbo (31st), point guard Jamal Shead (45th), and forward Ulrich Chomche (57th) were selected the next day.

Training camp begins Oct. 1 in Montreal and it’s not clear if any of those four will stick with the Raptors. It is, however, very likely that all four picks will spend at least some time with the 905, who play out of the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in nearby Mississauga, Ont.

“Those projects are all very important to us,” said Winn on creating an environment that will push the picks to work their hardest. “We have guys competing for spots right now in Raptors training camp and the ones who do not necessarily make it will move on to the 905 within the next few weeks and that’ll build the core of our team.”

Combo guard Gradey Dick, who Toronto selected 13th overall in the 2023 draft, is a perfect example of that. Although he started last season on the Raptors’ roster, he shuttled back and forth from the 905 a few times including a conditioning stint in December and January that turned his season around.

“We had a very conscious mindset of what we wanted (Dick) to get out of his assignment stints with the 905,” said Winn. “Development’s not easy. The G League is so talented right now that you don’t get anything handed to you that way.

“You have to go through some things. When (Dick) came back to the Raptors later on in the season, he was ready to contribute in a meaningful way.”

Creating that proving ground on the Raptors 905 begins with their new head coach Drew Jones. The 37-year-old Jones was named the G-League team’s sixth-ever head coach June 24. Saturday’s tryout was his first time meeting with media.

“Habits, hard work, our environment, is going to be key,” said Jones. “Who we are matters, the way the building feels matters.

“I’m excited about the season, for sure, but I’m more excited about creating the atmosphere where our talent can really grow and thrive.”

That care was evident during the tryout.

Jones stopped one scrimmage to tell players that if someone is knocked to the ground that everyone should help him back up. After the morning session wrapped up, he called a huddle of the four dozen players together to thank them for their time, but then told them it was important that they thank every coach and referee at the tryout too.

“Guys have got to want to be here,” said Jones, who played professionally in Europe before coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder’s G-League affiliate. “I think it starts with us, our staff, our culture, who we are.

“Guys have got to want to come to work and feel like we’re investing in them, in their development.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.

VICTORIA – There has been a major upheaval in British Columbia politics since the last provincial vote in 2020. Here’s a look at the political timeline, resulting in two party leaders who are both running for the first time as premier in the Oct. 19 general election.

Feb. 5, 2022: Kevin Falcon wins leadership of the Opposition BC Liberals. Falcon would take his seat in the provincial legislature after winning a byelection in Vancouver-Quilchena, vacated by former Leader Andrew Wilkinson.

June 28, 2022: B.C. premier and NDP Leader John Horgan announces his intention to resign due to health reasons, kicking off a leadership race where a number of perspective candidates ultimately decline to run.

Aug. 18, 2022: Falcon removes Nechako Lakes MLA and former cabinet minister John Rustad from the BC Liberal caucus over tweets about climate change. Rustad sits as an Independent in the legislature.

Sept. 10, 2022: Elenore Sturko, a former RCMP sergeant considered by some to be a star candidate under Falcon’s BC Liberals, wins the Surrey South byelection with 52 per cent of the votes cast.

Oct. 19, 2022: Climate activist Anjali Appadurai is disqualified from the B.C. New Democratic Party leadership race, leaving attorney general and Vancouver-Point Grey MLA David Eby as the lone candidate. Eby was acclaimed as leader days later.

Nov. 18, 2022: Eby is sworn in as B.C.’s premier.

March 31, 2023: Rustad is acclaimed as leader of the B.C. Conservatives, shortly after joining the party and becoming its only representative in the provincial legislature.

April 12, 2023: The BC Liberals under Falcon rebrand to BC United.

June 24, 2023: The NDP wins both the Langford-Juan de Fuca and Vancouver-Mount Pleasant byelections by more than half of the votes cast. The B.C. Conservative candidate in Langford-Juan de Fuca came in second, drawing more than twice the amount of votes as his BC United rival.

Sept. 13, 2023: Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman defects from the BC United caucus, joining Rustad and the Conservatives. The move gives the B.C. Conservatives two seats and official party status.

May 31, 2024: BC United caucus chair and Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson crosses the floor and joins Rustad’s Conservatives.

June 3, 2024: Sturko also defects from BC United to join the B.C. Conservatives, saying “we can only ignore the polls for so long.”

July 30, 2024: Former cabinet minister and Richmond North Centre MLA Teresa Wat also leaves BC United for the Conservatives, becoming the fourth sitting United MLA to defect ahead of the fall election.

Aug. 28, 2024: Falcon suspends the BC United election campaign, throwing his support behind the B.C. Conservatives led by Rustad. Falcon says the best thing for the future of the province is to defeat the NDP, but that can’t be done when the centre-right vote is split.

Sept. 3, 2023: Rustad welcomes three BC United members of the legislature to the Conservative fold, Ian Paton, Peter Milobar and Trevor Halford. Other candidates, including Shirley Bond and Todd Stone end their campaigns.

Sept. 16, 2023: Karin Kirkpatrick, a BC United candidate who had already said she wouldn’t run again in the next election, reversed her decision, saying she’ll run as an Independent. She’s joined by four other BC United MLAs to run as Independents, including Mike Bernier, Dan Davies, Coralee Oakes and Tom Shypitka.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.

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