Sailing-Monnin stuns Poole to claim first Congressional Cup
LONG BEACH, California (Reuters) -Swiss skipper Eric Monnin clinched his first Congressional Cup on Sunday, beating champion Chris Poole of the United States 3–2 in a tense final at the 60th staging of the regatta known as the 'granddaddy' of match sailing.
Monnin finally got his hands on the silverware — and the crimson blazer that comes with it — at his 11th attempt. The win wasn't just sweet for Monnin, it was a spoiler too, as he stopped Poole from sailing into the history books.
Poole, fresh off a clean sweep against Aussie Cole Tapper in the semis, had been aiming to become only the second skipper to win three successive regatta victories, after American ace Taylor Canfield's feat from 2014 to 2016.
"Chris put a lot of pressure on us, and we were close to cracking under it," 49-year-old Monnin said. "But winning this regatta is a big step for us. It's a big deal, and it means a lot to do it with this crew," he said of the team, which included his wife Ute and brother Jean-Claude.
The closely fought final saw the lead change hands multiple times, with Poole drawing first blood before Monnin responded with back-to-back victories. The American levelled in race four, setting up a decisive winner-takes-all encounter.
The climactic race delivered drama as Monnin suffered an early penalty off the start line but kept in contention in the light, fickle breeze. Fortune swung his way at the first windward mark when Poole clipped the buoy, earning a penalty that cancelled out Monnin's earlier infringement.
With the slate wiped clean, a game of inches ensued. Monnin nursed a slender lead down the final run before the boats split gybes at the bottom of the course. Despite Poole catching a late puff to narrow the gap, the Swiss held firm to secure victory.
Australia's Tapper completed the podium, claiming third place after defeating American Dave Hood in another series that went the distance. The result marked remarkable progress for Tapper's Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) Youth Sailing Academy team, which finished eighth in their Congressional Cup debut last year.
The Congressional Cup has been a fixture of the World Match Racing Tour since 1965, and is a high-stakes duel in Long Beach where six- or seven-person teams race identical Catalina 37s, all under a strict 525kg crew weight limit.
Podium:1-Eric Monnin / Capvis Swiss Match Racing (Switzerland)crew: Ute Monnin Wagner, Mathieu Renault, Jean-Claude Monnin, Simon Brügger, Julien Falxa, Maxime Mesnil2-Chris Poole / Riptide Racing (U.S.)crew: Joachim Aschenbrenner, Ben Lamb, Mal Parker, Rob Scivenor, and Harry West3-Cole Tapper / CYCA (Australia)crew: Jack Frewin, Max Brennan, Hamish Vass, Nathan Gulliksen, and George Richardson
(Reporting by Ossian Shine; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Minjee Lee wins Women's PGA Championship for third major title
LOS ANGELES: Australian Minjee Lee fired a gritty two-over-par 74 to win the Women's PGA Championship on Sunday, capturing her third major title by three strokes on another demanding day in Frisco, Texas. The 29-year-old from Perth added the title to her 2021 Evian Championship and the US Women's Open title she won in 2022, finishing with a four-under-par total of 284. American Auston Kim and Thailand's Chanettee Wannasaen tied for second on on one-under 287. "A lot of patience out there today," said Lee, who started the day with a four-shot lead after a brilliant, bogey-free round on Saturday but had three bogeys in her first six holes. "I just felt like some shots were going my way and some shots weren't," Lee said. "I just said stick to my game plan. It was a battle against myself pretty much, especially with how tough the conditions were this whole week -- not just today, just amplified today because it's a major Sunday." Lee made her first birdie of the day at the par-five ninth, where she missed the green but chipped to two feet. She gave a stroke back at the 10th, but after rolling in a tense nine-foot putt for par at 13 she drilled a nine-footer for birdie at the 14th to boost her lead back to three strokes. She added a birdie at 15, holing a five-and-a-half-foot putt, remaining in control from there despite a last bogey at 16. Through it all, Lee said, she was keeping an eye on her nearest rivals while trying to maintain her focus on another hot, wind-whipped day at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, north of Dallas. "Pretty much I saw every single leaderboard and I knew exactly where I was pretty much all of today," she said. "I just tried to check the scores and then I just come back to each shot and try and execute it the best that I could. "I really played within myself today." Kim, a 24-year-old American ranked 98th in the world and seeking a first LPGA victory, applied as much pressure as she could. After a birdie at the par-five first she strung together three birdies in a row at the seventh, eighth and ninth -- landing her tee shot at the par-three eighth a foot from the pin. BEST FINISH "I just wanted to charge and get as close as I could to the top," said Kim, who posted her best finish in a major. Prior to this tournament, she'd missed more major cuts (five) than she had made (four). "I knew that the course is hard. I just played my percentages and tried to capitalize on good shots today." Chanattee seized her share of second with a 68 highlighted by an eagle at 15, where she found the green with her tee shot and rolled in a 14-foot putt. World number two Jeeno Thitikul, who led after each of the first two rounds and started the day in solo second four behind Lee, was never able to get much going. She closed with a three-over-par 75 that left her tied for fourth on one-over 289 with Japan's Chisato Iwai, who carded a one-under 71. The grueling conditions all week took a toll on some of the game's top names. World number three Lydia Ko, who started her week with a four-over 75, carded a one-under 71 on Sunday to finish in a group sharing 12th on 293. World number one Nelly Korda fired a final-round 76 for a share of 19th on 294 and world number four Yin Ruoning was in a group on 295 after a closing 76. - AFP
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
From fallen giants to giant-killers: Botafogo's remarkable revival
ONCE Brazilian football royalty, Botafogo had languished for decades as a debt-ridden sleeping giant before they toppled Paris St Germain at the Club World Cup to cap a resurrection tale three years in the making. When American entrepreneur John Textor acquired the club in 2022, fresh from their promotion back to Brazil's first division, he took on a training ground so decrepit that then-coach Luis Castro dismissed it as 'good for parking cars,' alongside crushing liabilities exceeding one billion reais ($181.39 million). Botafogo were a storied but shattered institution. The club that once nurtured Brazilian greats - Garrincha, Zagallo, Jairzinho and Nilton Santos, architects of three World Cup triumphs - was drowning in debt, having endured the humiliation of relegation three times in just over a decade. On Thursday, they outplayed European champions Paris St Germain to win 1-0 in the Club World Cup's most eye-catching upset, propelling themselves to the top of the tournament's 'group of death' and on the verge of the knockout stage. Their squad, assembled through shrewd bargain-hunting in football's forgotten corners, now faces Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles on Monday, sitting comfortably, knowing even a two-goal defeat would still secure their passage to the round of 16. The victory over PSG vindicated Textor's vision, outlined in a Reuters interview three years prior, of 'beating the system' through astute scouting in under-explored talent pools. The architects of Thursday's victory exemplified this approach. Match-winner Igor Jesus arrived as a free agent after three anonymous years in the UAE and was transformed into a Brazil international. Argentine defender Alexander Barboza, who neutralised PSG's vaunted attack, was plucked from Paraguay's Club Libertad for nothing. Captain Marlon Freitas came from second-division Atletico Goianiense, while experienced European campaigners Alex Telles and Allan were revitalised after spells in Middle Eastern leagues. Gregore, Jefferson Savarino, John and Cuiabano were all signed for under two million euros ($2.30 million) each. 'The goal is to be sustainably competitive every year,' Botafogo CEO Thairo Arruda told Reuters. 'With a top six payroll, we produce like a top three.' The transformation extends far beyond the pitch. Revenues have soared from 140 million reais in 2022 to projected earnings exceeding 1.1 billion by 2025, while liabilities have been slashed by 40%. Textor's Eagle Football empire also encompasses stakes in Ligue 1's Olympique Lyonnais and Premier League Crystal Palace. Botafogo's renaissance - crowned by last year's domestic and continental double - has breathed new life into a club motto once heavy with self-pity: 'There are things that only happen to Botafogo.' After outclassing Europe's elite, those words now carry an altogether sweeter resonance.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
US Ryder Cup captain Bradley edges Fleetwood to win PGA Travelers
NEW YORK: US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley won the Travelers Championship for the second time in three seasons on Sunday, a dramatic last-hole birdie denying England's Tommy Fleetwood his first PGA victory. Bradley, trailing Fleetwood by one at the 18th tee, dropped his approach to six feet while Fleetwood was short of his green, left himself a par putt from just inside seven feet then missed it to the right. Bradley then sank his tension-packed birdie putt for the title, shooting a two-under-par 68 to finish 72 holes on 15-under 265 and defeat Fleetwood and American Russell Henley by one stroke at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. "Of all the shots and all the putts I've hit, I think I'm going to remember that one the most," Bradley said of his winning putt. "Absolutely incredible." World number 21 Bradley, the 2023 Travelers winner, marked the one-year anniversary of being told he was this year's Ryder Cup captain with a victory that prompted more questions about him playing against Europe in September at Bethpage Black. "Go U.S.A," was his only reply. The 39-year-old from nearby Vermont treats the lone PGA event in New England as his home tournament. "I feel an obligation to play for the people of New England and the Northeast and represent them and this is the best way I can do it," Bradley said. Bradley, who sank a 64-foot birdie putt at the ninth hole, won his eighth career PGA title, including a win in his major debut at the 2011 PGA Championship. For Fleetwood, the Paris Olympic runner-up ranked 17th in the world, it was another crushing failure after seven DP World Tour wins but none on the PGA Tour, settling for a 42nd career top-10 PGA finish. "I'm upset now, I'm angry," Fleetwood said. "When it calms down, look at the things I did well, look at the things I can learn from. "I did plenty of things well enough this week to win, I didn't do that, it now I would love to, you know, just go and sulk somewhere and maybe I will do, but there's just no point making it a negative for the future really, just take the positives and move on." Fleetwood made a bogey at the par-three 16th after missing the green and again at 18 to suffer heartbreak after leading most of the day. "Keegan made birdie, so fair play to him, but still feel like from where I was, I should at least be in a playoff," Fleetwood said. "So, yeah, it's a crappy way to finish." Australian Jason Day and American Harris English, who had four birdies in the last six holes, shared fourth on 267 while top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and second-ranked Rory McIlroy each shot 65 to share sixth on 268. At 17, Fleetwood blasted out of a fairway bunker over water to 24 feet while Bradley was 41 feet from the hole and both two-putted for par to send the drama to the final hole. At 18, Fleetwood changed clubs late and used a wedge from the fairway to land the ball short of the green, nearly 50 feet from the hole, while Bradley's nine-iron dropped just inside six feet. Two-time Masters champion Scheffler, who won his third major at last month's PGA Championship, went bogey-free in the last round. "Overall not a bad week," Scheffler said. "I fought back nicely today and posted a decent score. You got to limit your mistakes and this week I just wasn't able to do that." McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, was pleased heading into July's British Open. "Good, positive vibes going into a couple-week break and get ready for Scotland and The Open Championship," McIlroy said. "Saw some positive signs in the game overall, which was really good to see." - AFP
