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A22
SPORTSFriday 1 April 2016
Japan’s Ai Miyazato takes early lead in ANA Inspiration
JOHN NICHOLSON
AP Sports Writer
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.
(AP) — Ai Miyazato birdied
four of the first six holes and
shot a 5-under 67 in perfect
conditions to take the early
lead in the ANA Inspiration
on Thursday.
Miyazato closed with a
birdie on the par-5 18th at
Mission Hills to pull a stroke
ahead of fellow Japanese
player Shiho Oyama, Scot-
land’s Catriona Matthew
and South Africa’s Lee-
Anne Pace after the morn-
ing session.
Second-ranked Inbee Park,
No. 3 Lexi Thompson and
No. 4 Stacy Lewis — all past
winners in the first major
championship of the year
— played in the afternoon.
Miyazato is coming off a
third-place finish last week
in the Kia Classic in Carls-
bad, the nine-time LPGA
Tour winner’s first top-10 fin-
ish since 2013.
“That was huge,” Miyazato
said. “I definitely gained my
confidence and I really felt
good with my game again.
I was kind of really happy
to play golf again. I like my
Former Seattle star Lauren Jackson announces retirement
DENNIS PASSA
AP Sports Writer
Injuries finally succeeded in
doing what many of Lau-
ren Jackson’s opponents
couldn’t do: prevent her
from exceling on the bas-
ketball court.
The 34-year-old Australian
retired Thursday, ending an
illustrious career that saw
her star for the WNBA’s Se-
attle Storm and lead Aus-
tralia to four Olympic med-
als.
A fifth Olympics could have
been the Rio Games in
August, but that possibility
ended with her announce-
ment on the same court
she began playing at Can-
berra’s Australian Institute
of Sport in 1997, and where
her Olympic teammates
were training.
“To say goodbye to my
love, what was my life, my
identity, this hurts,” Jack-
son said. “A few tears have
been shed and I feel kind
of empty right now.”
Jackson, who said she was
uncertain about her future
Ai Miyazato, of Japan, waves after a birdie on the first hole dur-
ing the first round of the LPGA Tour ANA Inspiration golf tourna-
ment at Mission Hills Country Club, Thursday, March 31, 2016 in
Rancho Mirage, Calif.
but ruled out a coach-
ing job, was the WNBA’s
most valuable player three
times, the last in 2010.
The 1.96-meter (6 foot,
5-inch) Jackson spent her
entire WNBA career with
Seattle, helping lead the
Storm to titles in 2004 and
2010. But she hadn’t played
a full season for the Storm
since 2010 — just 13 games
in 2011 and nine games in
2012 — due to numerous
surgeries on her right knee
and other ailments includ-
ing a left Achilles tendon
injury.
She had been named on
Australia’s Opals extended
squad for Rio, but recent
fitness testing and medical
advice convinced her she
should not continue play-
ing.
“It really is so surreal retiring
here where it all began 19
years ago,” Jackson said.
“Today I’m announcing my
retirement from the love
of my life, basketball. Two
years ago I hurt my knee
playing in China ... my knee
game again. I was kind of
struggling the last couple
years. It was really hard.”
Gerina Piller and Ariya Ju-
tanugarn shot 69.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko was at
70 in a group that included
Michelle Wie, Charley Hull
and Na Yeon Choi. Ko won
on Sunday at Carlsbad.
“I was striking my irons and
everything fairly good, but I
didn’t hit my drive very well,
especially on the back
nine,” Ko said. “I gave my-
self quite a few looks up
the hill for birdie, but I just
wasn’t able to commit to
my speed. I left quite a few
out there that were kind
of similar on line, but just
short.”
Wie stood more upright
and crouched on her short
putts, trying to emulate
Jack Nicklaus. On longer
putts, she continued to low-
er her torso almost parallel
to the ground.
“I kind of always saw how
Jack putted and it kind of
worked out OK for him,”
Wie said. “I’ve always been
kind of like Jack in putting
and stuff, and I decided to
Associated Press
In this Aug. 9, 2012 file photo, with the Canberra WNBL
Australia’s Lauren Jackson, team or stints with club
left, shoots for the basket past teams in Spain and China.
United States’ Maya Moore, She also played in South
right, during a women’s bas- Korea and four years part-
ketball semifinal game at the time with Moscow Spartak,
2012 Summer Olympics in winning two EuroLeague
London. titles with the Russian team.
Associated Press She came close to retir-
ing in January after being
ended up degenerating hospitalized with a knee
really, really fast, I got arthri- infection following surgery
tis pretty quickly and since for a torn anterior cruciate
then I’ve had multiple sur- ligament, when she said
geries.” she’d need an “absolute
Jackson has spent more miracle” if she was going
time off the court than on to play in Rio. She was also
for most of the past five or released from her WNBL
six years — either in Seattle, contract with the Canber-
ra Capitals, having played
just six games in five years.
Jackson won Olympic silver
medals in 2000, 2004 and
2008, losing the final each
time to the United States.
She also earned bronze at
London in 2012, when she
was Australia’s flag bearer
at the opening ceremony.
She began her Opals ca-
reer when she was 16.
“When I first saw Lauren
and what she could do
go a little more narrow. Put-
ting is all about feel, and
obviously just kind of tried
that out. It felt comfort-
able.”
The 46-year-old Matthew
also made a change on
the greens.
“I’ve been playing well all
year, just not holing any
putts,” Matthew said. “So,
I thought I’d try left-hand
low this week.”
Brooke Henderson opened
with a 73, playing in front of
by far the largest galleries in
the morning wave.
“It’s super cool,” the
18-year-old Canadian
said about the fans. “Ev-
ery round it seems there
are more fans and not only
just from Canada. Though
there is a huge Canadian
crowd out here this week.”
She chipped in for par on
18 after her drive struck a
palm tree and went into
the water.
“It was kind of an interest-
ing par,” Henderson said. “I
think it’s the best one I’ve
ever made in my life. I was
happy to see it go in — and
the crowd seemed to enjoy
it, too.”q
on the basketball court,
I knew she was someone
special,” said former Aus-
tralia head coach Jan Stir-
ling. “Throughout all of her
accomplishments she has
remained humble ...”
Drafted by Seattle first over-
all in 2001, Jackson ranks
sixth all-time in the WNBA
in points scored (6,007),
eighth in rebounding
(2,447) and third in blocks
(586). She also leads the
Storm in all three catego-
ries, with her best game for
Seattle coming in a then-
WNBA single-game scoring
a record 47 points on July
24, 2007 at Washington.
“I believe Lauren is the
most dominant player the
WNBA has ever seen,” Se-
attle coach Jenny Boucek
said. “I was fortunate to be
around her for many years
and every day we were
in awe of something she
would do on the court. We
are grateful for her incred-
ible impact on the fran-
chise, the city of Seattle
and the game.”q