Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/25
By: Luke Sabatier and Christie Chen

Taipei, Oct. 25 (CNA) Lydia Ko of New Zealand blew away the field at the US$2 million

Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship on Sunday with a dominant final day 7-under par 65 to become the world’s top-ranked female golfer, while none of the 20 Taiwanese players in the tournament finished under par.

Ko finished with a four-day total of 20-under 268, topping runner-ups So Yeon Ryu and Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea by nine strokes.

Ko started the day at 13-under for the tournament, four shots ahead of the field, and removed any drama at the top of the leaderboard with four birdies in her first six holes. After a bogey at the par-3 7th hole, she put even more distance between herself and her closest pursuers with a chip-in eagle at 13 and birdies at 14 and 18.     [FULL  STORY]

TURNING POINTS:The third-inning work of Jared Lansford and two runs in the fourth were the keys to keeping the series alive, Lamigo’s manager said

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 25, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The Lamigo Monkeys last night won Game 6 of the Taiwan Series at the Taoyuan

International Baseball Stadium in a thrilling 5-4 affair over the Brothers Baseball Club, forcing a deciding Game 7, which is to be played today.

Lamigo’s second pitcher, Jared Lansford of the US, was the key, earning the game MVP.

He pocketed the win by shutting down the Brothers’ attack, conceding only two hits and earning four strikeouts through five innings, setting aside 13 consecutive batters in one stretch to help keep his team in front.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/24
By: Lee Chin-wei and Jay Chen

Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) Taiwan’s top female badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) beat

her nemesis Li Xuerui (李雪芮) of China in two sets (22-20, 21-14) Friday to qualify for the semifinals of the Badminton World Federation’s Yonex French Open.

It was Tai’s first win over Li in the two women’s 11 encounters since 2011.

Tai said that, after 10 straight losses, she was overjoyed to have finally been able to beat her tough opponent, who is the world’s No. 5 female badminton player. Tai, 21, is currently No. 4 in the world ranking.

Tai will face Carolina Marin of Spain, who ranks No. 2 in the world, on Saturday for a chance to be in the final of the US$275,000 tournament.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/24
By: Christie Chen and Lee Chin-wei

Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) World No. 2 Lydia Ko of New Zealand rose to first place on the leaderboard after the third round of the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship on Saturday, while three Taiwanese players tied for 24th – the best score of the home players.

Ko fired eight birdies, one bogey and one double bogey on Saturday to finish 13-under 203 for her first three rounds, taking a four-shot lead over second place Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea.

“I chipped in on 11 and I think that gave me some momentum,”Ko said in a post-round interview with the LPGA, when asked about her strong performance on the back nine.        [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/24
By: Lee Chin-wei and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) A total of 412 cyclists from 32 countries are expected to compete in

the 2015 Taiwan KOM (King of the Mountains) Challenge set for Oct. 30, organizers said Saturday.

Among some of the most prominent participants are Spanish racing cyclist Omar Fraile, who won the mountains classification in the 2015 Vuelta a Espana; and Danish professional road racing cyclist Lasse Norman Hansen, who won the gold medal in the Men’s Omnium at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The participants from Taiwan include professional cyclists Feng Chun-kai (馮俊凱) and Chang Wei-I (張偉顗) and amateur Fan Yung-yi (范永奕).     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/23
By: K.H. Yu and Lillian Lin

Taipei, Oct. 23 (CNA) Taipei’s Department of Economic Development wants to help the gaming community in Taiwan get public resources to promote e-sports by having e-sports included among the sports officially recognized by the central government.

Economic Development Commissioner Lin Chung-chieh (林崇傑) said Friday that the department has submitted an appeal on e-sports to the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education, and he will visit the agency’s deputy director on Oct. 26 to discuss making gaming an officially recognized indoor sport.

In early October, Lin invited some 20 competitive video game players, game developers, and agents of games to discuss the feasibility of the city government helping with the promotion.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Oct 24, 2015
By: AP, TAIPEI

Ji Eun-hee yesterday took a one-stroke lead over Lydia Ko in the LPGA

Taiwan Championship, overcoming back pain and a double-bogey in windy and rainy conditions.

The 29-year-old South Korean finished with a three-under 69 to reach nine-under 135 at the Miramar Golf and Country Club in Linkou, New Taipei City. She made the double-bogey on the par-five sixth after hooking her drive out of bounds, rallied with birdies on Nos. 9 through 11 and closed with seven straight pars.

“I hurt my middle back this morning,” Ji said. “Just bothering me on my swing and especially with my driver.”

The second-ranked Ko birdied the par-five 18th for a 67.

“It’s always good to finish on a birdie,” Ko said. “I’ve just got to keep my head high. Especially with the weather conditions, anything can happen.”     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/22
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) The first round of the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, the Taiwan leg of the LPGA tour, began Thursday in New Taipei, with local golf fans rooting for their favorite players on the course.

Returning to Taiwan for its fifth iteration, the tournament is being held at the Miramar Golf and Country Club in Linkou District through Oct. 25, with 81 players competing for a total purse of US$2 million.

The Taiwan tourney was originally sponsored by the Sunrise Group and took place at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Taoyuan County from 2011 to 2013. Since 2014, it has been sponsored by the Fubon Financial Holding Co., which will continue the sponsorship through 2016.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/10/22
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea fired a 6-under 66

Thursday to take the lead after the first round of the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, while local favorite Yani Tseng (曾雅妮) achieved the best score among the Taiwanese players, tying for 27th.

Ji, who is 69th in the Rolex Rankings, fired seven birdies and one bogey to take a one-shot lead over her closest competitor, China’s Xi Yu Lin.

“I just (worked) on my short game last week and the week before, because my chipping wasn’t feeling good,” Ji was quoted on the LPGA website as saying after the round.

SURVIVE, THRIVE:Lu Wei-chih feared he would never play again after suffering a brain tumor, but leads a field featuring Justin Rose, Grame McDowell and Padraig Harrington

Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 23, 2015
By: Reuters and AFP, HONG KONG

Taiwan’s Lu Wei-chih, who almost quit golf three years ago after being

diagnosed with a brain tumor, upstaged a high-quality field to grab a share of the lead at the European Tour’s Hong Kong Open yesterday.

The 36-year-old fired eight birdies on the way to a six-under-par 64 to sit level with Italian Andrea Pavan in the co-sanctioned Asian Tour event.

To be heading a field featuring major winners Justin Rose (65), Graeme McDowell (66) and Padraig Harrington (70) is a fantastic achievement for world No. 786 Lu, who endured a slow recovery after having a non-malignant tumor removed in 2012.

Lu, who has three tournament wins to his name, revealed in an emotional press conference that he had once thought his career was over.     [FULL  STORY]