Sports Briefs

Ahn Shin-ae leads first major women’s tourney

Ahn Shin-ae is the first round leader of the 29th Korea Women’s Open, the first major tournament of the season. She shot 2-under 70 at the Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon on Thursday, leading the other four golfers by a stroke.

Defending champion Kim Hyo-joo is tied for 13th after getting one over par, while Chun In-gee, the 2013 champion and current prize money leader in KLPGA, shot six-over par.

In the men’s tour, Park Jae-bum leads the first round at the Vainer Open, with 7-under 65 at the Ora Golf Club in Jeju.

KBL’s foreigner tryouts commence in Las Vegas

The Korean Basketball League (KBL) said Thursday that 212 players have entered the 2015 foreign player tryout to be held in Las Vegas from July 18 to 20. The draft for the foreign players, during which each team can pick two, is slated for July 21.

The KBL said it invited 331 players. Of the 212 that registered for the tryout, 38 have played in the KBL before. The list includes the 2014-15 KBL Foreign Player of the Year winner Ricardo Ratliffe, two-time KBL top scorer Aaron Haynes and former Incheon ET Land Elephants captain Ricardo Powell. Rod Benson, who played 215 games in the KBL, was also on the list.

Fifteen of the players have had NBA careers, including Larry Nance Jr., the son of three-time NBA All-Star Larry Nance.

The tallest player in the tryout is 213.4-centimeter-tall (7-foot) Marcus Cousin, who was briefly with the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. The shortest player is 182.9 centimeter-tall Vance Cooksey. At least one foreigner chosen by each team must be under 193 centimeters, according to new KBL regulations.

The oldest player in tryout is 40-year-old Joe Ira Clark, who played with defending champion Ulsan Mobis Phoebus last season. The youngest is 22-year-old Charles Jackson.

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Kang Jung-ho celebrates after hitting a two-run homer against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of Wednesday’s Major League Baseball game, held in Chicago. This was Kang’s fourth home run of the season. The Pirates won 3-2. [AP/NEWSIS]