Rally Jameel gets underway, route expands beyond Saudi Arabia’s historic sites

DUBAI: Brazilian winger Yuri Cesar emerged as the hero for all-conquering Shabab Al-Ahli as his brace of goals secured a come-from-behind 2-1 President’s Cup final victory against Sharjah and the fourth trophy of an unforgettable campaign.

Paulo Sousa’s troops walked out at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Friday fresh from securing ADNOC Pro League glory with three matches remaining, adding to their UAE-Qatar Challenge Shield and Emaar Super Cup triumphs.

But their latest pursuit of glory got off to a tricky start when UAE utility player Marcus Meloni slotted in an early cross for The Kings, led by Cosmin Olaroiu.

Ex-Flamengo youngster Cesar levelled in stunning fashion deep into first-half injury time with a superb free-kick, before a dizzying solo run and precise low strike from the edge of the penalty box proved decisive just past the hour mark.

Sousa told Abu Dhabi Sports: “Myself and my staff decided to come here (last summer) because we felt we had the ambition from the club, then we built it up. We deserve all these treasures; it was amazing.

“It’s a very difficult team to play (Sharjah). They are really mature; without too many things they create lots of difficulties because they are really compact and determined in individual challenges.”

Under the guidance of Sousa — and including the likes of Iran’s superstar Sardar Azmoun and emerging UAE goalkeeper Hamad Al-Meqbaali in their ranks — Shabab Al-Ahli have been this term’s dominant force. They were only denied a clean domestic sweep after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Al-Jazira in last month’s ADIB Cup showpiece.

Shabab Al-Ahli are now the President’s Cup’s most successful team with 11 titles, one more than Sharjah.

Friday’s clash represented another near miss for their opponents, who are on course to finish a distant second in the top flight.

REUTERS JERSEY CITY, N.J.: Nelly Korda used a late birdie spurt to claw her way into a tie for the lead at the Mizuho Americas Open on Friday in Jersey City, N.J.

The world No. 1 shot her second straight round of 68 at Liberty National Golf Club to move to 8-under-par 136 for the event, tied with South Korean Somi Lee, who shot a 67 Friday, and Andrea Lee, who also carded a 68.

The trio is a stroke ahead of six players tied at 7 under: Stephanie Kyriacou of Australia (69 Friday), Spaniards Julia Lopez Ramirez and Carlota Ciganda (both 70), Jenny Bae (70), France’s Celine Boutier (71) and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (73).

Similar to Scottie Scheffler on the men’s side, Korda had a white-hot 2024 but is still searching for her best play this year. Scheffler did not win on the PGA Tour until last week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson; Korda is looking for her first title of 2025.

She started her day on the back nine and erased two birdies on par-3 holes with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18. After a birdie at the first, Korda made three more over her last five (Nos. 5, 6 and 8) to make a late move up the leaderboard.

“After making two bogeys in a row you (need) to reset and just know that you have nine more holes to go and there is some opportunities out there even with the tricky conditions,” Korda said. “So just had a little bit of a mental reset and it worked.”

Somi Lee was 7 under through her first 15 holes to get as low as 10 under for the event, but she made consecutive missteps at Nos. 7 and 8 to come back to the pack.

She and Korda are tied with Andrea Lee, who played earlier in the day and posted a simple, bogey-free round with four birdies to set the clubhouse lead at 8 under.

“I was kind of mentally preparing for the worst today,” Andrea Lee said. “The radar didn’t look great for the rain and it was dumping on us pretty hard for probably about 12, 13 holes honestly.

“So I knew that I just had to stay really patient out there, know that fairways and greens and pars were a good score, and stay really positive.”

Thitikul, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, led after the first round and had three birdies in her first four holes Friday to move to 11 under. She came undone the rest of the way with four bogeys and no additional birdies, including a water ball as her day wound down.

Tied for 10th just two back at 6 under are Kristen Gillman (69), Yealimi Noh (71) and Australia’s Hira Naveed (69).

Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson, a two-time major champion and a former top-10 player in the world rankings, missed the cut by one shot after a tough closing nine. She made four birdies through her first nine holes to get to 3 under, then had just one birdie and four bogeys — including on her finishing hole, the ninth — the rest of the way to drop to even par, one below the cut line.

Other notables to miss the cut included Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom (2 over) and 2023 champion Rose Zhang (4 over).