Golf

Minjee Lee has coasted to victory at the 77th US Women’s Open at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in North Carolina.

She got off to a fast start and didn’t look back. After three rounds Minjee was 13-under with 200 strokes, the lowest mark in US Women’s Open history.

The West Australian finished the event four strokes clear of the field, with the closest competitor being the USA’s Mina Hariage (-9).

"It's super special and such a great honour,” Minjee said.

“It's been my dream since I was a little girl, it's the one I've always wanted to win.”

For Minjee it is her second Major and she becomes the third Aussie woman to win multiple Majors, after winning the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship.

Meanwhile at the Memorial Tournament on the men’s PGA Tour, Cameron Smith had a wonderful start to lead the field on 8-under after the opening two rounds.

He maintained par in the third round and had a tough final day, which saw Cameron shoot +5 and dropped The Players Champion into a tied for 13th finish.

Shooting

Laetisha Scanlan has led a big week of results for Australia’s shooting contingent in World Cup action as she started with a bronze, rose to silver and finished with gold.

Her bronze in the trap women individual shotgun - held in Baku, Azerbaijan – was followed by the women’s trap team winning silver a day later.

The women’s trap team (Catherine Skinner, Charlie Hudson-Czerniecki and Laetisha) scored a combined total of 204/225 in qualifying to secure their place in the gold medal match.

They faced the USA in the gold medal match, with the Americans winning in a sudden death shoot off.

Charlie was on her senior World Cup debut and loved every second of it.

“It was crazy, I’m glad to be doing it beside these two girls (Laetisha and Catherine), they’re two of the best so it’s great to be up there with them,” Charlie said.

To close the event Laetisha joined James Willett in Australia’s mixed trap team and won gold.

They were the equal top qualifiers with Portugal and outclassed them in the gold medal match, finishing with a dominant 6-2 win.

It brings to a close the seven week international tour, with Australia having secured a remarkable four bronze, three silver and four gold medals in 2022.

Sailing

Aussie teams at the Hempel World Cup Allianz Regatta have shined in the Netherlands, winning silver and bronze.

The mixed 470 team of Chris Charlwood and Amelia Catt had the best possible medal race, leading all the way and claimed a silver medal based on the overall rankings.

“It was our first medal race as a team and it seems like all our small fleet training in Australia pays off in medal races, plus it’s always good to save the best till last,” Chris said.

“Pretty stoked even though we didn’t have the whole fleet here we still performed really well, it’s so good to learn how to perform in a new team, finding how to get the best out of each other has been a really enjoyable process.”

London 2012 silver medallist Oliva Price and 19-year-old Evie Haseldine held on to bronze in the 49erFX.

They put together a stellar performance in their third international regatta together.

“It’s really exciting to come away with a medal this event,” Olivia said.

“Evie and I are pleased with how we were able to work together this week. The racing has been great, very tight out on the race course and we saw a range of conditions which was exciting.”

Queenslander Mara Stansky finished fourth overall in the ILCA 6, with a fourth in the medal race just not enough to snatch a medal.

Some of the Australian sailing team members will hop over to The Hague to train for the World Championships, the hosts of the 2023 event and the first opportunity to qualify Australia for Paris 2024. While others will be on their way to train in Marseille, France at the sailing venue for the 2024 Olympics.

Athletics

The Diamond League headed to Morocco where discus thrower Matt Denny and pole vaulter Nina Kennedy have recorded their first ever Diamond League podium finishes.

Matt, the Dual Olympian, used a Personal Best 67.07m to land a spot in the throw-off between two other competitors, where he prevailed for the gold medal.

Nina, still recovering from contracting COVID-19 two weeks prior, only needed her first attempt at 4.65m to match her Season Best, which earned the silver medal behind gold medallist Sandi Morris (USA).

In the women’s 1500m Georgia Griffith has powered past her Personal Best for the second time in a week, shaving almost four seconds off her best time to finish fourth (4:00.16) in Rabat.

Nicola Olyslagers (nee McDermott) cleared 1.93m in the women’s high jump to place third, one centimetre away from her Season Best.

Hockey

The Kookaburras exerted their authority against New Zealand, sweeping the four-game series in Auckland on Sunday.

An 8-1 victory in the opening game set the tone for the series as 4-0, 4-1 and 3-1 results followed against one of the world’s best team’s that hasn’t beaten Australia since 2016.

In the series opener dual Olympian Blake Govers hammered home his 100th international goal in his 114th appearance.

Both nations now look next month’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the Aussies have claimed six-straight gold medals.

Football

Alou Kuol is the name on everyone’s lips after the 20-year-old Olyroo scored via scorpion kick in Australia’s 1-1 draw against Iraq in Uzbekistan.

The draw was a show of the team’s grit after they played more than 70 minutes in the AFC U23 Asian Cup match with just 10 men following a red card to Kusini Yengi.

Sitting on four Asian Cup points with a win and a draw, the Aussies can advance to the quarter-finals if they get at least one more point from their next match against Jordan.

Equestrian

Australia’s four-person team of Katie Laurie, James Arkins, Matt Williams and Rowan Willis have ascended to a bronze medal in the CSIO5* Nations Cup at the Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, British Columbia (CAN).

They finished with a final score of 22 faults, with Mexico finishing second on 13 faults and Ireland prevailing on an impressive 5 faults.

The first round of competition saw Olympian Katie Laurie riding Django II first on course for Australia, starting strong for the team delivering a clear jumping round with only one time fault.

The standout performance of the day was James Arkins and his 10-year-old stallion Eurostar I, who delivered another stellar performance achieving a second clear round.

“I don’t think I’ve really come to terms with the double-clear yet, but it’s a big weight off my shoulders also gaining my qualification for the FEI World Championships,” James said.

“I am extremely happy with Eurostar, since leaving Australia in December he has stepped up to CSI5* level and has been outstanding.”

The CSIO5* Nations Cup Canada is only the second Nations Cup start for the talented combination since they departed Australian shores last year.

Surfing

Aussie Willis Droomer has become the men’s U16 World Champion after winning gold at the 2022 International Surfing Association World Juniors in El Salvador.

Team Australia finished second behind Team Hawaii out of 45 nations represented by 419 athletes at the World Juniors.

Diving

Another exciting edition of the Australian Diving Championships has wrapped up and the Australian team selections for the FINA World Championships have followed.

Click here for the Australian Diving Championships wrap and the athletes, featuring 10 Olympians, selected for the World Championships later this month.