Gangjee admitted he had self-doubts after not being able to enjoy much success since his last Asian Tour win in China in 2004. However, it was his sheer will power that brought him back into the winner’s circle after enduring years of frustration.

Despite the immense pressure on 18, Gangjee managed to hit his bunker shot out to within 10 feet of the pin.

The 39-year-old would go on to sink that decisive birdie and win his second Asian Tour title with his four-day total of 14-under-par 270 at the JP¥150,000,000 (approx. US$1,370,000) event that is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

Zimbabwean Scott Vincent continued to knock on the winner’s door when he signed off with a 66 to finish in a share of fourth place that also included Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan and Sihwan Kim of the United States.

Although India’s Shiv Kapur closed with a 75, it was enough to win the Panasonic Swing series where he earned the top bonus prize of US$70,000 and an exemption into an event on the European Tour this year.

Moriya, the 2013 LPGA Rookie of the Year seeking her first tour title, fired a one-under par 70 while Ko shot 66 at Wilshire Country Club to finish level on nine-under 204 after 54 holes.

Seven-time major champion Park In-bee was third on 206 with South Korean compatriot Ji Eun-hee and American Marina Alex sharing fourth on 207.

Moriya opened with a double bogey and took another bogey at the par-4 sixth before turning her round around with a birdie at the par-4 eighth.

The 23-year-old sister of Thai star Ariya Jutanugarn eagled the par-4 14th and closed with a birdie at the par-3 18th to match Ko atop the leaderboard.

Ko Jin Young

Ko, 22, won 10 times on the Korean women’s tour, the last of those titles coming last October at Incheon in an LPGA co-sanctioned event. She added her second LPGA victory in February at the Australian Women’s Open.

Ko birdied the third and fifth holes and added another to start the back nine. She continued to surge with birdies at the par-3 12th and par-5 15th before her lone bogey at 16, which she answered with a birdie at 18.

Joining the co-leaders in the final trio on Sunday will be Park, whose back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16 spiced a 69.

Goals from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera cancelled out Dele Alli’s opener to send United into a third final in less than two years under Mourinho, having won the Europa League and League Cup last season.

Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at West Brom in the Premier League also means United need just seven points from their remaining four league games to secure second place behind champions Manchester City.

“We should ask ourselves why there is too many critics on all of us?” said Mourinho.

“We can finish second with seven more points. To do that with all the fantastic teams we play against will be an achievement for a club that couldn’t do it for a few years now.

“We need two victories and one draw to finish second with 81 points behind an untouchable City, no chance to get in the fight with them. I think second with 81 points is a good season and then we can come to the final with a good spirit, supported by good supporters.”

By contrast, a record eighth consecutive FA Cup semi-final defeat for Spurs ensured their decade-long wait for a trophy continues.

“We want to win trophies, we have the staff that want to win. We can’t keep doing this,” said Alli. “We can’t throw it away. We have got to improve.”

– Top four over trophies –

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino played down the importance of winning his first silverware as a coach beforehand, claiming it “wouldn’t change their lives”.

And the Argentine insisted that finishing in the Premier League top four for a third consecutive season to qualify for the Champions League is more important to their progress as a club than silverware.

“For me the most important is now we finish in the top four to play again in the Champions League,” said Pochettino.

“Sometimes after the game I am very frustrated, but quickly I move on and we have four games to make sure we play Champions League. It will be a successful season if we assure our position.”

However, Spurs started like the side determined to make a statement.

Just 11 minutes in Davinson Sanchez’s long ball picked out Christian Eriksen perfectly as Paul Pogba failed to track the Danish midfielder’s run down the right.

And his cross was inch-perfect for Alli to apply the finishing touch for his 13th goal of the season.

“We were dominant from the first minute and it only looked to be going one way,” added Alli. “We let ourselves down, it’s very disappointing.”

Spurs failed to make the most of their early dominance as after going in front Eriksen scuffed wide from Harry Kane’s layoff before the England striker just couldn’t reach Son’s viscous in-swinging cross at the back post.

Pogba and Sanchez have been the two marquee signings of Mourinho’s time in charge, but both have largely failed to meet the standards expected of them this season with Mourinho even dropping Pogba regularly throughout the campaign.

However, having showed the side of his game that Mourinho detests for Spurs’ opener, Pogba demonstrated his combination of physical power and technical ability as he outmuscled Mousa Dembele before delivering a pin-point cross for Sanchez to head home just his third United goal.

“I tell Alexis the same (thing) I told Paul a couple of weeks ago,” added Mourinho. “I cannot expect them to score goals, be man-of-the-match or be perfect every match, but I can expect a level where you don’t go below that.

“That is the basics. If you do the basics then in some games your talent makes the difference.”

Sanchez was involved again for the winner 28 minutes from time when his ball across the face of the area fell perfectly for Herrera arriving late from midfield and his low effort into the middle of the goal beat Vorm, who was slow to react down to his right.

The Japanese player moved into his first Masters final since Canada in 2016 after struggling with a right wrist injury that forced him to miss the last four months of last season.

But the former world number four, now ranked 36, did enough to wear down a tired Zverev who came through a late-night thriller with Richard Gasquet on his 21st birthday on Friday.

Nishikori is yet to win a Masters title in three previous final appearances, including one against Nadal in Madrid four years ago when he led by a set and a break before retiring injured.

He won his last match against Nadal in the 2016 Olympic bronze-medal match, but has never beaten the 10-time Monte Carlo champion on clay.

Nadal reached his 12th final in Monte Carlo earlier Saturday by seeing off Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-1.

Third seed Zverev broke through in the seventh game and wrapped up the first set with relative comfort.

Nishikori hit back early in the second to move 2-0 ahead, but Zverev refocused and drew level.

The Japanese reeled off four straight games to force a decider, though, as Zverev failed to secure a first straight-sets win of the week.

Both players saved two break points in their first service games of the third set, before solidifying their serves as the set became a battle of attrition.

But Nishikori brought up a match point in the 10th game with a body shot at the net, and German Zverev scooped a backhand wide to send the 28-year-old through to Sunday’s final.

But that may not help the Italians much as they become the latest side to face the gauntlet of Anfield on a European night in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final, first leg as Salah has blossomed into a goalscoring machine very few saw coming at the start of the season.

Salah’s then club record price tag was questioned at the time of the deal coming just two years after he failed to make an impression in the Premier League with Chelsea.

Now, though, it looks like an incredible bargain as Salah has netted 41 goals in 46 games to take Liverpool back to the last four of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in a decade.

“It wasn’t like a lot of other teams than Liverpool were banging down the door,” Roma’s American co-owner James Pallotta told the BBC’s World Football programme.

“I think today a lot of teams are kicking themselves in the head that they didn’t take a closer look at him.”

In a nomadic career since moving to Europe as a 19-year-old, Salah was known for his pace and dribbling ability in spells at Basel and Fiorentina either side of a short time at Chelsea before moving to Roma.

However, the capability he has shown time and again this season to keep a cool head in front of goal used to so often fail him.

Most famously of all, Salah missed a series of one-on-ones with Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas as Roma bowed of the Champions League at the last 16 to the side that would go onto win the competition in 2016.

– Masterful Klopp –

“In Roma he was amazing. Every game he created a lot of chances, but sometimes missed,” said Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who suffered from Salah’s new found confidence in front of goal as he scored in each leg of Liverpool’s 5-1 aggregate thrashing of the Premier League champions in the quarter-finals.

“This season I think the way Jurgen Klopp wants to play is perfect for him. I think Jurgen is a master to buy players with what he really needs for the way he wants to play.”

Pallotta agrees that Klopp’s system of a fluid front three also including Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane is what has brought the best out of Salah, who had to feed off the target man figure of Edin Dzeko at Roma.

“He’s obviously had an incredible year. I think the coach there has clearly figured out how best to utilise him, using him in a different position I would say to Roma because you’ve got Dzeko in the middle.”

Despite Liverpool’s heroics against City in the last eight, they were upstaged by Roma for performance of the round.

The Serie A side overturned a 4-1 first leg deficit to beat Barcelona on away goals by shutting out Lionel Messi and a former Liverpool favourite Luis Suarez in a famous 3-0 second leg win.

However, a record of losing their last three Champions League games on the road — conceding eight goals in the process — doesn’t bode well ahead of a visit to fortress Anfield.

Salah matched Suarez’s Premier League record of 31 goals in a single campaign on Saturday and stopping their former team-mate over two legs may prove a step too far for Roma in their first appearance in the last four since they lost to Liverpool in the 1984 final.

Messi had scored once and Suarez twice before even the half-time whistle had blown at the Wanda Metropolitano, with the sublime Andres Iniesta and Philippe Coutinho later compounding Sevilla’s humiliation.

Barca’s exhilarating display earns them their 30th triumph in this competition and fourth in a row, having reached the final in each of the last five years.

But, despite hugs and high-fives at the end, the real celebrations will be put on ice until next Sunday, when victory over Deportivo La Coruna will confirm Ernesto Valverde’s side as La Liga champions too.

Even a clean sweep of the domestic trophies, perhaps polished by La Liga’s first ever unbeaten season, will not eradicate the lingering disappointment from Barca’s Champions League exit to Roma.

But this performance, as easy on the eye as it was emphatic, will certainly serve as a counter-point to those that believe Valverde’s team have been efficient, rather than exciting this season, and overly reliant on Messi.

“Winning the Cup does not hide the disappointment in Rome,” Suarez said after the match. “But at the beginning of the season anyone would have signed for a double.”

Messi was, of course, superb again on Saturday but this was not a one-man show.

Suarez scored his 31st and 32nd goals of the season while Iniesta delivered one of those effortless displays, in which at times he was virtually unplayable.

If this is to be the 33-year-old’s last Barca final before departing for China, it was a fitting farewell, with only goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen absent from the 10-man huddle that engulfed the Spaniard following his shimmying fourth.

By the time Coutinho converted his penalty in the 69th minute, Barca were simply sharing the goals around.

For Sevilla, defeat was always the most likely scenario but this was a whitewash.

Sitting eighth in La Liga, even Europa League qualification now looks an outside bet and there may be repercussions for coach Vincenzo Montella and some of his players in the summer.

Amid ongoing political unrest between Catalonia and the Spanish government, Barca fans whistled during the national anthem before kick-off, with king Felipe VI watching on.

Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi holds his son Thiago.

Their jeers, however, were drowned out by the chants of Sevilla supporters.

On the pitch, Sevilla were second best from minute one, as Barca swarmed forward with barely a pause for breath in the opening quarter of an hour.

When the first goal arrived it came from a long Cillessen punt downfield as Coutinho found himself free behind the Sevilla backline and squared for Suarez to stab home.

Sevilla enjoyed perhaps their best period before the half-hour as three white shirts failed to connect with Jesus Navas’ cross and Franco Vazquez could have done better with a free header.

But Barca were in control. Iniesta hit the bar with a rasping shot from distance and soon they were two up, Jordi Alba keeping the ball alive with a backheel that Messi slammed into the roof of the net.

Messi could have had a second were it not for an incorrect offside call and then a cynical foul by Sergio Escudero, for which he was lucky only to receive a yellow card.

Both mattered little, however, as Messi set Suarez free in the 41st minute, and the Uruguayan slid a third under David Soria.

It was another one-two, with Messi again the pivot, that released Iniesta in the second half as the midfielder’s dummy-shot left Soria scrambling and an open net for the midfielder to finish into.

Resigned to their fate, Sevilla’s fans sang to the end, even as Coutinho despatched a penalty to make it five after the ball had struck Clement Lenglet on the arm.

All that was left was for Iniesta’s substitution to be given a standing ovation before the captain hoisted the trophy, perhaps for the final time.

After finishing second in the group stage to earn a berth at the 2019 World Cup Finals in France, Thailand lost a hard- fought semi-final game to Australia in a penalty shoot-out 2-2 (3-1) and then to China (3-0) to finish fourth.

Nevertheless, reaching the semi-finals was still the best result achieved by the Thai women since they also reached the last four in 1983.

Nuengrutai said that while she had hoped for a better outcome they had suffered due to loss of several key players to injuries.

‘Our players are still tired from the semi-final match with Australia, we had to rest some experienced players and replaced them with younger ones,” said the 46-year-old coach.

“But the bottom line is we achieved the primary target of winning a spot at the World Cup Finals. Also our players have improved their performance by playing close matches with stronger teams.”

Thailand, also under Nuengrutai, made their first appearance at the World Cup in Canada three years ago but failed to get beyond the group stage. Improving on that in France is therefore their next target.

“We definitely want to do better than last time, which is to reach the round of 16. But to achieve that we have to improve the physical strength of our players first,” said Nuengrutai.

Due to the height disadvantage of her players, the Thai coach said they needed to strengthen their physical condition in order to be able to take on powerful teams like Australia and China.

“They need to be faster and tough enough to deal with the taller girls,” she said.

In addition to their fitness, Nuengruthai said her players also had to fix some of their technical skills, such as how to deal with high crosses, especially from corners.

The more pressing task, meanwhile, is for several injured players, including goalkeeper Waraporn Boonsing, to recover in time for the Asian Games in Jakarta in August.

The 31-year-old, who needs to win an 11th Monaco title to retain the number one ranking ahead of Roger Federer, will face either Kei Nishikori or Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.

“Every year is different and equally special,” said Nadal, after beating Dimitrov for the 11th time in 12 meetings.

“So I’ll just focus on doing the things that I have to do to give me another chance tomorrow. That’s it.

“I don’t want to think about another title yet, I just want to think about the way I have to play and try to be ready for it.”

Nadal came through a tight first set but always looked too strong for Dimitrov and raced through the second in half an hour.

The top seed is bidding for an outright record 31st Masters title this week and extended his run of consecutive sets won on clay to 34.

Nadal, playing his first ATP tournament since he retired from his Australian Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic in January with a hip injury, has shown no signs of rust.

Following a 6-0, 6-2 last-eight demolition of Dominic Thiem, Nadal has lost only 16 games in four matches this week.

Dimitrov immediately put Nadal’s serve under pressure with two perfectly-judged lobs forcing deuce, but the top seed came through an eight-minute opener.

Nadal didn’t take long to get into his stride, breaking at the first time of asking as Dimitrov struggled in the longer rallies.

Grigor Dimitrov 

The Bulgarian continued to go for his shots and brought up three break-back points in game five as Nadal followed a double fault with two wayward groundstrokes.

Nadal fired long, before Dimitrov saved a break point himself with a venomous forehand to level at 3-3.

The fourth seed was displaying the resolve needed to push Nadal on his favourite surface, and came back from break point down again as the Spaniard continued to miss chances.

But Dimitrov wasted all of his earlier good work, handing Nadal two set points with back-to-back double faults and a wild forehand.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion wrapped up the set with a whipped forehand onto the line.

That effectively ended Dimitrov’s chances, and Nadal broke to love in the second game of the second set.

Nadal stormed towards the finishing line with eight straight points on his opponent’s serve and a wide Dimitrov backhand wrapped up yet another comfortable victory.

Moriya started quickly on the back nine on Friday with two birdies in her first four holes of the round at the Wilshire Country Club course to reach a total of eight-under 134.

“I just tried to hit fairways and greens. That’s the key for this week. That’s what I try to do,” the former LPGA rookie of the year Moriya said.

American Marina Alex is alone in second after shooting a 68 for a seven-under total while two time major winner Ryu So-yeon is in the hunt two shots back of Moriya after a 65.

Seven time major champion Park In-bee is tied for fourth with South Korean compatriot Ji Eun-hee at five-under 137.

Ko Jin-young shot a 67 and is alone in sixth as five of the top six players are from South Korea to the delight of the galleries this week because Los Angeles is home to a huge South Korean expat community.

Moriya, who also has a sister Ariya on the Tour, rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with a burst of three straight birdies on her back nine.

This is just the second time in her career Moriya has held the 36-hole lead. The first was last season at the Evian Championship, where she finished just one stroke away from making a playoff between Anna Nordqvist and Brittany Altomare.

Last week’s tournament champ Brooke Henderson of Canada stumbled to an eight-over 79 and missed the cut along with former major champions Anna Nordqvist, Stacy Lewis and Juli Inkster.

Also making its highly-anticipated debut is the all-new five rope ring, which served as the proving ground for both ONE Super Series and ONE Championship bouts. In the main event, Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon of Baguio City, Philippines defeated American Andrew Leone by technical knockout. In the co-main event of the blockbuster card, Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan earned a unanimous decision victory over Jo Nattawut.

In the main event of the evening, Team Lakay’s Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon dazzled once again with another ferocious display of striking, obliterating opponent Andrew Leone of the United States within two rounds. Action was fierce and relentless from start to finish, and began with Belingon swarming Leone from the sound of the opening bell. As the American tried desperately to stave off attacks which came from all directions, Belingon continued to put on the pressure. In the second round, Belingon connected on a thunderous spinning side kick that sent Leone to the canvas, where he followed and unloaded an unending volley of strikes to earn the technical knockout victory and the GoDaddy KO of the Night.

In the co-main event of ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, international kickboxing superstar Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan made a spectacular ONE Championship debut, outworking former Lion Fight World Champion “Smokin’” Jo Nattawut of Thailand. In an offensive clinic against Nattawut, Petrosyan tore apart his opponent with the surgical precision he has become known for, putting together dynamic punch combinations in addition to his pinpoint accurate kicks. Answering every strike that Nattawut unleashed, Petrosyan outworked his opponent to pick up a unanimous decision win in his first bout for ONE Super Series.

The stunning career resurgence of former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario as a lightweight division mainstay continued at ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, where he edged out perennial contender Adrian Pang after three rounds. Banario showcased his pinpoint striking early on, peppering Pang with his patented left hook and razor-sharp kicks. Although Pang boldly traded strikes with his Filipino foe and found success in landing hard body shots, Banario showed superiority in ring generalship, creating spaces to clobber his opponent with long jabs and snapping kicks to the body. As Pang stepped on the gas pedal and pressed the action in the third round, Banario’s intelligent movement notched him a split decision.

Making his ONE Super Series debut, legendary Nong-O Gaiyanghadao of Thailand took on former two-time WBC Muay Thai World Champion Fabio Pinca of Lyon, France in a spirited Muay Thai contest featuring plenty of action and excitement. The two traded their best shots in three solid rounds of action, but it was Gaiyanghadao who showcased superior technique, plastering Pinca with thudding left kicks to the midsection and scoring with his patented sweeps. In the end, all three judges ruled the bout in favor of Gaiyanghadao, earning the former four-time Lumpinee Stadium champion a unanimous decision victory.

Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov made quick work of up-and-coming American featherweight contender Emilio Urrutia, winning by way of first-round submission, placing himself back on the winning track. Returning to his stellar and fearsome form as a highly-touted competitor, Gafurov showcased his world-class grappling once again, effortlessly putting Urrutia to sleep courtesy of a wrenching arm triangle choke.

Rekindling the intense rivalry between South Korea and Japan, former world title challenger Dae Hwan Kim came out on top against Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari, winning by unanimous decision. Driven to victory against a grappling wizard like Imanari, Kim intelligently avoided putting himself at risk in his opponent’s submission wheelhouse and exerted his best effort to dictate the action from the stand-up. Although Imanari found a way to bring matters to the ground, Kim made sure that he had sturdy top control, with the leverage to rain down quick but solid ground-and-pound. After three gruelling rounds, all judges at ringside saw the bout in favor of Kim.

Cosmo Alexandre left a lasting impression in his ONE Super Series debut, defeating Elliot Compton in their Muay Thai clash by way of second round knockout. The long-limbed Brazilian dynamo aced his maiden ONE Super Series assignment with flying colors, bringing down Compton with a shattering uppercut and a follow-up knee strike to the body. Reeling in excruciating pain, Compton failed to answer the count of ten, compelling the referee to wave off the bout, declaring Alexandre the victor via knockout in the second round.

In a bout that lasted just under two minutes, ONE Championship debutants Akihiro “Superjap” Fujisawa and Kaji “Alpha” Ebin walked out to the ring looking to engage. At the opening bell, Ebin marched forward wanting to trade strikes, but it was Fujisawa who would score on a single-leg takedown. Not long after, Ebin began complaining about a dislocated shoulder. At that point, referee Yuji Shimada called a halt to the contest after Ebin could no longer continue due to injury, which awarded Fujisawa with the submission victory.

In the first ONE Super Series bout of the evening, Regian Eersel impressively marched to a unanimous decision victory over Brad Riddell in a three-round kickboxing contest. Banking on his height and length, Eersel effortlessly pummeled Riddell with lashing strikes, including a solid knee to the midsection that dropped the Auckland, New Zealand native to the mat in the second round. Eersel closed out the final round of the match on a strong note, limiting Riddell’s offense with his counter strikes. In the end, Eersel was awarded a unanimous decision victory.

After falling short in her last outing, Gina Iniong of Team Lakay redeemed herself in front of a passionate hometown crowd, claiming a unanimous decision victory over former world title contender Jenny Huang. Iniong savored every strike that she threw at Huang as the latter gallantly traded shots with the highly-decorated Filipina wushu practitioner. Huang tried to change the complexion of the contest in the second round as she resorted to her grappling expertise, but Iniong surprisingly overpowered the submission specialist on the mat. In the final round, Iniong continued to wear out Huang on the ground, working her way towards a hard-earned decision victory.

Kicking off ONE: HEROES OF HONOR was a riveting three-round strawweight showdown between Indonesian standout Adrian Mattheis and China’s Lan Ming Qiang. Setting up a promising tone for the evening, both men went back-and-forth from bell to bell, exchanging thunderous strikes in the stand-up department while shooting for powerful takedowns. In the end, Mattheis dominated his opponent, emerging triumphant via unanimous decision.

Official results for ONE: HEROES OF HONOR

Bantamweight bout: Kevin Belingon defeats Andrew Leone by TKO (Strikes) at 1:27 minutes of round 2

ONE Super Series Kickboxing catchweight bout (70.0kg): Giorgio Petrosyan defeats Jo Nattawut by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Lightweight bout: Honorio Banario defeats Adrian Pang by Split Decision (SD) after 3 rounds

ONE Super Series Muay Thai catchweight bout (67.0kg): Nong-O Gaiyanghadao defeats Fabio Pinca by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Featherweight bout: Marat Gafurov defeats Emilio Urrutia by Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) at 2:34 minutes of round 1

Bantamweight bout: Dae Hwan Kim defeats Masakazu Imanari by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

ONE Super Series Muay Thai lightweight bout: Cosmo Alexandre defeats Elliot Compton by Knockout (KO) at 2:41 minutes of round 2

Catchweight bout (63.0kg): Akihiro Fujisawa defeats Kaji Ebin by Submission (Verbal) at 1:48 minutes of round 1

ONE Super Series Kickboxing catchweight bout (78.0kg): Regian Eersel defeats Brad Riddell by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Women’s atomweight bout: Gina Iniong defeats Jenny Huang by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Strawweight bout: Adrian Mattheis defeats Lan Ming Qiang by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds