SPORTS
September 7, 2015
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports
Three major career firsts for Asian athletes
By Mike Street
Special to The Asian Reporter
A
(Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
ugust was packed to the brim with
Asian-American sports news, with
three different athletes accom-
plishing significant career goals for the
first time. Two came in golf — women’s and
men’s — and the third in baseball, both
sports in which Asian athletes have made
great gains in the last decade. As talent
from the east continues to pour westward,
expect more firsts in the years to come.
Inbee Park
Jason Day
The PGA has seen a dominant year from
22-year-old Jordan Spieth, who rose to the
top ranking on the tour and in the world.
Right on his heels, ranked second on the
tour and third in the world, was another
young star, 28-year-old Jason Day, an
Australian with Filipino heritage.
Day has been on the tour since 2006 but
won only twice before this season. Forever
in contention but rarely atop the tourna-
ment leaderboard after the last round, Day
finally started to put things together this
year — and especially in August.
In February, Day won the Farmer’s
Insurance Open in a dramatic four-way
playoff. At the end of July, he won the RBC
Canadian Open, birdieing the last three
holes to steal victory from David Hearn the
way victory had often been stolen from
him.
Last month, Day led the PGA
Championship going into the final day,
just two strokes ahead of Spieth, who has
made a name for himself with comeback
victories in similar spots. Instead of
allowing Spieth to pull ahead, Day shot a
67, notching a 20-under par for the
Inside Boise’s battle with the Japanese beetle
Continued from page 7
eradication program, he said. All other in-
sect surveys, including for gypsy moth and
apple maggot, cost about $40,000 per year.
Castrovillo talks to property owners
about how the pesticide program works.
Some are hesitant to give permission to
treat their yards, saying they dislike the
idea of chemicals in their soil and around
pets, children, and other plants.
Castrovillo explains that the two
chemicals his team uses, Acelepryn and
Imidacloprid, kill immature grass-eating
insects such as Japanese beetles and
billbugs but are not toxic enough to affect
larger humans, pets, or insects. Yards are
treated with granules of the chemical
rather than a spray to avoid wind carrying
the treatment onto other properties.
The goal, Castrovillo said, is to wipe out
Japanese beetles over seven years, the
same time it took to eradicate a similar
population in Orem, Utah, a few years ago.
If successful, the program would avoid a
beetle population that would lead to resi-
dents applying their own, less-selective
by winning again, his fourth victory this
year. At The Barclays, he and South
Korean Sangmoon Bae were tied heading
into the final round. Bae faltered by
shooting a 72 on Sunday, while Day shot a
62 to finish at 19-under to win. Though he
is currently third in the world rankings,
Day is possibly hot enough to reach the top
spot by the end of the season.
Hisashi Iwakuma
(AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Inbee Park established August’s initial
career first by winning the Women’s
British Open for the first time; it was her
fourth different major tournament victory.
This gives her a career grand slam,
according to the Ladies Professional Golf
Association (LPGA), but others disagree.
Park, one of many top women’s golfers
from South Korea, has won three other
major tournaments: the Women’s LPGA
Championship, the ANA Inspiration, and
the U.S. Women’s Open. On the men’s side,
the Professional Golfers’ Association
(PGA) calls winning all four major tourna-
ments a “grand slam.” But ever since the
Evian Championship was elevated to
major status in 2013, the LPGA has five
major tournaments. (Park won the Evian
in 2012, before it was a major tournament,
so it doesn’t count as a major victory.)
The LPGA says that four major victories
equals a career grand slam, since they
have had anywhere from two to five major
tournaments in their history. The Golf
Channel and The Associated Press
disagree, saying Park needs to win all
active major tournaments to qualify for the
honor.
Even the Golf Channel and The AP
agree that Park is a dominant force on the
tour right now, and among the best golfers
ever. Park joins six other women as
winners of a career Grand Slam, and she
has also won six of the last 14 major
tournaments.
With seven total major victories, she
ranks seventh all time among LPGA
golfers. Only Tiger Woods and Mickey
Wright (who played on the LPGA in the
1950s and ’60s) had as many victories as
Park at her age. However her latest major
victory is categorized, Park seems poised
to win many more.
TRIFECTA OF TALENT. August was packed
to the brim with Asian-American sports news, with
three different athletes accomplishing significant ca-
reer goals for the first time. Pictured in the top photo
is Inbee Park of South Korea hitting from a bunker on
the eighth hole during the first round of the Canadian
Pacific Women’s Open golf tournament at Vancouver
Golf Club in Coquitlam, British Columbia. In the bot-
tom photo is Jason Day of Australia teeing off on the
fifth hole of the second round of play at The Barclays
golf tournament in Edison, New Jersey.
pesticides in perpetuity.
“I’m sure you know neighbors who think
if spraying once is good, three times a year
is even better,” he said. “That’s turned
some people who didn’t want chemicals on
their yard to turn to our side.”
The first 95 properties where owners
consented to treatments in 2013 have seen
the number of Japanese beetles collected
fall from 1,930 to 91 in 2014, a reduction of
95 percent. Eight department employees
balance working on the eradication pro-
gram with other tasks, and four part-time
employees work seasonally. More than
2,000 Boise properties were treated in the
last year.
Even if the program decimates the
Japanese beetle population in Boise, a
single hitchhiking bug could spread the
problem to crop fields or cities elsewhere,
Castrovillo said.
“We believe it came from nursery stock
from the east, probably in a truck,”
Castrovillo said. “If it can survive the drive
from Minnesota to Idaho, it can survive the
drive from Boise to Moscow or Twin Falls a
lot easier.”
tournament, an all-time scoring record for
any major.
Day proved that his streak was no fluke
Although Hisashi Iwakuma was not the
first Asia-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter
in the major leagues, he was the first since
Hideo Nomo and just the second ever.
Iwakuma’s August no-hitter served as
sweet redemption after the Oakland
Athletics cast him off.
After a dazzling career in Japan,
Iwakuma was posted in 2010, and
Oakland won the bidding to negotiate with
him. But the two sides could never see eye
to eye, and they didn’t reach a deal,
marking the first time a Japanese player
made it through the posting system but
failed to secure a contract. It was the
wrong kind of first for Iwakuma, who has
become the best Asia-born starting pitcher
in the majors.
The following season, Iwakuma signed
Continued on page 16
Arriving soon: Better service!
We’re making some big changes this
fall: From the highly-anticipated MAX
Orange Line and Tilikum Crossing open-
ing on September 12, to more frequent
buses on Sundays, we’re investing in
better service to make your trips on
transit easier and more convenient.
AUGUST 30
MAX schedule changes
SEPTEMBER 12
MAX Orange Line Grand Opening
Celebration
Several bus routes will change, and we’re
adding more frequency and earlier/later
service—for better connections and an
easier ride.
Come see, ride free! Join us for a day of
adventure and fun with activities and
entertainment at many of the newly
opened MAX Orange Line stations. Plus,
all rides on MAX, TriMet buses, Portland
Streetcar and the Aerial Tram will be free!
SEPTEMBER 13
MAX Orange Line regular service
begins
The Orange Line is our fifth MAX line,
traveling 7.3 miles between PSU, inner
Southeast Portland, Milwaukie and Oak
Grove in north Clackamas County. Trains
will run about every 15 minutes or better
most of the day, every day.
Details at catchtheorange.com
MAX schedules will change—by several
minutes in some cases—to accommodate
the addition of the Orange Line to the
MAX system.
SEPTEMBER 13
Better bus service in Southeast
Portland and Milwaukie
9 17 19 28 31 32 33 34 99 154
15-minute Frequent Service
on Sundays
Frequent Service is back! Frequent Service
bus lines will run every 15 minutes or
better most of the day on Sundays, effective
September 13.
4
6
8
9 12 14 15 33 54 56 57 75
Other bus service improvements
We’re also making changes on 12 bus lines
to improve connections and better match
traffic conditions.
15 18 29 30 63 67 70 79 83 93 155 156
Check the new schedules to see if your trips are affected:
trimet.org/servicechanges