Putter ban may be contested
Tim Clark: Plans to explore his options.
Masters winner Adam Scott is among nine golfers who have taken legal advice over the ban on the use of anchored putters.
The R&A and USGA confirmed on Tuesday that a ban will come into effect from 1 January 2016 but some of the players affected are keen to challenge the ruling.
South Africa’s Tim Clark is among them and he said: “We do have legal counsel.
We’re going to explore our options, we’re not going to just roll over and accept this.” And Boston-based lawyer Harry L.
Manion has now told GolfDigest.com that he represents nine players, including Clark, Scott and Carl Pettersson.
Mannion thinks the reasoning for the ban offered by the governing bodies’ is faulty.
Good lawyering “I’m not persuaded by it,” he said.
“There’s some good lawyering in there, but I don’t think they’ve made the case, and I believe the court would see it that way, too.” When announcing the ban, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson admitted that he was concerned players might take legal action.
But he added: “I don’t think lawsuits will be on particularly strong ground.
“We are not so sure of ourselves that you can always be sure you’re going to be right, but we have certainly done our homework on this one, far more than anything else in my time at the R&A.” The players are believed to be waiting to see how the PGA Tour responds to the ban before making their next move.
Barton wants Marseille stay
Joey Barton: Looking to stay at Marseille Sky Bet Football Betting Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds Football Betting 10 Free Bet Joey Barton has reiterated his desire to stay at Marseille rather than return to Queens Park Rangers.
Barton’s loan spell with Marseille will come to an end in Sunday’s final Ligue 1 game of the season against Reims, but he is hoping it will be no farewell appearance.
The 30-year-old QPR midfielder has spent the year with the French side after joining them for a nominal loan fee but his future remains unclear as he continues to negotiate with his parent club, who say they want him to return for their Championship campaign following relegation from the Premier League.
Having played 32 matches for Marseille in all competitions and helped them to the runners-up spot behind big-spending Paris St Germain, Barton says he would like to make a permanent move to the south of France.
“For the first time in my life I’m very happy, really content,” Barton told www.ligue1.com.
“The fans have accepted me into their hearts and that means a lot to me.
“I get the impression my work here isn’t finished yet.
The French and the fans haven’t seen the true Barton, I expect more from myself.
“I want to do a lot more for the club.
When I saw the Parisians celebrating their title, I was jealous.
I would like that to happen in Marseille at the Old Port.
We can do it next year.”
Rosberg tops crash-filled P3
Nico Rosberg: Clouted the wall, but was again still fastest Sky Bet Formula 1 Betting Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds Formula 1 Betting 10 Free Bet Nico Rosberg overcame a brush with the wall to complete a hat-trick of fastest times in final practice for the Monaco GP – but Felipe Massa, Adrian Sutil and, for the second time this weekend, Romain Grosjean weren’t so lucky on a dramatic return to action on Saturday morning.
Following Friday’s rest day for the weekend’s top bill in the Principality, the build-up to the most important qualifying session of the whole season resumed on a dry, but increasingly overcast and blustery, harbourside circuit for P3 and like the track’s grip levels, the action really ramped up as the one-hour session progressed.
But while Rosberg underlined his status as the favourite for pole position with an impressive late 1:14.378 time on the supersoft tyres – despite whacking the barrier with his left-rear wheel on the entry to the tunnel on his fastest lap – the hours’ worth of running was truncated by several crashes and red flags as drivers got caught out on the tight track.
The first to run into trouble – and most dramatically so – was Massa on his approach to the first corner with 25 minutes of the session still to run in an incident which could have huge repercussions for his participation in qualifying.
As the Brazilian hit the brakes for the Ste Devote on his ninth lap of the morning , both his wheels immediately locked up and the Ferarri under steered left into a heavy impact with the outside guardrail.
With the F138′s front-left suspension taking the full force of the incident, the car then careered on on into a nose-first impact with the Ste Devote tyre barrier, wrecking the right side of the suspension.
Massa clambered out of the stricken Ferrari but the scale of the damage to the front of the car has given the team’s mechanics a big rebuild job ahead of the start of Q1 in two hours’ time.
But no sooner had the track been cleared, Adrian Sutil lost control of his Force India at the top of the hill and slithered into the barriers at Massenet, while in the closing seconds, Romain Grosjean repeated his Ste Devote crash from Thursday to complete a most unwanted double.
More to follow…
Oxx wants Airlie Cloud burst
John Oxx: Hopeful Trainer John Oxx expects the fast ground at the Curragh to suit Little White Cloud in the Airlie Stud Gallinule Stakes on Sunday.
The Dalakhani colt outran his odds in the Derrinstown Derby Trial when a close third behind Battle Of Marengo and Loch Garman.
“He ran well in the Derrinstown Derby Trial on his first run of the year when the ground was a little dead for him,” said Oxx.
“That run should have sharpened him up nicely and fast ground will suit.” Aidan O’Brien runs Leading Light and Count Of Limonade.
Joseph O’Brien has opted for Leading Light, with Ryan Moore on Count Of Limonade.
“Leading Light won a maiden at the back end of last season and won nicely,” said O’Brien jnr.
“He was very impressive in Navan so I’m looking forward to him.
“Count Of Limonade has done nothing but improve.
He won a Dundalk handicap off a high enough mark and the good ground should suit him.
They are both in good form and should both run well.”
Cochran and Kenny out in front
Russ Cochran: has a share of the lead in the Senior PGA Championship at the Bellerive Country Club American left-hander Russ Cochran reeled off five birdies in six holes around the turn on the way to a share of the Senior PGA Championship lead in Friday’s second round at Bellerive Country Club.
Cochran, who clinched his maiden major title in the over-50 ranks at the 2011 Senior Open Championship, fired a five-under-par 66 to end the day at seven-under 135, level with Kenny Perry, who also returned a 66.
Japan’s Kiyoshi Murota was two shots off the pace after carding a 70 in tricky gusting winds, with first-round leaders Jay Haas (72) and Duffy Waldorf (72) a further stroke back at four under along with fellow American Loren Roberts (68).
Cochran, who tied for seventh in the 1992 PGA Championship played at Bellerive, has relished playing alongside Perry over the last two days in the first of the season’s five senior majors.
“It’s been a great couple of days,” the 54-year-old after soaring to the top of the leaderboard with a mix of seven birdies and two bogeys.
“We have always pulled for each other and continue to do so.
Good time “My son caddies for me and one of my best friends caddies for Kenny Perry and he’s one of Kenny’s best friends, too.
So we had a good time out there.” Cochran, who began the second round at the par-four 10th, made his stunning move up the leaderboard with birdies at the 17th, 18th, first, third and fourth.
“In this round I had an opportunity to kind of get in a groove and get in a rhythm,” he said.
“Yesterday I didn’t hit it very good.
Today I was right on the money.
Felt like I played a pretty good round.” Perry, a 14-times winner on the PGA Tour who has triumphed twice since competing on the over-50 Champions Tour, was equally thrilled to play in Cochran’s company.
“It’s been pretty neat for me to play alongside him for the last two days and for both of us to play tremendous,” the 52-year-old Perry said after a flawless five-birdie display.
The cut fell at four-over 146 with 80 players advancing to the weekend.
Among those missing out were Mark Calcavecchia, Scott Simpson and Curtis Strange, all former major winners on the PGA Tour.
Arthur voices grounds concern
Headingley: One of ten venues chasing England games Yorkshire chief executive Mark Arthur has warned the current number of international grounds in England is “unsustainable”.
The six traditional Test grounds have been joined in recent years by Hampshire’s Rose Bowl, Glamorgan’s SWALEC Stadium and Durham’s Emirates ICG Stadium, while Bristol has one-day international status and Taunton is close to being handed the same.
As a result the battle for matches – especially the most desirable mid-summer Tests and higher-profile limited-overs games – is increasingly intense.
And Arthur, speaking after rain washed out day one of England’s second Test against New Zealand at Headingley without a ball being bowled, believes the current model is close to breaking point.
“Now there’s a huge bidding process with 10, soon to be 11, international grounds it’s unsustainable really,” he said.
“There’s a finite amount of international cricket in this country, to spread it among 11 international grounds and expect all those grounds to be at the same level as the top international grounds around the world, that’s not going to work.
“We’re all after a sustainable game of cricket at club, county and international level, we have to work together to get that balance.
“You don’t want clubs bankrupting themselves just to stage matches.
Clubs are asked to improve the fabric of the grounds, so you need positive cash-flow in order to do that.
“It used to be a rota basis.
You could set business plans according to when you knew you would miss out on a particular Test match.
On an eight-year programme you knew what you would be getting but now there is a huge bidding process.” Disparity Arthur also addressed the difference between the heaving crowds that are a feature of Lord’s and The Oval and the relative struggle to fill more northerly stadiums such as his own.
He admitted such a disparity existed but cautioned against favouring grounds in the south, purely on a monetary basis.
“It’s important to understand that not everybody has the spending capacity of those people that live in the south-east of the country,” he said.
“That has to be factored in by the major match group when they’re allocating matches.
There’s a finite amount of money that you can charge out in the provinces.
“One of the best things that happened to football was when Wembley was being rebuilt because for a period of time they took England games around the country and more people were able to watch and connect.
“That’s a unique factor of international cricket…it does get taken around.
“My understanding is that the major match group are looking at extra factors rather than pounds shilling and pence.
They have a greater responsibility rather than just awarding matches to those people who provide the most money.”
In-form van Gerwen follows up
van Gerwen: No stopping Mighty Mike In-form Michael van Gerwen beat fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld 11-7 to lift the inaugural Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters.
The Dutch ace triumphed 11-7 on Friday to follow-up last week’s McCoy’s Premier League Darts victory over Phil Taylor.
The world number two produced top quality darts, taking out finishes of 170 and 164, while Barney hit three ton-plus checkouts himself to the delight of the crowd.
Despite Mighty Mike’s 170 finish in the third leg, Barney stayed with his compatriot in the early stages and hit 114 and 96 checkouts in consecutive legs to level the scores 6-6.
But van Gerwen broke back with a sensational 164 finish in the next and hit a 13-darter and an 11-darter as he opened up a commanding 10-6 lead.
Barney landed a double eight to keep his hopes alive but van Gerwen sank double 12 to claim the title.
Earlier, van Gerwen recorded a narrow 11-9 victory over Andy Hamilton in their semi-final.
After a tight opening, Hamilton won two legs on the bounce to go 9-8 up, but van Gerwen broke back immediately on double ten.
He then hit tops and double 16 to set up the final clash with van Barneveld, who came from 2-1 down to easily beat James Wade 11-5 in his semi-final.
Double dream alive for Toulon
Matt Giteau makes some hard yards for Toulon Toulon remain on course for a Heineken Cup and French league double after beating Toulouse 24-9 in the first Top 14 semi-final in Nantes.
Toulon will now face either Clermont or Castres in the final at the Stade de France on June 1.
The defending champions ensured the clash was a highly entertain spectacle, throwing the ball around like a hot potato in the classic Toulousain tradition, but in the end it was Toulon’s more pragmatic approach that prevailed.
Toulon led 8-6 at the break thanks to a try from ex-Springbok Danie Rossouw, before a late score from English full-back Delon Armitage sealed victory for the newly-crowned European champions.
These teams played out a try-less final this time last year, but it took just two minutes for Rossouw to find is way over the whitewash after a pinpoint kick-pass from former Toulouse stalwart Frederic Michalak.
A weak scrum cost Toulon the Top 14 title a year ago and they were dealt two heavy blows before kick-off with the last-minutes withdrawals of props Carl Hayman and Gethin Jenkins, both due to calf injuries.
And it was a scrum penalty that gave Toulouse their first points via the boot of Luke McAlister.
Jonny Wilkinson kicked his first three-pointer to restore the five-point gap only to see McAlister reply in kind on the half-hour mark.
Controversy RCT would hold a two-point lead until the break thanks to a controversial TMO decision to deny Toulouse a try for an apparent forward pass.
Toulouse moved ahead early in the second period when Census Johnston got the better of Andrew Sheridan at scrum time and McAlister hit the target from the kicking tee.
The English prop would soon have his revenge however as the next penalty went against Johnston and Wilkinson could put Toulon back in front at 11-9.
Wilkinson landed a crucial blow just after the hour mark with a trademark drop goal to give his team a bit of breathing room.
The pressure began to tell as unforced errors put a stick in the spokes of Toulouse’s expansive gameplan.
A knock-on from McAlister gave Toulon a scrum from which they claimed another penalty which Wilkinson landed from long range.
Again Toulouse would pay the price for pushing their attacking intention too far as Gurthro Steenkamp coughed up a loose pass, handing Armitage the opportinuty to race home to secure the win for Toulon.
Smith guides Mumbai to victory
Dwayne Smith: Hit 62 as Mumbai won with a ball to spare Dwayne Smith hit a half century as Mumbai Indians beat Rajasthan Royals with a ball to spare to reach their second Indian Premier League final.
Smith hit 62 off 44 balls – including six 4s and two 6s – as Mumbai successfully chased down Rajasthan’s 165/6 to win by four wickets.
Fellow opener Aditya Tare also contributed 35 and Dinesh Karthik hit 22 as Mumbai finished on 169/6 to set up a final clash with Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
Earlier, skipper Rahul Dravid top-scored with 43 off 37 balls – including seven 4s – for Rajasthan, while Dishant Yagnik hit an unbeaten 31 off 17 balls, including five 4s, at the death to push their score up to a competitive 165.
Harbhajan Singh was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers, taking 3-23 off his four overs, while Kieron Pollard notched 2-6 from just six balls.
In response, Smith and Tare got Mumbai off to a great start, plundering 70 for the first wicket before Tare was the first of Kevon Cooper’s two victims and Sinju Samson’s two catches.
Keeper Karthik kept the momentum going with Smith until he departed with the score on 125-2, caught by Ajinkya Rahane off Cooper.
Skipper Rohit Sharma was out cheaply for two, quickly followed by Smith to leave Mumbai 132-4 and give Rajasthan some hope.
Needing 26 from the last three overs, Pollard (11) and Ambati Rayudo (17) pushed Mumbai on to leave them requiring eight off the final over.
Rayudo was bowled by Shane Watson but Singh (6 not out) and Rishi Dhawan (4 not out) hit boundaries to see their side home and set up Sunday’s showpiece with Chennai, who are in their fifth final in six years and who beat Mumbai by 48 runs on Tuesday.
Cech: Jose held in high regard
Jose Mourinho: Would be welcomed back at Chelsea by Petr Cech and David Luiz Sky Bet Football Betting Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds Football Betting 10 Free Bet Petr Cech is confident that Jose Mourinho will still find a Chelsea ‘full of ambition and hunger’ if the club’s former manager returns to Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho is widely expected to replace current interim manager Rafa Benitez in the summer after it was confirmed the Portuguese will be leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season.
During his first spell at Chelsea, Mourinho won two Premier League titles and several other trophies in a three-year tenure before leaving in 2007.
Though Cech acknowledged there has been change in west London in the intervening period, the goalkeeper believes Mourinho would fit right back in.
“I think the club has changed since he left,” Cech told Sky Sports News.
“It’s been six years and the club has changed through the years.
“But he knows the club, he knows the environment, he knows English football and the Premier League.
I think this is a big advantage.
“He might find a slightly different club than when he was leaving, but he will still find a club full of ambition and expectation and hunger to win trophies.
This is the most important thing.” Petr Cech “He might find a slightly different club than when he was leaving, but he will still find a club full of ambition and expectation and hunger to win trophies.
This is the most important thing.
“I came to the club at the same time he did and he had confidence in me to put me in goal ahead of Carlo Cudicini.
“Since then, we won so many trophies.
Although he left in 2007, I think everybody around the club and the supporters still remembers him with high regard.” Chelsea’s versatile Brazil international David Luiz would also welcome the chance to play under Mourinho next season.
Luiz said: “Everyone says a lot of good things about him.
Everyone knows about his quality.
“He has done a great job in many clubs in the world, like with Chelsea.
It is exciting when we can work with an experienced coach and a very good coach.”
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