Thursday 23 May 2013
The racism row surrounding Sergio Garcia took another twist this afternoon when European Tour chief executive George O'Grady used the phrase "coloured athletes" when discussing the decision not to sanction the Spaniard.
Finland's Mikko Ilonen survived everything the British summer could throw at him, including a brief spell of hail, to set the clubhouse target in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship.
WORLD number two Rory McIlroy suffered a late first-round meltdown in almost wintry conditions at Wentworth as he ballooned to a two-over-par 74 in the PGA Championship today.
European Tour chief executive George O'Grady has dismissed any accusations of "cosiness" between his organisation and Sergio Garcia but defended the decision not to sanction the Spaniard for remarks he made about Tiger Woods which could be construed as racist.
England's Justin Rose, twice a runner-up in the BMW PGA Championship, today wasted little time in getting to the top of the leaderboard as the European Tour's flagship event got under way at Wentworth.
Former European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal drew on the memory of his 2003 spat with Padraig Harrington as he urged fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods to settle their differences.
Sponsor Adidas has criticised Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia for a jibe directed at Tiger Woods that has drawn accusations of racism.
Rory McIlroy missed two good chances to get among the early leaders when the BMW PGA Championship got under way at a chilly Wentworth today.
RORY McILROY has revealed that he and Graeme McDowell are bonded like brothers, insisting nothing can break them apart.
SERGIO GARCIA has been given a mulligan by European and PGA Tour chiefs – now the Spaniard must hope grovelling apologies for Tuesday night's slur on Tiger Woods will appease his sponsors and golf fans in the US.
Sergio Garcia has escaped punishment for what could be construed as a racist remark about Tiger Woods after offering an unreserved apology for his "stupid and out of place" comments at the European Tour's annual awards ceremony.
ERNIE ELS would not have won last year's British Open without the aid of a belly putter, the South African four-times major champion claimed.
GIVEN the weighty implications of their decision to stand firm in the face of strident opposition, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson seemed happy to be able to inject some levity into proceedings as golf's ruling bodies announced they'll press ahead with their ban on 'anchoring' in January 2016.
ONE of the firmest friendships in European golf has been placed under stress by Rory McIlroy's impending departure from Dublin management company Horizon.
South Africa's Tim Clark has said that he is among "a fair number" of players taking legal advice over the ban on anchored putters.
IT was just another minute in a momentous week for Graeme McDowell at the Volvo World Match Play Championship but one can only guess the impact it might have on the sporting life of nine-year-old Dennis Borislavov.
COLIN Montgomerie today welcomed the decision to ban anchored strokes from 2016, despite using one himself to produce one of his career highlights.
After winning one tournament synonymous with Wentworth, Graeme McDowell today turned his attention to improving his record in the event still held at the European Tour's headquarters.
Bae Sang-moon fought off playing partner Keegan Bradley to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship and his first-ever PGA Tour title by two shots last night.
MULTIPLE Major champion Padraig Harrington has withdrawn from this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Graeme McDowell today became the first Irish winner of the Volvo World Match Play Championship with a hard-fought victory over Thongchai Jaidee in Bulgaria.
An unusually strong gathering of Europe's leading players, from the present and recent past, won't include Pádraig Harrington for this week's £4.75m BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. The three-time Major winner withdrew yesterday from the challenge of the famous West Course, which doesn't rank among his favourite golfing stretches.
Imagine, for a moment, these two things really happened. First, in an interview with Sports Illustrated magazine, Tiger Woods admits to using a product that is banned under the PGA Tour anti-doping policy. And four months later, on his way to victory in the Players Championship at Sawgrass, Vijay Singh takes a penalty drop beside a pond on the 14th hole that a leading analyst and former Tour pro describes as "really, really borderline".
GRAEME McDOWELL eliminated any remaining vestiges of doubt about Rory McIlroy's imminent departure from Horizon Sports as he offered a cogent professional opinion on his good friend's decision to set up a management company of his own.
Des Morgan is determined to "live life" and chase his Mullingar Scratch Cup dream just 10 weeks after a four-hour operation to have a faulty heart defibrillator replaced.
Richard O'Donovan leads the Irish charge after the first round of the Welsh Open stroke-play championship at challenging Royal Porthcawl on the South Wales coast.
Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter was today facing an uphill struggle to avoid an early exit from the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria.
A slithery surprise awaited Graeme McDowell on the ninth fairway at Thracian Cliffs during the opening round of group matches at the Volvo World Match Play – a snake was sunning itself right beside his golf ball.
Nicolas Colsaerts, who had enormous difficulty getting his clubs to Bulgaria for the defence of his Volvo World Match Play title, soon found opening opponent Branden Grace could prove equally troublesome today.
WHO is Spartacus? That question has extra-special relevance today as hostilities commence in the Volvo World Match Play Championship at Thracian Cliffs.
Paul McGinley promises to be the most well prepared captain Europe has ever had when he leads the side at Gleneagles next September.
Manchester City have launched a new club in the USA called New York City FC. They are in partnership with baseball giants the New York Yankees.
Interview with Irish Independent Billy Keane ahead of Stage Five of The Rás
Super League Magic Weekend showcases the best of Rugby League over two days - and the Hull derby is set to be a match no-one should miss.
Both Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler cannot wait to get in to the ring again, for their super-middleweight unification bout on Saturday.
Russian Kirill Pozdnyakov, riding for Azerbaijan Synergy Baku, has won Stage Four of The Rás.
Crystal Palace face Watford in the Championship playoff final, in what Mile Jedinak's expects to be a fifty-fifty shot at getting promoted.
New Zealand's Neil Wagner insists his squad took a number of positives out of the first Test with England, despite losing in three days.
Tennis great, Boris Becker, is tipping a 3-1 victory for Bayern Munich over Burussia Dortmund in this year's Champions League Final.
Interview with two-time Rás winner Philip Cassidy
Brian O'Driscoll dressed for the high seas in new Lions tour advert. Credit: HSBC
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