GOLF
Woods hires new caddie
Tiger Woods has hired Joe LaCava to replace long-time Kiwi caddie Steve Williams, whom he had a falling out with earlier this year. The 14-time major winner Woods took two months to find a replacement after splitting with Williams in July. “Joe LaCava is an outstanding caddie and I have known him since I was an amateur, really looking forward to having him on my bag,” Woods wrote on Twitter on Sunday. LaCava worked for 20 years as a caddie for this year’s US Presidents Cup team captain Fred Couples. Most recently, he has been carrying the golf bag for rising PGA Tour star Dustin Johnson. Woods, who was the best man at Williams’ wedding, sacked his former caddie after 13 years of working together.
GOLF
Ferrie wins Austrian Open
Kenneth Ferrie beat fellow Englishman Simon Wakefield in a playoff to lift the Austrian Open in Atzenbrugg on Sunday. Both men carded five-under-par 67s for 276, one shot ahead of Dutchman Joost Luiten who bogeyed the 18th. It was a third European Tour title for 32-year-old Ferrie, but his first since 2005. He sealed victory at the first playoff hole after Wakefield’s overhit second shot ended in rough at the back of the green. Overnight leader Thomas Norret of Denmark could only manage a 72 for 279, undone by an unhappy seven on the par five 13th.
GYMNASTICS
Coach accused of assault
Two women have told the Orange County Register newspaper that they were sexually abused in the 1980s by the man who coached the US’ 1984 Olympic gymnastics team. USA Gymnastics is aware of the allegations against Don Peters and is looking into them, president Steve Penny said on Sunday. Should the federation find merit to the allegations, the 62-year-old Peters could be subject to a lifetime ban. “Athlete safety is a top priority for USA Gymnastics, and sexual misconduct against minors is unacceptable and against USA Gymnastics policy,” Penny said. “USA Gymnastics takes seriously any written grievance regarding its professional members, especially those that could involve young athletes.” Peters was head coach of the US team for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where the US won eight medals in 1984, including Mary Lou Retton’s gold in the all-around.
SOCCER
Helsingborg seal title
Helsingborg clinched their seventh Swedish title, and their first since 1999, with three rounds of the season left to play after a 3-1 win away to GAIS on Sunday. Helsingborg have an unassailable 61 points, 10 more than AIK Stockholm, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Malmo. Elfsborg, the only other club able to catch the leaders, suffered a surprise defeat at Mjallby on Saturday. Helsingborg went ahead against GAIS in Gothenburg through Erlend Hanstveit’s first-half goal, but the hosts leveled from the penalty spot shortly after the break. Striker Erik Sundin fired the leaders ahead again against the run of play and Rachid Bouaouzan netted a late penalty to seal victory.
RUGBY UNION
Hooker to face hearing
Russian hooker Valery Tsnobiladze is to face a disciplinary hearing over an alleged head-butt during the 62-12 defeat to Ireland, World Cup officials said yesterday. Tsnobiladze was cited for allegedly “striking an opponent with the head” during Sunday’s game and will go before an independent judicial officer in Auckland, a statement said.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier