South African golf legend Gary Player has placed a “most exciting young player in the world” label on Irishman Rory McIlroy. And the 20-year-old native of Hollywood in Northern Ireland responded by accepting an invitation to the 12-man Nedbank Golf Challenge that starts today at a par-72, 7,981-yard Sun City course named after Player.
The presence of the world No. 10 is a massive boost for a tournament hit hard by a date clash with the Tiger Woods-backed Chevron World Challenge in Los Angeles.
Whereas many past fields in the 29-year event staged at an entertainment resort north-west of Johannesburg read like a who’s who of golf, this year’s line-up contains only four of the world top 20.
Defending champion Swede Hendrik Stenson (7), local Retief Goosen (19) and Englishman Ross Fisher (20) are the other members of the exclusive club although another contender can lay claim to considerable fame.
Argentine Angel Cabrera, a cigarette smoker with a figure that suggests a fondness for the good life, won last year’s US Masters after a three-way play-off and also lifted the US Open trophy two years ago.
Child prodigy McIlroy — he could hit a ball 30m by two, claimed his first hole-in-one at nine and broke par by 12 — holds fond teenage memories of an event popularly labeled the “African major.”
“I grew up watching a lot of golf on TV and really looked forward to the end-of-year Sun City tournament. So many great golfers have played and won there,” he told the South African media in a video link-up.
“From what I remember it looks quite a demanding course with thick rough and not much room for error off the fairways and then there is the heat — I gather it gets pretty hot,” McIlroy said.
His approach to the game is hot, too.
“I like to swing with no fear. I am a grip-it-and-rip-it guy and over the ball I think of nothing other than the target,” McIlroy said.
Tagged “boy wonder” by the Irish media, McIlroy played down comparisons with Woods although many golf experts consider the 1.75m, 70kg Irishman heir apparent to a throne occupied by the US winner of 14 Majors.
“What Tiger achieved in the past 10 or 12 years has been incredible and I would be happy to win half the titles he has,” said McIlroy, who already has one to his credit after capturing the Dubai Desert Classic last February.
Completing the field are Americans Hunter Mahan and Nick Watney, Swede Robert Karlsson, Englishman Luke Donald, Australian Robert Allenby and locals Tim Clark and Richard Sterne, the sole competitor not in the world top 40.
A notable absentee is the best known current South African golfer Ernie Els, who after 16 appearances, three titles and almost US$8 million prize money has opted to holiday with his family.
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
Australian restaurant chain Grill’d has made a cheeky apology for putting a “curse” on Oscar Piastri’s Formula One title hopes with their offer of a free burger for every time the McLaren driver gets on the podium. The Melbourne native has not finished in the top three since the promotion relaunched five races ago, losing the championship lead to teammate Lando Norris and now 24 points behind. Online conspiracy theorists have been quick to put two and two together. The chain’s Piastri 81 Burger debuted ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in March, with his endorsement, and was relaunched in September after he
RSS