GOLF
Woods in strong group
Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson have been grouped together for the first two rounds of next week’s US Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. The three, all winners of the Masters after Watson triumphed at Augusta National in April, will start on the ninth tee at 7:33am on June 14 and from the first hole at 1:18pm on June 15. Players normally start their rounds from the first and 10th tees, but tournament officials decided to send players off on the first and ninth holes for logistical reasons, as the ninth tee is closer to the clubhouse. Defending US Open champion Rory McIlroy was also put in a star-studded group alongside world No.1 Luke Donald and Lee Westwood. Louis Oosthuizen, who was beaten by Watson in a playoff at the Masters, was paired with last year’s US Open runner-up, Jason Day, and last year’s USPGA runner-up Jason Dufner. Three of the sport’s rising stars, Ryo Ishikawa, Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, were also paired together. Ernie Els, a two-time US Open champion, will tee off alongside Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 winner, and Angel Cabrera, who won the following year.
RUGBY UNION
Cooper, Beale face probe
Wallabies playmakers Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale face a disciplinary investigation by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) after local media reported they had been involved in a scuffle outside a Brisbane bar early yesterday morning. The two injured backs were involved in a brawl with security guards at the Victory Hotel in the early hours of the morning after being evicted from the venue, the Daily Telegraph said. The ARU has launched a probe into the incident, a spokesman said, while declining to provide details. The incident comes as the Wallabies prepared for their series-opening Test against Wales in Brisbane today. Neither Cooper nor Beale were named in the match-day 22, as they both continue their recovery from injuries.
OLYMPICS
Swimmers ‘sorry’ about guns
Controversial Australian swimmers Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk apologized yesterday for posting a photo of themselves posing with high-powered guns on the Internet, saying it was just “a bit of fun.” The pair have been blasted as “foolish” by Australia’s Olympic authorities and could face sanctions, although whether their places on the London Games team are under threat remains unclear. “If anyone’s been offended I deeply apologize. It was never the intent, it was never supposed to be offensive,” 200m butterfly star D’Arcy, 24, said on his arrival back in Australia from the US. It was in the US, where they had been competing at the Santa Clara International Grand Prix, that the swimmers posed in a gun shop, with D’Arcy brandishing a pistol and Monk holding two shotguns crossed over his chest.
CRICKET
Free house for Tendulkar
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has been offered a free five-bedroom house in the center of New Delhi as a perk of his new post as a member of parliament, reports said yesterday. Tendulkar was sworn into the Upper House this week, claiming a seat reserved for distinguished figures in Indian public life. He has been offered a colonial-era bungalow with large lawns on one of the smartest streets in the capital, the Press Trust of India agency reported, adding he would be provided with 24-hour security and two escort vehicles. It was unclear whether Tendulkar would accept the offer.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
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