The Star Online: Sports

Bjorn gets another shot at St. George's
The new KLGCC Classic becomes the ninth meet to join the ADT
MHF turn towards the Dutch to seek hockey improvements

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 06:18 PM PDT

SANDWICH, England (AP) - Thomas Bjorn will get a chance to redeem himself at Royal St. George's after throwing away a chance at winning the claret jug at the British Open on this links course eight years ago.

Three-time major champion Vijay Singh withdrew Monday from the British Open and was replaced in the field by Bjorn.

Bjorn had a two-shot lead playing the par-3 16th when he put his tee shot into the right bunker, then twice watched his shot roll back into the sand. He made double bogey, bogeyed the 17th to lose the lead and closed with a par to finish one shot behind shock winner Ben Curtis.

Singh, who made the British Open as an alternate himself, had been dealing with back problems and had to withdraw from the AT&T National two weeks ago despite still being in contention going into the weekend.

Bjorn might forever be linked with Royal St. George's for the way it ended. He has not played the 16th hole since that day, although Bjorn told Press Association that he has put it behind him - at least for now.

"When I get there, I won't be thinking, 'This is a horror hole.' It's a good hole," Bjorn said. "I just tried to erase it from my memory, but it might just creep into my mind on Sunday if I am playing well."

Bjorn has won 13 times worldwide, including earlier this year at the Qatar Masters. Since losing the Open at Royal St. George's, he had another chance at the 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol, losing by one shot when Phil Mickelson birdied the final hole.

"You've really got a problem if you live eight years in the past," Bjorn told PA. "It was difficult for me when I played at Troon in 2004. I really didn't want be there.

But these are the events you want to play in and I'm delighted. At the same time, though, there's some big names who have pulled out and you don't want to see that."

Scott Verplank becomes the first alternate, although he withdrew after the first round of the John Deere Classic last week with an injury and it was not immediately clear if he would fly to England. The next alternate was Ricky Barnes, followed by Heath Slocum.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

The new KLGCC Classic becomes the ninth meet to join the ADT

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 06:00 PM PDT

PETALING JAYA: The PGM-MIDF-KLGCC Classic is the latest Malaysian tournament to join the fledging Asian Development Tour (ADT).

The new event, boasting a prize of RM200,000 (approximately US$66,666), signals the strengthening of the partnership between the ADT and Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour.

The latest inclusion will raise the total number of tournaments on the ADT to nine this season.

The PGM-MIDF-KLGCC Classic, the fourth ADT event to be played in Malaysia, will be staged at the prestigious Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) from Sept 22-25.

Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad (MIDF) will be the main sponsors for the tournament at KLGCC.

Local stalwart S. Sivachandran (pic), last year's ADT Order of Merit champion, and the recent winner of the PGM Malacca Classic, will headline the field at KLGCC. The other rising stars in the region who will compete include Takafumi Kawane of Japan, Hsu Chia-jen of Taiwan, Malaysian Akhmal Tarmizee and Artemio Murakami of the Philippines.

Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han hailed the strong support from the PGM, saying its efforts to promote the sport will drive Malaysia to become a powerhouse in Asian golf.

"We are delighted to tie up once again with the PGM who are truly committed towards the development of the game in Malaysia and Asia.

"There is vast potential in Malaysia and since the launch of the ADT last year.

"Malaysian players have made the most of new playing opportunities by excelling in our tournaments.

"Siva is a prime example as he has now won twice on the ADT while others like Akhmal are also showing great potential," Han added.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

MHF turn towards the Dutch to seek hockey improvements

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 05:59 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) will look to the Dutch to improve the hockey structure in the country and also the national team.

For starters, the MHF are hoping that the Dutch hockey authorities will allow at least four to six national players to compete in their national league to gain experience. And on the coaching side they would also like to secure attachments for the local coaches with their clubs.

The MHF president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah earlier this month met with the chief executive officer of Dutch hockey Johan Walkkie in Amsterdam to discuss these issue and seek their help in developing hockey in Malaysia.

MHF secretary Maninderjit Singh who was in Amsterdam as well said the idea to get the Dutch help was mooted by the president and that was the reason for the meeting on the sidelines of the FIH executive meeting.

The Malaysians officials were in Amsterdam for the meeting to make a bid for the FIH Congress to be held in Malaysia next year. They were successful in their bid and the FIH's Congress will be held in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 31-Nov 4. This is the first time the FIH congress will be held in Asia since 1975.

Maninderjit said that the meeting with the Dutch was to seek help not only in regarding the national team and the coaches but also to try and remodel the Malaysian structure at the grassroot level.

"For a country with a population of just over 6.4 million they have almost 250,000 hockey players. They have a vast club structure and almost each club own a turf.

"We hope to conduct a study tour to Holland sometime soon and get more details on their structure. It is not about copying it but to learn and utilise their winning strategies," said Maninderjit.

"The president has got an understanding on the players' attachment and the Dutch will get back to us on the plan later. They are willing to support us and also offer help in other areas as well," he said.

But these initiatives will only take off after the London Olympics next year.

The Dutch league will start in September and there is no way for our players to be involved this year as our national team have their plate full at the moment. The Malaysians will also seek special help in other areas of coaching from time to time and bring in specialised coaches to train the national players.

"Presently we are looking at the Australian league to expose our players. We had two players playing there last month in their league. They are Faisal Saari and Mohamed Shukri Mutalib. We will continue to use the Australian league as well.

"The Dutch league is popular with foreign players and many clubs have either Australia, Indian and Pakistani players in their ranks. It is highly competitive league," he added.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Isnin, 11 Julai 2011

The Star Online: Sports

The Star Online: Sports

0 ulasan:

Catat Ulasan