{{ubiquityData.prevArticle.description}}
{{ubiquityData.nextArticle.description}}
Double major winner Ángel Cabrera will serve two years in prison after he was found guilty of assaulting, threatening and harassing former partner Cecilia Torres Mana.
The winner of the 2007 US Open and 2009 Masters was convicted in Córdoba, Argentina, of the crimes, which took place between 2016 and 2018. Cabrera pleaded innocent but those pleas fell on deaf ears. He started his sentence immediately after the verdict was delivered.
The 51-year-old left Argentina without authorisation in July last year. Córdoba officials issued an arrest warrant and Interpol agents apprehended Cabrera in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in January. He was extradited to Argentina last month to face trial.
“His situation is much more complex than this, he has other charges for which there are arrest warrants, too. There are other victims,” prosecutor Laura Battistelli told television network TN.
Hideki Matsuyama and Bubba Watson have both withdrawn from the 149th Open Championship after brushes with COVID-19.
Matsuyama tested positive before the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on 2 July. He has been in quarantine since then and is currently symptom-free, but subsequent PCR tests have continued to show positive results.
“I’m feeling fine but haven’t been able to practise in preparation for the Open,” he said. “Combining that with the difficult travel to the UK, my team and I decided it’s best to withdraw to ensure everyone’s safety. I feel badly missing the Open and look forward to playing again at St Andrews next year.”
The Japanese player has been replaced in the field at Royal St George’s by America’s Harold Varner III.
Two-time Masters champion Watson pulled out after being identified as a close contact of an individual testing positive for COVID-19. His spot goes to fellow American John Catlin.
Four players have qualified for the 149th Open Championship through the Abrdn Scottish Open and Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge.
Min Woo Lee, Thomas Detry and Jack Senior will take their places at the famous Kent links after finishing as the leading three golfers not already exempt in the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club.
Marcel Siem, who won Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France, also will play in the Open after finishing as the leading golfer not already exempt in the Challenge Tour event.
Scotland’s Heather MacRae certainly has a liking for Kedleston Park Golf Club: She’s just won her third successive WPGA Championship around the Derbyshire course. It’s her fourth victory to match the record for most wins set by Tracy Loveys.
MacRae’s 8-under-par 140 total around the Open Championship regional qualifying venue was five shots better than Keely Chiericato, who defeated MacRae in a play-off to win the title in 2018.
The 37-year-old Scot used a tried-and-tested method to achieve the three-peat.
“I thought when I went out today not to think about my scores and just try and play one hole at a time,” said the Gleneagles-based professional. “I just tried to hit good shots and it worked out OK.
“I didn’t know what my score was approaching the final hole. I knew I was playing well and scoring well. But I didn’t want to think how many under par I was because that’s when you start to get nervous.”
MacRae used the event to warm up for this week’s Gant Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour, one of a few LET starts for her including the Big Green Egg Open two weeks ago in the Netherlands, where she finished T38.
“I’ve been pretty lucky this year because the ranking has gone quite far down for LET events, so I’ve had a few starts and I go away next week to Finland,” she said. “I’m definitely getting more starts than I expected and I’m taking each week as it comes and keeping sharp. Hopefully I can take this form to Finland.”
Reward for her WPGA Championship win is a place in final qualifying for the AIG Women’s Open, which takes place at Panmure Golf Club on 16 August. MacRae, Chiericato and Jessica Smart earned spots in the field as the top three WPGA finishers.
“That’s a big plus,” she added. “It’s great the PGA has given that opportunity to three of the ladies to get to final qualifying. And being at Carnoustie and pretty close to home, I’d love to play in the main event.”
Tommy Fleetwood has credited fellow Englishman Justin Rose for his decision to represent Team Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Fleetwood, Paul Casey, Mel Reid and Jodi Ewart Shadoff will form the British team. They are eager to chase Olympic gold despite Lee Westwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Charley Hull and Georgia Hall turning down the chance to play for varying reasons.
Fleetwood is arguably the most eager of the quartet thanks to Rose winning gold in Brazil five years ago as golf returned to the Games for the first time since 1904.
“What came from that was the surprise of how proud Justin was and the emotions he felt from winning,” Fleetwood said. “He spoke to me about it a lot. I just think it was really cool seeing his face light up and hearing him talk about how he felt about not only competing in the Olympics but being an Olympic gold medallist. It was very, very cool seeing him and watching him talk about it.”
Fleetwood said he can’t wait to represent his country.
“You’re not just playing as an individual,” the Englishman said. “You’re playing for the nation. I don’t think we would see that as pressure. We would see that as a proud moment and something that we’re really, really excited about. It is fantastic that we’ve had a gold medallist for our sport, and I’m sure we would all just absolutely love to keep that going.
“The Olympics, whenever I turn it on, I find myself watching sports I have no idea about and I have no idea about the rules, but I’m jumping up and down in the living room supporting Great Britain and it’s very, very cool. We’ve had an extra year waiting for this Olympics, and it’s such an amazing occasion and it’s great being with some of the guys that people are going to watch on TV, inspiring the nation and keeping people feeling good.”
Ewart Shadoff said her decision to compete for England’s women after Hull withdrew and Hall turned down the chance to go was a “no brainer.”
Reid and Ewart Shadoff have ties that go back a long way, which should make them a strong partnership.
“We grew up playing together,” Reid said. “She’s trying to beat me and I’m trying to beat her but if I don’t pick up the medal, I absolutely want her to pick up a medal. It will be a unique experience. I think it will be really, really cool.”
Australians Louis Dobbelaar and Kirsten Rudgeley have made major strides up the World Amateur Golf Ranking thanks to impressive victories on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Dobbelaar, who won the Australian Amateur in February, added the North & South Amateur Championship to the Dogwood Invitational he won last month. It is his second win from three appearances in the United States. He reached a new high on the WAGR table with a 16-spot jump to 32nd.
Rudgeley reached a personal-best ranking of 113th, a 53-ranking rise, after becoming the first Australian to win the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open at Troon Portland.
Bob MacIntyre is taking no chances when it comes to playing in the Open Championship after the Scottish Open.
The Scottish left-hander had planned to fly after the Abrdn Scottish Open to Royal St George’s, but decided instead to drive the 470 miles to play in his second Open Championship. He believes the estimated 8½-hour road trip is worth it to avoid a repeat of his last flight.
The Scot was forced to miss the Irish Open after he came into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and had been on the same flight returning from the US Open.
“I’m going to jump in the car and drive down, simple as that,” MacIntyre said. “I’ve got to take no risks now.”
Samuel Ryder intended his eponymous cup to highlight the spirit of golf, a game based on integrity, honesty and etiquette. Those qualities will be honoured this year with the introduction of the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award.
The award will honour one player from each team who best embodies Ryder Cup spirit. Players who display sportsmanship and teamwork combined with performance will receive the award at this year’s match at Whistling Straits.
Jack Nicklaus famously conceded Tony Jacklin a 2-foot putt in the 1969 match at Royal Birkdale, which ensured a halved match. The two protagonists, past captains of the European and US sides, a representative of presenting sponsor Aon and representatives Sky Sports and NBC Sports will form the selection panel, with the awards presented at the conclusion of this year’s match.
Jon Rahm and Nelly Korda are the star attractions in the men’s and women’s fields for the Olympics golf competitions in Tokyo and the respective world No 1 players will be among the favourites to take home gold.
Norway’s Tonje Daffinrud and India’s Udayan Mane may not attract a lot of bets to take home a medal. They are the respective lowest-ranked players in the women’s and men’s competitions but will proudly take their spots in Tokyo.
Daffinrud is one of three qualified players ranked outside the top 400 of the women’s Rolex Rankings. She is the world’s 429th best player. Morocco’s Maha Haddioui is 423rd, while Italy’s Lucrezia Colombotto Rosso is ranked 408th.
Mane joins compatriot Anirban Lahiri and China’s Ashun Wu in the men’s field from outside the Official World Golf Ranking top 300. Mane is 365th, Lahiri is 360th and Wu checks in at 332nd.
Daffinrud has made two of five cuts on this year’s LET with her best finish a tie for 35th place in the Ladies Italian Open. Mane plays on the Professional Golf Tour of India and won this year’s Prometheus School presents Delhi-NCR Open 2021.
Germany’s Olivia Cowan led her team to victory in the first of this year’s Aramco Team Series events at the Centurion Club just north of London.
Cowan and her team-mates Sarina Schmidt, Diksha Dagar and amateur Andrew Kelsey posted a 41-under par total of 397 in an event co-sanctioned by the LET and LPGA to beat Team Skarpnord by three shots and Team Nuutinen by four.
The victors were helped by a moment of magic from their team captain who holed out with a 56-degree wedge from just less than 80-yards for an eagle on the 13th hole for their final round.
The result gave both Cowan and her compatriot great friend Schmidt their first wins on the Ladies European Tour.
Dagar, from India, had previously won the Investec SA Women’s Open back in 2019.
“I can’t put into words how amazing this is,” said Cowan. “To share it with one of my best friends is just incredible as well. I got really lucky with my team. I knew I wanted to pick Sarina two weeks ago and then to have Diksha on the team as well – I knew she was a great player and that she could hole some putts so I knew we had a good chance.”
“Today was nerve-wracking,” added Schmidt. “I was so nervous but I think we managed pretty well. I’m speechless.
Marianne Skarpnord’s consolation for coming second in the team event was to win first prize in the individual competition. She closed with a five-under par 68 to tie Atthaya Thitikul on 13-under-par and then beat her Thai rival with a birdie on the second hole of a play-off.
“It was won with a lot of nerves,” admitted the Norwegian player who now has five victories to her name on the LET. “My hands were shaking on the short putts. To win this event is very special. I love the format. It’s so much fun when you’re a team and you have to do well for someone else as well.”
The European Tour and the Sunshine Tour have announced a new partnership which will strengthen the ties which already exist between the two organisations and has seen countless South Africans move to Europe in order to develop their careers.
The PGA Tour – the European Tour’s Strategic Alliance partners – are fully supportive of the new deal which will focus on two key areas.
The partnership guarantees the South African Open Championship – one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in world golf – will be co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour through 2025 and will have a minimum prize purse of US$1.5 million throughout that period. Further tournaments to fall under this new co-sanctioning agreement will be confirmed in due course.
The Challenge Tour also will also benefit from the new partnership with a commitment not only to continue to stage the existing three Challenge Tour events in South Africa, but also to create several new co-sanctioned events which will appear on the Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour schedules.
“For many years the European Tour has greatly valued the relationship we have enjoyed with the Sunshine Tour and today’s announcement is the next step in that journey together,” said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.“Through the leadership, vision and commitment of Chairman Johann Rupert, the Sunshine Tour has not only flourished and produced many of the game’s greats over the decades, it is also part of the ecosystem that is at the very core of professional golf.
“We have been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sunshine Tour on this pathway for over a quarter of a century and we very much look forward to continuing this partnership for many years to come.”
“We are delighted with the new partnership that recognises South Africa’s place in the history of this great game and which has been showcased through our long association with the European Tour,” said Sunshine Tour commissioner Thomas Abt. “This partnership will open the door to even greater growth for our players.”
Tap-Ins
RBC, the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe have announced a one-year agreement establishing the Canadian bank as a worldwide partner of the 2020 Ryder Cup (READ MORE). ... The golf competitions at the Olympic Games will be played without spectators, after the Japanese government declared a new state of emergency for COVID-19 and ruled out all fans (READ MORE).
Colin Callander and Alistair Tait