International sports, Ryder Cup golf
Celtic Manor, Wales (GenevaLunch) - The European team dominated the third day of the Ryder Cup, just missing the “Full Monty” as they dominated the USA team with five wins and one draw in the six matches. Team captain Colin Montgomerie looked on as Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker were thrashed 6&5 by Lee Westwood and Luke Donald. The Northern Irish pairing of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell added the next point to bring Europe level. The European team then took three of the fourballs before the Italian Molinari brothers shared the point with Stewart Cink and Matt Cuchar.
The final round of twelve singles matches has been postponed till Monday to make up for the time lost to rain. Europe currently lead by 9 1/2 to 6 1/2 and need to take five of the final games to win the trophy.
International sports, golf
Miguel Angel Jimenez, winner Crans-Montana European Masters golf tournament
Crans-Montana, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain won the European Masters gold tournament held high in the Swiss Alps 2-5 September, finishing strongly with two birdies over his closing four holes for a three-under-par 68. Italian Edoardo Molinari was second. The final round of play Sunday, under blue skies and cool balmy weather, gave the 46-year-old Jiminez his 18th career title, 11 of which have been won since he turned 40, reports AFP. The next generation of stars held its own, with 17-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero coming third and 19-year-old South Korean Noh Seung-yul in fourth place.
A record crowd of 52,000 attended the event, according to the organizers.
Link to European Masters Crans-Montana
International sports, British Open Golf
St Andrews, Scotland (GenevaLunch) – South African Louis Oosthuizen dominated the Open at St Andrews to win by seven strokes from England’s Lee Westwood. Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson tied for third. Tiger Woods ended well back after scoring two double bogeys on his final round. The 27-year-old Oosthuizen laid the foundations for his victory on Friday, when he took full advantage of favourable conditions in the early morning rounds to take a commanding lead, and then played steadily while the challengers slipped away. In his speech he started by wishing a happy 92nd birthday to Nelson Mandela.
He is the second South African to win the Open at the home of golf, after Bobby Locke in 1957, and the sixth South African to win a major.
International sports, rugby Sevens, golf
IOC and UN set out list of recommendations
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Preparations are moving ahead to introduce rugby Sevens and golf to the Olympics, starting with the 2016 Games. Officials from international rugby and golf bodies met together for the first time, for two days, 26-27 May, with IOC (International Olympics Committee) officials in Lausanne to review how the Games are managed and the role of the national organizing committees.
Wednesday the IOC and the United Nations announced they had drawn up a list of 19 recommendations to increase the impact of sports on development, including the 2000 Millennium Goals. The two international bodies agreed to work to avoid duplication and to encourage national governmentts “to embed sports” in their development programmes.
Links to other sites: International Rugby Board, IOC on UN meetings, Irish rugby
Augusta, Georgia, USA (GenevaLunch) – Phil Mickelson took charge of the last round of the Masters with a typical display of inspired golf to end 16 shots below par. ”Lefty” won his third green jacket by three strokes as the challenge from Englishman Lee Westwood dissolved in a series of missed putts. Tiger Woods ended in a tie for fourth place with a round that ranged from eagle to bogey. He later said that he intended to take some more time off to deal with his complicated personal life.
Links to other sites: 2010 Masters Golf Tournament, Guardian
Title: Golf by the Lake
Location: Lavaux
Link out: Click here
Description: This is presented as a 9-hole friendly golf match at the Lavaux Golf Course with dinner and a lecture by Ernst Bechine, coach and career expert who will discuss strategies for successful professional changes.
Date: 2010-04-08
Ed note: GenevaLunch, which published several articles on Myles Robinson’s disappearance and death in Wengen, canton Bern during the Christmas holidays 2009, has been asked by his family to share information about a memorial fund with the thousands of readers who followed the story. Many wrote in to express their sorrow at the family’s loss.
Myles and Michael Robinson
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The family of Myles Robinson, a young British man who disappeared two days before Christmas in the Swiss resort of Wengen, canton Bern, and was later found dead from a cliff-top fall, is establishing a fund in his memory. The Myles Robinson Memorial Trust aims to “increase the involvement of young British adults in helping underprivileged children at home and abroad to become more actively involved in sport.”
The top crowd-pulling golfer, Tiger Woods, is quitting the sport indefinitely, saying on his official site that “I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person.” He acknowledges publicly for the first time his infidelity to his wife and apologizes.
Links to other sites: Japan Today, Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, Tiger Woods site
US golfer Tiger Woods suffered facial injuries in an accident that occurred just outside his home in the early hours of Friday. The Guardian reports that “Police said the incident was not alcohol related but in what is a standard procedure added that ‘charges were pending’.” The Los Angeles Times notes that the accident, with Woods hitting a fire hydrant and then a tree, at under 33 miles per hour, was not related to a domestic quarrel. Police report that they arrived at the scene of the accident to find Woods and his wife Elin, who had bashed in the rear window of the car with a golf club, but the accident report was filed only 12 hours after the crash. Why Woods was leaving home at 02:25 remains a mystery. The accident occurred a day after The National Enquirer, notorious for its stories about celebrities, published an article suggesting the golfer had an affair with another woman: the newspaper’s online version of the story was unavailable at the time GL posted this article.
Links to other sites: Guardian, UK, Los Angeles Times, National Enquirer
Update 24 November 07:50 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Police continue to investigate the accident that put a 70-year-old man in hospital in serious condition Thursday 19 November after his Golf was hit by a Lamborghini Murcielago in Genthod, on the lake road. The driver was a 22-year-old Russian with an alcohol level of 1.11 per 1,000 (legal limit in Switzerland is 0.5), with a drivers license that is not valid in Switzerland. The car had Geneva plates. The Tribune de Geneve carries a front page story about the accident, suggesting that it was the result of a race or chase by four flash cars whose owners were trying to see which car is the fastest, a suggestion that other media have carried.
Geneva police spokesperson Patrick Pulh told GenevaLunch that police have not, in fact, been able to establish if there was any kind of race. “These cars make a lot of noise even when they are just idling.” he notes. “We haven’t been able to establish the speed at which they were going.” The ongoing investigation is seeking to clarify the roles of all the drivers involved, he says, and it’s difficult at this stage to say how long it will take.
Chaska, Minnesota (GenevaLunch) – YE Yang became the first Korean to win one of the four Majors and the first player to overhaul Tiger Woods in the final round of a Major golf tournament when he won the US PGA Championship with an eight under par 280. The 37-year-old South Korean carded a final round 70, two under par while Woods could only manage a 75 to finish three shots behind.
Details: Minneapolis Star and Tribune
[golf stars video] Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Women boxers will be able to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London and their participation in several other sports, including wrestling, cycling and swimming, as well as tennis doubles, is likely to increase following a decision by the IOC executive board on new sports for the Games. Boxing was the only Olympic sport without women competitors in the last Olympic games in Beijing in August 2008. There will be three weight categories, while the men will lose one of their 11 classes. The decision has been welcomed as a step forward for gender equality but also criticized by Headway, the brain injury association because of potential dangers.
Seven-a-side rugby and golf have been recommended for entry to the 2016 Games in South Africa and will now need the approval of the full IOC, which meets in Copenhagen in October. Golf and rugby federations are being invited to present their sports.
Turnberry, Scotland (GenevaLunch) – Tom Watson offered another dose of free publicity for artificial hips as the 59-year-old lead the Open at Turnberry by one shot going into the final round.
Update 18 July 08:40 Turnberry, Scotland (GenevaLunch) – Veteran golfer Tom Watson sunk two monster putts on the last few holes to head the leaderboard at the Open at Turnberry after two days.
Turnberry, Scotland (GenevaLunch) - Fifty-nine-year-old old Tom Watson spent most of the day at the top of the leaderboard after posting a five under score of 65 on the first 18 holes, only to be bettered by Miguel Angel Jiminénez, a sprightly 45-year-old, who finished his round with two birdies to score 64. Tiger Woods was well off the pace after carding 71.
Details, Telegraph, UK
Augusta, Georgia, USA (GenevaLunch) – Argentinian Angel Cabrera became the 2009 Masters champion as 48-year-old American Kenny Perry fell at the last two holes to spoil his chance of becoming the oldest ever winner of the famous green jacket. Cabrera won a three way play-off with Perry and Chad Campbell.
Dubai, UAE (GenevaLunch) - Annika Sorenstam of Sweden finished the last tournament of her career in seventh place after slipping back from the lead at the halfway point.
(GenevaLunch) – Spanish star Seve Ballesteros, one of the greatest European golfers, has entered Hospital La Paz after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Valhalla, Kentucky, USA (GenevaLunch) - The American team scored a decisive 16-1/2 to 11-1/2 victory to take the Ryder Cup. It was the lagest winning margin for 27 years.
Vive le sport is the largest and most complete list of sports resources in Switzerland. An A to Z guide of nearly 90 sports federations, events or blogs, from American football to wrestling… and chess. Website in four languages including English.
