The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Oosthuizen evokes St Andrews memories with China onslaught Posted: 02 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PDT SHENZHEN, Nov 2 — Louis Oosthuizen is in familiar territory after a record-breaking performance at the HSBC-WGC Champions Tournament put him in pole position after the first two days at Mission Hills.  Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa acknowledges spectators on the 18th green during the second day of the WGC-HSBC Champions Tournament at Mission Hills in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan November 2, 2012. — Reuters pic Oosthuizen bettered the course record seven-under-par 65 he shot yesterday with a nine-under 63 to mirror the lead he held over Mark Calcavecchia when he claimed The Open, his only major triumph to date. "Scoreboard-wise it is probably the same, looking at the leaderboard there are so many great players up there," Oosthuizen told reporters after a round which included eight birdies and an eagle at the par-five seventh hole where he sank a long putt across the green. "But it's far from over as it was at The Open. With this tournament, I am probably in a great position to win but it has not even crossed my mind at the moment. "There is still a lot of golf to be played and I need to put myself in a great position going down the back nine." On a course which has five par-fives, all of which offer birdie or eagle opportunities, there has been speculation the European Tour could witness its first 59-shot round. Despite breaking the layout record twice, however, Oosthuizen remains sceptical. "I think 59 is something that when the day comes it just happens," he said. "I would be really surprised if I shot 59 this week. I have just been playing really solid to shoot low numbers. You know for a 59 you need everything to go in, you need everything to go right." Scott said making up a five-shot deficit over the weekend would be difficult with a quality player like Oosthuizen leading from the front. The Australian kept pace with Oosthuizen with four birdies in his first seven holes but then fell back with three bogeys on the back nine. "It's tough chipping around these greens," he said. "There are quite a lot of run-off areas and it's tricky to judge how your shots are going to respond when you hit chip shots." Scott shares second place with another South African Ernie Els, who matched Oosthuizen's second-round 63 today. — Reuters |
| Ferguson refuses to believe Chelsea claims Posted: 02 Nov 2012 06:07 AM PDT  Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson gestures as Nani looks on during their English League Cup soccer match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London October 31, 2012. — Reuters pic Former Chelsea player Paul Elliott, the club's first black captain, also cast doubt on the club's claims that have put racism on the back pages again. Chelsea lodged an official complaint to the Premier League season after last Sunday's 3-2 home defeat by United, saying Clattenburg, who sent off two of their players in, had used "inappropriate language" to two of their players. Later in the week they issued another statement saying they did not have evidence to support a second complaint of verbal abuse but said they had lodged a complaint with the Football Association regarding comments to Nigerian John Obi Mikel. The Football Association, which has had to deal with high-profile racism cases involving Chelsea's former England skipper John Terry and Liverpool striker Luis Suarez this year, has opened an investigation into the claims. Ferguson, however, refuses to believe Chelsea's version of events. "I don't believe Mark Clattenburg would make comments like that, I refuse to believe it," Ferguson told reporters at his Friday news conference ahead of tomorrow's Premier League clash at home to Arsenal. "I think it's unthinkable in the modern climate and I just don't believe it, there is no way that a referee would stoop to that. I'm convinced of that. "I think in the modern game it's completely changed. I know myself that the banter that went on between players and the referee 25 years ago is different than today. "I've never heard of a player coming to me in the last 15 years saying the referee swore in a game. That's where I stand, I don't believe it." Talking to Reuters, Elliott, an ambassador for the anti-racism charity Kick it Out, said: "To me, what happened at Chelsea last Sunday, seemed like a car out of control, I thought with the John Terry thing, this had stopped. "I thought we were moving forward but it's like we've been hit by a two-footed challenge from the side and you've not seen it coming. "Mark Clattenburg is a very capable and competent referee and I would be astonished if an authority figure in our game like him, an elite referee, could be found guilty of racism. "I think we have to keep it in the balance and say "they are nothing more than allegations at the moment. There has to be a robust and transparent process to gather the information. Football does not need this at the moment. "Our referees, in general terms are among the best in the world. And Mark Clattenburg has a fundamental right to defend those allegations." FIFA referee Clattenburg, who will not be officiating at any Premier League games this weekend in the wake of Chelsea's claims, was at the centre of a tumultuous clash at Stamford Bridge last week. He sent off Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and then showed a red card to the home side's Fernando Torres after believing the Spaniard had dived to try and win a free kick. He later allowed United's 75th minute winner, scored by Javier Hernandez, despite it looking suspiciously offside. Some Chelsea players and officials are understood to have visited Clattenburg in his dressing room after the match. Chelsea did not name any of the players involved in the claims regarding Clattenburg although would not deny that Mikel was one of them. The claims made by Chelsea come in the wake of Terry being banned for four matches after the FA found him guilty of racially abusing Queen Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. Chelsea found themselves involved in another racism incident this week after a fan was photographed making monkey gestures during the 5-4 League Cup victory over United on Wednesday. "Chelsea Football Club can confirm we are investigating an incident involving a member of the crowd at last night's game against Manchester United," the club said in a statement. — Reuters |
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