Phil Mickelson says LIV Golf  ‘not going away’

Phil Mickelson, 4th from left, speaks during a news conference for the LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club Wednesday in Doral, Florida. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 27 October 2022
Follow

Phil Mickelson says LIV Golf  ‘not going away’

  • Mickelson said the quality of talent in the LIV series was “moving professional golf throughout the world and (creating an) excitement level in the countries around the world”

DORAL, Florida: Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson says the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series is a “force in the game that is not going away” after world No.1 Rory McIlroy expressed fear of an “irreparable” split.

The LIV season concludes at the Trump National club at Doral, near Miami, this weekend with a team championship featuring an eye-watering $50 million purse.

The animosity has left McIlroy worried for the game, but at the media launch for the event, Mickelson said LIV Golf had already defied expectations and was here to stay.

“If I’m just looking at LIV Golf and where we are today to where we were six, seven months ago and people are saying this is dead in the water, and we’re past that, and here we are today, a force in the game that’s not going away,” he said.

Sitting on a platform with British Open winner Cameron Smith, former Masters winner Bubba Watson and English Ryder Cup favorite Ian Poulter, Mickelson said the quality of talent in the LIV series was “moving professional golf throughout the world and (creating an) excitement level in the countries around the world.”

“It’s pretty remarkable how far LIV Golf has come in the last six, seven months. I don’t think anybody can disagree with that,” the American said.

Mickelson declined to respond directly to McIlroy’s comments, saying there would be time after the final LIV event of their debut season to discuss broader issues.

The American was quick to praise McIlroy for his recent success in winning the PGA Tour’s CJ Cup and returning to the world No. 1 ranking spot but said he didn’t want to distract from LIV’s finale.

McIlroy had told the British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday that the polarization of the sport into two rival camps was damaging.

“This ‘us versus them’ thing has gotten way out of control already,” said the Northern Irishman.

The conflict has gone beyond statements from players and is now in the legal sphere with several lawsuits already begun.

“If the two entities keep doubling down in both directions, it’s only going to become irreparable. We are going to have a fractured sport for a long time. That is no good for anyone,” said McIlroy.


New faces lead US women to familiar result: 4-0 win over Ireland

Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

New faces lead US women to familiar result: 4-0 win over Ireland

  • It was such a young lineup that Biyendolo had almost twice as many appearances (81) as the rest of the starting lineup (41), which represented the fewest combined matches of any USWNT lineup in the past 24 years
  • The US will get a much sterner test on Wednesday when they play Canada in Washington, D.C., to complete the three-match window

CINCINNATI: The US women’s national team’s depth was on display Sunday in Cincinnati when the squad’s backups dominated Ireland for a 4-0 victory in a friendly.

US coach Emma Hayes made 11 changes from the lineup that defeated Ireland 4-0 on Thursday and didn’t miss a beat as the Americans won their fourth straight match without allowing a goal. In fact, Ireland did not put a shot on frame.

Izzy Rodriguez, who made her USWNT debut along with Sam Meza, scored in the 42nd minute for a 2-0 lead while Emma Sears played a part in the first three goals. Sears and Rodriguez played together at Ohio State, less than two hours away.

Sandwiching the Rodriguez goal, Lynn Biyendolo opened the scoring in the 11th minute and Yazmeen Ryan extended the lead to 3-0 in the 66th with her first goal. Alyssa Thompson made it 4-0 in the 86th on an assist by Claire Hutton.

The win was the 600th in USWNT history in just 765 matches.

It was such a young lineup that Biyendolo had almost twice as many appearances (81) as the rest of the starting lineup (41), which represented the fewest combined matches of any USWNT lineup in the past 24 years.

It didn’t matter. Sears made a cross to Biyendolo in the middle of the box and she ripped a shot for her 25th goal.

Rodriguez got on the board when Sears took an entry pass from Olivia Moultrie and forced a save by Courtney Brosnan (six saves). The ball came to Rodriguez and she did not hesitate on the rebound.

The role was reversed on the third goal. Sears fed Moultrie and she found an unmarked Ryan.

A minute after Thompson’s goal, hometown favorite Rose Lavelle entered the match to a standing ovation and nearly scored in the ensuing minute.

The US will get a much sterner test on Wednesday when they play Canada in Washington, D.C., to complete the three-match window.


Reed wins four-man playoff to capture first LIV Golf title

Updated 12 min 41 sec ago
Follow

Reed wins four-man playoff to capture first LIV Golf title

  • “The biggest thing with relief is to finally win in my home state,” said Reed, who lives near Houston

WASHINGTON: Patrick Reed birdied the first extra hole to win a four-man playoff on Sunday and capture LIV Golf Dallas for his first victory in 41 starts in the Saudi-backed series.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, led by as many as five strokes early in the final round, squandered his advantage, then won on only the third birdie of the day at the 18th hole at Maridoe Golf Club.
“The biggest thing with relief is to finally win in my home state,” said Reed, who lives near Houston. “To finally get that done meant a lot. To get my first win here as part of LIV means so much to me.”
The 34-year-old American won last November’s Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour for his first title since a 2021 PGA victory at Torrey Pines.
Reed, England’s Paul Casey, South African Louis Oosthuizen and Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma shared the lead after the regulation 54 holes on six-under 282.
Reed opened with a birdie at the first hole, jumped ahead by five after double bogeys by his top rivals, but had five bogeys on the front nine before parring his way through the back nine proved good enough to make a playoff.
“I tried to mess it up,” Reed said. “After making birdie on the first I seemed to leave every putt short. Just kind of putting pretty tentative.”
He missed a birdie putt at 18 in regulation to ensure a playoff.
“Had a good putt there to win on the final hole of regulation, hit a good putt and it doesn’t go in there. Leave it short,” Reed said. “So when I had that down there (to win in the playoff) I thought I left it short too but making a birdie at the last always helps.”
Reed composed himself at the turn after losing the lead to his woeful front side.
“I told myself the putts have to start falling. For the most part I thought I hit the ball fine. I had just a lot of missed putts,” he said.
Kozuma missed a chance for his first victory outside his homeland.
Sharing fifth on 283 were Americans Charles Howell and Harold Varner, England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia qualified for the British Open, taking the spot available to a top-five LIV season player not already in the field for next month’s major showdown at Portrush.
The Crushers, featuring Casey and two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, won the team title.


Kane double fires Bayern into Club World Cup last eight

Updated 30 June 2025
Follow

Kane double fires Bayern into Club World Cup last eight

  • Vincent Kompany’s side will now play European champions Paris Saint-Germain in Atlanta on Saturday for a place in the last four

MIAMI GARDENS, United States: Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich overcame determined resistance from Flamengo to book their place in the Club World Cup quarter-finals with an entertaining 4-2 victory on Sunday.
Vincent Kompany’s side will now play European champions Paris Saint-Germain in Atlanta on Saturday for a place in the last four.
Flamengo, backed by a huge and passionate following at Hard Rock Stadium, bow out of the tournament despite a performance of real determination from Filipe Luis’s team.
It took just six minutes for Bayern to grab the lead when Joshua Kimmich whipped in a corner and Flamengo defender Erick Pulgar’s header flashed into his own net off the far post.
Four minutes later and Bayern had doubled their advantage. Dayot Upamecano won the ball inside Flamengo’s half and fed Harry Kane whose low shot deflected off Leo Ortiz and rattled into the bottom corner.
The German champions looked like they were going to run away with the game but the three-times Copa Libertadores champions were able to find a foothold in the game.
Luiz Araujo forced Manuel Neuer into action with a dangerous snap shot and then the winger went close again with a shot on the turn which flew just wide of the post.
Flamengo were rewarded for their efforts in the 33rd minute when after the dangerous Araujo played the ball in from the left, the ball fell to Gerson who unleashed a thunderbolt which rocketed past Neuer to bring the bulk of the 60,914 crowd to their feet.
But all that good work from the Rio team was undone four minutes before the break when Araujo’s poor clearance landed straight at the feet of Leon Goretzka who had the time and space to settle himself before, from over 20 yards out, placing his shot into the corner to make it 3-1.
Flamengo came out determined to respond once again and they reduced the deficit again in the 55th minute when Michael Olize handled a cross from Giorgian de Arrascaeta at close range.
It was the kind of tough call that has become normal in the modern game and former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho took advantage of the opportunity with an ice-cool conversion.
But for all Flamengo’s energy, they lacked composure and quality at key moments in the final third — something that could never be said about Bayern.
The contest was finally settled in the 73rd minute when Konrad Laimer won the ball in midfield and fed Kimmich who in turn slipped the ball through to Kane who confidently beat Agustin Rossi with one of his trademark precision and power drives.


Mayar Sherif takes a big swing ahead of Wimbledon

Updated 29 June 2025
Follow

Mayar Sherif takes a big swing ahead of Wimbledon

  • Egyptian makes bold racket switch to boost her career

LONDON: Switching rackets can be one of the scariest things a tennis player can do, but it can also be incredibly rewarding.

Egyptian player Mayar Sherif is banking on the latter as she took the bold decision to change her equipment from Wilson to Head in an effort to take another step forward in her tennis career.

At No. 86 in the world, Sherif is the second-highest-ranked Arab in professional tennis right now and is one of just two players from the MENA region competing in singles at Wimbledon this fortnight – alongside Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

Two months ago, Sherif was encouraged by her coach, Justo Gonzalez, to test out a new racket that would help her generate more power with less effort.

The racket she’d been using for the past four years was unforgiving – “physically exhausting” is how Sherif put it – and for a clay-court specialist like her, who frequently plays lengthy, gruelling matches on the red dirt, a change felt like the smart way to go. At 29, Sherif also felt that fiddling with her equipment could help extend her career.

So before the tournament in Parma in May, Sherif decided to give a new racket a try. There was one hitch though: she only had one racket to use for her first round because there was no time to get more from the manufacturer.

“I had one racket, and I knew that the racket lasts two hours, and then I’d break the strings. So I went to my first match knowing that if I get into a third set, I probably would have to switch back to my old racket. So this is the mentality I had with my first match,” Sherif told Arab News on Sunday ahead of her Wimbledon opener against Mirra Andreeva on Tuesday.

“I was getting panic attacks in the first set. I couldn't control my heart rate. I couldn't control everything. I've never felt that anxious on a tennis court. And the first set was going 5-all, 6-5, and I was so scared to lose one set, you know? So I won that match, and I won the second, and the other rackets came, and finally I won the tournament.”

Sherif will be one of just two players from the MENA region competing in singles at Wimbledon this fortnight – alongside Tunisian Ons Jabeur. (Courtesy: Wimbledon/AELTC)

After triumphing in Parma, Sherif took some weight off of the new racket, looking to perfect it, and despite briefly losing faith in it, she ended up winning another tournament with it in Biarritz.

Sherif’s game is naturally-suited to clay, but the Egyptian is hoping she can make the necessary adjustments for the grass at Wimbledon, where she is contesting the main draw for a third consecutive season.

She explained that changing her racket is the first step in changing her identity as a player. All 12 of her titles won at the 100, 125 or 250 level, have come on clay.

The goal is to be able to tailor her game to other surfaces, like hard courts and grass.

“That's the first step, to try to play not only clay-court tennis, to try to hit harder, to try so that the ball doesn't pick up that much spin all the time, so that I get some easy power, so that I don't have to generate everything myself. Because my other racket was a bit physically exhausting,” she explained.

“Also serving. Right now, I'm serving so much better than with my other racket. That's something we worked on as well. I'm still at a moment where the racket is not 100 percent a part of me.

“But I'm getting there, and I'm having better feelings.”

Other adjustments she’s been making include working on her slice returns and incorporating more drop shots to her game.

“Changing with a slice. I usually don't change with backhand slice. But hopefully here, I can get some slices in general,” she added.

“Getting fitter and working on my movement, this is something I've worked on in the last couple of months. And I feel much better on court, lighter. Because here (at Wimbledon), if you're not light, if you're not on your feet, you run one time, and you're not going to get back on court. You're not going to get the next ball.”

Sherif’s experience is limited on grass, the former world No. 31 has played a total of just seven tour-level matches on the surface and has won just two of those encounters. (Courtesty: Wimbledon/AELTC)

Sherif’s experience is limited on grass. The former world No. 31 has played a total of just seven tour-level matches on the surface – through main draws and qualifying – and has won just two of those encounters.

She’s been enjoying her time in south-west London though, where she is renting a house with her team that is a short walking distance from the All England Club.

One of her sisters, her mother, and her two aunts, are all in town to see Sherif play, and the whole family – a tennis-addicted family – has been taking in the immaculate surroundings of SW19.

“Everything here is very special, very beautiful. To play on grass is always something special, it's different,” said Sherif.

“So I’m just very happy to be here another time. To be in the top 100 is always rewarding, to play the Grand Slams. Hopefully here I can make a good result and work on my things. It's a tough opening round, but hopefully I can go through it.”

Sherif’s opponent, Andreeva, is ranked No.7 in the world, and is having a phenomenal season so far, that includes WTA 1000 title runs in Dubai and Indian Wells.

The 18-year-old Russian is also playing her third-ever Wimbledon and is 7-5 overall on grass at the pro level. Andreeva reached the fourth round, as a qualifier, on her tournament debut in 2023.

“It's obviously challenging, because she's been doing really good results. She's been playing really well. She's won a couple of big tournaments,” said Sherif of her first-round opponent.

“But to be honest, I'm looking to play now bigger tournaments, play at the higher level. I want to get myself to play at the edge of the high level. So, I'm looking forward to this match and to learn and keep learning week by week.”


PSG rout Messi’s Inter Miami to reach Club World Cup quarters

Updated 29 June 2025
Follow

PSG rout Messi’s Inter Miami to reach Club World Cup quarters

  • PSG will face Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter-finals in Atlanta on Saturday

ATLANTA: Paris Saint-Germain steamrollered Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-0 to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
Miami hoped the Argentine superstar’s magic could help them produce an unlikely result against his former side, but the Major League Soccer side were dismantled in Atlanta by Luis Enrique’s rampant European champions.
Ageing great Messi and his former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had done well to reach the last 16 but the gulf in quality between the teams was laid bare over the 90 minutes.
Joao Neves netted twice for PSG, who benefitted from a Tomas Aviles own goal, while Achraf Hakimi was also on target.
After Neves opened the scoring early on Miami resisted until PSG hit three goals in 10 minutes toward the end of the first half.
Messi was the main draw, as fans chanted his name and most of the 66,000 crowd were clad in Miami’s hot pink interspersed with Argentina shirts.
PSG dominated from the start, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia floating into the box and teeing up Bradley Barcola, but Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari thwarted him with an outstretched leg.
However shortly afterwards over-run Miami right-back Marcelo Weigandt fouled Desire Doue and it led to PSG’s opener.
Vitinha whipped a free-kick to the back post where Portuguese midfielder Neves ran in completely unmarked, stooping to nod past Ustari after six minutes.
PSG’s Fabian Ruiz had a goal disallowed for offside before Miami defender Noah Allen limped off injured in a further blow for Javier Mascherano’s side.
With the Ligue 1 champions pressing high and keeping possession Miami found it hard to get Messi involved.
The 38-year-old Argentine superstar played a superbly weighted pass down the right flank for Tadeo Allende but a rare Miami break came to nothing.
Messi’s intermittent interventions were not enough to hold back the Parisian tide.
PSG doubled their lead in the 39th minute when veteran holding midfielder Busquets got his footwork wrong in front of his own box.
Spanish compatriot Ruiz rapidly relieved him of the ball and combined with Barcola to set up Neves to tap home his second.
PSG grabbed their third when Aviles deflected Doue’s cross into his own net, and Hakimi netted the fourth before half-time to put PSG out of sight.
The Morocco international’s first effort was deflected onto the crossbar but he stayed alert at the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Stadium to fire home the rebound.
Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi lost his cool with a swipe aimed at Vitinha as the Argentine raged against the midfielder, Miami’s impotence and PSG’s swagger.
Messi produced a brilliant pass for Suarez early in the second half, chipping a ball over the PSG defense, but the Uruguayan could not finish to offer Miami a lifeline.
Despite the impossibility of a comeback — there was to be no comeback like the one Luis Enrique’s Barcelona managed in 2017 against PSG from four goals down in which Messi and Suarez scored — the Argentine was determined to bow out with a bang.
Messi drew a first save from PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma after the hour mark with a low effort.
Luis Enrique sent on winger Ousmane Dembele for his first appearance at the tournament after a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman was rusty and imprecise.
When Suarez was fouled by Lucas Beraldo on the edge of the box Messi had the chance to repeat his free-kick winner against Porto in the group stage, but his effort hit the wall.
It was not to be for Messi or Miami, but their second-half performance was respectable and the defeat was by a lesser margin than the French side’s 5-0 Champions League final thrashing of Inter Milan.
PSG will face Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter-finals in Atlanta on Saturday.