This week’s roundup also features baseball behemoth Aaron Judge, an inspired catch from a cricket fan and a furious bodybuilder1) With the Open starting, Rory McIlroy isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders. Let’s look back at some happier times, starting in 2007 when he burst on to the scene with a fine performance as an amateur at that year’s Open. Here he is winning the Silver Medal at Carnoustie. McIlroy had to wait a few years for his first major but managed it at the 2011 US Open. Here is the fresh-faced champion being interviewed on the 18th after breaking his duck. The following year he won the US PGA Championship, and did so again in 2014. In the same...
The organization has been accused of ‘slut-shaming’ over its new rules. More than anything they will be difficult to police and reinforce a stuffy imageWhen I was 15, I was sent home from a golf course because my shorts were too, well, short. I was confused because I had looked long and hard for a pair that fell within the course’s stringent specifications, and I went as far as to make sure that I had an extra inch to spare.Despite following the guidelines, I was told that I could not come back. It was embarrassing, and as someone who felt insecure about my body – like many girls do in their teens – I wondered if something was wrong with...
A Royal Birkdale scorcher saw a teenage Spaniard make a run for glory, a qualifier endure 121 mishaps and the stories amass on the Lancashire RivieraBritain sweltered in record temperatures during the summer of 1976. Office workers cavorted in the fountains of Trafalgar Square. Fire swept across Surrey heathland. Snow machines were deployed to spray melting Cumbrian roads. West Yorkshire police officers were ordered on health grounds not to wear ties between 6am and 10pm. The Automobile Association reported a record number of overheating engines. At the Henley Regatta, gentlemen were permitted to take off their jackets for the first time in 137 years. Even the EEC’s butter mountain began to melt. Metaphorically speaking, that is, with dairy cattle slaughtered...
This week’s roundup also features casual lacrosse goalkeeping, how to deal with a high-speed crash and a threatening umbrella at the Tour de France1) The Open is back at Royal Birkdale for the first time in nine years. Some of the greats of golf have conquered Birkdale, which first hosted it in 1954, including Arnold Palmer in 1961, Lee Trevino in 1971 (the 100th Open), Johnny Miller (with Seve Ballesteros co-starring) in 1976 and Tom Watson in 1983. The last time it was held at the Merseyside course, Padraig Harrington won to retain the Claret Jug; here are 10 of the best from the 2008 Open, featuring Harrington’s stunning five-wood approach to the 17th that sealed his victory ahead of...
Male and female players get equal prize money at tennis majors and the world hasn’t imploded. Doing the same in golf would help the gameEqual pay for equal play. The phrase has been made popular thanks to the US women’s soccer team’s fight for equal pay and treatment with their male counterparts.Those who argue against parity say it’s a matter of simple economics: male sports tend to generate more revenue, therefore men should make more than women. It’s an argument that makes sense in some cases (of course, the pay gap could be mitigated if the media covered women’s sports more generously, but that’s an argument for another day.) Related: Atthaya Thitikul, 14, becomes youngest player to win on Ladies...