Els backs McIlroy for top spot

Rory McIlroy has been tipped to become the world number one by Ernie Els after his performances at the WGC Accenture Match Play.

The Northern Ireland teenager dispatched South Africa's Tim Clark 4&3 in Arizona to book his place in the quarter-finals, where he will now face Australia's Geoff Ogilvy.

McIlroy, on his professional debut in the United States, has become the focus of attention since Tiger Woods' early exit, and Els believes he can replace the American at the top of the rankings.

"I think that you're probably looking at the next number one in the world with him," said the South African, who plays Stewart Cink in the last eight.

"He's going to be a major factor in world golf.

"He's got all the tools. He's got a lot going for him."

McIlroy is keeping is feet on the ground despite all the talk and says his main goal is to make the top 10.

"I still have got a long way to go," he said.

"And my main goal is to try to get into the top 10 in the world and then if I can do that I'll try and get to number two and then Tiger comes back fit and strong."

Source:
http://www.clubcall.com

Woods happy with knee progress

Tiger Woods says he feels in better shape than he thought he would ahead of the WGC-CA Championships at Doral on Thursday.

The world number one only returned to action from an eight-month lay-off due to knee surgery a fortnight ago when he featured at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. However he is now looking forward to his first strokeplay event in nine months over the course of this weekend.

Woods, who lost to South Africa's Tim Clark in the second round of WGC-Accenture Match Play, will give his surgically reconstructed knee a tougher test in Miami as it is a no cut tournament. And, the 33-year-old will also be aware that Spain's Sergio Garcia could replace him as world number one in the rankings following 144 weeks at the top.

However as he looks forward to getting back out on the course, Woods said: "I thought I'd be a little more sore than I was. Recovery from day-to-day has been great, it couldn't have been more positive.

"It was a big shot of confidence for me to get out there and play again and feel physically sound.

"Physically I feel good, but getting into a strokeplay event where you're not playing an opponent and you're playing the golf course again, I'll have a better idea when the tournament is done."

Woods' absence has seen his lead at the top of the rankings eaten away as he had a lead of 11.328 ranking points over second-placed Phil Mickelson just before undergoing knee surgery. However he now leads current number two Garcia by just 1.59 points ahead of the WGC-CA Championships.

A win for Garcia will mean Woods must finish higher than 27th place to ensure he continues his reign at the top of the world rankings by Sunday evening.

Source:
http://www.clubcall.com

English duo lead in Australia

English duo Ross McGowan and John Bickerton share a two shot over the rest of the field in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.

McGowan and Bickerton both find themselves on 14 under after round three of the tournament in Australia, with McGowan looking good for a first European Tour win after he shot a seven-under-par round of 65.

39-year-old Bickerton then followed up with a fine round of 66 to leave the pair tied at the top with a two-stroke advantage over a quartet which includes France's Raphael Jacquelin and Chile's Felipe Aguilar.

26-year-old McGowan, who previous best finish on the Tour was fifth at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2007, said he was confident going into the final round.

"It's where you want to be. Another good round, and we'll see how it goes," said McGowan.

"I just hit the ball nicely and hit a lot of fairways. Around here if you can do that, the second shots, third shots, aren't too tough."

Source:
http://www.clubcall.com

Stoner ahead in Qatar as Bridgestone accelerates tyre development

During the three day night test at the Losail circuit, ahead of the season’s opening night race on 12 April, Bridgestone not only gathered valuable tyre compound selection data for forthcoming grands prix, but upped its 2010 tyre development programme following the recent FIM regulation changes.

The test offered a chance for the selected soft and medium compound Bridgestone slicks to really prove their capability across a range of different conditions. Despite its desert location, an unusual and heavy downpour on the opening day left areas of the circuit damp and greasy, whilst high winds and a residual layer of sand tested their operating range across an unexpectedly diverse set of circumstances.

Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner dominated proceedings, taking the top spot almost one second ahead of Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo. Competition throughout the rest of the field was far closer, with second to tenth positions being separated by just eight tenths of a second.

Sixteen riders completed the final day of testing. Marco Melandri made the first appearance for Kawasaki this season with the newly-formed Hayate Racing team, whilst Grupo Francisco Hernando’s Sete Gibernau opted to sit out the test to rest a recent shoulder injury and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was sidelined after a crash on day two.

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Race Tyre Development
“The feedback from the riders over the last three days was positive in what were challenging conditions, and our tyres worked well here.

“Track condition was quite dusty and sandy this time, and as a result of the increased abrasion we suffered slight graining with the soft compound tyre at the start of the test, but the medium compound worked well even in these tough conditions. I am happy about this result as it shows that just two specifications can cover such a range of difficult situations which is exactly what we have worked towards.

“The recent FIM regulation changes have affected our development plan so looking now at development for 2010 is very important. We now have to finish 80 per cent of our development for next season during this winter testing period because in-season testing has been significantly reduced.

“As a result, as well as bringing the soft and medium compound tyres from this year’s line-up, we brought some new compounds in development for 2010, where the target is to give the tyres a wider still operating range.

“We have had successful tests both here and in Sepang last month, so we are now in a position to make more precise compound selections for each coming grand prix this season.”

Source:
http://www.bridgestonemotorsport.com

Hiddink: Tension is back

Guus Hiddink: "They (Manchester United) have that game in hand, but it's clear that after Saturday's unexpected result that the tension has come back into the league.

"It's a boost. But if we want to track them, we have to keep on winning. That'll give tension to the end of the season, which is good for everyone. Every now and then you get a defeat you don't expect.

"Let's see how they react in the up-coming days. When you are in the driver's seat and someone else is coming, you can get a little bit nervous. It is a little bit open now."

Mark Hughes: "You have to give the opposition credit for that because they see Robinho as a threat for us and they're going to try and deny him the space to have a positive impact.

"You can't just expect one player to carry the team. We have other players who have to stand up to the plate and be counted. Today wasn't Robinho's day."

Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool

Sir Alex Ferguson: "We have lost a game. We need to respond and that is what we will do. It is a hard one to take because I felt we were the better team.

"That is not reflected in the scoreline and quite rightly, when you win 4-1 you get all the plaudits. I can't deny that."

Rafael Benitez: "We have beaten Real Madrid and Manchester United in the same week. If we can beat them, we can beat anybody. Realistically, we have to win all of our games. But part of winning the war is winning football matches.

"We have more belief and more confidence now. It will be difficult but we can do it."

Arsenal 4-0 Blackburn

Arsene Wenger: "The boys were waiting for a long time to do that. It is up for grabs now. The team is really up for it. We are in good shape to fight on three fronts. I believe that maybe the pressure came off the team after the Roma game.

"We played with more freedom, our football was more fluent and our game is coming back."

Sam Allardyce: "It's what other people haven't done today which is most important for us, because we could have been back in the bottom three had results gone differently. We can't control that obviously but they've gone in our favour and we still have only lost three in 12, so we're on the up.

"If you only lose to the big boys, that's not so bad. What's important is that you don't lose to the other teams who are down there with you."

Everton 3-1 Stoke City

David Moyes: "It was a strange game and we were in a comfortable situation at the break. But we knew that the first goal after that would dictate the way the game went. Stoke started brighter after the break and came out strongly. For 30 minutes they put us under a lot of pressure.

"Maybe there was some complacency in that second half, but we should know it was going to be difficult. Every team we have played who are down at the bottom have made life difficult for us."

Tony Pulis: "We know we are now in the bottom three, but survival is in our own hands. If we can win an away game somewhere, it will take a lot of pressure off everyone. I believe we have to win one away from home minimum.

"We have shown we have spirit. But winning games now is vital, we have four away and five at home left. We must win away, we are pretty decent when it comes to home games, but that will not be enough now, we cannot go through a season without an away win and expect to stay up."

Bolton 1-3 Fulham

Gary Megson: "You can't defend at any level - never mind this one - like that at all. It was not a case of defending badly as a unit, ie: the back four; individually we have made three errors that have cost us and we also made a couple of errors which we got away with.

"Defensively we really poor today. I feel only Gary Cahill has performed anything like what I would expect - he was okay without being brilliant."

Roy Hodgson: "I'm happy with the result and the performance, I thought we played very well. I've been a little bit unhappy with the last two results, although not the last two performances.

"When we conceded a goal in injury time I was rather concerned the players would not be able to pick themselves up and give the same performance in the second half which had given us the lead in the first but luckily they did."

Hull City 1-1 Newcastle United

Phil Brown: "It was a scrappy affair, not a great spectacle in terms of football but there was probably a lot of nervous tension about, from both sides. I think we came out of the traps and approached the game in the right manner and got our noses in front with a great goal.

"But then that lapse of concentration in the first half and we allowed a poor goal from our point of view."

Chris Hughton: "I'm disappointed we didn't get the three points we came for. We gave away a poor defensive goal very early in the game, which rocked us and gave them the confidence they needed.

"But having scored our goal at a good time, I was convinced at half-time that we were in the ascendancy and we'd come out and that would enable us to get the three points."

Sunderland 1-2 Wigan

Ricky Sbragia: "It would have been nice to have got something today, but even when we were sitting reasonably pretty four or five weeks ago, I always thought we were still in there, to be quite honest with you, because teams are capable of beating each other.

"We have got difficult games at West Brom and Portsmouth - they are in that situation as well as us. We need a couple of wins, and a couple of wins quickly. But even when we had that seven-point gap, I always felt we were still in it."

Steve Bruce: "We are delighted because you can't go, a club like ours - or any club, for that matter - six or seven weeks without getting a victory in this division. Even though the old spiel comes out that we have played some big teams over the last few weeks and been a bit unfortunate, you need to win.

"In my opinion, a club like ours always needs 10 wins - we have got there and that's our first call. To come here and the way we have played delighted me, and the two new boys. It can only do them the world of good."

Middlesbrough 1-1 Portsmouth

Gareth Southgate : "It's one of those situations where I am going to get slaughtered whatever I say, so I'm going to say what I believe. Some of the chants (Boro fans sung "we've only got one player" were disrespectful to the rest of the team.

"The crowd are right to laud Tuncay's efforts but we will win and lose as a team. The other lads may not have been as eye-catching but they were making important saves, blocks and interceptions. It's hurtful for a lot of the other players. We will survive as a club and as a town by everyone pulling together."

Paul Hart: "It is very, very disappointing because going into the last minute in front you think you've cracked it. But if you had asked me before if I would have settled for a point I would have said yes.

"We are not shipping goals like we were, and goal difference could turn out to be important in the final reckoning."

Source:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Mickelson and Watney share CA Championship lead

MIAMI (AFP) - Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney traded the lead back and forth before ending the third round locked together at the CA Championship on Saturday.

Mickelson carded a solid three-under-par 69, while Watney shot 67 in a moderate breeze at Doral Resort's Blue Monster.

At 16-under 200, they enjoyed a four-stroke lead over Indian Jeev Milkha Singh (68) and Colombian Camilo Villegas (69), with one round to play in the World Golf Championships event.

World number one Tiger Woods is out of contention, nine strokes behind, but was extremely happy with his ball-striking.

"The course was a little tougher today because the wind was a little stronger and the greens a little firmer, but there were still plenty of birdie holes," said Mickelson.

"I would love to have shot a little lower, but starting the day I would have been happy with 69.

"I feel like I'm playing well and I'd like to finish off with a nice Sunday."

Singh, meanwhile, improved his position thanks largely to eagles at the par-five first and 12th holes.

"I've won on most tours in the world and I would like to win here too," he said. "That would be the icing on the cake."

Source:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Woods: McIlroy can be number one

McIlroy, 19, is this week bidding to become the youngest winner on the USTour. He was 11-under midway through the third round, four shots off the lead at the Doral Resort and Spa.

"The guy's a talent," Woods said of the youngster from Northern Ireland. "We can all see it, the way he hits the golf ball, the way he putts, the way he can chip, get up and down.

"He has the composure. He has all of the components to be the best in the world, there's no doubt.

"It's just a matter of time and experience in big events. That takes time and I mean, he's only 19," Woods said after finishing on 209, seven under.

The 33-year-old American, playing his best golf since returning from an eight-month layoff, birdied the par-five first hole before failing to convert a series of tricky birdie chances.

In all, Woods had seven lip-outs in his round.

After seven straight pars he finished the outward half with a birdie on the par-three ninth.

"I have not controlled the ball that well in a long time and that was fun," said Woods.

"I was hitting shots I had not been able to hit before which was such a great feeling. Unfortunately I am just not making any putts."

The world number one added three more birdies on the inward half, the highlight coming at the par-four 16th when he holed out from a greenside bunker.

That good work was undone on the next hole when Woods found a fairway bunker and his recovery hit the lip of the trap before ending up close to a tree.

An excellent third stroke found the green but two putts cost him a bogey.

Woods had been well off the pace at the start of the day after beginning his first strokeplay event since knee surgery with scores of 71 and 70.

"I am getting better each day, the feel of playing the game at this level is coming back," said the 14-times major winner.

"I had six lipouts the first two days and seven lipouts today for birdie, that's a lot and it is pretty frustrating."

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