Saudi-backed LIV Golf signs rising stars Matthew Wolff, Eugenio Chacarra and Carlos Ortiz

23-year-old Matthew Wolff has quickly established himself among the game’s top competitors. (File/AFP)
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Updated 28 June 2022
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Saudi-backed LIV Golf signs rising stars Matthew Wolff, Eugenio Chacarra and Carlos Ortiz

  • All three make their debut in Portland, the tour’s second event

DUBAI: The Saudi-backed LIV Golf company has announced that rising star Matthew Wolff, world number two amateur Eugenio Chacarra and international standout Carlos Ortiz are officially joining the tour and will tee off in Portland.

The field is now set for the LIV Golf Invitational Portland, the new organization’s second event of the season taking place from June 30 to July 2 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon. LIV Golf is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

 

One of golf’s longest hitters off the tee, the 23-year-old Wolff has quickly established himself among the game’s top competitors. An All-American at Oklahoma State University and winner of the 2019 NCAA Division I individual championship, Wolff turned professional in 2019 and secured his first win less than one month later. He has continued to make an impact within golf’s elite, reaching a career-best number 12 in the world in October 2020 and earning seven top-10 finishes, including runner-up at the US Open and fourth at the PGA Championship.

World ranked number two amateur Eugenio Chacarra will make his first appearance as a professional with LIV Golf. The 22-year-old is a two-time All-American at Oklahoma State University, where he was a finalist for both the Ben Hogan Award and the Haskins Award as the NCAA’s top collegiate golfer. The number one amateur from Spain, Chacarra made 14 collegiate starts in 2021-22, winning three times with six additional top-six finishes.

Ortiz, winner of four professional tournaments worldwide, has been a standout since turning professional in 2014. He has spent 80 weeks of his career ranked in the top 100 and reached 44th in the world in February 2021. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico and a collegiate golfer at the University of North Texas, Ortiz represented his country at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

“Our impressive roster of LIV golfers continues to grow with incredible young talent and international stars. Matthew Wolff and Eugenio Chacarra have both made a name for themselves as two of golf’s most promising talents, exhibiting impressive success at an early age. I’m eager to watch them play alongside Carlos Ortiz, one of Mexico’s most consistent pros who along with many of our other golfers represents LIV Golf’s continued commitment to growing the game on a global scale,” said Greg Norman, CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf. “LIV Golf is providing new opportunities for the best players in the world to compete, and our field in Portland reflects that. We can’t wait to kick off our first US event with these incredible golfers.”

The Portland field will showcase nine of the last 21 major winners, four former world number one players and nearly half of its competitors currently ranked in the top 100. The global field represents 12 different countries and a combined 20 major titles, as well as future stars of the game who earned NCAA National Championships, US Amateur Championships and professional tour wins among their accomplishments. Players will compete in golf’s most exciting new format for $25 million and the chance to become the second individual and team champions for LIV Golf.

The LIV Golf Invitational Portland offer opportunities for golfers from around the world including the Asian Tour, DP World Tour, PGA Tour, Sunshine Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and Japan Golf Tour, as well as leading players from The International Series, which launched in Thailand in March, and top finishers from the LIV Golf Invitational Series. LIV Golf will continue to reward players that compete and perform well in its events, with a broad spectrum of exemption categories designed to ensure it delivers new opportunities for international golfers, as well as pathways for amateurs and the next generation of leading players, into elite professional golf.

The 48-man field in Portland will play across 12 teams of four players each. Teams for Portland will be announced on Tuesday, June 28.

The LIV Golf Invitational Series launched June 9 to a worldwide audience showcasing its new, innovative format with more action, shotgun starts and no cut.


Saudi women’s U20 national team ready for West Asian Football Federation Championship in Jordan

Updated 40 min 19 sec ago
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Saudi women’s U20 national team ready for West Asian Football Federation Championship in Jordan

  • Team led by head coach Pauline Hamill will face Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
  • Event is part of team’s preparation for the 2026 AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers

RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian under-20 women’s national team makes its competitive tournament debut against Palestine on Thursday night at the West Asian Football Federation U20 Women’s Championship in Jordan.

The championship will feature women’s national U20 sides from Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Head coach Pauline Hamill’s side will play their opening match in Aqaba, before facing the remaining sides to determine the winners of the tournament.

After a camp in Jeddah in October, the upcoming tournament concludes the U20 side’s first year since the formation of the team as part of the Women’s National Team program in December 2023.

As the first competitive tournament appearance for Hamill’s squad, the U20 WAFF Women’s Championship will provide a platform to prepare for the upcoming qualification matches for the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup in 2026.

Aalia Al Rasheed, head of women’s football at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, said: “We believe in the abilities of our players, and this tournament is an opportunity to build competitive experience for the players and develop their football capabilities.

“It’s incredible to look at the growth of this team since the formation of the squad in December 2023, we look forward to seeing our under-20 side performing in their tournament debut and representing our nation with honor in a fitting conclusion to their first year.”

The latest tournament for the Saudi Women’s National Team programme highlights the rapid growth of women’s football in the Kingdom since the official introduction of the national team in 2021 and the first professional football league in 2022, with more than 70,000 girls also participating in the national schools’ league.


Valtteri Bottas nears a return to Mercedes as F1 reserve after Mick Schumacher leaves

Updated 40 min ago
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Valtteri Bottas nears a return to Mercedes as F1 reserve after Mick Schumacher leaves

  • “We’re talking and it’s going well. Still a bit of work to do but we’re talking,” Bottas said ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix
  • Bottas won 10 Formula 1 races over five seasons at Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate from 2017-21 but hasn’t scored a point this season with Sauber

LUSAIL, Qatar: Valtteri Bottas says he is nearing an agreement to return to Mercedes as its reserve driver for next year after Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, announced he was leaving.
“We’re talking and it’s going well. Still a bit of work to do but we’re talking,” Bottas said ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Bottas won 10 Formula 1 races over five seasons at Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate from 2017-21 but hasn’t scored a point this season with Sauber.
Bottas added he still needs to “finalize some things” on a possible return but feels he could be a mentor to 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will partner George Russell at Mercedes next year. Antonelli is stepping up from Formula 2 to replace Hamilton when the British driver heads to Ferrari for 2025.
“If I end up there, I think I would have a lot to give for a rookie driver who has not raced in Formula 1 yet,” Bottas said. “That would be, for sure, one part of my role, to give my input and try to share my knowledge as much as I can.”
Bottas is without a seat for 2025 after Sauber replaced him and Zhou Guanyu with a new lineup of the experienced Nico Hulkenberg and Brazilian newcomer Gabriel Bortoleto, ahead of rebranding as the Audi works team in 2026.
The new Cadillac team backed by General Motors is also on Bottas’ radar before it joins the series in 2026 as the 11th team on the grid.
“It’s interesting to me, and I think it’s great for F1. It’s a great brand and GM is a big backer behind, so for sure, it’s an interesting project,” Bottas said. He indicated he would seek to speak with Cadillac about possible opportunities.
Schumacher is moving on from his Mercedes reserve driver role after two years as he seeks a full-time racing role elsewhere.
It’s “tough” to watch F1 cars race without being able to take part, he said in a Mercedes statement.
“I want to get back to focusing 100 percent on racing. I want to be fully committed to the sporting side of motorsport. Ultimately, it is racing that you want to do as a driver, it is racing that gives you that feeling you love,” he added.
Schumacher raced in F1 with Haas in 2021 and 2022 and has been competing this year with Alpine in the world endurance championship alongside his Mercedes duties.


‘Europe’s best’ Liverpool aim to pile pain on Man City

Updated 28 November 2024
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‘Europe’s best’ Liverpool aim to pile pain on Man City

  • Jude Bellingham said Real Madrid were beaten by “the best-performing team in Europe

LIVERPOOL: Jude Bellingham said Real Madrid were beaten by “the best-performing team in Europe” as Liverpool’s dismantling of the Spanish giants set a new bar in Arne Slot’s stunning start at Anfield.
Beleaguered Manchester City are next to run the gauntlet against the rampant Reds on Sunday as Liverpool sense the opportunity to land a knockout blow to Pep Guardiola’s men in the Premier League title race.
Slot has won 17 and drawn one of his 19 matches in all competitions since replacing a legendary figure in Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool enjoy a commanding eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League and have one foot in the last 16 of the Champions League as the only side in the competition with a perfect record from five games.
Overcoming the might of Madrid was the sweetest one so far as Slott did what Klopp could not do during his glorious reign in leaving the kings of the Champions League with a bloodied nose.
Liverpool had not won in the previous eight meetings between the clubs, including defeats in the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals.
“You know how special it is to play against a club that won this Champions League so many times, are the reigning champions and were a pain in the ass for Liverpool many times as well,” said Slot.
“We are happy where we are but we are not getting carried away by only winning in a group-stage game. This club wants more than only winning group-stage games.”
Slot described the visits of Madrid and City within the space of five days as an “incredible week.”
Halfway through they remain unscathed and are big favorites to take a huge step toward just a second league title in 35 years on Sunday.
Even at their strongest under Guardiola, City have not won in front of an Anfield crowd since 2003.
This version of the English champions is winless in six games and suffering from an existential crisis of confidence.
City blew a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord on Tuesday on the back of Guardiola’s first ever five-game losing streak as a coach.

Liverpool have often been the victim of City’s relentless consistency in the Guardiola era.
Twice Klopp’s sides finished second by the finest of margins despite amassing 97 points in 2018/19 and 92 three years later.
Now they have the chance to open up an 11-point lead that even Guardiola has conceded would be too much for his side to bridge.
“Man City is Man City. They have a bad time now but they have great players,” said Liverpool’s top goalscorer Mohamed Salah.
“We have a game against them so hopefully, we win it and go 11 points clear.”
In stark contrast to Manchester United’s struggles after the departure of Alex Ferguson, Liverpool have thrived despite the loss of a much-loved and charismatic leader in Klopp.
The German explained that part of his reasoning for stepping down when he did was that he was leaving the club in a good place.
Liverpool were on course for a quadruple deep into last season before faltering in the final months of the campaign as injuries and fatigue took hold.
But Klopp had helped rebuild a team in his final year that Slot is now bearing the fruits of.
Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored the goals against Madrid, neither of which were part of Klopp’s major glories in winning the Champions League and Premier League in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Slot also credited the club’s academy for adding depth to his squad after Caoimhin Kelleher and Conor Bradley shone against Madrid to mitigate the loss of Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold to injury.
“We know that players that come in are really important to finish the games and if you want to win trophies, you need them,” said Mac Allister.
“Of course, you don’t want to be on the bench but we know that every guy here, when he comes in, does his best for the team.”
All three sides that have ever enjoyed an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League after 12 games went on to win the title.
On current form, Liverpool are an unstoppable force that an under-par City look incapable of handling.


Snyman leads International Series Qatar after first-round seven-under-par 65

Updated 28 November 2024
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Snyman leads International Series Qatar after first-round seven-under-par 65

  • Advice from South African great David Frost helps Snyman flourish

DOHA: South African Ian Snyman says spending two days in the company of one of his country’s finest golfers, David Frost, played a big part in his fine run of form recently — a run that includes taking the lead on the opening day of the $2.5 million International Series Qatar on Wednesday.

Snyman carded a confident seven-under-par 65 at Doha Golf Club to lead the way from compatriot Louis Oosthuizen, Spaniard David Puig and Zach Bauchou from the United States, who carded 66s.

Two other Spaniards, Luis Masaveu and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, fired 67s, as did Sadom Kaewkanjana from Thailand and Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura, in the penultimate event of the season for the Asian Tour and The International Series.

After today’s opening salvo, consisting of an eagle, seven birdies, and one double, Snyman is on course to make his 12th successive cut on the Asian Tour, as well as put himself in position to claim his first title on the circuit.

“My coach, Paul McKenzie, and I have been working on a few things and I also got some advice from David Frost. He is a former Asian Tour winner having won in Hong Kong,” Snyman said of Frost — winner of the Hong Kong Open in 1994 and 29 titles around the world.

“About five months ago we spent two days with David. We were trying to find some consistency, that was my main concern. Looks like we are getting there. Just need to get some low ones like we did today, which is exciting.

“The big thing we worked on with David was the takeaway. I always take the club back outside and get laid off at the top. He kind of helped me feel a way to get it straighter.

“Another big thing was not to be so rigid. I would be very stickman-like golf, my left arm would be very stiff and strong but he kind of got me to relax a bit more, you can actually bend that left arm.”

He was cruising at eight under with two to play but made double on the par- three 17th.

He duffed his chip and three putted but bounced back on the par-five 18th hitting his third to two feet.

Puig is making his first appearance on the Asian Tour since April — in that time he has played in the LIV Golf League, three majors and the Olympics, where he played alongside Jon Rahm.

“Pretty solid, especially after a month off tournaments. Super, super proud of how I fought,” said Puig, winner of the season-opening Malaysian Open and runner-up in the International Series Macau presented by Wynn, where American John Catlin beat him in a play-off.

“Didn’t hit it that good but somehow managed to post a pretty good score. Hit a lot of greens in regulation, which is something I have been working on.”

His compatriot Masaveu, 21, was even happier because the day marked his debut as a professional in a Tour event.

“First tournament as a professional, so very happy,” said the Spaniard, who birdied the last three holes and has his dad, Rafa, caddying for him.

“To be honest, I didn’t really think about this being my first event as a pro. The good thing is my coach Gonzalo (Fernandez-Castano) is also playing. We did a good plan. I just tried to stay focused on my emotions.”

Masaveu finished third in this year’s US Amateur, having been beaten by compatriot and eventual winner Jose Luis Ballester 3&2 in the semis, and could be one to watch this week.

The International Series Rankings, which will reward the champion with a place in next year’s LIV Golf League, will go down to the wire at next week’s $5 million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Thailand’s Ratchanon Chantananuwat, the amateur star currently in his freshman year at Stanford University, returned a 71 in his first appearance on the Asian Tour since April.

International Series Qatar takes place at Doha Golf Club from Nov. 27-30. For tickets and further information, visit www.internationalseries.com.


Pakistan wins the toss and elects to bat in third and final ODI against Zimbabwe

Updated 28 November 2024
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Pakistan wins the toss and elects to bat in third and final ODI against Zimbabwe

  • Pakistan recovered from a first-match loss with a 10-wicket win in the second ODI
  • ODI series will be followed by three Twenty20 matches at Bulawayo from Sunday

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe: Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in the third and final one-day international against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

Pakistan bounced back from a shocking loss in the rain-affected first match with a 10-wicket win in the second game after a maiden ODI century from Saim Ayub.

The tourists retained the same winning combination with Faisal Akram, Abrar Ahmed, and Salman Ali Agha the three spin options.

Ahmed and Salman sliced through the Zimbabwe batting lineup in the second match by sharing seven wickets between them with leg-spinner Abrar getting 4-33 in his debut ODI.

Zimbabwe brought in wicketkeeper-batter Clive Madande and fast bowling all-rounder Faraz Akram for their first game of the series in place of Brandon Mavuta and Trevor Gwandu.

The ODI series will be followed by a three-match Twenty20 series starting at Bulawayo from Sunday.