Moore was then booked for a second time for the earlier altercation. “I have never heard of such a decision all the years I have been playing,” the 36-year-old said.In the group’s other qualifier, also played in Hong Kong, Qatar thrashed Malaysia 5-1. The Malaysian squad lacked three senior players – two goalkeepers and a leading striker – after they had been dropped by the coach Allan Harris, the former Chelsea and Queen’s Park Rangers defender, for breaking a curfew at a Kuala Lumpur nightclub last month.EuropeTwo officials from Internazionale and one from Roma were involved yesterday in the latest twist to Europe’s false passports scandal.The Inter officials were their chief executive officer, Rinaldo Ghelfi, and the technical director Gabriele Oriali, who played for Italy in the 1982 World Cup final. The Roma official was their sporting director, Francesco Baldini. All three were named by the Italian football federation in connection with Inter’s Uruguayan forward Alvaro Recoba, who was found last month to have a false Italian passport.In Spain, Badajoz’s Brazilian defender Sandro Marques Santos has had his playing licence suspended by the football federation over doubts about his Portuguese passport..
Not the least irritating aspect of playing with Tiger Woods is having to talk about him afterwards. Some players simply refuse, others gush so much they are beaten before they tee up. Hal Sutton had it about right when he beat Woods at the Players’ Championship last year. “I respect the guy, but I’m not going to lie down and let him trample all over me,” was the gist of what Sutton, a blunt-speaker from Louisiana, declared. Not the least irritating aspect of playing with Tiger Woods is having to talk about him afterwards. Some players simply refuse, others gush so much they are beaten before they tee up.
Hal Sutton had it about right when he beat Woods at the Players’ Championship last year. “I respect the guy, but I’m not going to lie down and let him trample all over me,” was the gist of what Sutton, a blunt-speaker from Louisiana, declared.
Thomas Bjorn is from the same school. Spending 72 holes in the company of the world’s No 1 is mentally tiring enough without having to give a daily address about him. It helps that Bjorn is wonderfully articulate, even in his second language, and fiercely determined.
The 30-year-old Dane needed both assets to beat Woods at the Dubai Desert Classic here.It was not just the fact of the victory that was important but the manner of it. Woods, without a win in six events this year, led by one with two to play and, incredibly, lost. Bjorn birdied the 17th to draw level and then watched in amazement like everyone else as Woods visited trees, rough and water on the way to a double-bogey seven at the last. Bjorn won by two from Woods and Padraig Harrington.Bjorn – who came back from four down after four to halve a Ryder Cup singles against Justinn Leonard in 1997 – along with Harrington and Michael Campbell can be now rated among the European Tour’s best golfers alongside Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie. Sam Torrance will not have a grittier competitor in his Ryder Cup team come September.”Tiger is the best golfer in the world, I enjoy his friendship, I have the utmost respect for the guy and I think he is a fantastic ambassador for the game. He is the greatest sportsman in the entire world but that just makes it a little bit sweeter to beat him,” Bjorn said. “He is so much better than the rest of us, and don’t anybody forget that, but he is going to lose tournaments.
He is very impressive, especially when winning a lot of tournaments like he did last year, but people are beginning to realise that you can’t get intimidated by him. You simply have to go out and beat him.”I know I can play well under the cosh on Sunday and I thrive on being nervous. I went out to win the tournament, shoot as low a score as I could and see if it was good enough. Today it was, but a lot of times a 69 won’t be against this guy. Talk about Tiger being in a slump is so much out of proportion.
