Golf: The Masters at Augusta National - Day Four Report

Adam Scott battled through a two-hole play-off with Argentine Angel Cabrera to claim Australia’s first ever Masters victory.

Scott thinks he's won in regulation.
Photo: Sam Greenwood/AN

It looked as though Scott had won during the regulation seventy-two holes after a magnificent putt at the 18^th took him one shot clear. However, Cabrera responded with a simply outstanding second shot setting him up for an easy birdie, and forcing the play-off.

Over the first hole the players matched each other blow for blow, playing almost identical shots. Cabrera almost claimed the victory when his chip shot trickled agonisingly past the hole, but both players left with a par.

On the par four 10^th, both players made it to the green in two, with Cabrera’s put once again missing the hole by mere centimetres. This opened the door for Scott, who was able to hole a brilliant putt, confirming him as the winner of the 77^th Masters.

Cabrera teeing off at the 4th.
Photo: Chris Trotman/AN

Victory for Scott made him the first ever Australian winner of the Master and also sealed Australia’s place in the elite group of four countries to have had a winner at every Major tournament; along with the USA, South Africa and England. It was also a landmark moment for Scott, as it was his first Major Championship after two second place positions; his famous collapse on the back nine of last year’s Open Championship and a tied second with Jason Day at the 2011 Masters. 

Similar to the 2011 Masters, Jason Day once again came agonisingly close with a third place seven under for the week, two shots behind Scott and Cabrera. An up-and-down day saw him leading three holes to play, but two bogeys on the last three holes for the second day running left him out of contention once again. Fellow Australian, and surprise package, Marc Leishman carded a 72 for the day, leaving him join fourth position after a solid week.

Jason Day ponders what could have been.
Photo: Sam Greenwood/AN

Leishman was joint with four times Masters champion Tiger Woods, whose two shot penalty severely hampered his chances, leaving him four shots away from the leaders.

The overnight leader Brandt Snedeker failed to cope with the pressure, dropping four shots to four under. He was joined there by Thorbjorn Olesen, who hit a four under for the day, putting him alongside Snedeker, who was eight shots clear of him after Saturday night.

It was another day of ‘what if’, for Lee Westwood as he missed a number of birdie chances to possibly throw himself into contention, finishing on a solid three under par for the tournament. He was joined there by Thursday’s overnight leader Sergio Garcia, who propelled himself into the top 10 with a solid two under for the day.

It looked for a short while as though veteran Bernhard Langer was going to make a late push for the green jacket, after hitting birdies in the first three holes, moving him to five under par. However, a few misplaces shots left him well out of the running at two over par for the week. Joining him was world number two Rory McIlroy, after an improved final day propelling him back up the leader board with a round of 69.

One of the most memorable features of this year’s Masters was the campaign of 14-year-old Tianlang Guan, who finished twelve over par for the entire week, an outstanding achievement for a boy of his age.

Scott celebrates in-front of the Augusta faithful in the Green Jacket.
Photo: Scott K. Brown/AN

However, it will be Scott who remembers this Masters most fondly as he now looks forward in his career. After coming close twice before, he will be delighted to have finally won a major and will be eagerly anticipating mid-June, when he takes part in the US Open, the next Major on the calendar.

Football: Premier League - Newcastle vs Sunderland Match Report

Sunderland earned a magnificent 3-0 win in today’s Tyneside Derby, boosting their chances of retaining their Premier League status.

It was an enthralling match from start to finish, with three magnificent goals from Stephane Sessegnon, Adam Johnson and David Vaughan helping Sunderland pick up their first victory in ten matches, and the first of the Paolo Di Canio era.

Sunderland looked strong from the start, pushing higher up the pitch than we have seen throughout much of the season and an early penalty shout for Danny Graham set the tone for the day.

Sessegnon scored the first of the three goals on 26 minutes when McClean latched on to a loose Jonas pass, releasing Sessegnon who buried his shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner.

Newcastle upped the pressure after the goal, with Mignolet making a couple of fantastic saves from the on-form Papiss Cisse. Right on the stroke of half time Mignolet made another  save from Jonas with the resulting corner being cleared off the line.

A coming together between Steven Taylor and Mignolet resulted in an angry scuffle between the two teams with Taylor picking up a yellow card for his troubles.

After the break Newcastle lacked the intensity they had following the first half goal and things went from bad to worse when Tim Krul had to leave the field following a heavy fall on his elbow, being replaced by Rob Elliot.

Newcastle have a right to feel aggrieved about a disallowed goal scored by Cisse for supposedly being in an offside position, when in reality, the linesman got the decision wrong. At the other end of the pitch, Newcastle were lucky to escape a penalty after Yanga-Mbiwa accidently handled the ball in his own area.

As the half progressed Newcastle began to build up a head of steam, with Cisse having yet another shot saved by Mignolet. But it was Sunderland who struck again, a fantastic Adam Johnson strike buried past substitute keeper Elliot.

Di Canio celebrates his first victory.
Source: ESPN.co.uk

The second goal completely deflated Newcastle and Sunderland finished the job off with a brilliantly struck left footed shot by David Vaugha

n.

The win today moves Sunderland three points clear of the drop, although with Wigan’s two games in hand they are still deep into the relegation battle. However, if Di Canio can continue to get his team to play as they did today, it seems highly unlikely that they will be playing in the Championship next season.

Newcastle are also still heavily involved in the relegation battle, with their Europa League campaign looking to have taken its toll, they will have to step it up if they want to steer clear of the relegation zone, as they are currently only two points above Sunderland, with five games yet to play.

Golf: 2013 Masters at Augusta National - Day Three Report

American Brandt Snedeker and Argetinian Angel Cabrera top the leaderboard on 7 under after a tough day in the Georgian sunshine as we head into the final day of the 77^th Masters.

Cabrera celebrates with his caddy.
Photo: Hunter Martin/AN

Snedeker and Cabrera both shot solid 69s on the day to move ahead of overnight leader Jason Day. Day had not dropped a single shot over the first sixteen holes, picking up a birdie on the way, however nerves began to show as he bogeyed  the last two holes, leaving him 5 under for the tournament.

Snedeker acknowledges the crowd.
Photo: Matt Slocum/AP

Adam Scott is one shot behind the leaders after also shooting a 69 and, along with Day and Marc Leishman (5 under for the week), is aiming to become the first Australian to win the Masters since Geoff Ogilvy in 2006. Matt Kuchar is the lone man behind the two Australians, also scoring 69 for the day leaving him 4 under.

Tiger Woods had one of the more controversial days of his Masters career, dancing with potential disqualification before being handed a 2 shot penalty for an incident on day two. The penalty was given for an incorrect scorecard after failing to acknowledge an unknown penalty for an illegal drop on the 15^th hole, after an excellent chip rebounded off the flag and rolled into the water. However, Woods regained these two shots on the course, carding a 70 for the day leaving him at 3 under.

Joining him at 3 under was the standout player of the day, Tim Clark who hit five birdies in six holes on the front nine to card a 67 for the day taking him into the red and throwing him into contention as we head into Sunday.

Tim Clark tees off in the sunshine.
Photo: Hunter Martin/AN

A whole host of dangerous players are lurking at 2 under par with the potential to mou

nt a challenge for the green jacket today; Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Englishman Lee Westwood, and a fantastic even round from 55 year old Bernhard Langer.

Speaking of golfing veterans, it was a disappointing day for challenger Fred Couples, who was fairly steady for the first sixteen holes before triple-bogeying the seventeenth after getting caught in the trees to the left of the fairway. This left Couples even for the tournament and five over for the day.

With the exception of Lee Westwood the British challenge faded largely, with World number 2 Rory McIlroy carding a 42 on the back nine, leaving him 5 over and well out of contention. Debutant David Lynn went one worse, carding an 80 on the day to join McIlroy. Luke Donald and Justin Rose both went 3 over for the day to push both largely out of the running, although this is the Masters, anything is possible as we move into the fourth and final day of the 77^th Masters tournament.

Golf: 2013 Masters at Augusta National - Day One Round-Up

An enthralling opening day at Augusta National has left the 77^th Masters wide open as few of the pre-tournament favourites write themselves out of contention.

Leishman gets out of trouble.
Source: www.masters.com

The overnight lead of 6 under par is shared by Spaniard Sergio Garcia and, perhaps more surprisingly, Austrialian Marc Leishman. It was a welcome sight to see Garcia card a 66 and his best round since 2002, especially considering his comments at last year’s Masters, believing himself to not be good enough to ever win a major.

Garcia plays out of the pine.
Source: www.masters.com

Dustin Johnson sits alone on a 5 under par whilst a whole host of players including youngster, Rickie Fowler, debutant David Lynn and veteran Fred Couples sit one shot behind Johnson.

Matt Kuchar, who tied for third at last year’s Masters also had a solid round of 4 under along with previous winner, Trevor Immelman but it is the players sitting behind who will be the ones to watch during tomorrow’s second day.

Pre-Tournament favourite Tiger Woods carded a solid 70, leaving him 2 under par along with British hopefuls, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose, with Luke Donald one further back at 1 under. However, also a 1 or 2 under is, Brandt Snedeker, K. J. Choi, Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els, Bernard Langer and Phil Mickelson all with the possibility of launching an attack as we head towards the weekend.

World number 2 Rory McIlroy had a strong front nine, carding a 34, but his putting let him down across the back nine leaving him even for the day, but certainly not out of the running.

However, it was a more difficult day for Ian Poulter, Paul Lawrie and Hunter Mahan who all carded 76 leaving themselves ten shots off the lead with plenty to do on Friday; even worse for Harrington at 6 over par.

A special mention must go to Welsh debutant Jamie Donaldson who scored the only hole-in-one of the day on the par-3 6^th hole, ending the day on a respectable 2 over par.

14-year-old Guam in action.
Source: www.masters.com

The outstanding performance of the day falls to the 14 year old Chinese prodigy, Tianlang Guan, the youngest ever competitor at the Masters by over two years who carded an outstanding one over par which included four birdies, leaving himself with a very realistic chance of creating more history by becoming the youngest ever player to make the cut at the Masters, surpassing the record currently held by Italian, Matteo Manassero.

With a heavy storm due overnight tonight, it will be interesting to see whether conditions will be different from the pleasant weather today, and who this will benefit as we head into the second day of the 2013 Masters second day.

Europa League: Basel vs Tottenham Match Report

Tottenham bowed out of the Europa League on penalties 4-1 in an absorbing contest against Basel.

Played in heavy rain the match finished 2-2 with a brace from Clint Dempsey either side of goals from Mohamed Salah and Aleksandar Dragovic followed by a goalless extra-time.

It was a nervy opening 20 minutes with Basel playing deep and Tottenham rarely threatening to carve them open. However, on the 23^rd minute a threaded through ball from Jan Vertonghen was not dealt with by Dragovic allowing Dempsey to skip past the Basel keeper and roll the ball into the empty net.

However, Spurs were not in front for long as an intercepted Dembele pass released Salah who toe-poked the ball past Brad Freidel at the near post.

Tottenham lost their composure following the equaliser, misplacing passes and struggling to hold onto possession, with Dembele having a particularly poor game. Yet, it was Dembele who tested Sommer next, with a left-foot shot well saved by the Basel keeper.

Shortly after the break Basel struck to take a well-earned lead with the defender Dragovic making up for his earlier error. Friedel made a poor save from a Fabian Schar header , parrying the ball into the path of Dragovic who tapped in from 3 yards.

Tottenham struggled to respond with Basel having a number more chances including a Dragovic header which flew agonisingly wide, before Dawson had a header well saved by Sommer.

Photograph: Walter Bieri/EPA

It was just after the 80 minute mark when Dempsey struck again, controlling a Huddlestone pass on his chest before poking the ball towards Sonner who, despite getting a hand to it, had to watch as the ball trickled over the line.

A major turning point came in the 89^th minute with the indisputable red card for Jan Vertonghen who, as the last man, brought down Streller.

Tottenham spent most of extra-time boxed into their own half, with Huddlestone playing as a make-shift centre-back, as El-Nenny’s long-range shot rattled the outside of the post and both Dawson and Carroll making fantastic last ditch interceptions.

Penalties were needed to decide this tie and the mood was set when Huddlestone’s penalty was well saved by Sommer after Schar had buried his past Friedel. Streller, Sigurdsson and Fabien Frei all converted their penalties before Adebayor blazer his over the bar.

This left Marco Diaz needing to score to win and he easily buried his penalty in the roof of the net, sending Basel through to meet either Chelsea, Benfica or Feherbache in the semi-final.

Tottenham, on the other hand, will turn their attentions back to the Premier League, where they are in the midst of the battle for 4^th with Chelsea and Arsenal.