Sports Ladder (4th - 10th August)

UP - Rory McIlroy - Not a bad week for the young Northern Irishman as he effectively creates an own era for himself. The returning world number one has always had the talent to be the best golfer in the world but has never strung together a run long enough to claim this title. However, after his third consecutive tournament victory, two of these being majors, McIlroy has set himself aside from the rest of the golfing world and become the very best. We are now well and truly in the McIlroy era.

UP - Arsenal - 'Specialists in failure?' Jose Mourinho will be eating his words this week as Arsenal brushed Manchester City aside to win their second trophy in less than three months. It was a commanding display against the League Champions from a side who have been the laughing stock of the top end of the Premier League for so long.. As cliched as it sounds, that FA Cup victory really may open the floodgates for Arsenal and I see them as genuine title champions this year, not just contenders. Wenger certainly knows what he is doing.


UP - England Cricket - We won again! Two weeks in a row! Actual legitimate victories! This time by a whole innings! Insane! No more words are even needed!

UP - Venus Williams - This week must have felt so very pleasing for the eldest Williams sister. For years she has disappeared, cowering in the shadow of her dominant younger sister. Serena has been the number one ranked player ranked female for well over a year now whilst Venus has toiled with injuries and dropped well down in the rankings. However, this week Venus claimed her first triumph over her sister since 2009 and made the final of the Rogers Cup in the process. Unfortunately she lost but we'll ignore that part.

UP - Howard Webb - Referees get a lot of bad press. Most weeks on Match of the Day they are hounded by Linekar and the gang as well as most of the neutrals for poor errors all over the park. This week though, Manchester United, the Premier League mourned the loss of one of its greatest assets in Howard Webb. The veteran became the first of Louis Van Gaal's summer clear out  referee retired from his 25-year career to spend more time with his family. All jokes aside, Webb will be sorely missed.

DOWN - Mark Robins - Football sackings have become a bit of a joke in recent years. Managers fired before Christmas, given no time at all to implement their ideas and no time to at least try and implement some sort of recovery. Mark Robins decided that getting fired ten games into a season was too mainstream though, opting for the more ridiculous choice of leaving after ONE game of the new season. Huddersfield were spanked 4-0 by a rampant Bournemouth side which left Robins out of a job. My head was buried so deep in my hands at this ridiculous news.

DOWN - Andy Murray - After failing to retain his Wimbledon title it looks like Murray doesn't fancy retaining his Sports Personality of the Year award either. Another quarter-final exit in this weeks Toronto Masters sees the Brit make absolutely no ground on his rivals and continue to languish in a mediocre ninth in the world rankings. Despite the appointment of Amelie Mauresmo as his coach, little has changed for the Brit and it looks to be his worst year for a very long time on the court.

DOWN - Legia Warsaw - Picture the scene. 6-1 up on aggregate in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Absolutely cruising. No way for the opposition to come back. So naturally the thing to do is bring on a player who is potentially ineligible to play with just three minutes to go. Another head-in-hands football moment as Warsaw saw themselves thrown out of the Champions League for this rookie mistake. Never underestimate the importance of paperwork.

DOWN - Bernie Ecclestone - The big, or should I say, little man at the head of Formula One made a bit of a tit of himself this week when he decided that the best way to sort out a bribery trial would simply be to buy his way out with an effectively legal form of bribery. Ecclestone was on trial for bribing a company he favoured to buy a stake in F1 and got out of the trial by paying a 100 million Euro buy-out. If that doesn't scream 'guilty' then I really don't know what does.

DOWN - Tiger Woods - Topping this weeks Sports Ladder was Rory McIlroy and his new era so it seemed only fitting to put his predecessor rock bottom after another week to forget. On a generous Valhalla course, Woods looked barely a shadow of his best, finishing on Friday after failing to make the cut by six shots. Plagued with injuries and still not looking focused after his off-the-course personal problems, the era of the legendary Tiger Woods is well and truly over.

Sports Ladder (15th - 21st July)

UP - Germany - It seems like weeks ago that the World Cup came to an end but alas it was just last weekend that Germany claimed their first trophy as a unified state. They were hardly inspiring from start to finish but when it mattered they came up with the goods, stuffing Brazil in the semis before grinding out a narrow 1-0 victory in the final. It won't go down as a classic final but Goetze and co won't care one little bit.

UP - Rory McIlroy - It's been coming for a while. It may well have taken over a year for the Northern-Irishman to sort himself out, both on and off the course, but his marvelous display on the grass of the Royal Liverpool ensured he cements his position as one of the top golfers in the world. Rory led from day one after some scintillating golf and managed to conquer his phobia of Fridays which has consumed him throughout this year. Onwards and upwards for the new world number two.

UP - Nico Rosberg - The German Grand Prix had it all. Crashes on turn one, Hamilton storming through the field, collisions and overtakes left, right and occasionally centre. Yet the forgotten man from the weekend was the actual winner Nico Rosberg. The German, at his home Grand Prix, drove such a calm, cool and collected race that he barely made it onto our screens on Sunday. Now fourteen points ahead of Hamilton, Nico will be relishing this weekends Hungarian Grand Prix.

UP - Kylie Walker - In all the excitement of this weeks British Open a magnificent golfing record went very quietly under the radar on the Ladies Tour. Scotland's Kylie Walker made history this week with the lowest ever score after 54-holes of a tournament after she shot three consecutive 64s to end 24 under par going into the final round. Amazingly after a final round of 71 she needed a play-off to beat promising youngster Charley Hull but she did eventually prevail to win the German Open. Yes, Germany gets another mention.

UP - Takuya Eizumi - Okay, so if you have actually heard of this Japanese mixed martial arts fighter then award yourself a gold star because I certainly had not. To be honest, his sporting achievement wasn't even that impressive as he simply won a fight. But that isn't why he makes this weeks ladder. Clearly it is the absolutely stunning troll face that he pulls after the victory. I just don't understand how he has contorted his face in that position but would love to see this in other sports. Perhaps Rory should have tried this when he sunk his final putt on Sunday.

DOWN - Blackburn Rovers - So the football season is nearly back upon us (its only been away a week!), and domestic clubs have started to reappear on twitter. This week potentially the worst promotional video appeared from the murky depths of Blackburn depicting superfan Alan Birkbeck and his journey to get the new kit. Entitled 'Birdy's Date' the poor fan is seen dressing up appearing to go for a date before it emerges his only date is with a rather hideous new blue and white kit. Haven't Blackburn embarrassed themselves enough in recent years? To watch the video go to http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2692169/Blackburn-launch-new-home-strip-strangest-kit-advert-time.html.

DOWN - Katarina Johnson-Thompson - Britain's new athletics superstar will be absolutely devastated this week as she learned she could not compete in this years Commonwealth Games. The young heptathlete has leapt out of Jess Ennis-Hill's shadow as she set the best score of the year last month. She was heading into the Games as one of the favourites but a last minute foot injury has left her watching agonizingly from the sideline. Remember her name though. She will be the next big thing.

DOWN - Tiger Woods - There has been a lot of talk recently about who will replace Tiger Woods as the big name at the forefront of golf but Woods was determined to prove that he is not done just yet. Unfortunately he proved absolutely nothing as he barely made the cut at the British Open, eventually finishing 23 shots off Rory McIlroy's winning score. The veteran looked well off the pace and barely cracked a smile all weekend. Plenty of work is needed if he is to win another major.

DOWN - Felipe Massa - The poor Brazilian just cannot catch a break at the moment as, once again, he was wiped out of another Grand Prix before being able to complete a lap. Massa did not help himself by blaming Magnussen as it was a pretty obvious racing collision but nevertheless the Williams driver just seems to have run out of luck. With his team mate, Bottas, winning his third consecutive podium, Felipe will really be hoping to have a good weekend in Hungary. Or at least finish the first lap.

DOWN - Alastair Cook - Dear Alastair. On behalf of the Nation could we please ask you to resign as England cricket captain? Yours sincerely, every Englishman everywhere. That is all.

Sports Ladder (March 31st - April 7th)

UP - Formula One - I was considering putting Lewis Hamilton in the 'UP' section this week but quite frankly Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix was just a brilliant advertisement for the sport of Formula One as a whole. At a time when the sport is in a difficult transitional phase it really excelled this weekend with top quality racing across all sections of the grid. More of the same please Bernie!


UP - Pineau De Re - So it was that time of the year when everyone becomes a gambler, and at 25/1 Pineau De Re would certainly have been a tasty flutter for this year's punters. Pineau came into the race on decent form after a respectable third place finish at the Cheltenham Festival in March and the eleven-year-old upped his game to finish well ahead of the rest of the field in first place.


UP - Manchester United - It shows quite how far the mighty have fallen that they make this week's ladder for simply not getting mauled by Bayern Munich. Nevertheless, Moyes' team have looked a better contingent in recent weeks and a creditable 1-1 draw with the current world champions leaves the Red Devils with every opportunity of progressing to the semi-finals of the Champions League.


UP - Jodie Stimpson - In recent years we have become all-too accustomed to Triathlon success through the trials and tribulations of the Brownlee brothers. But this week a new name ascended to the top of World Triathlon as Jodie Stimpson surged to a comfortable 25 second victory in this year's opening round of the World Triathlon Series in Auckland. One to watch in Rio?


UP - Oxford Rowing Team - I cannot honestly claim to be a fan of the boat race but as it only comes around once a year then I suppose it should receive a mention. Any possibility of a close finish was ruined five or so five minutes in when a clash of oars nearly left one of the Cambridge rowers in the Thames. He recovered but his team did not, as Oxford romped to an eleven length lead.


DOWN - Ivica Olic - Feeling unlucky today? Well I think Ivica Olic may have something to say about that. In this weekend's clash between Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg Olic managed to hit the bar twice within half a second. Yes, twice. As if that wasn't bad enough, Wolfsburg, who were 1-0 up at the time, went on to lose to Dortmund 2-1. Unbelievable.

DOWN - Tiger Woods - This week news broke that the Masters would be short of the Master, as it was announced that Tiger Woods would not be able to take part at the first major of the year after undergoing surgery for a pinched nerve in his back. Woods has won the Masters four times and this will be the first time he will have missed it in 19 years. Looks like the major wait will go on.


DOWN - England Shirts - National thoughts about England's chances in the FIFA World Cup are not overwhelmingly positive. So in these times of crisis, when moral is low, something I would not recommend would be selling the replica England shirts at £90. This just seems like such a disastrous move and prices so many people out of the market. FA-ilure.


DOWN - British Tennis - Whilst Britain reaching the Davis Cup quarter final is certainly no mean feat, the defeat to Italy highlighted how weak the squad is behind Andy Murray. Having to rely on Murray to push us through the doubles, as well as the singles proved to be just too much as the Scot fell in three sets to Fabio Fognini and with him our chances of a tie with Switzerland in the semi-final.


DOWN - Jay Rodriguez - One of the more heartbreaking stories of the week as young Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez suffered an extremely nasty looking knee injury which will rule him out of the World Cup in Brazil. There was of course no guarantee that Rodriguez would have been on the plane but his scintillating form alongside Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert meant it was likely. I wish him a speedy recovery.

Dufner Claims PGA Championship

American Jason Dufner carded a strong fourth round 68 to claim the 95th PGA Championship as well as setting a 72 hole course record around Oak Hill.

Dufner played fantastically off of the tees.

While the men around him failed to get to grips with the tricky Oak Hill Course, Dufner excelled, carding a three under 32 on the front nine. Despite bogeying the final two holes, his consistent driving and wedge play throughout the day meant that Dufner was able to maintain the two shot lead he had going into the last two. The win will mean more for Dufner after he lost a play-off to close friend Keegan Bradley in the same tournament two years previously.

As well as setting a 72 hole course record ten under par, he also scored the 18 hole course record of 63 on friday, an instrumental factor in his victory. Dufner showed great nerve throughout the whole of his final round, wielding the putter well compared to Saturday where he looked unsteady. It was his consistent driving and fantastic wedge play that set him apart from the rest of the front runners and there is no doubt that Dufner earned his win this weekend.

So close but so far for Furyk.

Although Jim Furyk put up a strong fight he was never able to challenge Dufner after the front nine. Furyk had a poor day off of the tee, meaning he wasn't able to truly test Dufner. Eventually, Furyk finished two behind Dufner, shooting a 71 for the day, suggesting that nerves got the better off him after leading overnight.

Blixt enjoyed being in the picture.

Behind Furyk on seven under par was the the in form Henrik Stenson, the Swede still searching for his first major. His form in recent weeks and at Oak Hill has rightly shot him into the top ten in the World. He was followed by fellow Swede Jonas Blixt, one shot further back. The 29 year old showed he can play on the big stage as he ended the tournament fourth.

The big mover on the day was Scott Piercy who shot a 65, the best round of the day, catapulting him up the leaderboard to fifth place and shooting eight birdies on the day. He was joined there by Masters Champion Adam Scott who was unable to string together a strong enough round to really challenge the leaders. Nevertheless, it's another top 10 finish for one of the hottest prospects in golf.

The wait goes on for Woods' 15th.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the pre-tournament favorites, both slipped away as the week went on. Tiger had a fairly consistent week with the main issue being that he was consistently a few shots over par, finishing the tournament four over. Mickelson shot a disastrous 78 on the Saturday leaving him way off the pace at 12 over par.

Rory gets back on track

What of the Brits playing in the Championship? Well it was great to see Rory McIlroy back towards the top of the Leaderboard, after finishing tied 8th. McIlroy showed signs he was overcoming his psychological issues of recent times as he played some solid golf. His Northern Irish compatriot was a further one shot back on two under par along with Scotsman Marc Warren, who recovered from a four over first round to also end on two under par.

Jason Dufner almost cracks a smile as he wins his first major

The highest Englishman was David Lynn on even par, a good achievement to top off a strong year. Paul Casey showed signs he was continuing his comeback from injury with a three over par for the tournament alongside Justin Rose and Lee Westwood. It was a tournament of what-ifs for Rose and Westwood who were both in the mix at some point but struggled for consistency over the four days.

Tiger Roars to Victory at Firestone

Tiger Woods sent a message of intent to his rivals the week before the final major of the year as he surged to a seven shot victory at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

Woods won the title at Firestone for the eighth time in his career, an incredible feat considering the tournament has only been played there fourteen times.

Woods was in control from the first day, carding a four under par 66. Woods played the par fours beautifully, carding six birdies paired with two bogeys. However, it was his Friday score of 61 which gave him an astonishing lead over the rest of the field.

Woods held onto his seven-shot overnight lead.

With an eagle and seven birdies taking him to nine under at the end of the 13th hole, many dared to dream that he could shoot a sub-60 round. He had the opportunities over the last five holes but was sadly only able to par them. Nevertheless, his career-equaling best and course-equaling 61 meant that he had all-but wrapped up the victory by Friday.

This enabled Woods to relax going into the weekend maintaining his seven shot lead through the whole of Saturday with a respectable 68. On the final day Woods played conservatively, shooting an even-par 70 but it was unnecessary for him to take risks with the lead that he had already earned. This meant Woods ended the weekend on an impressive fifteen under par.

Seven shots behind Woods was last years champion Keegan Bradley and in-form Henrik Stenson. Whilst neither were ever close to catching Woods, both will take confidence from their performance heading to Oak Hill on Thursday.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson were a further two shots back with Chris Wood the highest placed Englishman, a further one shot behind on five under par. Rory McIlroy showed signs that he might be returning to some form with a two over par tournament meaning he ended in tied 27th.

However, the limelight belonged entirely to Woods as he rolled back the years to win the 79th Tour victory of his career. He will now be focused on the PGA Championship and homing in on Jack Nichlaus' record of 18 major championships. If Tiger was doubting winning a major the week after winning another tournament he should take solace from the performance of Phil Mickelson a few weeks ago at the Open.

So now we await the start of the PGA Championship on Thursday to see if Tiger can continue his imperious form.