Sports
Golf: Staging Masters In November Motivates Mcllroy
World number one, Rory McIlroy has said that staging the Masters in November may boost his quest to win a career Grand Slam.
The first men’s major of the year was moved from its traditional April slot because of the coronavirus pandemic.
McIlroy, who needs the Masters to complete a collection of major titles, believes having it at the “back end” of the year may aid his preparations.
“It will be a different feel,” McIlroy told Michelle Wie on Instagram.
Speaking to former US Women’s Open champion Wie on the Nike Golf account, the Holywood golfer said: “Two of the majors will have already been played, hopefully the Ryder Cup’s already been played. People will be in their routine and in the flow a little bit more.”
The golfing calendar has been dramatically uprooted by Covid-19 concerns, with The Open Championship postponed to 2021 and the PGA Championship and US Open moving to August and September.
McIlroy, whose best finish at the Masters was fourth in 2015, believes potentially playing two majors and a Ryder Cup will help calm the hype before his next trip to Augusta.
“I always feel there’s this bit of anticipation going into Augusta, the first big event of the year,” he said.
“There’s all this hype. I don’t think it will feel like that this year, it will feel different but it’s something I’m looking forward to.
“It’s going to be a different Masters this year but personally, maybe selfishly, that’s what I need to get the jacket.”
McIlroy was part of the European team that won the Ryder Cup in France in 2018
The four-time major winner is expected to play a key role when Padraig Harrington’s European Ryder Cup team face the United States at Whistling Straits in September.
Now a veteran of five Ryder Cups, McIlroy admits nothing can match the atmosphere at golf’s biennial showpiece.
“You’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for your team-mates, you’re playing for your country, you’re playing for a lot of different people,” he said.
“Pressure at the Ryder Cup is different. I think if you look at people who have performed well in Ryder Cups before they went on to win majors, I think it’s a good precursor.
“I think for us, that the Ryder Cup is the biggest and most intense atmosphere you can play under. If you can handle that, you can handle being in contention at the majors.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that the Premier League leaders must win trophies if they were to be remembered like the “Invincibles” side that last won the title for the Gunners in 2004.
Arsene Wenger’s side romped to the title 22 years ago without losing a single league game.
Arsenal headede into last night’s clash at home to reigning champions Liverpool with a five-point lead at the top of the table after Manchester City and Aston Villa dropped points against Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, respectively on Wednesday.
Arteta’s men, runners-up for the past three seasons, have two more points and four more goals than Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ managed after 20 games.
But the Spaniard said those stats matter little unless Arsenal go on to win the league.
“No, because ‘the Invincibles’ won a lot,” Arteta told his pre-match press conference on whether his side can be considered better than Arsenal’s last title winners.
“They won consistently, and they created a history and a legacy, and we have to do that.”
The lone major piece of silverware won by Arsenal in six years under Arteta remains the 2020 FA Cup
“There are a lot of stats, but in the last two or three years we have managed more points and more goals than ever before. But at the end, we have to translate that to major trophies,” he added.
“Probably doing what we are doing now would have been enough (in 2004), but now it’s not, and we have to make the margins even bigger.”
Arsenal lost 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield back in August in what was billed as an early showdown between title rivals.
The defending champions headed to the Emirates 14 points off the top after a difficult second season for Arne Slot, but Arteta insisted the Reds remain a superb side.
The Gunners were without sidelined defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera but were“monitoring the load” on Kai Havertz as the Germany forward intensified his training while continuing to recover from a long-term leg injury.
Nigeria sharpshooters Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will provide a stern test to the flawless record of Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, a son of French football icon Zinedine Zidane, in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Morocco.
Zidane is the only first-choice goalkeeper amongst the eight quarter-finalists to have kept a clean sheet in all of his tournament matches so far, but the task facing him in Marrakesh tomorrow will not be easy.
Former African player of the year award-winners Osimhen and Lookman have tormented defences during the tournament, scoring three goals each.
Zidane, 27, kept clean sheets in group matches against Sudan and Burkina Faso before being rested against Equatorial Guinea.
He was recalled for a last-16 clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo and once again was unbeaten during a dramatic extra-time victory.
Former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, his Spanish wife and another son have been among the crowds in each match Luca played for the Desert Foxes.
“It is special when your family come to watch,” said Luca Zidane, who began his career with Real Madrid B in 2016 and now plays for Spanish second-tier side Granada.
Born in France, Zidane represented his country of birth at five age-limit levels. Under FIFA rules he could also play for Spain or Algeria, where his grandparents were born.
Zidane chose Algeria, debuting in a 2026 World Cup qualifying victory over Uganda last November and, when an injury ruled first choice Alexis Guendoez out of the AFCON, he was promoted.
“I am proud to represent Algeria and play in the Africa Cup of Nations. It is a great experience,” he told reporters.
“I try to be myself, to build my career on my terms, step by step,” he said.
Algeria have been an AFCON bogey team for Nigeria, winning four and drawing two of nine meetings, including a 5-1 drubbing of the Super Eagles en route to winning the 1990 tournament at home. But the current Super Eagles appear to be in the mood to get this one over the Algerians.
The Desert Foxes have put successive group-stage exits behind them under Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic and substitute Adil Boulbina unleashed a thunderbolt to eliminate DR Congo.
Nigeria are the 12-goal leading scorers in Morocco with Osimhen, Lookman and Akor Adams forming a potent frontline.
But coach Eric Chelle will be concerned that the three-time champions have conceded four, the most among the eight title hopefuls.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has said that the club would sell captain Marc Guehi this month if his asking price is met.
The England defender is out of contract in the summer and Manchester City have emerged as contenders to sign him during the January transfer window.
Palace blocked a proposed £35m move to Liverpool last summer but risk losing the 25-year-old for nothing at the end of the season.
City’s interest in Guehi has progressed following injuries to defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias during Sunday’s draw against Chelsea.
“I’m not naive,” said Glasner, as reported by Tidesports source. “If a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen.”
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are among the European clubs to have shown an interest in signing Guehi on a free transfer, and he can sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club from this month.
“If you’re just valuing sports, everyone in the club will say Marc has to stay,” Glasner added. “The chairman will tell you the same. But it’s not one-dimensional. If you see the financial situation, it’s very important.
“If somebody comes, there will be a moment when the club says ‘now the financial issue is more important than the sports issue’.
“There will be a threshold where the club has to say it will happen, as long as Marc says ‘I want to leave’, because the final decision is always with the player.”
Guehi helped Palace finish 12th last season and win the FA Cup to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history.
The Eagles then won the Community Shield in August, beating Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties, and are 14th in the table and through to the knockout phase play-offs in the Uefa Conference League.
“The chairman rejected many offers in the summer because we want to play a successful season and wanted to win the Community Shield,” Glasner added. “Therefore, Marc is important, and then he rejected the offer.
“The threshold at that time, the money we got offered was not above it. Maybe it was close, but it was not above.”