Latest news with #AsianTour
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Stars returning to PGA Tour and broken promise - Three years of LIV Golf summed up
LIV Golf held its maiden event at the Centurion Club three years ago, and despite drawing in a number of high-profile players, the breakaway league still faces substantial challenges LIV Golf is celebrating its third anniversary, having made a significant splash in the world of golf when it launched in 2022. The breakaway banner's inaugural tournament took place at the Centurion Club, and after Talor Gooch's victory at Valderrama in Andalusia, the contentious series is back for LIV Golf UK at the JCB Golf and Country Club this weekend. In its brief existence, the league has experienced both triumphs and trials, including robust financial support, a divisive format, struggles to gain mainstream recognition, and crucial ranking points. While LIV Golf has undoubtedly shaken up the golfing world, it faces important challenges in the near future. An unfulfilled promise LIV Golf has yet to secure world ranking points from the Official World Golf Rankings despite being three years on from its first tournament. It submitted an application in July 2022 but was informed in October 2023 that its request had been rejected due to insufficient player pathways to the league. There are no weekly qualifiers in LIV Golf, nor is there a regular rotation of players. At the conclusion of the 2024 season, LIV Golf only promoted one player through its Promotions Event, and no one qualified via the Asian Tour's International Series. In March 2024, LIV Golf announced it was withdrawing its OWGR bid. The absence of ranking points is a significant setback for LIV Golf players, preventing them from qualifying for major tournaments or the Ryder Cup. Eugenio Chacarra openly criticised the series, claiming he was misled about receiving Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points upon signing. Speaking to FlushingItGolf, Chacarra said: "When I joined LIV, they promised OWGR and majors. But it didn't happen. I trusted them. I was the first young guy, then the others came after I made the decision. "But OWGR and majors still hasn't happened. I saw you last year when they pulled the bid. It's frustrating, but I'm excited for the new opportunity to see where my game takes me." Returning to the PGA Tour After an initial exodus of stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka to LIV Golf, the trend of players switching allegiance has slowed. Some players have already made their way back to the PGA Tour, and there's speculation that the original high-profile signings might follow suit. Golf legend Fred Couples suggested that Koepka is keen on returning to the PGA Tour, while the five-time major winner himself has not ruled out a comeback, which would be a significant loss for LIV Golf. Koepka said: "Like I've said before, I'm not in those rooms," referring to his ongoing negotiations, adding: "I've got a contract obligation out here to fulfill, and then we'll see what happens. I don't know where I'm going, so I don't know how everybody else does. "Right now I'm just focused on how do I play better, how do I play better in the majors, how does this team win, and then we'll figure out next year and how to play better again. It's the same thing. It's just a revolving cycle. I've got nothing. Everybody else seems to know more than I do." Major struggles Koepka clinched the 2023 PGA Championship and DeChambeau triumphed at a thrilling 2024 US Open, yet they are the sole LIV Golf icons to have secured a major after making the move despite the league boasting some of the globe's top golfers. Jon Rahm and Cam Smith haven't expanded their major collection since joining, while Phil Mickelson has also found majors challenging. Paul McGinley highlighted the drawbacks for LIV Golf players against their PGA Tour counterparts regarding majors, explaining to the Golf Channel: "Coming back with all the jet leg is not that easy - it's a whole lot easier staying in one country then playing the Major in that same country. "Going to LIV, yes there's a lot of upside and they got a lot of money to do so, but because it's a start-up and they have to travel around the world it gives a lot of disadvantages when it comes to these Major championships. Bar Brooks and Bryson, the rest have not turned up seriously since they've gone to LIV in these Major championships."
See - Sada Elbalad
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Rashford to Make Barcelona Debut during Asia Tour
Rana Atef On Saturday, Barcelona confirmed that their first-team squad trip to Japan to begin their 2025 Asian Tour, after the resolution of contractual issues that had forced the club to suspend the opening fixture. Barcelona's match against Vissel Kobe on 27 July will take place as originally planned. The squad will head to South Korea, where they are scheduled to face FC Seoul on 31 July and Daegu FC on 4 August. So, it is expected that Marcus Rashford will make his Barcelona debut during the tour as the forward has been seen training with the squad. A lot of fans are excited to see the English international with the Barcelona jersey. The presence of a new debut adds another level of anticipation to the Asian tour of the Catalonian club. read more Japan Stun Spain 2-1 to Qualify for World Cup Last 16 World Cup 2022: Get to Know Confirmed Line-ups of Japan and Spain Group E Decider Saudi Arabia Bid Farewell to World Cup after 2-1 Loss to Mexico Tunisia Achieve Historic Win over France but Fail to Qualify Tunisia to Clash against France in World Cup Sports Get to Know Squad of Group D Teams in World Cup Sports Al Ahly Gift EGP 70,000 to Players After Claiming Egyptian Super Cup Title Sports Bencharki Hits First 2 Goals with Al Jazira Since Leaving Zamalek Sports Arsenal Possible Line-up for Nottingham Forest News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" Arts & Culture Hawass Foundation Launches 1st Course to Teach Ancient Egyptian Language
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
PGTI set to launch its own league to take on rebel IGPL
New Delhi: Indian golf has struggled to find new champions at the international stage for some years now. Now, there is some upheaval in the domestic set-up as well. Days after the launch of a rival Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) Tour and league, the official Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), which has downplayed the move, announced its scheduled for the rest of the season and a likely setting up of its own league. President of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), Kapil Dev, speaks at a press conference on Saturday. (AFP) The modalities for the league are being worked out. 'It's not in response to IGPL. We have been thinking about it for a while,' PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl said on Saturday. The six-team IGPL is expected to debut next January and will feature 60 golfers in a home-and-away, mixed-team format. It announced the signing of veterans Shiv Kapur, SSP Chawrasia, and Gaurav Ghei as three of the skippers with Asian Tour regular Gaganjeet Bhullar revealed as an icon player. The bulk of IGPL's male players will be drawn from PGTI — women pros will come from WGAI while the amateurs come under the Indian Golf Union (IGU) umbrella. Both WGAI and IGU are with IGPL and their representatives accompanied IGPL management when they met union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently. About 20-22 PGTI pros, it has been learned, have jumped the ship for a signing amount ranging between ₹10-20 lakh. Tour regulars Aman Raj and Sachin Baisoya are also tipped to join IGPL. PGTI president Kapil Dev on Saturday brushed aside concerns of an exodus. 'I have the responsibility of 350 golfers, not just 20. I have to see the bigger picture — for my team, my board, and everyone involved. Of course, I would have liked if they'd worked with us,' he said. PGTI and IGPL have been in touch for over a year but talks fell off in recent months. 'What's happened has happened. Let's not talk about what went wrong,' Johl said. Insiders claim the major point of contention was Bharat Golf Private Limited's — the company backing IGPL — opaque funding. 'We don't know where the money is coming from. The company was floated only last year. They are yet to file tax returns. They have the backing of a businessman from Hyderabad but there's no transparency,' a senior PGTI member said. Queries regarding IGPL funding, at their recent virtual press meet, were ignored. IGPL, it has been learned, intended to take over PGTI and rename it as IGPL Tour. The PGTI in lieu was to get ₹15 crore annually. 'We couldn't have let that happen. Also, we are dealing with DP World Tour and PGA Tour and any financial dealing that appears fishy will not work in our favour,' the official said. 'Most of the players they are in touch with are either past their prime or struggle to make the cut on PGTI.' With its no cut, three-day stroke play format, IGPL, like most leagues, envisions to 'revolutionise the sport and make it spectator friendly.' All contracted men and women pros will earn guaranteed prize money. Johl dismissed it. 'Golf is about being competitive. If you want to play at the highest level, you have to compete. If players start getting used to free money, you're never going to create world champions,' he said. 'We are going to play on the DP World Tour, the Olympics, the Asian Games—and we're going to win medals. But if you start giving freebies, players will stop working hard. Also, playing on PGTI gives you ranking points while there's no such incentive at IGPL,' he explained. Indian pros, meanwhile, have been struggling in international tours for a while now. For the past three years, thanks to PGTI's partnership with DP World Tour, the Order of Merit topper gets the full season European card. Every PGTI tournament offers a minimum prize purse of ₹1 crore, but the results are not coming. The last Indian man to win a European Tour event was Shubhankar Sharma in 2018, at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur. 'It's a concern, no doubt. Guys like Yuvraj Sandhu and Veer Ahlawat need to string together four good days, and once they do that, they can get on a roll,' Johl said. Shiv Kapur put it down to conditions and a lack of hunger. 'There are many factors. The conditions are starkly different overseas, but our players should show more hunger and desire to win,' he said.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Alexander Isak is not with Newcastle in Singapore but his future is dominating their pre-season tour
Eddie Howe's words belied the reality. Alexander Isak was not in the room on the 22nd floor of the luxurious Pan Pacific Hotel — and, more importantly, he is not even here in Singapore at the start of Newcastle United's three-match Asian tour — yet he dominated Saturday's entire 15-minute news conference. Advertisement 'The feeling during pre-season has been as good as any other,' Howe said. 'So I don't think we're distracted. We're here, we're focused, and we're working hard.' The Isak situation is beyond a distraction now, though. That solitary issue has consumed what was already a frustrating and disruptive summer for Newcastle. As much as Howe may want the narrative to shift, until it is categorically confirmed that his Swedish star is either staying or going, that simply will not happen. Someone who rarely over-answers when speaking to the media, it was even Howe who introduced the word 'distracted' into the room. He did so after appearing to conclude an answer — the press officer alongside him was already starting to invite the next question — before hastily jumping back in to stress that an absent Isak was not single-handedly derailing pre-season. In fairness, this was after the seventh question (of eight — almost half of those asked) he had faced concerning the striker. Seemingly, he was yearning for an alternative topic. That plea was largely in vain. Bruno Guimaraes was sitting to Howe's left, but the first eight questions were all directed at the head coach, five directly concerning Isak (including two from The Athletic), and Newcastle's captain was left a peripheral figure. The press officer even felt it necessary to intervene; not to stop further Isak queries, but to ask that some questions be directed his way. Once they were, the second question he had to answer somewhat inevitably included the words 'Isak' and 'distracting'. 'No, not at all,' Guimaraes said, opting not to mention that there has been much chatter among players, backroom staff and club personnel on this trip about a certain Scandinavian who is not among the travelling party from Tyneside. For as the Brazilian midfielder went on to say: 'He's a top player for us. You cannot find some player who scores more than 20 goals in the Premier League.' Advertisement What Guimaraes meant was clear. And that is exactly the problem Newcastle face: how would you go about replacing a world-class striker with no lead-in time? RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko has been admired long-term, and Newcastle were actually close to signing him as a teenager in 2022, but a deal for the now 22-year-old Slovenian would not be straightforward. Yes, the profit made on any Isak departure would release significant funds, theoretically making Leipzig's asking price eminently achievable — yet every selling club would know Newcastle had suddenly become cash-rich, leading to further inflation on already sky-high prices. Although nobody at Newcastle wanted to admit that Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt would have been viewed as Isak's long-term successor, ideally after playing for at least a year alongside the Swede, that was at least part of the rationale behind trying to go big on the Frenchman — who has since ended up at Liverpool. The preference was always for Isak's replacement to be acquired before he left St James' Park, to lessen Newcastle's sense of desperation and to prevent selling clubs holding them to ransom. That is why top centre-forward targets have continued to be tracked — the club's recruitment department have had to be ready in case Isak were to go. Newcastle have tried and failed to acquire multiple top targets this summer — Bryan Mbeumo, Joao Pedro, Dean Huijsen, Liam Delap and James Trafford, as well as Ekitike — and have only signed Anthony Elanga. Money would alleviate some problems they have faced (albeit their disciplined wage structure is not about to be ripped up), but not the lack of pulling power they have relative to the elite rivals they aspire to emulate. Of course, that assumes Isak will depart, which in itself is far from certain. On the balance of probabilities, it may even remain the less likely outcome. Advertisement Howe maintains that he is 'confident' Isak will be at Newcastle come the start of the season in three weeks' time — the head coach was less convincing in his delivery than he was after last Saturday's 4-0 friendly defeat away to Scottish campions Celtic, however, responding to The Athletic by quipping that we were 'trying to put words into my mouth' — while sources at the top of the club are still adamant that the striker is 'not for sale'. Yet, after the curious events of the past seven days, that stance does not feel quite as absolute as it did just two weeks ago. Even Howe acknowledged that Newcastle have 'a decision to make'. Most specifically, the club's board may have a decision to make, given Howe suggested that while he would offer 'an opinion', such a call would 'ultimately' be out of his hands due to 'the money involved'. The inference was that a British-record deal for Isak is not entirely implausible — Newcastle would likely demand a figure north of the £120million ($161.5m) Liverpool have communicated they would be willing to pay — though that would require an actual bid to be made. No formal offer has arrived as yet and, although reports have claimed the champions are readying one, that eventuality does not appear inexorable. Which makes Isak's actions peculiar. Yes, he has been nursing a minor thigh injury, which forced him to leave the training field early on Monday and is the reason being given by the club for his non-appearance here ahead of Sunday's match with Arsenal and for the tour's other two games in South Korea. But as The Athletic reported on Thursday, sources, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to do so publicly, indicated the player favoured being omitted amid his uncertain future. Usually, such a drastic step is taken by players who have already seen their clubs reject offers for them. That is not the case here, so the suspicion has to be that Isak has been given a strong hint that Liverpool (or someone else) will follow through with an offer, otherwise he has damaged his relationship with Newcastle supporters and affected the team's preparations for the 2025-26 campaign to agitate for a transfer that was never actually there for him. Advertisement Howe insisted that he has 'welcomed players back into the group' before, even once they have indicated their desire to leave, but he has never done so with a striker of Isak's status — one who is coveted by the very best clubs in the world. The head coach's empathy and excellent track record suggest he can rise to the challenge, but it is another huge headache he could do without during a summer already full of them. This commercially-driven trip is supposed to be about showcasing that Newcastle are expanding their support in East Asia, yet the whole tour is being overshadowed by the star who is conspicuous by his absence.
Morocco World
4 days ago
- Sport
- Morocco World
FC Barcelona to Resume Pre-Season Friendly in Japan
Barcelona has announced on Friday that their senior football team will continue their Asia tour, to play against Japan's Vissel Kobe. The match had been suspended earlier this Wednesday by the LaLiga side, due to serious contractual breaches by the quoted by the website AS stated that the promoter of the match failed to pay the full amount of the agreed fee. 'The football first team party is on their way to Japan to begin the 2025 Asian Tour,' the club said in a statement. 'This comes after the Club and the promoter have resolved the issues that caused FC Barcelona two days ago to suspend the match.' The Spanish club will face Vissel Kobe in Japan, now that the contractual issues are fixed, the match will be played on 27 July as scheduled. After this match, the Barcelona team will follow their tour in Asia. They will in particular travel to South Korea, where they will play two friendlies against FC Seoul on July 31 and Daegu FC on August 4.
