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Sam Horsfield wins second title in three weeks

Englishman Sam Horsfield made European Tour history when he won his second title at the Celtic Classic, becoming the first golfer on Tour to win an event, which he achieved at the Hero Open a fortnight ago, miss a cut, and then win again in the space of three weeks.

The 23-year-old started the final one shot behind Scotland’s Connor Syme, but shared the lead after the first hole as the young leader dropped a shot. The English golfer made consecutive birdies on the third and fourth holes and then birdied the seventh before a two-hour delay caused by the threat of lightning at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales which played like a pool table with the greens playing just perfect.

After the restart, he parred the next six holes before his fourth birdie of the day on 14th, and he parred his way home to sign for a bogey-free 67 and an 18 under par total.

Commenting on his second win in three weeks, Horsfield admitted:

“It was pretty crazy. My goal this weekend was to have no bogeys and I was able to do that. I made a huge putt on 17 to keep that alive and I just played solid all week, really. To have a nice cushion coming into the last was nice.”

Similarly to the Hero Open at Forest of Arden, Belgium’s Thomas Detry finished as runner-up to Horsfield after also posting a four under par, bogey-free round.

The Belgian was satisfied with his performance after a long layoff from the sport, stating:

“We did an okay job this week. It’s nice to start after five months off with a top ten. We had a bit of a slip up yesterday but still, happy overall. My caddie said if I go two under through the last four then he’ll buy me dinner tonight, so I get free dinner.”

Sharing third place were 2016 Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters, making his first start since the resumption of the 2020 Race to Dubai, Andrew Johnston of England and Syme, who stated, “My goal is to get in that top ten for the U.S. Open.”

Horsfield moves to the top of the UK Swing Order of Merit and has secured a place at the U.S. Open. He will be joined by the other top ten players on the UK Swing Rankings at Winged Foot at the conclusion of next week’s ISPS Handa Wales Open.

The Englishman is also guaranteed a share of £250,000 as part of the European Tour’s Good for Golf initiative. The top ten on the rankings after the ISPS Handa UK Championship at The Belfry will share the money to donate to charities of their choice.

Cormac Sharvin beat his fellow Ulsterman to be leading Irish golfer in the Celtic Classic. The Ardglass golfer carded a final round of 73, which Jonathan Caldwell bettered by one stroke, but Sharvin completed the tournament on a four-round total of 276 to Caldwell’s 278.

Select Final Scores

266 S HORSFIELD (ENG) 67 64 68 67,
268 T DETRY (BEL) 67 66 68 67,
269 C SYME (SCO) 68 67 63 71, A JOHNSTON (ENG) 67 66 68 68, T PIETERS (BEL) 64 68 70 67,
270 A MERONK (POL) 66 71 64 69, D HORSEY (ENG) 68 71 65 66, S VILIMIKI (FIN) 71 68 65 66, J CATLIN (USA) 68 68 69 65,
271 S SODERBERG (SWE) 66 69 65 71,
272 C SHINKWIN (ENG) 68 65 69 70, W BESSELING (NED) 67 69 67 69, G GREEN (MAS) 70 69 70 63,
273 J MCLEOD (AUS) 65 69 69 70, J SCRIVENER (AUS) 69 69 65 70, A OTAEGUI (ESP) 69 67 69 68, M KIEFFER (GER) 69 70 66 68, L GAGLI (ITA) 67 70 69 67, A COCKERILL (CAN) 70 69 67 67, S HEISELE (GER) 69 70 69 65, J KRUYSWIJK (RSA) 70 71 67 65,
274 S VINCENT (ZIM) 69 69 66 70, J SENIOR (ENG) 69 70 66 69, S CROCKER (USA) 68 66 73 67, J SMITH (ENG) 68 68 71 67, W NIENABER (RSA) 70 67 71 66,
275 M SOUTHGATE (ENG) 67 70 67 71, J MORRISON (ENG) 67 70 68 70, A BJORK (SWE) 71 70 66 68, R FISHER (ENG) 72 68 68 67,
276 C SHARVIN (NIR) 71 67 65 73, R ENOCH (WAL) 69 66 69 72, A RAI (ENG) 67 70 70 69, S BROWN (ENG) 67 72 68 69, D WHITNELL (ENG) 72 67 69 68, M ANTCLIFF (AUS) 68 71 70 67, J DONALDSON (WAL) 70 70 70 66, R KARLBERG (SWE) 73 68 69 66,
277 M WARREN (SCO) 66 72 65 74, N ELVIRA (ESP) 66 69 72 70, C HILL (SCO) 70 68 70 69, J WALTERS (RSA) 70 69 69 69, S HEND (AUS) 75 65 68 69, T TREE (ENG) 65 75 69 68, A CHESTERS (ENG) 72 68 69 68, O FARR (WAL) 73 67 69 68
278 S KIM (USA) 66 70 68 74, J CALDWELL (NIR) 68 66 72 72, A ARNAUS (ESP) 73 68 65 72, A SULLIVAN (ENG) 70 71 66 71, M JORDAN (ENG) 68 66 74 70, E MOLINARI (ITA) 66 72 70 70, O LENGDEN (SWE) 69 69 70 70, J HARDING (RSA) 69 71 68 70, M SIMONSEN (DEN) 68 71 70 69, D BURMESTER (RSA) 71 68 71 68,
280 J SJOHOLM (SWE) 68 70 69 73, G MIGLIOZZI (ITA) 66 70 72 72, F LAPORTA (ITA) 69 69 70 72, R FOX (NZL) 69 71 68 72, D PERRIER (FRA) 70 69 71 70,
281 S KJELDSEN (DEN) 70 70 68 73,
282 L DE JAGER (RSA) 71 68 69 74, N COLSAERTS (BEL) 67 73 70 72, S SHARMA (IND) 71 70 70 71,
283 T OLESEN (DEN) 71 70 69 73, J SURI (USA) 72 69 72 70, B RITTHAMMER (GER) 71 70 76 66,
284 G FORREST (SCO) 72 68 72 72,
285 R MCGOWAN (ENG) 70 70 71 74, P LARRAZ?BAL (ESP) 70 71 70 74,
287 M LEE (AUS) 69 71 71 76,
288 B STOW (ENG) 68 72 73 75,
289 C PIGEM (ESP) 70 71 74 74

Sky Sports NFL channel to begin on September 3

Sky and the National Football League (NFL) have agreed a new five-year deal to broadcast the NFL, and for the first time ever the league will partner with an international broadcaster to launch a channel dedicated to the sport.

The agreement marks the 25th anniversary of live NFL coverage on Sky Sports and will see ‘Sky Sports NFL’ launching from September 3 ahead of the 2020 season, which kicks off on September 10 so there is no reason for a digital ESTA permit as you can watch the matches from the comfort of your home.

The new in-season channel will be the round-the-clock home of the NFL on television in Ireland and Britain from the regular season through to the playoffs, with Super Bowl LV live from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on 7 February 2021.

Sky Sports NFL viewers can look forward to a minimum of five live games each week. The broadcaster will have first-pick for the 6pm and 9pm slot every Sunday while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night Football game.

Sky Sports NFL will also have RedZone, every minute of every playoff game, Pro Bowl and Super Bowl live, flagship programming from NFL Network, including the popular Good Morning Football and Total Access shows, award-winning documentaries and other content from NFL Films and NBC Sports, brand new weekly shows to review the action and discuss the stories of the league, including original Sky Sports programming as well as increased coverage across Sky Sports News, Digital and Social platforms, people will be looking up requirements for the ESTA visa to go watch a match next year.

Sky Sports NFL, which will be Channel 407 on the Sky platform, will bring viewers the story of the entire season, which begins as reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs take on the Houston Texans on September 10.

Kate Derwin and AHG Whiterock Cruise Down win at Balmoral

Athlone’s Kate Derwin won the penultimate round of the Horse Sport Ireland Premier Series at Balmoral Park in Lisburn, partnering the Irish Sport Horse AHG Whiterock Cruise Down to a superb victory.

Derwin, the European Champion at U18 level in 2019, clinched victory at Balmoral after a brilliant jump-off display which saw her cross the line clear in 39.84 seconds. Second place went to another 2019 Hickstead Derby-winning rider Mikey Pender and The Irish Sport Horse HHS Calais (ISH), as the combination also went clear in 41.32 second. Capt Geoff Curran of the Defence Forces finished third with the Irish Sport Horse, Glengarra Wood, having jumped clear in 42.39 seconds.

Jenny Rankin and Entertainer were fourth; Kate Derwin also took fifth place with another double clear aboard Deep Pockets, while Tim MacDonagh completed the top six with Hollypark Galloway.

The final round of the Horse Sport Ireland Premier Series takes place at Portmore in Co Antrim on September 6th with Kilkenny’s Ger O’Neill still out in front as league leader with MHS High Hopes.

2020 Women’s National League Round 2 Review

The second round of games in the 2020 Women’s National League saw Athlone Town make their League debut, with Treaty United were on a bye as part of the nine-team structure.

Athlone Town 0-1 Wexford Youths
A home win on their League debut may have been denied by a second-half goal, but Athlone will take a huge amount of confidence from their performance.

Tommy Hewitt has built a squad that will rely on youth and the local trio of Kayleigh Shine, Kayla Brady and Katelyn Keogh – all of whom trained with the Republic of Ireland Women’s Under-19s last week – all impressed.

Wexford found it difficult to break down the League’s newcomers with Ellen Molloy, Kylie Murphy and Ciara Rossiter all going close with chances on goal.

The visitors got their goal on 72 minutes when Vanessa Ogbonna recorded her second assist of the season by crossing for Aisling Frawley to head in and make it back-to-back wins for Wexford.

Bohemians 1-4 Galway WFC
In what was their first home game in the League, Bohemians suffered an early set-back when goalkeeper Courtney Maguire was sent off on her debut.

The Gypsies managed to make to the interval by holding Galway, but the visitors broke the deadlock after 52 minutes when striker Aoife Thompson fired in from close range.

Bohemians hit back straight away with Bronagh Kane netting her first goal for the club. Galway responded by making a triple substitution and began to press higher up the pitch.

Shauna Fox headed them back in front before substitute Ellie Rose O’Flaherty nodded in a cross from Shauna Brennan and Thompson finished things off with her second of the game.

Cork City 0-3 Peamount United
League champions Peamount continued their excellent start to the new season with a second win, which brings their tally to eight goals scored, none conceded and six points collected.

Stephanie Roche got them going after just three minutes before she turned provider for team-mate Áine O’Gorman to extend their lead and then Eleanor Ryan-Doyle slotted in to make it 3-0 before half-time.

Cork played some nice football in patches but found it difficult to keep up with the pace & power of their opponents. The introduction of debutants Laura Shine and Leah Murphy indicates that they are building for the long-term.

The home team piled the pressure on in the last 15 minutes, in a period that saw Louise Masterson sent off for Peamount, but they could not find the goal that their effort deserved.

DLR Waves 1-2 Shelbourne
It was the fourth minute of added time when Shelbourne captain Pearl Slattery scored her second goal in as many games to guide her club to victory.

DLR, who made five changes to their starting line-up, felt deflated at the end of this contest as they thought that they had done enough to earn a second draw of the campaign, having held Galway WFC last week.

One of the players who came into the DLR team was goalkeeper Eve Badana and she had to be on high alert to deny both Alex Kavanagh and Jessica Ziu in the first half.

Just past the hour mark, Shels took the lead when Ciara Grant deftly lifted the ball over Badana. The hosts responded through a Niamh Prior free-kick and were holding on until Slattery’s late winner.

Fixtures for Wednesday, August 19th

Galway WFC v Athlone Town, Eamonn Deacy Park, KO 19:45
Peamount United v DLR Waves, PRL Park, KO 19:45
Shelbourne v Bohemians, Tolka Park, KO 19:45
Treaty United v Cork City, Markets Field, KO 19:45

Elizabeth Power and Soladoun win Kilguilkey Home International 4*

Clear rounds in both Show Jumping and Cross Country from Elizabeth Power and Soladoun saw the combination win the CCI 4*-S at Kilguilkey Home International in Mallow on Saturday.

Power and Soladoun scored 30.9 in the opening Dressage phase and at that stage held second position behind Cathal Daniels with Barrichello. Time penalties of 2.4 Cross Country, however, saw Daniels eventually finish as runner-up on 31.5 behind Power and Soladoun, while Daniels also took third place with Alcatraz on a score of 38.5.

The CCI3*-S went to Brian Morrison and Global Faerlie Flashy. The pair completed their Dressage on 27.3, just ahead of Sam Watson in runner-up spot with the Irish Sport Horse Imperial Sky (ISH) on 28.3, with Cathal Daniels also taking third in this competition with Shannondale Mari (ISH) on a score of 28.6.

Sarah Ennis took the winner’s prize in the CCI2*-S with Lisanley (ISH) on a score of 28.4, marginally ahead of Fraser Duffy and Hollypark Neptune (ISH) in runner-up spot on 28.8. Duffy also claimed third place with Designer Fernhill on 29.3.

Three Irish in Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville

Sunday will see a hotly-contested €600,000 Prix du Haras du Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois run at Deauville.

Many of Europe’s top milers will be among the 7 runners in the Group 1 in Normandy, with three of the field trained in Ireland.

Coronation Stakes winner at Royal Ascot, Alpine Star, trained by Jessica Harrington, who won the race in 2018 with Alpha Centauri, will be ridden by Stephane Pasquier, while the Aidan O’Brien-trained three-time Group 1 winner, Circus Maximus, will, like Harrington’s representative, carry the colours of race sponsors, the Niarchos Family.

Circus Maximus, narrowly beaten by Mohaather on his most recent run in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, will not have his regular jockey Ryan Moore in the saddle due to the 14-day quarantine period brought in last week for people travelling from France to Britain. Experienced top class rider Christophe Soumillon will replace Moore.

Ken Condon’s Romanised, winner of last year’s renewal of the race and who went on to show strong form during the second half of the 2019 season, will be ridden by Billy Lee, who will have to quarantine on his return to Ireland.

Persian King, trainer by French maestro, Andre Fabre, was a Classic winner over a mile in France last season, and won the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan over a furlong further on his latest outing.

John Gosden and Frankie Dettori will be represented by Palace Pier, winner of the St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot this year when beating last year’s European Champion 2-year-old Pinatubo.

Pretreville Progressive, who finished behind Persian King recently, will represent French handler Pascal Bary, while the Listed race-winning son of Frankel, Restiany, is the outsider of the field.

The winner of the Prix Jacques le Marois will receive an automatic fees-paid berth in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland in November.

This top class race has been won in the past by the likes of Dubai Millennium, Kingman, Dubawi, Manduro, Miesque and Goldikova.

The 2020 Prix du Haras du Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois is live of Sky Sports Racing at 2.50pm.

Cormac Sharvin 5 shots off new leader Connor Syme

Connor Syme will go in search of a maiden European Tour title after carding a tournament-low eight under par round of 63 to take a one stroke lead into the final day of the Celtic Classic as Cormac Sharvin leads the Irish challenge 5 shots off the leader.

Scotsman Syme started Saturday’s third round four strokes behind halfway leader Sam Horsfield from England, but quickly made a move with three birdies on the front nine. The 25-year-old carded five birdies on the back nine as he went on to sign for a 15 under par total, one stroke ahead of Horsfield.

“I just played lovely, to be honest,” admitted the Scot, “It’s obviously very nice conditions and I got off to a decent start. I maybe didn’t play the front nine as well as I’d like but I managed to get to three under through nine, which was great. I holed the putts that I had opportunities on so it was a nice base to build on. It was nice throughout, really.”

Recent Hero Open winner Horsfield, who is seeking s second title since the European Tour season resumed, parred the first eight holes before his first birdie of the day on the ninth. Two gains followed on the 14th and 16th holes as, like Syme, he returned a blemish-free card.

“I felt like I was actually playing really well” said Horsfield, “I hit a lot of greens and as I said walking up nine, I was just waiting for my putter to get hot. I made a few nice putts, didn’t take advantage of the easy holes on the back nine but I’m happy with the position I’m in.”

Sebastian Soderberg from Sweded carded a bogey-free six under par 65 to move up to third place on 13 under par, one stroke ahead of Thomas Detry of Belgium, England’s Andrew Johnston and Adrian Meronk of Poland.

2016 Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters of Belgium and England’s Callum Shinkwin share seventh on 11 under.

Ardglass golfer Cormac Sharvin signed for a 65, his best round of the tournament so far, leaving him on a three-round total of 203, five shots behind the Scottish leader. Jonathan Caldwell, on the other hand, carded his worst round of the week with a 72, which sees him three strokes behind his fellow Ulsterman.

Select Round Three Scores

198 C SYME (SCO) 68 67 63,
199 S HORSFIELD (ENG) 67 64 68,
200 S SODERBERG (SWE) 66 69 65,
201 T DETRY (BEL) 67 66 68, A JOHNSTON (ENG) 67 66 68, A MERONK (POL) 66 71 64,
202 T PIETERS (BEL) 64 68 70, C SHINKWIN (ENG) 68 65 69,
203 J MCLEOD (AUS) 65 69 69, W BESSELING (NED) 67 69 67, M WARREN (SCO) 66 72 65, J SCRIVENER (AUS) 69 69 65, C SHARVIN (NIR) 71 67 65,
204 R ENOCH (WAL) 69 66 69, S KIM (USA) 66 70 68, M SOUTHGATE (ENG) 67 70 67, S VINCENT (ZIM) 69 69 66, D HORSEY (ENG) 68 71 65, S VILIMIKI (FIN) 71 68 65,
205 J CATLIN (USA) 68 68 69, A OTAEGUI (ESP) 69 67 69, J MORRISON (ENG) 67 70 68, M KIEFFER (GER) 69 70 66, J SENIOR (ENG) 69 70 66,
206 J CALDWELL (NIR) 68 66 72, L GAGLI (ITA) 67 70 69, A COCKERILL (CAN) 70 69 67, A ARNAUS (ESP) 73 68 65.

Joshua Cheptegei breaks Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old world 5000m record

World 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei set a new world 5000m record in a time of 12:35.36 at the Herculis EBS Diamond League meeting in Monaco on Friday night.

In the first regular top-flight international one-day meet since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ugandan produced an exhilarating performance running alongside the Wavelight at the Stade Louis II Stadium to wipe two seconds from Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year old Hengelo world record time of 12:37.55.

The record had been one of the most longstanding in athletics, with many coming close but unable to surpass the incredible time set by Bekele back in 2004.

Friday’s 5000m event was Cheptegei’s first race since setting a world 5km record on the roads on 16 February, also in Monaco. The Ugandan said of his achievement:

“I’ve learned that anything is possible, if you have the right mindset and believe. I really thank Kenenisa so much for inspiring me when I started running. He has always been a big inspiration and motivation to me. This record is a special moment for me and I like to thank Kenenisa for his inspiration.”

Last year, Joshua enjoyed a brilliant campaign as he won the 5,000m at the Diamond League final in Zurich, the 10,000m at the World Championships in Doha, he set a world 10km record of 26:38 in Valencia, Spain, set a world 5km record of 12:51 in Monaco and s

Paced through the early stages by Roy Hoornweg (2:31.87 at 1000m) and Matthew Ramsden (5:03.77 at 2000m), Cheptegei took up the running at half way and continued churning out 61-second laps. He passed through 3,000m in 7:35.14 and then upped the pace slightly with a 2:30 fourth kilometre.

Having left the rest of the field way behind, he maintained his tempo and eked out another 2:30 split for the final kilometre, bringing him to the finish line in 12:35.36.

Kenya’s Nicholas Kimeli, who was just approaching the final straight as Cheptegei crossed the line, finished a distant second in a lifetime best of 12:51.78, while his compatriot Jacob Krop was third in 13:11.32.

Sam Bennett leads Deceuninck – Quick-Step at Tour de Wallonie on Sunday

Ireland’s Sam Bennett will lead the charge for Deceuninck – Quick-Step in the 47th Tour de Wallonie which begins on Sunday.

A mix of flat and hilly stages will make up the course, with the race starting in Soignies, a small municipality located in the Hainaut province. Not only the demanding parcours – that tilts towards the puncheurs – will influence the final outcome, but also the bonuses awarded at the finish (10-6-4), especially if the fight for the overall win will be a tight one, as was the case at the past two editions

Joining the Irish Champion, who won a stage at the Vuelta a Burgos two weeks ago, on the team at the 4-stage race will be Belgians Iljo Keisse and Stijn Steels, Michael Mørkøv from Denmark, Frenchman Florian Sénéchal, German rider Jannik Steimle and Czech Zdenek Stybar.

“The race has just four stages this year, but will serve as a good preparation for the next part of the season. The plan is to get a victory with Sam, he is capable of doing it and we have confidence in him. It won’t be an easy race, there’s a strong field at the start, but we are ready to fight daily and get the result we are coming here for”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Wilfried Peeters, who will lead the team from behind the wheel.

Top 5 Young Footballers in The English Premier League 2020!

The key to building a club is having a closer look at young footballer prospects. During transfer windows, little attention is placed on youngsters.

When it comes to the English premier league, there are five young players you can’t ignore. The five top players need to be considered. Below is a list of youngsters you can have a look at during the year 2020.

  1. Bukayo Saka

The 18-year-old winger made a 7 minutes’ debut in the premier league where Arsenal played against Fulham. So far, he has been able to play 18 matches in all matches Arsenal has played over the last season. He has been able to contribute two goals and several assists. Arsenal’s defense dwindled due to injuries, and he has been taken as a replacement to fill up the position as much as it isn’t his natural position. His future is excellent as the gunners seek to rise through the ranks in the next league games.

  1. Harvey Elliot

He made his debut appearance after he was substituted for the match that Fulham played against Wolves. Elliot was born on April 4, 2003. He is a sort after playing with clubs such as Real Madrid and PSG. However, he made a spectacular move to Liverpool. His move to Liverpool was received with mixed reactions. However, it was a smart move with loads of achievements where he has been able to score three goals. The 16-year-old youngster is expected to perform even better in the coming season.

  1. Mason Greenwood

Mason has played for 415 minutes for all his EPL match appearances. The Manchester United striker was born on October 1, 2009. He has managed to score nine goals and two assists, which makes him the most impressive player. Ole Gunnar has developed a strong confidence in him such that he has been able to start on two matches and Europa league games. Being a teenager, he ignites hope to most fans and punters who visit gambling sites, including bk8, staking wages as they watch the youngster.

  1. Troy Parrot

His appearance when spurs score a 5-0 win over Burnely is a match to be remembered. Being the 2nd youngest EPL player born on February 4, 2002, his gameplay has impressed his manager, Jose Mourinho. Despite lack of a position during past matches of spurs even after Hary Kane was injured, back in Ireland, he has bestowed a great honor. The national team has high confidence in him attributed to some of the stellar performance, which makes them have hope in him as the one who will deliver them to the FIFA world cup.

  1. Brandon Pierrick

The 17-year old midfielder has only played for 7 minutes in his EPL matches so far. His most impressive game was a friendly match against Norwich City. It was an opener to having a chance to play for the senior team. He was offered an opportunity to play during an FA cup match. Hodgson, the crystal palace manager, is already impressed by him from the previous matches. Therefore, people can expect more from him when the league resumes.

With the youngsters playing, bookies, including bk8, are coming up with better odds for punters to enjoy as they watch.