WEDNESDAY, 12.15PM:
WORLD number three and US Open champion Ernie Els has quit the European Tour in Sydney after a disagreement with Tour boss Ken Schofield on Wednesday.
Els said the dispute resulted from by the fact that he had not played the 11 tournaments required to keep his player’s card for this year. Schofield refused to grant Els a special exemption for the 1998 season.
“I wouldn’t say I’m angry, just bitterly disappointed,” said Els speaking to the Daily Telegraph.
Els has been playing in Europe since 1992, despite moving to the US, but has remained critical of the course selection process in Europe. Australian newspapers have speculated that Schofield’s actions could be payback for Els’s criticism of the Tour.
Els said he had hoped to be granted an exemption because of his long involvement with the tour. Els added that he had made a special effort to play in 10 tournaments, but that his schedule made it impossible to play in the required 11 events.
SPORT BRIEFS
MAKOLANE NO GO HENDRICK MAKOLANE was stopped in the first round by unbeaten Englishman Richard Evatt in a featherweight bout in London on Tuesday evening. Makolane was dropped twice before his short spell in the ring came to an end.
NTINI MAY MAKE HISTORY AGAIN MAKHAYA NTINI may play in the third Test against Australia in Adelaide on Friday. If a buttock injury keeps star paceman Allan Donald out of the game Ntini will become the first black player to represent South Africa in an international Test match.
PRICE TO DEFEND IN SA WORLD No 4 golfer Nick Price of Zimbabwe will defend his his title at the third Dimension Data Pro Am Tournament at Sun City from February 19-22.
PAKISTAN JUNIORS THRASH ACADEMY SIDE PAKISTAN’s Under-19 cricket side destroyed an NBS Natal Academy XI by nine wickets, with more than 11 overs to spare, in a 50-over practice match at Durban High School on Tuesday. The Natal Academy scored 189/8, with the visitors chalking up 191/1.
NGCOBO FAILS DOPE TEST KENNETH NGCOBO, a training partner of Olympic marathon champion Josiah Thugwane, tested positive for a banned steroid after finishing third in the Soweto marathon in December last year.
ANOTHER MEXICAN FOR JAKE ANOTHER Mexican challenger, Jos Victor Burgos, will fight South African IBA champ Baby Jake Matlala for his title on February 20 in Baton Rouge, Mississippi.
RAZOR TOO SHARP MACK RAZOR beat Englishman Howard Clark in their Junior Middleweight fight at the Carousel on Tuesday night. Razor outpointed his opponent in a controlled display of sensible boxing over eight rounds.
ALSO at the Carousel, Free State champion Edward Dlamini outpointed Prospect of the Year nominee Martin Jacobs over six rounds in a decision punters felt was unnecessarily harsh.
BOTES TO DEFEND SA TITLE
BOXER Soon Botes will defend his South African super middleweight title against KwaZulu-Natal’s Jackie Zungu in Durban on March 1. It will be Botes’s second defence, with his record 16 wins against four defeats. Zungu is relatively inexperienced with seven victories, two losses and a draw.