AUSTRALIAN favourite Jarrod Moseley erased Ernie Els’ three-stroke lead in the final round of the Heineken Classic to steal the title on Sunday. Els had looked set to walk away with the trophy after extending his lead to six strokes. He lost his focus on the seventh hole, however, notching up a triple-bogey. After scoring 65, 66 and 69 on the opening rounds, Els shot himself in the foot with a 75 on the final day. Moseley shot a 69 to rack up a 14 under par 274 total, and beat Els by a stroke. Moseley has been a pro for only 18 months, and beat a host of more experienced players for this first major title. Said Mosley: “This is just unbelievable. I came here today not really thinking I had a chance. I had basically given up and was just hoping to finish second.”
FIFA WARNING
COUNTRIES bidding to host the 2006 World Cup have been warned by FIFA that they will be struck off the list if they step out of line with football’s governing body’s new guidelines on campaigning. This weekend, national associations in Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa — along with those in Brazil, England and Germany — are studying the rules that will govern their campaigns to host world football’s showcase. FIFA director of communications Keith Cooper says the guidelines were drawn up before the bribery scandal that has hit the International Olympic Committee, and are not a knee-jerk reaction to those events.
TERGAT BEATEN
FOUR-time world cross-country champion Paul Tergat was beaten to second place on Saturday in Nairobi by fellow soldier Paul Koech during the local Armed Forces campionships held at Ngong Race Course near the Kenyan capital. Koech clocked 36:04 to retain the title for the second year running while Tergat was timed 36:17. Tom Nyariki came third in 36:22 while Kiptum Muigei was fourth in 36:28. “I will get revenge during the national championships and (also) the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) cross country challenge on 27 February,” said Tergat.