Team Sky’s Bernal out of hospital after horror San Sebastian crash

Australian Gerrans to retire Ex-champion Parker in ‘school visit’ row

MADRID, Aug 7, (RTRS): Team Sky rider Egan Bernal has been discharged from hospital after suffering a small bleed on the brain after a crash in the Clasica San Sebastian on Saturday, his team has said.

Bernal, 21, was one of several riders from the peloton to collide with 20 kilometres left in the one-day stage race in Spain. The Colombian split his top lip and fractured his nose in the crash.

“Egan will rest completely for at least three weeks after also suffering a small bleed on the brain during the crash,” Team Sky said https://www.teamsky.com/article/egan-bernal-update.

“He underwent surgery on Saturday to repair his top lip and to reduce his nasal fracture. He will undergo dental surgery in the coming weeks to repair a number of missing, bro-

Bernal

WELLINGTON, Aug 7, (AFP): Former heavyweight boxing champion Joseph Parker’s latest fight has him embroiled in a row involving sexism and racism with a New Zealand school.

A high school in the North Island city of Whanganui had marketed an upcoming visit by Parker as a “closed motivational session” for boys of indigenous Maori or Pacific island descent and their fathers.

But the 26-year-old New Zealand boxer said Tuesday that if the session was not made all inclusive, he would not be there.

The school claimed it was the Parker camp that requested a restricted audience with board member Piri Cribb saying it was an opportunity to work with a section of students who were less engaged.

“It’s not a separatist movement and it’s not an elite strategy,” she said.

“It is simply an opportunity to capitalise on the cultural similarities that this man has with our young men.” But Parker insisted he wanted all pupils to have the chance to hear him and was disappointed in how the event had been planned.

“I’m even more disappointed the school would claim that they had done this at my request – when that is clearly untrue,” he said.

“If we go down to see the kids we’d like to see everyone,” Parker added in Auckland at his first media conference since losing to Dillian Whyte in London 10 days ago.

Johnson, fellow Americans Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka, Englishmen Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy loom as the main contenders.

Less likely to triumph, but sure to attract plenty of attention all the same, are Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth, who can achieve the ‘Career Grand Slam’.

Woods did not play well in Akron last week and Bellerive is not really up his alley. A decade removed from his 14th, and most recent, major victory, he is better suited these days to courses that demand subtlety and shot-making.

Spieth also played poorly in Akron, and he too does not appear to be a good match for Bellerive.

Johnson is not number one in the world by accident, but he is not quite the closer in majors that he is in regular tournaments.

Another near-miss at the US Open in June, where he finished third after a pedestrian final round, resurrected nagging doubts about his ability to seal the deal.

The 2016 US Open remains his only major victory. He has been in conten-

Phil Mickelson of the United States watches his shot on the second tee during a practice round prior to the 2018

PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on Aug 7, in St Louis, Missouri. (AFP)

tion often enough to have plenty of silverware.

McIlroy, meanwhile, has heaps of great golf left in him but needs to win a major on a firm and difficult track to shed the tag of being a flat track bully, to use cricketing parlance for a batsman who runs up big scores when conditions are favourable.

McIlroy’s four major titles have all come on rain-softened courses where he could bomb away his driver and attack with his irons. He should be at home this week.

Apart from the usual suspects, another player worth keeping close tabs on is American Tony Finau, who has finished in the top 10 in all three majors this year.

A prodigiously long hitter, statistically the third longest driver on the PGA Tour this year, he reduces pretty much every par-five to a par-four. If he finds the fairways at Bellerive, watch out.

Bellerive’s Zoysia grass fairways invariably offer perfect lies.

A modest but not particularly deep rough will sometimes penalise errant drives, while the greens, which need to be watered this time of year to keep them alive, should allow players to fire fearlessly at the pins.

Englishman Ross Fisher says the greens are “unusually slow for a major, very soft” but all in all he likes what he sees.

“The fairways are 40-50 yards wide so if you miss the fairway you know you’re driving it poorly this week,” the world number 46 told Reuters after playing the front nine on Monday.

Five-times major winner Phil Mickelson predicts a low winning score.

“The greens you can make a lot of putts, the fairways are pristine, the ball just sits up beautifully and around the greens you can spin your chip shots, and get them close, so I feel like you can attack the golf course,” he said on Sunday.

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and 29 other major champions began preparing for the spotlight of supergroup pairings as practice rounds opening Monday for the 100th PGA Championship.