Oz hit by Sin bin in date bid
RUGBY LEAGUE
JORDAN SPIETH returned the Claret Jug yesterday but predicts more Open glory for “fearless” Americans.
USA ace Spieth (left) triumphed at Royal Birkdale last year – but the world No.6 has not hit top form recently.
However, he is still riding the crest of a wave of American dominance of the Majors alongside Brooks Koepka (28), Justin Thomas (25) and Patrick Reed (27).
They have clinched the last five Major titles between them – with Florida’s Koepka winning back-to-back US Opens.
Spieth, 24, said: “It’s a natural transition into kind of fearless golf at the highest level.
“I think that’s what you’re seeing out of the 20-somethings.
“The deeper fields in junior and amateur golf have led to quick transitions on to the PGA Tour.
“When it took five years to transition guys into winning 10-15 years ago, it’s taking guys five months now.” RFL rugby director Kevin Sinfield has hit back at plans from Australia to change the international calendar ahead of the 2021 World Cup.
The Rugby League International Federation last year announced plans for a return of Lions’ tours Down Under in 2019, followed by an Ashes series in England the following year.
But last week the Australian Rugby League Commission put forward their own proposal for the Kangaroos to come here next year instead, and in 2020 stage two Four Nations competitions, with England pitted against France, Fiji and Papua New Guinea in the northern hemisphere.
The plans will be discussed at an RLIF meet in Singapore this month.
Sinfield (above) – speaking at a 2021 World Cup event that announced £10million of grassroots funding – said: “It raised both my eyebrows.
“I had an understanding of what the international calendar was going to be for the next four years, and suddenly it looks like there may be some doubt with that.
“We need meaningful fixtures as a nation leading to the World Cup.
“I thought 2020 would be the year we’d get to play for the Ashes and I’d be really disappointed if that changed.
“We need to be playing the best teams in the world – Australia and New Zealand – regularly, and I’d include Tonga in that as well.
“The next few weeks is going to decide a number of different factors on where we go, but at the moment I’m pretty disappointed.” 1979: Seb Coe (above) first broke the world mile record in Oslo, knocking 0.4 seconds off John Walker’s fouryear-old mark to set a new time of three minutes 48.95 seconds. 2000: Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne agreed terms for a free transfer move from Middlesbrough to Everton. 2009: World No.1 Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Open Championship at Turnberry. 2011: Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke became the oldest Open champion since 1967 at the age of 42, winning by three shots at Royal St George’s, Sandwich. NICK FALDO was being backed to topple new sensation Tiger Woods in The Open at Troon by the public – even though the experts were writing him off. Bookies revealed they would take a “hiding” if Faldo were to win after being heavily backed from 16-1. In the end, Justin Leonard won it.