SIGH OF THE TIGER
Rory: Woods doing better... he’s even slagging my form
RORY McILROY says Tiger Woods is “doing better” – so much so he’s already dishing out flak over the Northern Irishman’s form.
The American had surgery on open fractures to his lower right leg plus further injuries to his foot and ankle following a car accident in Los Angeles last month.
Recovering in hospital, the 15-time Major winner will not be at Sawgrass today as McIlroy begins his Players Championship defence.
But Woods had no problem sharing his verdict on the world No.11’s final-day flop at Bay Hill last week.
McIlroy closed out the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a 76 as his winless streak, stretching back to November 2019, went on.
The 31-yearold said: “He texted me some words of encouragement before the final round of Bay Hill on Sunday. Things didn’t quite go to plan and he was the first one to text me and be like ‘What’s going on here?’
“So even from the hospital bed he’s still giving me some heat.” McIlroy was among the pros Woods thanked for the “touching” gesture of wearing his signature red and black for the final round of last month’s WGC-Workday Championship, five days after his accident.
McIlroy, in an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, said: “I’ve spoken to him a little bit.
“He’s doing better. I think all the guys have reached out to him. Hopefully if things go well over the next week or so, he might be able to get home and start to recover there, which would be great for him, see his kids, see his family.
“He’s doing better and I just think all of us are wishing him a speedy recovery at this point.”
Bryson DeChambeau will tee up today, in a group with world No.1 Dustin Johnson, fresh from his Bay Hill win.
But any shot of bulked-up Bryson taking an alternative route on the tricky 18th at Sawgrass, by hitting across the water towards the ninth fairway, has been kiboshed.
Five days ago he hit the longest drive on the sixth hole at Bay Hill since 2003, bombing his 370-yard effort over the water on the dog-leg par five.
But the PGA Tour have now introduced an internal out of bounds “in the interest of safety for spectators and other personnel”.
Brooks Koepka isn’t teeing up due to a sprained knee amid doubts over whether he will be ready for the Masters, with the first Major of 2021 now just four weeks away.
Things did not go to plan and he was first to text, ‘What’s going on?’ RORY McILROY ON WOODS’ REACTION TO BAY HILL FLOP
HANG up the bunting, start the open-top bus, Liverpool have won a home game.
Never mind this particular home game was in Budapest, Jurgen Klopp had been hungry for any crumb of comfort in these lean times.
The Puskas Arena is becoming a fortress. Shame the Premier League champions could not have played Burnley, Brighton and the rest there.
They will wonder how they did not have this match sewn before Mo Salah and Sadio Mane struck in the second half but routine progression to a Champions League quarterfinal is still a welcome positive for Klopp in the midst of their misery by the Mersey.
Actually, they will know how they did not have this match sewn up earlier – a procession of opportunities were wasted.
But at least the 2019 champions looked a real threat throughout and looked like they had a midfield that was seriously competitive.
Reds boss Klopp said: “Everybody had a really good game. It was a good performance.
“We have to use this as momentum. We have to make ourselves ready. If we play like we did tonight it will not be easy for Wolves. It is a massive difference.”
Scorer Salah added: “It is a big result for us. We came here after losing a few games in the Premier League.
“The team is not in the best shape but we want to fight in the Champions League and also fight in the Premier League
Klopp joy as Reds feel at home in Budapest LIVERPOOL .... 2 RB LEIPZIG ....
and see what can happen. We have been unlucky but the most important thing is we have to keep fighting.”
Two early passes to set up Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane respectively showed why persuading Gini Wijnaldum to stay at Anfield should be at the top of boardroom agenda.
That the Dutchman, not renowned for his vision, was able to find attacking gaps was a reflection of Leipzig’s defensive vulnerability.
That was never more evident than when Jota, hardly a giant, managed to meet a corner and bring a save from Peter Gulacsi.
There was also plenty of space behind a high German line, Salah scampering into the deserted acreage but failing to give Thiago’s spectacular pass the finish it deserved.
How Julian Nagelsmann’s team lie within one win of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga is difficult to fathom. Leipzig were not without threat – Emil Forsberg dragged a decent first-half chance wide – but Liverpool threatened to test Gulacsi pretty much every time they ventured into the final third.
Jota should have provided Liverpool with a half-time lead but mistook the sidenetting for the target.
There was always a chance the English team’s wastefulness would be punished but Alexander
Sorloth’s looping, bar-hitting header was about as close as a pedestrian Leipzig got to upsetting Alisson.
And the win Liverpool’s play deserved arrived when Salah applied a trademark finish after good work from Jota and Mane accepted a Divock Origi invitation on the half-volley.
It might not have been in Liverpool but Klopp’s smile was as wide as the Mersey.
No wonder. And no wonder he enveloped Wijnaldum in one of his throwback bear hugs when he subbed his skipper.
Make no mistake, after recent travails, this was a blessed relief for Klopp and his team. This was a blessed relief for a team that has been so badly shorn of confidence.
It turns out that no place like home can in fact be a place just like home.
CAMMY BELL remembers Neil Lennon wanting to take on a whole dressing room of his own players after Hibs blew their last chance to finish third in the top flight.
A derby defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle was bad enough but the combined blow to their hopes of finishing above Rangers in third place was too much to take.
Four days later a madcap 5-5 draw with the Ibrox side at Easter Road brought the 2017-18 season to a close and confirmed the Hibees would be in fourth spot.
Lennon famously marked Jamie Maclaren’s injury-time equaliser on that occasion with an aeroplane celebration but Hibs’ target of third had crash-landed.
The damage had been done on that Wednesday evening across the city in Gorgie when a brassed-off Lennon emerged from the dressing room to tell the media he’d be considering his position as manager.
He said: “We look like we are going to finish fourth which is unacceptable for me.”
But his words in the dressing room were far more brutally delivered.
Incredibly it’s now 16 years since Hibs last finished in the top three when Tony Mowbray led a team which boasted Scott Brown, Steven Whittaker, Steven Fletcher, Kevin Thomson, Garry O’Connor and Derek Riordan to the best-of-the-rest tag behind the Old Firm.
But Jack Ross has the current Hibees crop in pole position to end that lengthy wait.
Victory at Ross County this weekend would take them six points clear of managerless Aberdeen with six games to go.
And Bell reckons that would be an insurmountable gap.
Three years ago the keeper – now director of football at his hometown Annan Athletic – was among the subs as Hibs made their way across the capital to face their rivals knowing victory would move them level with Rangers on points ahead of their final-day showdown in Leith.
Bell recalled: “We played Rangers on the final day of the season and it finished 5-5!
“We had to win by five goals to finish third – and we went 3-0 up after 20-odd minutes so it was on for a while!
“But then they stormed back and the second half was just unbelievable.
“In terms of finishing third the damage had been done a few days earlier. We blew it in the Edinburgh derby.
“If we had beaten Hearts at Tynecastle we’d have gone into the Rangers game in a better shape but we lost 2-1.
“I remember Neil Lennon absolutely went through us in the changing room.
“He chucked all his staff out and basically tried to take on the team himself !
“He went absolutely tonto. It meant so much to him, as it did the players, and the frustration just came pouring out.
“He knew if we’d beaten Hearts and won the derby and all the emotion that comes with that then the momentum would have carried us through the Rangers game.
“It wasn’t to be though and in the end we had to make do with fourth which still got Hibs into the Europa League.
“They look to be in a better position now. This weekend is massive for them.”
Fourth may well have been unacceptable to Lennon three years ago but it got worse before it got better for Hibs. The following two campaigns saw fifth and seventh-place finishes under Paul Heckingbottom and
Ross. However, the current boss has steadily laid the foundations which see the club odds-on to take third spot for the first time since 2005.
Successive damaging defeats to Motherwell and St Johnstone may have rocked the boat but this game in hand over Aberdeen offers the chance to open up a sixpoint gap.
And Bell can’t see them throwing it away.
He said: “It’s a huge match for Hibs. They need to get back to winning ways.
“But with big players like Ofir Marciano and Martin Boyle then they absolutely have enough to go and finish the job. Aberdeen are a bit up in the air and when a new manager comes in at Pittodrie then it’s a case of how long it takes him to get the team playing the way he wants. “The transition period could be difficult for Aberdeen.
“If Hibs win this Saturday then it’s very much in their hands and I think they are good enough and have been together long enough to see it out.
“It would be a great achievement for them.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been so long since they finished third but Hibs are a big club and it’s good to see them back up there.”
It meant so much to him and all the frustration just came pouring out CAMMY BELL ON LENNON’S THIRD-PLACE RANT AT HIBS