Tiger poised for push at Bay Hill
English! What English?
The Umpires who stood at a recent game between a touring English team and the local team were flabbergasted that the Umpires could not understand English! Reports have been handed in by both teams to the officials concerned and none of them favour the ‘Men in the Middle’. Wonder on what basis these officials were picked!
What do we do now?
There was a time when a game against a neighbouring country was considered a nonentity in whatever sport a local team was engaged in. The recent defeat of one of our top teams by this nation was too much to stomach that the Big Man berated the authorities concerned. He told them in no uncertain terms that they were put there to uplift the game and look, what has happened! He asked the top officials: What do we do now?
Orders over the phone
A certain official who was in charge of a top cricket field down south was given the task of getting the ground ready to play a top team from the cooler climes. However this official was not there as he was away watching his team being smashed by the home team in a neighbouring country. Not to be outdone this official was giving orders by phone as to what to do in order to get the ground in condition. The game began on Friday but all was not to the liking of the participants. Let’s see what they have to say about the grounds?
The boozing trio
Now there is an interesting story about a Translator who translates from English to Sinhala at a leading sports body. They say that this translator has three good friends and they are referred to as the Three Musketeers - definitely not the Musketeers of Alexander Dumas! These three guys have a habit of hitting the bottle out of the money earned by the Translator as they are in a position to pay him much more than the stipulated amount. While a sizable sum goes to the Translator’s pocket, the rest goes to the boozing trio.
The Big question
Then there is another case about a certain umpire. This official is supposed to be an official of a leading club but somehow or the other managed to stand in when his club was playing a key three day game. It is said that this umpire has also played for this club some years back. The big question is, who or why was he nominated to be an official of this game?
Smart move or what
Tiger Woods set himself up for a real shot at his first PGA Tour win in over two years by grabbing a share of the lead after the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Friday. Woods, who shot a bogey-free round of 65, and South Korean Charlie Wi reached the halfway point level at ten-under par, a stroke ahead of Northern Ireland's Graeme Mcdowell and in-form American Jason Dufner.
Former world number one Woods has not won on the Tour since his victory in the BMW Championship in September, 2009, but has already racked up six titles on the Bay Hill course.
“Fortunately I've had a few places where I've felt comfortable and played well and this is one of them,” said Woods.
“It was a solid round of golf. I actually felt like I hit it better yesterday than today but I've made more putts today for sure. I felt great over the putter.
“My speed was good, I left a couple of putts dead short right in the centre of the hole and it really could have been a really low round today. A lot of positives.”
Wi, who shared the overnight lead with Dufner, birdied four of the last six holes to remain tied at the top of the leaderboard.
World number 17 Mcdowell produced a sparkling nine-under 63 to put himself in contention for what promises to be a fascinating weekend.
Mcdowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champion, was also bogey-free and notched seven birdies, and an eagle at the par-five 16th.
His 63, one shy of the course record, was in marked contrast to last year when he slumped to an ugly 80 in the opening round.
“My record has not been very good here the last few years but still I had the belief I could come and compete here if I got it all together,” he said.
“It is going to be a quality leaderboard and it's nice to be in the mix heading into the weekend,” added the Northern Irishman.
Dufner, the joint overnight leader with Wi, returned a 69 to join Mcdowell on nine under. England's Justin Rose carded a second 69 and is four shots behind the leaders after bogeys on the eighth and ninth restricted his progress.
“I had it going really nicely on the front nine got
it to
Former world number one Woods has not won on the Tour since his victory in the BMW Championship in September, 2009, but has already racked up six titles on the Bay Hill course.
seven-under par and then threw two bogeys which killed the momentum.
From that point on it was a struggle for the rest of the day,” he said.
Spain's Sergio Garcia also showed promising pre-u.s. Masters form when a 67 put him on 139 along with American Bubba Watson (70). Courtesy Reuters.