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Record-breaker Guan targets US Open qualification

Guan Tianlang has become the youngest player to take part in a European Tour event after teeing off at the Volvo China Open aged 13 years and 177 days.

Guan booked his place in the 156-man field after finishing fourth in a mid-China qualifying event.

He has beaten the record of Lo Shih-kai, who was 13 years and 280 days old when he was involved in the 2003 Hong Kong Open.

However, Chinese golf prodigy Guan has not ruled out the possibility of reaching this year’s US Open too; something that would make him an outside bet on US Open golf.

The world junior champion said: “My goal for this week is to try to make the cut. Long term I was the youngest player to win the China amateur championship and it would be nice to be the youngest to win the China Open.

“After this tournament I think I want to try to qualify for the US Open.”

Guan could be struggling to make the cut at the China Open though after firing a five-over-par 77 in his first round.

His one birdie came on the seventh hole but he dropped shots on the first, fifth, sixth and ninth holes as well as firing a double-bogey six on the fourth. However, he parred all of the last nine holes.

Guan started playing when he was four and won the world junior crown last year in San Diego. He was 11 strokes clear of his nearest challenger after shooting a first-round 63 that included nine birdies and no bogeys.

It is thought that he could become the youngest player to ever compete in the Australian Masters in November and Australian Open in December. Those looking to bet on golf could do worse than keep an eye on this talented youngster for future events.

Ennis has Gold ambitions

Heptathlete Jessica Ennis is undoubtedly the ‘golden girl’ of British athletics, featuring prominently as she does on a multitude of media campaigns during the countdown to 2012.

The 26-year-old from Sheffield appears to be the complete package, with a combination of ability on track and field, and good looks, making her a headline writers dream. Can she deliver the goods though in London come August, and can Jess even emulate one or two British female stars of the past?

Those with long memories will remember a certain Mary Peters winning what was then a five-event competition when taking Pentathlon gold inMunichin 1972, after which she was made a dame. The event was changed to seven events in 1984, but it was to be another 16 years before Denise Lewis turned up to charm a nation by capturing gold inSydney.

Lewis, like Ennis now, had made a steady progression beforehand, winning the Commonwealth Games inVictoriain 1994, before finishing third inAtlantatwo years later. She retired in 2005, so the timing was perfect for a new poster girl to emerge.

Enter Jessica Ennis who really sprung to prominence when finishing fourth at the 2007 World Championships, after which she was being talked of as a medal contender. Disaster struck though as she suffered a stress fracture of the right foot, putting paid to any dreams of Olympic glory, for that year at least.

Since then though, the Sheffield superstar has really made up for lost time, taking gold at both the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, and the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona, setting a personal best in the process of 6823 points. The current Olympic champion Natalia Dobrynska of theUkrainewas second inSpain, 45 points behind, so that was most encouraging.

Ennis lost her World Championship title to another of her big rivals, the Russian Tatyana Chernova last year, but all being well, will come out on top when it matters most.

www.betfair.com ‘s 2012 london olympics betting odds suggest Ennis has a great chance of success.

Are Essex taking a t20 risk with Siddle?

Essex are looking to rebuild in 2012 after a learning experience throughout their first campaign back in LV County Championship Division Two but it is for the Friends Life t20 where they have made their marquee signing for the forthcoming season.

The county only finished seventh in Division Two but have moved to bolster their squad to improve by signing Alviro Petersen as an overseas signing however it’s the acquisition of Peter Siddle for the summer’s t20 competition which will have raised some eyebrows.

The 27-year-old fast bowler is a leading figure in Test cricket for Australia and has taken 114 wickets in 31 Test appearances at an average of 29.03 but he has struggled in the shorter formats and has only featured in two international t20 matches.

If Siddle can configure his game to impress in the shorter formatter then Essex could be a major force in the Friends Life t20 and should be nailed on for an improvement in their sixth-place in the South Group finish in 2011.

But it is a gamble as, despite Siddle ranked the fifth-best Test bowler in the world, he has yet to impress in t20 competitions but Essex head coach Paul Grayson is over the moon to get the Aussie’s signature.

“We are delighted to have signed Australia’s premier bowler in Test cricket,” he proclaimed.

“We are all very excited to be bringing in a world-class bowler for our FL t20 campaign.”

Essex pace bowler Reece Topley has been heralded by many as a potential England star of the future, and the 18-year-old left-armer is expected to have a big County Championship Division Two campaign in 2012. England cricket betting may be more appealing with the youngster in the side but this is some way off – for now punters are looking at IPL 2012 betting.

Mealamu slams Weepu

Club captain Keven Mealamu has taken the unusual step of publicly criticising his Auckland Blues and All Blacks team-mate Piri Weepu over his lack of match sharpness and form.

Weepu, a 56-Test veteran, made the switch from the Hurricanes to Auckland in the close-season having helped New Zealand to World Cup glory on home soil last year and writers producing rugby previews predicting Weepu to make a big impact.

However, five defeats from their opening six Super Rugby games has led to mounting internet criticism from Blues followers who watch rugby league live online or verbal abuse in the stadiums themselves.

On Wednesday coach Pat Lam almost broke down when he revealed he had been the target of racist abuse on social networking websites.

Mealamu pulled no punches when expressing his disappointment that Weepu had not made the desired impact at Eden Park.

“He’s a player that we can definitely do with out there. He’s probably not in the top condition that he’s been in his career and that’s what we really need from him, to be at that top fitness level,” Mealamu told Radio Sport.
Weepu returned to Wellington last weekend to play club rugby for Wainuiomata after limited game-time in the Blues’ loss to the Melbourne Rebels.

Key to the 28-year-old’s poor performances, according to Mealamu, is a lack of match fitness and general physical condition. He added Weepu owed it to his new franchise to get himself in top shape to try and help the team snap a wretched run of form.

He added: “If he’d turned up in better condition then he’d be able to contribute more to us. That’s something he’s going to have to look at, we’re going to have to look at as well. We’re all professionals here, we should never have to turn up in that sort of shape.”

Improving Casey eyes more hard work

Paul Casey believes his confidence his building again after enduring a miserable start to the year.

Casey, who is currently involved in the Volvo China Open in Tianjin, will be hoping to show how far he has progressed when he takes part in the US Open in June after failing to make the cut at the Masters earlier this month.

The 34-year-old Englishman, who won the China Open six years ago when it was held in Shenzen, but did not rank as favourite in the Betfair Golf US Open Betting, was forced to miss the first two months of this year, after suffering a dislocated shoulder while snowboarding.

He said: “Sitting around on the couch has brought the passion back and now I just have to put in a lot of hard work to get back to the required standard.

“The ball-striking is good, but I just don’t have the consistency yet. The razor sharpness in the putting isn’t there yet, but I have made great strides and the confidence is growing.”

Casey, who has won 11 tournaments on the European tour during his career as well as the 2009 Houston Open on the US PGA calendar, has a poor record at the US Open. His best finish came in 2007 when he finished tied for tenth and he failed to make the cut last year.

He has a better record at the Open Championship, finishing third in 2010 and seventh two years earlier, but has never managed to break into the top ten at the USPGA Championship.

His best finish at that tournament came in 2010 when he was tied for 12th but he was back in 72nd last year.

Casey was sixth on his first Masters appearance in 2004 and also finished tied for tenth in 2007.

Should Carroll Go To The Euro’s?

Much has been said about Andy Carroll since his move to Anfield last season, and to date he is dismissed as the £35million flop by most people in football. In recent weeks however, Carroll seems to be showing more and more desire to find his feet in a Liverpool shirt and his winning goal in this weekend’s FA cup semi final over Everton, will have done him plenty of favours.

Not only will Carroll receive more respect by the Liverpool faithful it might also do his chances of a call up to England’s Euro 2012 squad a world of good too.

For starters, we don’t know yet who will actually be naming the squad, although Harry Redknapp looks the most likely. But whoever is picking the squad should he be considering Carroll?

For a centre forward he has only scored four Premier League goals all season and hasn’t played for England since coming on as a substitute against Wales last September, which doesn’t bode well for him.

On the other hand however, if you look at Carroll’s performances in an England shirt, he looks to take the occasion for playing for his country in his stride. He is a strong character and he doesn’t look overawed by the occasion, which is important for an International player. We have seen so many great English players completely underperform in big games because the shirt comes with such intense pressure.

Carroll, from his time with Liverpool, is certainly experienced in coping with similar pressure through his bad form, and if he has a strong end to the season, he will be an even better player and well equipped mentally, to lead the England line or at least be in the squad.

I am no huge fan of Carroll’s and of course he is way over valued. He isn’t technically good enough to be a world beater but he does have qualities that perhaps could be useful in the Euro’s. It will be interesting to see if his name will be on the list to go to Poland and Ukraine this summer! Betfair betting online suggests that England could do a lot worse than invite the most expensive Englishman in the history of football to the championships!

The Role Of Carlos Tevez

Manchester City put in another excellent performance this weekend with the 6-1 win at Norwich, with Carlos Tevez getting a hat trick in the game. Earlier this season Betfair online betting would have given quite high odds for

Tevez was instrumental in the win and the whole team looked like they were full of creativity and confidence, which makes you ask the question as to whether City would have wrapped up the title by now had Tevez been around all season.

We all know by now what has happened with Tevez this season, the whole refusal to play in the Champions League tie with Bayern Munich, which led to him going AWOL in Argentina for 5 months of the season.

Whether this was morally wrong from Tevez is a different issue, as is the fact that City are now actually playing him despite insisting he will never play for the club again. However, now he is back, he has been playing well and has given City the lift they much needed, and I think that had he stuck around City would still have a strong lead in the league.

Tevez is a true leader (on the pitch at least!), he always put’s 100% effort into his performances, drives the team, scores goals, and of course has that touch of magic that Champions need. In his absence, the likes of Balotelli, Aguero and Dzeko have all contributed goal wise but add the amount of goals Tevez would have scored this season and you have a title winning team.

Tevez’ comeback might not be too late with City still within touching distance of United, but I wonder who the finger of blame will be pointed at if City don’t win the title? Will it be at Tevez for turning his back on the club when they needed him or will it be on Mancini for not being able to manage the situation? Either way, it will be an interesting summer to see if Tevez will stay at the Etihad stadium after all, or if he will move to yet another club!

Step Too Far For Wigan?

The Monday night fixture between Arsenal and Wigan should be a great game if you judge it on the way the two teams have been playing recently.

Wigan pulled off that sensational victory over Manchester United on Wednesday night to give themselves further hope of surviving, and they could have taken something from Stamford Bridge last week had they not been robbed by two disgraceful refereeing decisions!

Roberto Martinez deserves a lot of credit for the job he is doing at the DW Stadium. He has barely any money to work with but despite his team being at the bottom of the league all season, he still sticks to his beliefs of playing football, and keeps his team full of belief and motivation.

I hope that he can stay up again which would be a marvellous achievement, but I think the game at the Emirates might just be a game too far them to pick up further points.

The matches against Chelsea and United were played at such intensity that it will be difficult to repeat against Arsenal who are playing well and full of confidence.

As a result, I think they might have to sit back and hope that they can hit Arsenal on the counter, otherwise they will leave the game wide open, get tired, and that is where Arsenal will hit you. Arsenal are flying and the players seems to have clicked. It looks like they are all enjoying going out to play their football again and the Emirates fans are responding, which will make it an even bigger task for Wigan.

It is amazing to see the turn around that Arsene Wenger has managed to produce and he deserves full credit for that. There is a concern though that the recent performances might just cover up the cracks when it comes to the summer, because they still need better players if they are to compete for the title.

Online sports betting would make the Gooners favourites going in to this game but Betfair bets in favour of in form Wigan may also be worth a shot.

Kawhi Leonard Flourishing at Spurs!

NBA Online:

As Kawhi Leonard came fresh out of college into the NBA he has the reputation of the kid that could certainly play, but he sure couldn’t shoot! In college he had just a 29% score from the 3-point line, but everybody had him down has going to be a great rebounder and defender, but just look at him now!

He has established himself as a starter for the second best team in the west as he plays at least 25 minutes each night and shooting, wait for it… 37% from behind the NBA 3-point line! Not a bad improvement!

Improvement is an understatement, this for a rookie has been considered by some as being a minor miracle. But for San Antonio Spurs it is simply business as usual! It is no accident that Leonard has improved like he has done. Players like Leonard are special but need plenty of support from the organization that drafts them to reach their potential and San Antonio Spurs are the perfect club for him. They have an awesome track record of finding and developing talent and could even be considered as the Oakland Athletics of the NBA! Their ‘Moneyball’ approach to the drafting system is working well for them, it’s a breath of fresh air for the NBA, and when we get to see rookies flourish in the way that Leonard has then we wish more teams would take the same philosophy in recruiting players.

The NBA draft is the time for a player to change a franchise. But San Antonio Spurs are now proving that more often than not this can actually work the other way around! Keep up to date with NBA betting tips with NBA online.

Nina and Katie hoping to make Grand National history

Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh both hail from legendary Irish racing dynasties and the two firm friends but serious rivals both have significant prospects of being involved in the finish of the world’s greatest steeplechase and becoming international sporting superstars if they can triumph in the John Smith’s Grand National, ‘the world’s greatest steeplechase’, at Aintree on Saturday, writes Elliot Slater.

Such an occurrence was no more than a Hollywood dream when Elizabeth Taylor won on board The Pie in the 1945 movie ‘National Velvet’ during an era when women weren’t even allowed to compete in the race, but since Charlotte Brew first rode in the contest in the 1970’s and Geraldine Rees became the first to complete on Cheers in the 1980’s, there have been a handful of women who have taken on the awesome challenge of the 30 spruce fences and the four-and-a-half-mile trip.

Nina Carberry has twice got round on board John Quinns’ Character Building, finishing a tremendous seventh in the 2010 renewal then coming home fifteenth on the grey last year. This time around she has a big chance on board Arthur Moore’s Organisedconfusion (28/1), who is a popular choice among those looking for rather less obvious tips for the 2012 Grand National the horse she famously partnered to victory last year in the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.

Katie Walsh will ride Seabass (20/1 in the Betfair Grand National betting) for her father Ted, and the sister of the hugely popular Ruby has already expressed her utter delight at being given the chance to compete on the greatest stage of all. Katie partnered the vastly improved chaser to win at Limerick in December before the pair followed up a month later in slamming a strong field to win the valuable Leopardstown Handicap Chase by eight-lengths from Out Now, and any cut in the ground will certainly be to the benefit of Walsh’s mount.

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