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p17 2_Layout 1 10/18/14 9:32 PM Page 1 SUN DAY, OCTOBER 19, 2014 SPORTS Match Play organisers look Photo of the day to future after Volvo exit ASH: Organisers are confident there will be a staged the championship from 1964-2007. 50th edition of the World Match Play Since then it has been to Spain and Bulgaria, it Championship next year despite the withdraw- even disappeared from the calendar in 2008 al of tournament sponsors Volvo, they said yes- and 2010. Last year’s champion Graeme terday. The Swedish carmaker, which has McDowell welcomed the move back to the backed a variety of European Tour events for south of England this week and said the players the last 26 years, recently announced it was were keen to return the World Match Play to its drastically reducing its golfing commitments in former glories. the future. Volvo will no longer support the “I believe this is a step in the right direction, World Match Play, or the Golf Champions event coming back to London,” said the world num- in South Africa at the start of the year, and will ber 18. “When you look at the trophy and the purely focus on the China Open. names on it, this tournament deserves a great Guy Kinnings, global head of golf with long- spot in the calendar. It deserves a quality venue time tournament organisers IMG, said he was like this one this week.” nonetheless hopeful the World Match Play Kinnings said IMG would like to keep the would keep its place on the calendar in 2015 tournament at the London Club but added the with new sponsors. “For the 50 years of its exis- company were keeping all options open. tence the championship has only had seven “We’re not wedded to the idea of it being sponsors so we’ve got a pretty good strike rate,” based in one place, or moved around, or rotat- Kinnings told Reuters in an interview at the ed between venues-we are pretty flexible,” he London Club. “There aren’t many golf events explained. that have been around for half a century...after “We’d love to keep it in London, it’s where all the World Match Play was around before we wanted to be for our 50th year. The London even the European Tour was in existence. Club has been great, the crowds have been “We’re proud of the fact this event was cre- great and they love their match play golf so ated by our founder Mark McCormack. He we’d dearly love to find a way to make that brought in Arnold Palmer to win the first one in happen. “Equally though we’ve got to make 1964,” added Kinnings. sure we look at all the alternatives and ensure “We’ve moved on and adapted to the the event is secure for future years as we look changing world of golf, the new schedules and towards the next half century.” such like, and we are pretty confident it will still Kinnings used McIlroy as an example when have an appeal to sponsors.” he pointed to the fact that the best golfers are The 2014 Match Play failed to attract the ‘A- usually willing to travel to the leading tourna- list’ golfers, with world number one Rory ments. McIlroy, third-ranked Sergio Garcia and number “The players broadly are pretty responsible,” six Justin Rose among those missing this week. he said. “A lot of the Europeans for example are The greatest names in the game, players like based in Florida these days but they still travel. Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, “Look at Rory, he takes the game around the Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros, feature on world, so we are pretty confident that if we can Orlando Duque of Colombia dives from the 27 metre platform on La Salves Bridge next to the Guggenheim Museum during the the roll of honour, but the 16-man event has fill the two most important criteria of getting the sixth stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Bilbao, Spain.— www.redbull.com lost some of its identity in recent times. the right sponsor and the right dates on the calendar that we’ll attract the sort of players QUALITY VENUE who will excite the crowds and the media and The iconic West Course at Wentworth everyone will come and watch.”—Reuters Cilic defeat Robredo to Knox, Putnam tied in Las Vegas enter Kremlin Cup semis MOSCOW: US Open champion LAS VEGAS: Russell Knox sank a 13-foot “I don’t want to change anything,” he Marin Cilic cruised comfortably birdie at the final hole to join Andrew told Golf Channel. “I feel my progression into the Kremlin Cup semi-finals Putnam as leader of the $6.2 million has been nice and steady and if I just keep with a confident straight-sets vic- Shiners Hospitals for Children Open after doing the same things I’m doing, I’ll tory over sixth-seed Tommy the second round in Las Vegas on Friday. improve year after year.” Robredo of Spain on Friday. Knox, coming off a solid season in which Not that his second round was all he finished 40th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx smooth sailing. “I didn’t get off to a great The 26-year-old Croat, a Cup standings, overcame two early bogeys start. I got a bit worried because I was all career-high eighth in the ATP to card a four-under-par 67 at the TPC over the map I didn’t feel real good with my rankings, fired 10 aces to beat Summerlin in Nevada. swing (but) I knew if I just made some pars Robredo 6-3, 6-3 to keep alive his He and tour rookie Putnam, whose eventually something would click and I chances of making it into the sea- brother Michael also plays on tour, were at made some putts which settled me down.” son-ending ATP World Tour Finals 10-under 132, a stroke ahead of Andrew Simpson, meanwhile, was rarely in trou- in London. Svoboda (67) and Tony Finau (65), while ble and hit 17 greens in regulation to move Second-seed Cilic, sixth in the defending champion Webb Simpson (65) within striking distance of the leaders at race to London needs to reach was among a group two shots behind. the halfway mark. “It was one of those days the final at this combined ATP Martin Laird was tied for the lead after you really enjoy because it seems pretty and WTA event to increase his tal- 15 holes before making a double bogey to easy,” the 2012 U.S. Open champion said. ly, and broke Robredo’s serve for finish the day two shots off the pace. “Nothing really jumped out (as being extra a one-set lead in 31 minutes. Stewart Cink had a nightmare start with a special). Just ball on the fairway, ball on the The opponents traded breaks quadruple-bogey at his second hole, where green and made a few putts.” This is early in the second set before big he took six strokes to hole out from a Simpson’s first event since a wretched server Cilic moved up a gear to greenside bunker. He ended the round sev- Ryder Cup, where he played only two produce two more breaks to win en strokes back. Knox, 29, has not won on matches (halving one and losing the other) the set and the match in one Tour, his closest call coming in a four-way after being one of American captain Tom hour 16 minutes. playoff at last year’s Honda Classic, but he Watson’s three wild-card picks. This week’s “My match today was a little has progressed steadily in his two-plus sea- Las Vegas tournament is the second on the sons on the game’s biggest stage. 2014-15 PGA Tour schedule.—Reuters higher that my first one here,” Cilic said. “Robredo is very dan- gerous from the back. He’s a very difficult player to oppose and today I had to play much longer MOSCOW: Croatia’s Marin Cilic returns the ball to Spainís Tommy Robredo during their match at the than I expected. “I’m really happy Kremlin Cup tennis tournament. —AP that I managed to win in two sets.” four with a straight-sets win 6-4, er last four encounter Czech they are ranked in the world’s top In the match for a place in his 7-5 over fifth seeded local crowd’s unheralded teenager Katerina 20. fifth final of the season Cilic will favorite Svetlana Kuznetsova. Siniakova, who beat Italy’s Camila Nishikori should also mathe- face last year’s runner-up Mikhail “When we were walking on Georgi in a three-hour marathon matically secure his place in Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, who court I remembered that she beat 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-5, will clash with London in the coming weeks as continued his heroics on the hard me in Fed Cup here,” this year’s sixth seeded Russia’s Anastasia he has risen to fifth in the season courts of Moscow’s Olympic ven- Wimbledon semi-finalist Safarova Pavlyuchenkova, winner of a standings with victory on home ue by beating the 2009 champion said. “There was a huge will for match against compatriot Vitalia soil at the Japan Open earlier this Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 1-6, 7-6 me to change that memory and I Diatchennko 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

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