Today's other sports news in brief
Williams 'nervous' ahead of Woods' return to action
GOLF:Tiger Woods' caddie has said he was "a little nervous" ahead of the world number one's imminent return after knee surgery.
Woods has been out of action since winning the US Open in June, but is on the brink of announcing the date of his comeback tournament.
“I am a little nervous to see how he is going to come back,” Steve Williams told Sky Sports television. “Nine months out of the game after a major operation is a long time.
“But he is a helluva competitor and one of the best we’ve ever seen in this game, so I would suspect he’ll carry right on. He has had to modify his swing a little bit to accommodate his knee, but the guy always finds a way.”
New Zealander Williams said Woods wanted to play at least two tournaments before the US Masters which starts on April 9th.
“Any day now he is going to make a decision when he is going to play. He is probably 95 per cent of the way there. He just needs a little bit more walking, he hasn’t been able to walk too well.”
Hushovd wins
CYCLING:Norway's Thor Hushovd sprinted to a stage three victory in the Tour of California, while hat-trick seeking American Levi Leipheimer recovered from a minor spill to retain the overall lead.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong finished in the main pack to maintain his fourth place in the overall standings.
McMillen strikes twice for UCD
SOCCER:Dave McMillen grabbed two second-half goals to maintain UCD's hold on the David Faiers Trophy in the Colours game against Dublin University at College Park yesterday.
The striker headed the opener from a free, and steered home the second after goalkeeper Michael Schroll had saved brilliantly from a fierce Seán Geoghegan drive.
De Schrooder best for Irish team
CYCLING:Belgian rider Benny de Schrooder was best placed of the Irish An Post Donnelly Grant Kelly team on stage one of the Tour of the Algarve yesterday, finishing 14th, writes Shane Stokes.
The 173.6km stage was won in a bunch sprint by German rider Heinrich Haussler (Cervélo Test, ahead of Rabobank’s Denis Van Winden.
Irish riders Stephen Gallagher and Páidí O’Brien also finished in the main bunch. David O’Loughlin was riding his first road race for the team and lost over four minutes on the stage; he has just returned to road racing after extensive track training sessions. These netted him second in the individual pursuit at last weekend’s track World Cup in Copenhagen, but he is likely to find the transition back to the road difficult due to the much greater stamina requirements.
Today’s second stage is 183.5kms finishing in Lagos.
Higgins through to last 16
SNOOKER:John Higgins yesterday advanced to the second round of the Welsh Open with a 5-2 victory over Dominic Dale in Newport.
The first four were shared before Higgins won the last three. The former world champion recorded a break of 101 in the sixth frame, and sealed victory in style in the next.
After Dale was first in with a break of 33, Higgins compiled a superb 60 despite the last three reds being awkwardly situated, leaving himself in position to double the final one into the middle pocket.
Israel tie behind closed doors
TENNIS:Sweden will play their Davis Cup tie against Israel next month in an empty arena because of security concerns. The decision was taken through a vote of the recreational committee of Malmo.
Meanwhile, Venus Williams breezed into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championships yesterday with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.
Benaud to hang up microphone
CRICKET: Former Australian captain Richie Benaud will retire from television commentary next year. The 78-year-old said he will quit after his contract ends in 12 months.
Benaud played 63 Tests between 1952 and 1964, captaining his country 28 times. But he is just as well known for his media work as his playing career.
