The 2018 Ryder Cup Venue: What to Expect From the Course

Next year, France will play host to one of the most exciting events in the golfing calendar: the 2018 Ryder Cup venue will be Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, just outside Paris. The competition is set to take place from 28th-30th September, and will mark only the second time continental Europe has hosted the Ryder Cup. Europe will be keen to get their hands back on the trophy after America’s 17-11 victory at Hazeltine, Minnesota in 2016. Europe have dominated the Ryder Cup since 2002, having won six of the last eight tournaments – so no doubt they’ll be looking to get their record back on track now they’re on home soil. But what can we expect from the 2018 Ryder Cup venue? Let’s take a look… The 2018 Ryder Cup venue: Le Golf National Le Golf National was designed by architects Hubert Chesneau and Robert von Hagge. A relatively new course, it opened for play in 1990, and has hosted the French Open every year since but two. The 2018 Ryder Cup venue will be Le Golf National’s spectacular championship course, L’Albatros. L’Albatros is notoriously difficult, and a favourite for many players. Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell said of it: “This is such a difficult course here, we may have one of the greatest Ryder Cup venues in European golf history in 2018.” The 2018 Ryder Cup venue: what’s the course like? L’Albatros is a stadium course featuring expansive, undulating fairways and links-style bunkers. It has few trees, but in typical European Ryder Cup style, plenty of water hazards to keep players on their toes. The man-made hills and undulations...

Six Nations in Rome: How Will Italy Fare Against England?

Seeing the Six Nations in Rome is an unforgettable experience. Beautiful architecture, iconic monuments, winding cobbled streets, vibrant colours and stunning food all combine to make Rome one of the most exciting destinations in the Six Nations calendar. The Six Nations 2018 fixtures have just been announced, and England will take on Italy for their first match of the tournament. Following a controversial clash between the two teams earlier this year, England will head to Rome to face Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on 4th February. What happened last time? England will be hungry for revenge next year after Italy gave them a scare with some controversial tactics during this year’s Six Nations. In a shock measure, the Italians repeatedly refused to commit any men other than the initial tackler to the breakdown, meaning no rucks were formed and offside rules became irrelevant. England were completely bamboozled by this unusual tactic for the first half of the game, and were left with egg on their faces when they walked back into the changing room 10-5 down at half time. The hosts came back after the break determined not to make the same mistake again, and managed to claw their way back to a 36-15 win. Six Nations in Rome: looking ahead to next year England have won the last two Six Nations titles and are strong favourites again. They’ll be looking to get off to a fast start against Italy in a bid to make it a third consecutive tournament win. Just beating Italy won’t be good enough, though. Under new rules introduced in 2017, teams get a bonus point...

Malaysian Grand Prix Facts: 10 Things You Didn’t Know

The race may still be a good few months away, but we’ve put together a list of Malaysian Grand Prix facts to whet your appetite in the meantime.   The end of an era With its exotic surroundings and devilish circuit, the Malaysian Grand Prix is one of the most unique and exciting races on the F1 calendar. But in November last year Malaysia’s culture and tourism minister, Nazri Abdul Aziz, confirmed that the Sepang track would stop hosting an F1 grand prix after its current agreement expires in 2018. That means there may only be two more chances to experience this iconic race for the foreseeable future. We’ll be sorry to see it go…so much so that we had to put together this fact-based tribute. So without further ado, here are our 10 fascinating Malaysian Grand Prix facts… 1. The Sepang track hosted its first grand prix in 1999 The Sepang International Circuit was designed by German designer Hermann Tilke and constructed between 1997 and 1999 under Mahathir Mohamad’s government. The Prime Minister built the track as part of a series of major infrastructure projects designed to turn the country into a fully industrialised nation. 2. There have been 10 different winners so far Of 18 races so far, 10 different drivers have taken the top spot. Eddie Irvine won the inaugural race for Ferrari in 1999 – but only after an appeal heard the following week. Ferrari were initially disqualified amidst questions over the legality of their cars’ bargeboards. Luckily for Irvine, the appeal found in favour of Ferrari and his win was reinstated – proving to...

England’s 2017 Tour of the West Indies: Ones to Watch

England’s 2017 tour of the West Indies promises exhilarating cricket action in one of the world’s premier cricketing destinations. The tour will see England take on the West Indies in a series of three one-day international matches from 3-9 March 2017. A score to settle England will be eager to prove their dominance after a dramatic loss against West Indies in the World T20 final back in April. In a thrilling final over twist, West Indies’ Carlos Brathwaite smashed England’s Ben Stokes for four successive sixes to snatch a sensational four-wicket victory. Stokes was understandably distraught. Having had bad blood with the West Indies side before, he’ll no doubt be looking to settle the score in the Caribbean next year. Warming up for the ICC Champions Trophy England’s 2017 tour of the West Indies will serve as something of a warm-up for the ICC Champions Trophy in June next year. The squad’s performance in the West Indies is likely to be a major influencing factor in who gets selected to play in the Champions Trophy tournament. Whilst most of the side is relatively set in stone, it looks like there may be a few spots up for grabs. Controversy over Bangladesh tour England are currently touring Bangladesh, but one-day captain Eoin Morgan and opening batsman Alex Hales caused a stir by opting out of the tour because of security concerns. The England and Wales Cricket Board decided to go ahead with the tour, despite a heightened risk of terrorism. They offered players a choice over whether or not to come. But after making themselves unavailable for selection, Morgan and...

English Golf – Who Will Shine in the Next Five Years?

It’s been nearly four years since an Englishman was the world’s number one-ranked golfer – but could that wait be coming to an end? Luke Donald was the last Englishman to be world number one back in the summer of 2012. Since then, five different golfers have topped the rankings – Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day. Danny Willett shot up into the world’s top ten following his historic win at the Masters this year. Could he be the next Englishman to make it to the top of the world rankings? English golf – rising stars The four main rising talents in English golf at the moment are Danny Willett, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Andy Sullivan and Chris Wood. After winning the Masters it’s no surprise Willett is highest up the world rankings at the moment – he’s just entered the top ten for the first time in his career. Matthew Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan have also made extremely good progress over the last few months, both entering the top 50 for the first time in their careers. Fitzpatrick only turned pro in 2014 after seeing amateur success early in his career. He won his first professional tournament – the British Masters – late last year, which was a huge milestone for the young pro. Sullivan has been pro for slightly longer than Fitzpatrick, making the step back in 2011. However, he had an unsuccessful first couple of years as a pro and it wasn’t until last year his form changed for the better. Three wins in 2015 really helped Sullivan get his career back on track, and he’s been...

Road to the Semi-Finals – Liverpool’s Journey

Liverpool FC are one of the biggest clubs in Europe and around the world, so it’s great to see them playing well in a European competition again. It has now been 11 years since that incredible comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul to win the Champions League final. So can Liverpool go all the way to Basel this year and end the wait for European success? Road to the semi-finals – Liverpool’s journey Liverpool finished sixth in the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season and were rewarded with a place in the Europa League. They were put into a group with Bordeaux, Rubin Kazan and FC Sion. Liverpool started their European campaign with three straight draws. However, two of those draws were at Anfield where they were expected to win. They then managed to get two straight wins against Bordeaux and Rubin Kazan. A draw against FC Sion in the final game made sure that Liverpool topped the group and progressed into the knockout stages. The round of 32 – Liverpool’s journey In the round of 32 Liverpool were drawn against FC Augsburg, a German side they were expected to beat comfortably. The first leg was in Germany and it proved to be a very tough match. Liverpool really struggled to break down the Augsburg defence and had a lot of defending of their own to do! There were no goals in the first leg, which meant a nervous trip back to Anfield as the away goal rule was now in play. The second leg was a much better all-round performance by Liverpool and couldn’t have started much better. They...