England’s Danny Willett overcame a neck injury to join playing partner Rafa Cabrera-Bello in shooting an eight-under-par 64 to share a two-shot lead on the opening day of the BMW International Open in Cologne on Thursday.
Willett had been forced out of Wednesday’s Pro-Am as he struggled with a neck injury picked up while sleeping in Manchester Airport on Tuesday awaiting a flight to Cologne.
The 26-year-old then underwent extensive treatment to take his place on the same Gut Larcenhof course where he broke through two years ago to claim a maiden Tour title.
“I’ve had some terrible flights since taking two-and-a-half days to get back from the US Open, so that’s how I guess I picked up the injury, but a round like this helps,” he said.
“Also I was at Manchester Airport on Tuesday trying to catch up on some sleep when our flight was eventually canceled,” he said.
“But the physio guys on the Tour have been great and with the weather pretty warm out here, the neck hasn’t felt all that bad,” he said.
Cabrera-Bello, who like Willett did not drop a shot, had the encouragement of his younger sister, Emma, who is a fellow professional who competed on the Ladies European Tour from 2008 to last year.
“It’s great having my sister here as she enjoys coming out a few times in the year to watch me play,” he said.
“She’s stopped playing full-time and is now a full-time student, but we play a lot of social golf together and we both try to help each other,” Cabrera-Bello added.
Seven players share third place on six-under-par, including the England pair of Graeme Storm and Andy Sullivan, along with Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey, France’s Gary Stal, Denmark’s Anders Hansen, Argentina’s Emilano Grillo and Spain’s Alvaro Quiros.
Reigning US Open champion Martin Kaymer struggled on the greens and, also with crowd expectations, in his return to competition since his eight-shot Pinehurst triumph shooting a one-under-par 71.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS