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Sweden’s Karlsson on track to claim prestigious golf honour

Sweden's Mr. Consistency, Robert Karlsson, will bid to become the first player from his country to win the European Order of Merit when he tees off in the season-closing Volvo Masters at Valderrama on Thursday.

Published: 29 October 2008 13:48 CET

The 39-year-old Ryder Cup star has enjoyed the finest year of his career to date and he is in pole position having racked up 12 top-10 finishes and won back-to-back tournaments this season in the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

His play in the four majors has also been exemplary having tied for eighth in the Masters Tournament, tied for fourth in the US Open Championship, tied for seventh in the British Open and tied for 20th in the US PGA Championship.

That has helped him amass total prize money of €2,695,248 ($3,447,490), nearly €300,000 ahead of second-placed Padraig Harrington.

The Irishman has had an even more spectacular year than Karlsson winning the British Open, where he was the defending champion, and the USPGA in a stunning few weeks in the summer.

To overtake Karlsson and succeed Justin Rose as Order of Merit winner, the 37-year-old Harrington, who also won the trophy in 2006, needs to finish first or second, on a course he is not comfortable on, and hope that the big Swede does not finish second.

The winner’s purse is €708,000.

Harrington, who was a teammate of Karlsson at the Ryder Cup in September, was quick to reject any suggestions that Karlsson would be an unworthy Order of Merit winner taking into account his own two wins in the majors that have propelled him to fifth place in the world rankings, one ahead of the Swede.

“At the end of the day, I haven’t played enough events to put myself out there,” he said.

“And in the events I played, I certainly didn’t show the form that I probably showed in the States this year. My best events definitely weren’t in Europe this year at all.

“I had a lot of top-five finishes in the States, but didn’t seem to have much form in Europe, and that’s why I’m not winning the European Order of Merit at the moment. Obviously, I need a big week this week.

“Robert has performed more consistently in Europe throughout the year, so consistency-wise, and that’s what an Order of Merit is, he probably deserves it.

“But that doesn’t mean he gets it. We have to wait until Sunday to sort that out.”

Lee Westwood of England and Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain are also still in with a chance of finishing the year as European number one, but their chances are remote as they have too much ground to make up on Karlsson.

Other issues at stake include finalizing the top 15 players on the Order of Merit who will secure a place in next year’s US Open at Bethpage in New York, while the top 30 also qualify for The Open at Turnberry.

CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Published: 16 September 2023 07:56 CEST
Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

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