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Sweden’s Hanson breaks Ryder Cup code of silence

Swedish golfer Peter Hanson, set to play in his first Ryder Cup, ignored a gag order put in place by European team captain Colin Montgomerie and divulged details of internal discussions among the squad.

Sweden's Hanson breaks Ryder Cup code of silence

Hanson broke Montgomerie’s ban on revealing what was said inside the team room in the Welsh town of Newport on Thursday by disclosing what ailing Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros had said in his address to them on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old told the Swedish Golf Federation website that Ballesteros, who is unable to attend this Ryder Cup as he recovers from the brain operations he had after the discovery of a tumour in 2008, had made it clear what they needed to do to the American team if they were to regain the trophy.

“Go get them (the Americans) so hard that they will all be caddies in the future.”

Hanson, who has recovered from a chest infection that forced him to miss the Vivendi Trophy last week, was much more discreet about what was said by Ballesteros when he addressed the media earlier on Thursday.

“That phone call we had in the team room the other day, I was impressed with how positive and how much energy there was still in that voice.

“He said a few things that we maybe shouldn’t say here.”

All Montgomerie had revealed on Wednesday was that 53-year-old Ballesteros had repeated the passionate captain’s speech he had made at the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama which the Europeans went on to win.

“Seve is our Ryder Cup and always will be,” said the 47-year-old Scot, who played in the 1997 Ryder Cup.

“I was after passion. We have enough motivation in our team room. I was just after some passion, and by God, I got it.”

Montgomerie had been plagued earlier in the week by queries over whether he had banned his team from using twitter after he had been struck by some embarrassing lapses by other sportsmen – namely English cricketer Kevin Pietersen during the summer.

A clearly exasperated Montgomerie was asked on Tuesday for his final comments on what was dubbed “Twitter-gate” after England’s Ian Poulter continued posting updates on the site despite a ban being announced earlier by the European captain.

“Tweeting has not been banned. Banning things is very dangerous, because, say, someone does it, how can you then say anything?” Montgomerie said.

“I thought I was the captain of a golf team, not the captain of a tweeting organisation,” he added.

“Whatever they do, whatever they are, respect is shown for what is said within the team room. They can do whatever they have to do elsewhere regarding, you know, their thoughts and what have you.

“But at the same time, whatever is said within that team room stays within that team room so they respect that decision.”

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FOOTBALL

Tennis courts and golf courses to reopen in Denmark

Danes will be able to take up their tennis rackets and golf clubs again after the country's two biggest sports associations announced that outdoor sports with no physical contact can resume again.

Tennis courts and golf courses to reopen in Denmark
Tennis will be one of the first sports to restart. Photo: Søren Bidstrup/Ritzau Scanpix
The Sports Confederation of Denmark and the country's other sports association DGI announced that they had agreed new guidelines for restarting group sports with the Danish Health Authority, in a press release issued on Tuesday. 
 
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“This is the first sign of sport opening up, and we are really pleased that the health authorities have given us guidelines so that some activities can start up again,” Charlotte Bach Thomassen, chair of the Danish sports association DGI, said. 
 
“Of course, joining together in sports clubs must be safe from a  health point of view, so it is important to be aware that in many sports associations you will not be able to meet physically.” 
 
 
DIF chairman Niels Nygaard told Ritzau that the announcement did not mean any organisation would be required to restart activities they did not regard as safe. 
 
“These are voluntary associations where there are differences from association to association and sport to sport,” he said. “Our recommendations are not a requirement for associations to start activities. They can do it if it can be done under safe conditions, and if they have doubts about whether it can be done, then they shouldn't do it.”
 
According to the joint press release, group sports can now restart if: 
 
  • they take place outside 
  • participants can keep a distance of two meters from others
  • participants pay special attention to hand hygiene
  • rackets, clubs or other props are frequently cleaned
  • participants cough or sneeze into your elbow or a paper towel
  • participants stay home if they have a fever, cough or muscle soreness. 
  • shared facilities such as clubhouses and dressing and shower facilities are not used 
 
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