Ryder Cup: Europe captain Paul McGinley has announced he will have three wild cards for next year’s Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. His predecessor Jose Maria Olazabal had just two selections to make for the 2012 match against the United States at Medinah, when he selected golfers Nicolas Colsaerts and Ian Poulter. However McGinley will be given more of an opportunity to tailor his side with the addition of the third wild card, which means nine automatic qualifying places will be available for the 12-man team, four via the European Tour points list and five from the world points list.
Rugby Union: Australia openside flanker George Smith has not damaged his knee as badly as first thought, the ACT Brumbies said yesterday, and could be fit to play in the back end of the series against the British and Irish Lions. Smith, who won 110 caps for his country before retiring from international rugby in 2010, damaged the joint playing for the Brumbies against the New South Wales Waratahs last Saturday, the eve of the announcement of the preliminary Wallabies squad.
Cycling: Spain’s Benat Intxausti won stage 16 of the Giro d’Italia yesterday between Valloire in France and Ivrea in Italy, while Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali remained in the overall lead. Intxausti, who led the Giro for a day earlier in the race, was the fastest of a leading group of three riders on the hilly 238 kilometre stage, with Estonia’s Tanel Kangert in second and Poland’s Przemyslaw Niemiec in third. Nibali, who crossed the line around 13 seconds behind the leading trio in a small group of favourites, stayed ahead overall from Australia’s Cadel Evans and Colombian Rigoberto Uran.
Golf: Golf’s governing bodies announced yesterday that they will ban the anchoring of putters from 2016 in a move which will please traditionalists but could lead to a split in the game among the professional ranks. The ban was first proposed by the Royal and Ancient and the United States Golf Association in November. The European Tour expressed its support for the idea but both the US PGA Tour and PGA of America voiced opposition. While an-choring will be banned from 2016, long putters can still be used as long as players freely swing the club away from their bodies.