Golf: American Ryder Cup players Dustin Johnson and Zach Johnson have pulled out of this week’s Ballantine’s Champion-ship in South Korea. A statement from the tournament sponsors yesterday said the two players had reached their decision due to “perceived unrest” on the Korean peninsula. Spain’s Alvaro Quiros labelled the idea of playing the event as “stupid” earlier this month, with North Korea declaring war on South Korea.

Rugby Union: France winger Vincent Clerc has played down talks of retirement after he suffered a knee injury that will rule him out of his summer’s tour to New Zealand. Clerc left the field in the 52nd minute of Toulouse’s 39-17 Top 14 loss against Clermont on Saturday and announced on Twitter yesterday that the injury would leave him out of action for several months. The injury means the 31-year-old will not be available for the three-Test tour of New Zealand in June.

Cycling: Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi has ended his 18-year career during which he claimed 48 stage wins in the grand Tours. “I feel that it is time to take some time for myself and try to find some new challenges,” the 39-year-old Petacchi said yester-day. Petacchi, who turned pro-fessional in 1996, won six stages in the Tour de France, 22 in the Giro d’Italia and 20 in the Tour of Spain. His 2007 Giro results were erased after he failed a dope test for the banned sub-stance salbutamol.