Sports Then and Now

There are a lot of golf fans who remember with relish the manner with which Sir Nick Faldo defeated Greg Norman in that incredible final round in the 1996 US Masters at Augusta. Faldo on that occasion came back from being six shots behind at the first tee, to win the ‘Green Jacket’ by five shots by the time the two men had finished. Faldo fired a 67, while the hapless Norman shot  a six over 78, his worst ever round at Augusta.

It was of course a disaster for Norman, who was destined never to win a Masters title, but the victory for Faldo gave him his sixth ‘Major’ victory and his third at Augusta. The fact that Faldo won however should not have been as big as a surprise as it was, because just a few years earlier in 1990 at St Andrews, Faldo achieved something very similar.

This time Faldo and Norman, who were the top two in the world rankings at the time, went head to head in the third round of the British Open. They were the final pairing on 12 under par and had established a four stroke lead over the rest of the field. However, as early as the first hole, it was clear that Faldo was the less intimidated as he fired a sublime birdie, while Norman, managed to find the brook to bogey, which gave Faldo an immediate two stroke advantage. Read the rest of this entry →

Romance is in the air at this time of year with Valentine’s Day falling in February, therefore it is probably worth a look of some famous sporting couples who have been successful in the love stakes and perhaps it would be a bit more fun to look at those who haven’t been as lucky as we look to answer the question whether sports stars should look to avoid mixing business with pleasure?

Former Tennis player, Chris Evert, is one sporting legend who features prominently in the failed stakes, after several failed relationships with sportsmen including Greg Norman, John Lloyd and Jimmy Connors.

Those sporting couples who have been Successful in love include…

Steffi Graf & Andre Agassi – This was a match made on the heavenly Courts at Roland Garros in Paris (where else?), which brought together arguably the greatest female tennis player of all time and one of the very best males. They were married two years or so later; they remain happily ensconsed with two children and live in Las Vegas. Steffi won a total of 22 Grand Slam titles including a Calendar year Grand Slam of all four titles in 1988, while Andre won a total of 8 ‘Slams’ including Wimbledon in 1992, the same year his wife to be won the women’s title. Agassi won a career Slam, making him one of only seven players to do so in history.

Zara Phillip & Mike Tindall – The oldest granddaughter of HM The Queen and former world eventing champion is said to be really happy following her engagement to the current England rugby captain, Mike Tindall, the hard tacking, broken nosed tough guy centre. No wedding plans have been announced at this stage but the couple do live together in Gloucestershire.

Kenny & Gabbi Logan – The former Scottish rugby union winger is said to have chatted Gabbi up in a pub in London, but obviously his chat up lines worked as he later married the daughter of former Welsh International, Terry Yorath who is currently a leading  BBC Sports presenter. The couple have been married for ten years and have twins.

Paula Radcliffe & Gary Lough – Marathon Queen Paula married her coach and former 1500 meter champion Gary Lough in 2000 and the couple have two children. They have been working extremely hard together to get Paula fit for a tilt at the Marathon in the 2012 London Olympics.

Couples who have suffered defeat meanwhile include

Kim Clijsters & Lleyton Hewitt – Once described as ‘Kylie and Jason with balls’ this engagement was doomed to failure from the start, with both players still far to committed to winning tennis tournaments rather than winning each other over. They lasted 12 months!

Zara Phillips & Richard Johnson – Royalty and Horse Racing normally goes hand in hand, Zara, daughter of Princess Anne and Richard one of National Hunt’s leading jockey’s had a well reported relationship for over three years but sadly for romantics they fell in the fourth. Read the rest of this entry →