The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 45

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1997 Sport 45 lark on pace "1 GOLF Daly out of British Open as telling his caddie. Since then, Daly, 31, has been undergoing a fitness program in an attempt to resurrect his career. Daly said: "I am saddened and disappointed not to be playing in the British Open this year, but my personal health and well-being require me to be elsewhere." Daly won the 1995 British Open at St Andrews his second major, but his first sober. CHARLES HAPPELL his demeanour on Wednesday. The inner calm carried over into his play again on Thursday morning, when he carded his second successive three-under-par 68 to be at six under for the championship and well-placed to make a charge at the leaders.

"That's about the worst it could have been. I missed a lot of really good chances in the last five or six holes," said Norman, who came into the tournament fresh from a win in the St Jude Classic in Memphis 10 days ago. Norman, who has not played in Scotland in pre-Open week for several years, is renting a castle for the next fortnight on the west coast, between Loch Lomond and Troon, venue for the 126th British Open. Asked if there were any tournaments he still wanted to win around the world before he finished with a 72, to follow his opening 68, to be at two under and six shots behind the leaders, Swedish pair Joakim Haeggman and Mats Hallberg, who were still out on the course. Since his car accident in Spain last September, Allenby has struggled to find any consistency in form, and this season has endured his most miserable spell since turning professional in 1991.

The Victorian, who turns 26 on Friday, missed the cut in the US Masters, US Open and three of the six events he has contested in Europe. His best finish is a tie for ninth in the German Open in May. This from a man who won three times in Europe last year, finished third on the European Tour order of merit and apparently had the world at his feet Compatriot Stuart Appleby found himself in the plumb group alongside Norman, perhaps the tournament's biggest drawcard. Despite making a favourable impression at the Masters, when he led at one stage in the second round, Appleby has struggled in his first tournament in the UK. His 74 left him at six over and sure to miss the cut Of the other Australians, Peter O'Malley was at three under after 33 holes, Peter Lonard one under after 27, Richard Green (73) and Rodger Davis (68) were yet to tee off, while Wayne Riley, playing in a group with Nick Faldo, added a 75 to his opening 78 to comfortably miss the cut.

The first-round leaders in the $1.85 million tournament were Haeggman and England's Paul Curry, whose 63s broke the course record by two shots. The Age Blastoff Greg Norman sizzles in Scotland. Photo by AP Maher backs Fallon's stand CHARLES HAPPELL Glasgow: While some of the big-name players were making a song-and-dance about the snail's pace in the first round of the Loch Lomond World Invitational, Greg Norman was a picture of contentment Scot Colin Montgomerie described the five-hour rounds as a disgrace and British Open champion Tom Lehman was only mildly more diplomatic, but Norman could not have cared less. "The long round didn't bother me on this lovely Scottish day," he said. Earlier in the week, the Australian had said that there was no place in the world he enjoyed playing in more than Scotland, where the crowds had no peer, and that was reflected in Sport In Brief MOTOR SPORT Indy move Gold Coast IndyCar organi sers have welcomed the switch of the race from March to October despite the latter being Australia's busiest month of motorsport.

Indy-Car's governing body, Championship Auto Racing Teams, agreed to move the race away from the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, a SOCCER Maradona's goal Rosario, Argentina: Diego Maradona scored a goal to steer Boca Juniors to a 2-0 win over Newells on Wednesday in an exhibition match, his first game back from an 11 -month lay-off. Maradona returns to league action on Sunday against Racing. RACING Positive test NSW Thoroughbred Racing Board stewards yesterday suspended jockey Adrian Robinson for six months after a urine sample proved positive to a "metabolite of the drug The sample was taken after Robinson rode Imperial Cross in the Red Nose Handicap at Randwick on June 18. It was his "second such NETBALL Tombs out Australian centre Carissa Tombs will miss the one-off Test against New Zealand in Hamilton on July 30 after snapping the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during local competition. Adelaide wing attack Audine Cobb replaces the vice-captain.

WATER POLO Splashdown Prague: The Australian under-21 women's team thumped Italy 17-4 on the second day of the World Junior Championships. Australia had a world-record 35-1 win over France on the opening day and next play Hungary for one of the top two spots in their roup. BASEBALL Tour loss Florida: Team USA beat Australia 2-0 in an exhibition match in the lead-up to next month's Intercontinental Cup in Barcelona the unofficial world championship. Paul Gonzales had Australia's only hit in the first match of the 25-day American tour. Glasgow: The troubled life and times of John Daly continued yesterday when he withdrew from next week's British Open at Troon, citing personal problems.

That, of course, is a euphemism for his prolonged and ongoing battle with alcoholism. His rehabilitation appeared to be going well until last month's US Open, when he walked off the course during the second round, without so much retired, Norman replied: "Yep, the Tasmanian Open." The Apple Isle's title, he explained to the incredulous British press corps, was the only State championship in Australia which he had not yet won. "It would help if I played in it, talking in heavily accented English about winning his second and Australia's first Olympic gold medal in gymnastics at the 2000 Games. "It would be a great privilege," he said. Sharipov decided to immigrate when he came to Australia for the 1994 world championships.

Not only was it the promised land he had heard of, in Australia he saw a future for his family they could never find in Ukraine, where economic hardship and Sharipov's high profile had made life a misery. His first application to immigrate was blocked by Ukraine's gymnastic federation, which wanted to mine his talents at the Atlanta Olympics. "They want me to win gold for them," he said. Sharipov threatened to quit Basketball HEATHER QUINLAN Sydney Flames captain and mother-of-two Robyn Maher has endorsed pregnant teammate Trish Fallon's decision to continue playing in the women's national league on a weekly basis. The WNBL's policy discourages players from competing while pregnant, although it cannot ban them from doing so.

The policy states: "Any player who is pregnant must make and rely on her own decision whether to play and to train, and in making that decision, is to take into account of the WNBL's preference that she does not play." Fallon, who is nine weeks pregnant, will line up for the Flames tonight in Brisbane against the Blazers and again tomorrow night for the Melbourne Tigers match at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Fallon is unwilling to commit herself to playing until the end of the season on August 30. Instead, after receiving advice from doctors and people like Maher, she has decided to review her position with each game. Maher, who played until she was 22 weeks' pregnant with her son Jake, now seven, believes Fallon's approach is sensible. "I think she's taking a realistic point of view.

She may get sick, or not be able to play at some point, so to not give any guarantees' is fair enough," Maher said. that's true, but I'm just waiting for the invitation," he said, only half-seriously. Playing in the group behind Norman, Robert Allenby fairly bolted out of the blocks, making birdies at three of the first four holes to move to six under, but he the sport in protest. He was persuaded to stay on the condition that he would be allowed to leave after Atlanta. Sharipov kept his end of the bargain.

The Ukrainian federation released him and Australia granted him a treasured visa. "In the Ukraine I have everything I could want, an apartment, a nice car, money from the Olympics and good food but I have no future, my babies have no future," he said. "Ukraine people were very jealous of me and made trouble because they think I am young and I have everything and they have nothing. "It is wonderful to be in Australia after trying so hard for many years. I want to stay forever.

"I decided on Australia because it is far away from many Without parallel Atlanta Olympic gold medallist Rustam Sharipov trains at the A1S in Canberra. "It is wonderful to be in Australia after trying so hard for many years. I want to stay forever." Photograph by gary schafer Gold pass lands Olympic champion Gems lift their game to stub out hot Cubans "I'm sure all the girls want her to play through until the finals, but it's her decision and we support her wholeheartedly." The pregnancy issue does not appear to be the major one among the majority of players. The Perth Breakers' Tully Bevi-laqua expressed concern last week about playing against a pregnant opponent, but she has not been publicly supported by other basketballers. "It was the same when I was having Jake," Maher said.

"There were a couple of comments, but there was no big drama." The only worry in the Flames' camp is how to cover for Fallon's loss, should she be unavailable for the finals. The 24-year-old is having a tremendous season and is Sydney's leading scorer with 18 points per game. "It would be pretty dramatic for us if Trish wasn't there at the end of our season, but even so, I still think we'd have a great chance of pulling the National League title off," Maher said. "Rather than being favourites, it would bring us back to a 'maybe' situation." Meanwhile, the Flames are expected to continue their 14-game unbeaten streak this weekend. Brisbane have already lost twice to Sydney this season and do not appear to have the depth to stage an upset in game three.

Melbourne will be undermanned against the Flames, with two forwards plus coach Ray Tomlinson overseas with the Australian team. Assistant coach Phil Brown said Australia would probably play host nation Brazil in the semi-final on Saturday if results went as expected and the Gems finished second in their pool. If Australia finished top of their pool, they would probably play Slovakia. Brow said the win as a good confidence-booster for the Gems after three tough games earlier in the week. He said Australia had been dogged by slow starts throughout the tournament, but had settled down a little quicker against the athletic Cubans.

"In the second half we just came out of the blocks firing. The lead was out to 20 by the 4'2-minute mark and we just kept building from there." Mystery Weekend err; i 1 I countries and many troubles. A lot of people talk about Australia as paradise because of the life and conditions, and it is." After two years' permanent residency, Sharipov will be eligible to apply for citizenship and compete for Australia at the November 1999 world championships in China. Australia must qualify in the top 14 in the world to send a team of six to the Sydney Olympics. Failure to do so would cut the numbers to two or three individual gymnasts.

Men's head gym coach Warwick Forbes hopes Sharipov's famed strength will carry a team of six into the 2000 Games. Early indications are certainly encouraging. Sharipov has been welcomed at the A IS because he is mature and married. Gymnastics LOUISE EVANS Winning an Olympic gold medal didn't just change Rustam Sharipov's life. Born in Tajikistan on the Afghanistan border, the small but explosive gymnast used his chunk of gold to change countries.

Sharipov became Australia's newest Olympic champion after he spent the he earned for winning gold on the parallel bars for Ukraine last year to immigrate two weeks ago. His pregnant wife and young son will follow when he gets settled. The 26-year-old has barely had time to find his way around the Institute of Sport in Canberra, where he's been granted training rights, but already he's "He's bloody good, too," Forbes said. "The rest of the gymnasts are very excited about training with him and already he is like an assistant coach, helping and offering advice. "It is such a bonus to have him.

It is part of Australia's multicultural makeup to have people like Rustam coming in and bringing their highly prized skills. It is a fortunate set of circumstances that has brought him here." Sharipov said he would feel more settled when his family arrived and his second baby was born safely on Australian soil in October. Coming to live here has been a long, expensive process, but Sharipov believes that Australian citizenship is worth its weight in gold. Australia produced a dazzling second-half display to crush Cuba 91-58 and close on a semi-final berth in the women's world under-20 basketball championship in Natal, Brazil. The defending champions notched their third win in four games to finish the penultimate day of pool competition in second place behind the US.

A victory over Japan will guarantee the Gems a top-two finish and a semi-final spot. Australian Institute of Sport centre Lauren Jackson spearheaded the Gems' charge with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Melbourne forward Chika Emeagi added 14 points, while AIS guards Narelle Lindsay (13) and Kristen Veal (11) also chipped in. Pioneer sailor Jock Sturrock dead at 82 Pemberton heads TAB9s magnificent seven9 GOACMING llPS Yachting Racing No.6 How To Take A Mark this hex I Thal'i tt. VJhaa ffla mz CI ksx sslacUsns lor r- Lcz" Irj yia Lor Cm Just tiuriut uw.t V- n0Wm eight-year-old.

His father was a noted skipper in the 21ft restricted class, the strongest class at that time for interstate competition. After progressing through cadet dinghies and 14ft skiffs at the age of 18 he helped launch the Star class in Australia in the late 1930s. He and crewman Len Fenton had to pay their own way to contest the Star class at the 1948 London Olympics the Australian Olympic Federation at that time did not recognise or support yachting. They finished a respectable seventh. Sturrock moved on to the three-man keelboat Dragon class and sailed for Australia at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, finishing 12th in a chartered boat that was old and heavy.

But Sturrock was ready for the 1956 Olympics, this time in the 5.5-metre three-man keel-boat class and sailing Burad-doo, owned by Dave Bingham, he won the bronze medal. After the America's Cup years, Sturrock campaigned offshore strongly from Melbourne and sailed for Australia in the Admiral's Cup before retiring to warmer climes in Queensland about 12 years ago. He was Australian of the Year in 1993. 'i Being a breeder of considerable note, Cribb has many horses and his all-round savvy has been of great advantage to the NSW TAB through troubled times and racing ministers of no vision. Backing up Cribb with insider knowledge is Allen Windross, the NSW TAB chief executive.

The wisdom of Windross has been recorded in many papers he has written and delivered on betting and pari-mutuel operations. The others making up the team are Geoff Wild, regarded as an advertising whiz, who has had success as a racehorse owner and previous experience on the TAB board and Barrie Unsworth, the general manager of racing radio 2KY and a former premier. Unsworth once stopped, with clever diplomacy, Sunday racing, which many would now like to see pursued. At yesterday's press conference, Sundays were seen as a growth area and reason to invest in the NSW TAB, "ready for sale by December and to proceed to a public share offer in the first half of according to the press handout Egan was pushing linked poker machine jackpots, monitoring gaming machines in clubs and pubs and fixed-odds sports betting as the new fields to attract investors. Meanwhile, Pemberton has an unnamed Kaapstad-La Lucre colt with Bart Cummings at Randwick.

Alas, with the different rentals for stabling at Randwick and Tamworth, he's going to need the $130,000. announced the new board yesterday, a team with a nice blend of TAB, racing and business knowledge. Finally, a woman, Belinda Hutchinson, has made the major league in NSW racing, with previous "events" like the TAB board, AJC and STC committees being restricted to colts and geldings. Hutchinson was an executive director of Macquarie Bank -and is director of Sydney Water. Unfortunately, she was down in the Alps yesterday, so a line on whether she has had a bet or not is still in the air.

Macquarie Bank comes to the fore often in NSW TAB privatisation news and one of the driving forces behind its involvement said to me only recently: "Pay peanuts and you'll get Hutchinson will get a healthy $70,000 director's fee. "Judging by telephone conversations, she is very lively," Pemberton said when questioned about her. The other mystery from the turf point of view is Graham Kelly, described in the form guide as a former partner of Freehill, Hollingdale and Page, solicitors, and current director of Hambro-Grantham Capital Ltd. "I'll get him into a horse," confided Ross Cribb, the former chairman of the NSW TAB and current director, keen to blood the newcomer. Hopefully, the horse goes faster than Papal City, tipped to me by Cribb as a TAB launch special, did at Grafton yesterday.

Papal City finished ninth. BOB ROSS Jock Sturrock, MBE, Australian yachting's pioneer skipper in the Olympics and the America's Cup, died yesterday at his Noosa home, aged 82. Sturrock won a bronze medal in the 5.5-metre class at the 1956 Olympics on his home waters of Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay. He helmed Australia's first America's Cup challenger, Gre-tel, for Sir Frank Packer in 1962. In an innovative boat, "designed by Alan Payne, the Australians shook the seemingly impregnable American defence.

Gretel won the second race and came within 26 seconds of taking race four before losing 1-4 to the US defender, Weatherly, off Newport, Rhode Island. Sturrock also skippered Australia's second challenger, Dame Pattie, in the 1967 challenge off Newport. The 1962 challenge had prepared the Americans for the Australians, and their defender, Intrepid, comfortably beat Dame Pattie with four straight wins. Alexander Stuart "Jock" Sturrock, from Royal Brighton Yacht Club, began sailing as an j3RC MAXPRESNELL Maybe Wicked Grin is a better credential for Gary Pemberton to have as chairman of the NSW TAB board than his impressive list of business achievements. Pemberton has been the chairman and chief executive officer of Brambles, a former president of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and is chairman of Qantas.

He is a veteran of three public floats Qantas, the Commonwealth Bank and John Fairfax Holdings. Considering these credentials, he is a steal at $130,000 a year to spearhead the privatisation of the NSW TAB as chairman. Most importantly, he is a "racing man" and thereby hangs the tale of Pemberton's Wicked Grin, out of Wicked Queen, a crock with a penchant for September. Wicked Grin, trained in Tamworth by Noel Woods, had leg problems which restricted his career to eight starts. he won three: in 1993, 1994 and 1995, all in September.

Pemberton is more likely to be seen on the outer at Randwick, looking at the horses being saddled, than at the committee luncheon which is a step in the right direction. Certainly, he is a more encouraging appointment than many of the current State Government's ventures into racing. NSW Treasurer Michael Egan.