Ernie Els withdraws from British Open
The R&A did not give a reason on Sunday for the withdrawal of the 55-year-old South African. Els was replaced in the field by Si Woo Kim, who was next on the alternate list taken from last week's world ranking.
Els won the British Open at Muirfield in 2002 after a four-man playoff and again in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes when Adam Scott lost a late lead.
Open champions are exempt to play until they are 60.
Els also chose not to compete this year in The Players Championship, for which he qualified by winning the Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone in 2024.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
42 minutes ago
- The Hindu
IND vs ENG fifth Test: Shardul, Kamboj likely to be benched as India searches for ‘Perfect 11'
The long-winding five-match Test series in England has hit the home stretch but despite securing a memorable draw at Old Trafford, India continue to search for the "perfect" eleven, more specifically the right bowling combination, heading into the finale at The Oval in three days' time. India's preference to bat till number eight at the expense of a specialist bowler has been constantly questioned over the course of the series and more so after Shardul Thakur, playing in place of the injured Nitish Reddy, was used for only 11 overs at Old Trafford. But with India conceding more than 600 runs for the first time since 2014 at Old Trafford, the case for including an out and out wicket-taker like Kuldeep Yadav, who has been warming the bench for the past 40 days, is stronger than ever. After an underwhelming debut, Anshul Kamboj is likely to make way for a fit-again Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna. Arshdeep Singh, who too has been a passenger like Kuldeep, has also recovered from a hand injury and would be dreaming of a Test debut in what has been a highly competitive and engaging series. Though head coach Gautam Gambhir declared all the fast bowlers fit in his usual combative tone following the draw on Sunday, there is no denying that the pace pack, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, are part of the tiring bunch on either side of the dressing room. Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, the architects of a famous draw, formed India's top six in the second innings due to Rishabh Pant's injury and showed remarkable grit to bat out more than two sessions to save the game, completing fine hundreds in the process. If that same template is followed at The Oval, Dhruv Jurel will come in to bat number seven and India can play four specialist bowlers by benching Shardul, who anyway has not been getting enough overs. The fourth bowler can be Kuldeep with the pitch expected to aid spinners or an extra fast bowler. By its own admission, the Indian team management has been consciously trying to fit Kuldeep into the playing eleven but the current template of batting till eight has prevented it from doing that. "So Kuldeep, we are trying to find a way for him, but it is just (that we need) more consistent runs from our top six, so that we can bring a guy like Kuldeep in," said India bowling coach Morne Morkel during the fourth Test. "It's finding when he comes in, how we can find balance and how we can get that batting line-up to be a little bit longer and stronger. We've seen in the past that we've lost wickets in clumps. "Kuldeep is world-class and he's bowling really well at the moment, so we're trying our best to find ways for him to get in," added the South African. Recently-retired Test great R. Ashwin can't understand India's obsession of batting till eight for a few extra runs when a strike bowler like Kuldeep can allow them to play with fewer runs. For him, picking Kuldeep in Manchester was a no brainer. Considering the selection calls thus far, it can be said that India have been pretty firm about having a cushion with the bat in the lower-order. That will need to change if Kuldeep has to come into the scheme of things. Bumrah has already played three Tests but with series on the line, he could turn up at The Oval and someone like Mohammed Siraj, the only Indian pacer to have featured in all the games, would be raising his hand up despite the heavy workload. "On these do not know whether you will lose the toss, you will win the toss. You do not know what sort of a start you are going to get. So when you pick a team, I think you will try and pick a balanced team," said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak recently when asked about playing an extra bowler over an all-rounder. "You cannot go like 'because last game three guys got 100s, we can play a batter less'. "...sometimes we feel that six bowlers are not getting enough bowling. So when you have six options, anyway captain struggles to bowl all six equally. Picking an 11, you will always try and keep that balance of batting and bowling," he reasoned for India's existing selection approach.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Shardul, Kamboj likely to be benched as India search for Ideal XI
Manchester, Jul 28 (PTI) The long-winding five-match Test series in England has hit the home stretch but despite securing a memorable draw at Old Trafford, India continue to search for the 'perfect" eleven, more specifically the right bowling combination, heading into the finale at The Oval in three days' time. India's preference to bat till number eight at the expense of a specialist bowler has been constantly questioned over the course of the series and more so after Shardul Thakur, playing in place of the injured Nitish Reddy, was used for only 11 overs at Old Trafford. But with India conceding more than 600 runs for the first time since 2014 at Old Trafford, the case for including an out and out wicket-taker like Kuldeep Yadav, who has been warming the bench for the past 40 days, is stronger than ever. After an underwhelming debut, Anshul Kamboj is likely to make way for a fit-again Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna. Arshdeep Singh, who too has been a passenger like Kuldeep, has also recovered from a hand injury and would be dreaming of a Test debut in what has been a highly competitive and engaging series. Though head coach Gautam Gambhir declared all the fast bowlers fit in his usual combative tone following the draw on Sunday, there is no denying that the pace pack, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, are part of the tiring bunch on either side of the dressing room. Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, the architects of a famous draw, formed India's top six in the second innings due to Rishabh Pant's injury and showed remarkable grit to bat out more than two sessions to save the game, completing fine hundreds in the process. If that same template is followed at The Oval, Dhruv Jurel will come in to bat number seven and India can play four specialist bowlers by benching Shardul, who anyway has not been getting enough overs. The fourth bowler can be Kuldeep with the pitch expected to aid spinners or an extra fast bowler. By its own admission, the Indian team management has been consciously trying to fit Kuldeep into the playing eleven but the current template of batting till eight has prevented it from doing that. 'So Kuldeep, we are trying to find a way for him, but it is just (that we need) more consistent runs from our top six, so that we can bring a guy like Kuldeep in," said India bowling coach Morne Morkel during the fourth Test. 'It's finding when he comes in, how we can find balance and how we can get that batting line-up to be a little bit longer and stronger. We've seen in the past that we've lost wickets in clumps. 'Kuldeep is world-class and he's bowling really well at the moment, so we're trying our best to find ways for him to get in," added the South African. Recently-retired Test great R Ashwin can't understand India's obsession of batting till eight for a few extra runs when a strike bowler like Kuldeep can allow them to play with fewer runs. For him, picking Kuldeep in Manchester was a no brainer. Considering the selection calls thus far, it can be said that India have been pretty firm about having a cushion with the bat in the lower-order. That will need to change if Kuldeep has to come into the scheme of things. Bumrah has already played three Tests but with series on the line, he could turn up at The Oval and someone like Mohammed Siraj, the only Indian pacer to have featured in all the games, would be raising his hand up despite the heavy workload. 'On these wickets…You do not know whether you will lose the toss, you will win the toss. You do not know what sort of a start you are going to get. So when you pick a team, I think you will try and pick a balanced team," said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak recently when asked about playing an extra bowler over an all-rounder. 'You cannot go like 'because last game three guys got 100s, we can play a batter less'. '…sometimes we feel that six bowlers are not getting enough bowling. So when you have six options, anyway captain struggles to bowl all six equally. Picking an 11, you will always try and keep that balance of batting and bowling," he reasoned for India's existing selection approach. PTI BS PM PM PM (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 28, 2025, 14:30 IST News agency-feeds Shardul, Kamboj likely to be benched as India search for Ideal XI Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Padraig Harrington claims Senior Open for third major title
Ireland's Padraig Harrington carded a 3-under 67 to finish at 16-under 264 and claim the ISPS Handa Senior Open at Berkshire, England on Sunday. HT Image The victory marks Harrington's second major win in four weeks and makes him only the fifth player to win The Open and the Senior Open. "You want to do things that stand out, and having won a real Open, coming out, winning the Senior Open ... it adds a validation," Harrington said. "... I'm kind of on a high of winning, but then there will be that deep sense of satisfaction knowing that you've done both." Harrington won The Open in 2007 and 2008, and was on the cusp of winning the Senior Open in consecutive years. He finished second in 2022 and 2023, losing the latter in a playoff, before breaking through this year. The Dublin native entered the day with a two-shot lead, but never got complacent. "I don't want to relax, that has cost me in the past," Harrington said. "... I get ahead of myself, and you know, sometimes when it's an easy shot, easy tee shot, I can lose focus. "So I want to stay hyped up. And to be honest, I think today, because I wasn't comfortable with my swing, I never let my guard down. I was always into it and focused all day." Harrington, 53, started Sunday with an eagle on No. 1. He also tallied three birdies and two bogeys on the day, beating out Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and Justin Leonard, who finished at 13 under. Bjorn rolled in four birdies from No. 9 to No. 14, threatening Harrington's lead. He then bogeyed on 16, putting Harrington out of reach and finishing at 3-under 67. Leonard notched four birdies and two bogeys on the day for a 2-under 68. He carded 5-under 65 on Friday and Saturday. "It wasn't quite as sharp as I was the last couple days. You know, just not able to really hit it close enough to putt pressure," Leonard said. "I felt like if I could have been 3- or 4-under on the front nine, then, you know, we're kind of neck and neck." Scott Hend (65) finished fourth at 12 under, while fellow Australian Cameron Percy (65) and South Africa's Ernie Els (66) tied for fifth at 11 under. --Field Level Media
