Section:GDN 1N PaGe:36 Edition Date:190801 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 31/7/2019 20:32 cYanmaGentaYellowb
- The Guardian Thursday 1 August 2019
(^36) Sport
Golf Women’s British Open
Hull keeps pressure off
in hunt for fi rst major
Rugby union
Brown is ready
for sweat – and
possibly tears
When Mike Brown was omitted from
Eddie Jones’s preliminary Rugby
World Cup squad on 4 July, no one
could have suggested it was down to
a lack of conviction. Being bullish is
Brown’s default setting; a competitive,
combative personality, the full-back is
certainly a divisive character.
“You want to be named in all the
squads Eddie announces,” says the
72-cap 33-year-old, who was added to
England’s training squad two weeks
ago. “ Eddie said: ‘Just be ready,’ so I
went straight back to Quins and was
welcomed with a fi tness test. That
was savage, but then I made sure I was
ready. I was over the moon to get the
chance to come back in .”
Brown is in Treviso at a training
camp. The city was picked in order to
best mimic the conditions that await
the players in Japan. They have had to
endure sweltering levels of humidity
in north-eastern Italy – up to 90 % –
which has been “incredibly tough”.
“As soon as you step outside, every-
one starts sweating. You are absolutely
dripping with sweat and that makes
ball-handling very tough,” says Brown ,
who has been losing around 3kg every
session. But, he stresses, with the right
nutrition and recovery, the weight will
be back on by the afternoon session.
Jones may ultimately decide
against Brown for his 31-man World
Cup squad. He has faster , more skilful
players to call on, and he has players
who have been picked more regularly
throughout his tenure. If Brown were
to fi nd himself on that plane to Japan
in September, however, he says he
would not let anyone down. “I am a
competitive animal and I love playing
for England. It means everything .”
Charles Richardson
Ewan Murray
Woburn
Three years ago Charley Hull’s destiny
appeared clear. She spent months
driving to Woburn , past a giant poster
of herself , for twice-weekly practice
sessions as the Women’s British Open
ho ve into view. At Hull’s home club
the sense prevailed that this golden
child of British golf was primed for
major glory.
A tie for 17th in 2016 was hardly a
disastrous fi nish but it fell way short of
expectations , primarily her own. From
the same generation it was Georgia
Hall who tasted major success fi rst ,
in the British Open of 12 months ago.
Neither is Hull the top-ranked British
player in the world rankings, a position
claimed by Bronte Law.
It was little surprise, then, to hear
Hull play down the signifi cance of this
major’s Woburn return. The backdrop
will be serene when she tees of shortly
after 7.30 this morning, just the way
she wants it.
“Before, I’d play the course a lot,”
Hull said. “I’d be down here a lot and
feel like a lot of the pressure was on me
but it’s not really [now] at all. There’s
loads in the fi eld that are in it to win it
and I just feel I’m going to go out there
and enjoy the whole experience.
“I’ve not been here as much. In fact,
I took Monday off and didn’t come
down and I’m only playing nine holes
today. I’m just trying to get my work
done and go back to the hotel. I like the
way they’ve set the course this year.
They’ve actually set it up a lot longer
than last time, which is nice.”
Hull said Hall’s success “made me
work harder” but denied any element
of professional jealousy. The pair are
friends. Hull is open about a desire to
win a major but the concept will not
consume her.
“It would be great,” she said. “ I’d
love to win a major, especially on home
turf. I think it would be great. But I’m
just going to go out there and enjoy
it and the more I enjoy it, hopefully
it gives me a chance to win out there.
“I can’t put too much pressure on
myself because sometimes I feel like
I do actually. I would really love to win
this event, especially on home turf but
again, I’m not going to say it’s my be-all
and end-all because I don’t want to put
pressure on myself.”
Hull has recovered from a bout
of food poisoning that aff ected her
performance at last week’s Evian
Championship.
Lexi Thompson left her passport
in her golf bag when exiting that
event, causing a delay to the arrival
in England for 40 players’ equipment.
Thompson’s luggage had to be traced
in a van which was carrying manysets
of clubs.
“I didn’t realise that I was going to
cause so much delay in the bags for all
the players, and I’m very sorry about
that,” she said. “I would be upset, too,
if I was the other players. I can’t apolo-
gise enough.”
Another awkward moment arrived
yester day when Royal Porthcawl was
confirmed as the Women’s Open
venue for 2021. While clearly excited,
the club’s captain, Rhys James, sa id
this could be a precursor for the men’s
equivalent heading to Wales.
“The club is certainly interested in
the potential for bringing the Open to
Royal Porthcawl,” he said. “We all saw
what a massive success the activities
at Portrush have been in the last 10
days and working closely with the
R&A, with the Welsh government
and other related organisations, it is
certainly something that we would like
to consider.”
This was news to the R&A’s Johnnie
Cole-Hamilton, who from two seats
away landed a knockout blow Andy
Ruiz Jr would have been proud of.
“We have no plans to take the Open
Championship to Royal Porthcawl,”
the tournament’s executive director,
said. “They’ve hosted the Senior Open,
they’re about to host the Women’s
British Open but currently the Open
Championship is not in the discus-
sions. We’re very happy with the 10
venues we have at the moment.” Ouch.
Ko Jin-young
To follow her win at the ANA
Inspiration, the world No 1 grabbed
her second major of the year at the
Evian Championship.
Brooke Henderson
The Canadian is ranked seventh in
the world and has racked up nine
top 10 fi nishes in majors.
Georgia Hall
The defending champion last year
became the fi rst Englishwoman
to win the Open since Karen
Stupples in 2004.
Ariya Jutanugarn
The world No 6 was champion
in 2016 when the Open was last
played at Woburn.
Bronte Law
Highest-ranked Englishwoman in
the fi eld is hoping for a wild-card
pick for Europe’s Solheim Cup
team with two qualifi ers left.
Selected first-round tee times
(all times BST; GB & Ire unless stated; *denotes amateur)
07.03 Park S -h (Kor), M Alex (US),
B Altomare (US)
07.36 C Hull , H Green (Aus), S Feng (Chn)
07.47 L Thompson (US), N Hataoka (Jpn),
A van Dam (Neth)
08.31 K Webb (Aus), C Masson (Ger), C Booth
12.16 G Hall , B Henderson (Can), M Higa (Jpn)
12.38 A Suzuki (Jpn), N Korda (US), Ko J -y (Kor)
Five to follow and
selected tee times
Racing
Dettori’s winning streak puts
Too Darn Hot back on top
Greg Wood
Goodwood
Self-fl agellation comes a little easier
when standing in the winner’s enclo-
sure after one of the season’s most
valuable events. “Panicked”, “stu-
pid” and “a mess” were three of the
ways John Gosden described the fi rst
half of Too Darn Hot’s season here
yester day but that is now a distant
memory thanks to a half-length win
in the Sussex Stakes, a third Group One
victory in fi ve days for Gosden and his
jockey, Frankie Dettori.
Too Darn Hot carried all before him
in an unbeaten four-race career at two,
earning the highest end-of-season
rating for a juvenile since Frankel.
But his second season opened with a
run of four straight defeats – honour-
able, for the most part, but defeats all
the same. A recent Group One win in
France steadied the ship but this vic-
tory was the one that really mattered
and confi rmation duly followed that
Too Darn Hot will retire to Dalham Hall
Stud at the end of the season.
There were two or three strides in
the course of the race when a hard-
luck story suddenly seemed possible.
Too Darn Hot was in a slight pocket
and Circus Maximus, who beat him in
the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal
Ascot, had already struck for home.
Dettori, though, is riding like a man
who can see 10 seconds into the future
and, having waited a couple of seconds
for some running room away from the
rail, he launched Too Darn Hot after his
old rival and chased him down with
something to spare.
Dettori has won three consecutive
Group Ones in Britain for the second
time this summer and has a live chance
to make it four in a row when he rides
Mehdiyaah, the second-favourite, in
the Nassau Stakes here to day. He has
also taken eight of the 20 Group Ones
in Britain in 2019, three more abroad
and needs another fi ve to match his
best total at the highest level in a single
year.
“I was waiting for Too Darn Hot to
come into the paddock and said to
John, ‘I’ll probably need a heart trans-
plant by the end of the week’,” Dettori
said. “He said, ‘Shut up, you love it, ’
and he’s probably right.
“I got him to settle and he showed
what he can do. He’s fi nally got a
proper Group One in this country
and he’s back to where his reputation
should be. John had said don’t panic
and wait for the split and I didn’t have
much choice. When Andrea [Atzeni,
on Zabeel Prince] fell back I managed
to pull him out and he was full of
running. I passed Ryan [Moore, on
Circus Maximus] with ease ; he put up a
bit of a fi ght but we got to the line well.
“He’s got a lot of pace and the
Breeders’ Cup Mile [at Santa Anita in
November] could be ideal .”
The same meeting could also lie
ahead for Liberty Beach, who hit
traffi c problems in the Group Three
Molecomb Stakes but showed electric
acceleration as soon as she was in the
clear to win her fourth race in fi ve
starts. Had Liberty Beach been drawn
towards the stands’ side in the Queen
Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, it might
well have been a perfect fi ve-from-fi ve
but John Quinn, her trainer, is more
than happy to look forward rather
than back.
“She is in the Lowther [at York’s
Ebor meeting] and the [Group One]
Prix Morny and I like the Morny,” said
Quinn, who saddled his only Group
One winner in the race in 2014. “ We
will also target the Prix de l’Abbaye [at
Longchamp on Arc day] and then the
[Juvenile Turf Sprint at the] Breeders’
Cup. She has a lot of tactical speed and
America could suit her. ”
▲ Frankie Dettori is overjoyed
with his latest Group One win
Goodwood
Hermosa to stop
historic quadruple
Greg Wood
Goodwood
Hermosa, a dual Classic winner
earlier in the season, is the major
obstacle standing in Frankie
Dettori’s way as he aims to win four
consecutive Group One races in
Britain for the fi rst time in his career
this afternoon, riding Mehdaayih.
Hermosa took the 1,000 Guineas
at Newmarket before fi nishing only
second in the Coronation Stakes at
Royal Ascot. That was her third race
in 41 days, however, and she has had
a break since, while as a daughter of
Galileo she is likely to fi nd to day’s
step up to 10 furlongs in her favour.
Dettori’s partner, by contrast, is
dropping back in trip having won a
Group Two at a mile and a half last
time.
Her overall form gives her
something to fi nd, however, and
Maqsad could be a bigger threat to
the favourite.
Full selections
Stratford-on-Avon 1.30 Emerald Rocket
2.05 Alexander The Grey 2.40 Doubly Clever
3.15 Quinto 3.50 Simply Loveleh
4.25 Code Of Law 5.00 Ulysses
Nottingham 1.40 Poets Dance 2.15
Spiritofthenorth 2.50 Miss O Connor
3.25 Classic Charm 4.00 Music Seeker
4.35 Grandfather Tom 5.10 Kitty’s Cove
Goodwood 1.50 Sinjaari (nb) 2.25 Threat
3.00 Constantinople (nap) 3.35 Hermosa
4.10 Dragon Command 4.45 Craylands
5.20 Celsius
Ffos Las 5.35 Sir Arthur Dayne 6.10 Forbidden
Land 6.40 Paths Of Glory 7.15 Sir Roderic
7.45 Greyzee 8.15 Spirit Of May 8.45 Edged Out
Epsom Downs 5.45 Amaretto 6.20 Allegiant
6.55 Mass Media 7.30 Ascended 8.00 City
Wanderer 8.30 Poet’s Magic
▼ Charley Hull is happy
with the way Woburn has
been set up this year
RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTY IMAGES
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