Catch up on the overnight sport with Wednesday Sports Fix

TIGER Woods has been caught stretching the truth again while a a group of men want to tackle the Tour de France without pedals. Get your Sports Fix.

Tiger Woods in the final round of the Players Championship.
Source: AFP

TIGER TRAPPED IN A BAD ‘LIE’

Golf: He says they said it, they say they didn’t, who knows what the truth is when it comes to Tiger Woods these days.

Woods has been caught stretching the truth again, this time about talking to course marshals over a run-in with rival Sergio Garcia at the Players Championship.

Woods won the event but the 37-year-old American’s account of an incident involving Garcia was called into doubt by marshals who told Sports Illustrated they did not speak to Woods.

In the third round, Garcia’s swing was disrupted by a slight cheer from the crowd gathered around Woods who pulled a five-wood from his bag, to attempt a risky shot rather than pitch out.

After Garcia botched his fairway shot, he glared in the direction of Woods and later criticised him for not being aware that Garcia was playing.

Woods said, “The marshals, they told me he already hit, so I pulled a club and was getting ready to play my shot, and then I hear his comments afterward and it’s not real surprising that he’s complaining about something.”

But marshal Gary Anderson told Sports Illustrated there were no comments exchanged between Woods and marshals in that moment.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his tee shot on the 12th during the fourth round of the Barclays Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club. Picture: Getty
Source: Getty Images

MCILROY MIGHT HEAD TO MELBOURNE

Golf: Rory McIlroy said two weeks ago he would not be playing in the World Cup of Golf this year, possibly because by representing Ireland, he would have no choice but to play under the Irish flag at the 2016 Olympics.

But the announcement at the weekend that the World Cup was going to Royal Melbourne under a new format piqued his interest.

Northern Ireland, for the first time, can field its own team.

“That might change things a little bit,” McIlroy said before leaving the Players Championship in Florida.

Players and countries are selected from the world ranking until the 60-man field is set. There likely will be no more than about 18 teams at the event, which runs November 21-24.

Cadel Evans in action in the the Giro d’Italia, Tour of Italy. Picture: Gian Mattia D’Alberto
Source: AP

CADEL EMERGES AS MAIN CHALLENGER

Cycling: Australia’s Cadel Evans has emerged as a real threat for the Tour of Italy title.

Olympic silver medallist Rigoberto Uran won the hilly 10th stage of the Giro d’Italia, as his Sky team leader and race favourite Bradley Wiggins lost more time to race leader Vincenzo Nibali.

Uran attacked on his own before the final 4.4km climb to the summit finish of Altopiano del Montasio but Nibali and Evans of Australia ultimately responded in positive fashion.

Evans, the 2011 Tour de France champion, is second overall only 41secs behind Nibali and must now be considered the Italian’s only real rival in a race which, given Wiggins’ performances in the past week, seems out of reach for the 2012 Tour de France champion.

A group of kick bikers train in the Sumava Mountains, Southwest Czech Republic.
Source: AP

GETTING A KICK OUT OF THE TOUR

Cycling: Six men will attempt to mark the 100th edition of the Tour de France by covering the entire distance on bikes without pedals.

The sturdy riders say that a combination of passion and great fitness – and no doping – should suffice to complete the 3500km course for this year’s race.

Fame is not an issue. They say they’re doing it to put their kick-biking on the map.

“If we succeed, nobody will remember our names anyway,” Czech team member Michal Kulka said during a recent training camp in southwestern Czech Republic. “Who cares?”

Starting each stage a day before the actual race means they will miss some of the hype of the June 29-July 21 race. But they have more practical obstacles to deal with: traffic lights will slow them down, one-way roads may force them to look for alternate routes – and they’re still waiting for permission for their support vehicle to enter mountainous stages.

A McLaren Mercedes technician check tyres in the paddock at the Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. Picture: Manu Fernandez
Source: AP

MAKER TO MAKE CHANGES TO TYRES

Formula One: Pirelli will make changes to its Formula One tyres from next month’s Canadian Grand Prix after widespread complaints from drivers at last weekend’s Spanish race that they shredded too easily.

Tyres cut like paper, rubber flew everywhere and cars flitted in and out of lanes as drivers made nearly 80 pit stops in Barcelona, turning the race into a chaotic spectacle and leading teams to demand instant improvement.

Motorsport director Paul Hembery said in a statement that the tyres will feature a revised construction including elements from this and last year’s tyres to combine durability with performance.

Pirelli does not have time to make modifications in time for the Monaco GP next week, so changes will not be ready until next month’s race in Montreal.

Lionel Messi looks at the cup as he and his teammates parade on a bus through a crowd of supporters celebrating in the streets of Barcelona on Monday, two days after their team won the Spanish league. Picture: AFP
Source: AFP

MESSI’S SEASON LOOKS OVER

Soccer: Lionel Messi could be done for the season after he was ruled out for up to three weeks because of his nagging hamstring injury, meaning he’s set to fall short of breaking his own Spanish league scoring record.

Barcelona said that the four-time FIFA player of the year has re-aggravated the right hamstring strain that has limited him for the last six weeks and only a quicker-than-expected return to fitness would see him play again for the Spanish team this season.

Barcelona said Messi will be sidelined for two to three weeks, with the team’s last – and meaningless – league game against Malaga scheduled for June 1.

Barcelona have already clinched the league title with three games left, but Messi is four goals short of matching his own record of 50 goals that he set last year.

Novak Djokovic serves against Albert Montanes of Spain in their second round match at the Italian Open. Picture: Clive Brunskill
Source: Getty Images

DJOKOVIC, FEDERER IMPROVE

Tennis: Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer appear back on track after early losses in Madrid last week.

Top-ranked Djokovic quickly overcame an early break to cruise past Spanish qualifier Albert Montanes 6-2 6-3 and second-seeded Federer routed Italian wild card Potito Starace 6-1 6-2 to reach the third round of the Italian Open.

Djokovic dropped his serve to fall behind 2-1 in the opening set but broke back immediately and took control from there against his 32-year-old opponent.

The six-time grand slam champion didn’t appear to have any problem with his right ankle, which he twisted while representing Serbia in the Davis Cup in April then appeared to hurt again in a loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the Madrid Open last week.

Briefly . . .

Wrestling: The United States, Iran and Russia have forged an unlikely heavyweight alliance to keep the ancient sport of wrestling in the Olympic Games. While political differences between the three are deep, the national teams from the three wrestling superpowers will grapple with each other in New York’s Grand Central Station railway terminal to back the campaign. Wrestling has been in shock since the International Olympic Committee announced in February that it wanted the sport ejected for the 2020 Games.

Soccer: Manchester City assistant manager David Platt has left the club just a day after Roberto Mancini was sacked. Italian manager Mancini was sacked on Monday after a trophy-less season for City was confirmed by their shock FA Cup Final loss to Wigan. Former England midfielder Platt was offered the chance to stay at City, a club he joined in 2010, but decided to leave.

Boxing: Boxer Robert Guerrero, coming off a loss 10 days ago to unbeaten Floyd Mayweather, had all firearm possession charges against him dropped in a New York State Supreme Court hearing. Guerrero was arrested March 28 for allegedly trying to take a handgun on a plane to Las Vegas at John F. Kennedy Airport. At the hearing, Guerrero pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined $250 as well as ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.

Gambling: The IOC is proposing the establishment of a global system for monitoring betting patterns during major sports events, the latest step in efforts to guard against corruption and match-fixing. The IOC already has its own system in place for monitoring betting during the Olympics but wants the “Olympic movement monitoring system” similar to the one used at last year’s London Games to be made available to international sports federations to use during their championships.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Catch up on the overnight sport with Wednesday Sports Fix