As a South African golf writer, the author frequently recalls why The Open Championship remains his favorite time of year. He started following the tournament on television in South Africa because it was broadcast in the same time zone, and quickly became familiar with the history and traditions of this oldest golf tournament.
Among the vivid moments he saw on television were the victory of South African star Ernie Els at Muirfield in 2002 and the triumph of Louis Oosthuizen at St Andrews eight years later. In 2012, the author visited The Open Championship for the first time at Royal Lytham & St Annes. At that time, he was working as a sports reporter in his third year, and although his company, now defunct SA Press Association (Sapa), refused to pay for the trip, he managed to find freelance work to cover the expenses.
Despite barely making the flight to England due to stomach upset, he reached Blackpool, where he stayed for a week, only twenty minutes away by bus from the course. The author describes his accommodation as possibly the worst hotel in Blackpool, noting its unique smell, presence of cockroaches, and general bleakness, but he tried to get the most out of the situation.
He managed to gain inside the ropes access. On Tuesday, he watched Thomas Aiken's practice round when the renowned South African golf writer Grant Winter invited him to walk the courses. This experience was unique in itself. However, according to the author, nothing compares to the first round of a major tournament, so he decided to follow American Tiger Woods on Thursday. Woods performed excellently, hitting the driver once on a difficult course and scoring three birdies without errors, which, in his opinion, foreshadowed a win in his first major in four years.
The second and third rounds remain a hazy memory, but the final round was intense. The author decided to follow Els, but by the middle of the game, he felt Els' chances diminished, especially considering the flawless play of Australian Adam Scott, who was leading. Nevertheless, he returned to interviewing Aiken, who looked like one of the leading South African players contending for seventh place. After finishing his article, he stayed to watch the last nine holes, expecting Scott to win.
At the end of the match, Els failed to make a birdie on a relatively easy short par 4 on the 16th hole and narrowly missed another birdie opportunity on the 17th. Nevertheless, the author went from the media center to the 18th hole and saw Els make a birdie on the final shot. Although he came within one point of victory, a strange feeling hung in the air. Then came an incredible turn of events: Scott missed on the last two holes in a row, finishing the round with four consecutive misses. This led to the 42-year-old 'Big Easy' winning his fourth major and his first in ten years.
A flood of emotion washed over the author, who was covering his first major as a golf writer, as his childhood hero, whom he had previously asked for an autograph, achieved a miracle. At the press conference, the winner Els spoke about how people considered him 'tired' due to ball striking issues, after which he switched to an anchor putter. The author admits that he wrote the report slower, trying to calm down. Despite missing the train back to London, he realized on the way back: he witnessed the best sporting moment of his life in Lytham, and nothing could compare to it.
Subsequently, the author covered The Open in 2018 at Carnoustie, where Italian Francesco Molinari won. That week was special for other reasons, including Woods regaining faith in majors (which, in his opinion, was critical for his 2019 Masters victory) and meeting young South African players such as Erik van Rouwen and Sander Lombard. The author concludes that when The Open starts on Thursday with the hopes of the entire nation on the shoulders of eight South African players, he remembers that 14 years have passed since that magical day in Lytham, and something truly exceptional will be needed to compare to it.
The 2026 World Cup stands out as the most international tournament in history, not only because it is held in three nations and brings together 48 teams, but also due to the large movement of athletes between countries.
More than 280 athletes were not born in the country they represent, which corresponds to 23.6% of the total participants, meaning almost a quarter of all players.
France is listed as the nation that has exported the most talent, as 76 players born in its territory play for national teams of other nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Morocco, and Algeria.
The Netherlands also played a significant role, as 25 out of the 26 players on the Curaçao national team were born in the European country, with only Tahith Chong being native to the Caribbean.
Besides France, eight other national teams have more players born outside than inside the country they represent. These are: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, and Cape Verde.
In contrast, Brazil is part of a group of six national teams that consist exclusively of native players. The other nations in this group are Colombia, Panama, Austria, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia.
FIFA established the eligibility criteria for players of other nationalities only in 1962. This rule allows an athlete, if they are an immigrant or have parents or grandparents born elsewhere, to choose the nationality they wish to represent.
At the annual Cricket SA Awards ceremony in Sandton on Thursday evening, Laura Wolvaardt and Aiden Markram were honored with MVP titles. These players were crowned the 'king and queen of the ball' at the event.
Wolvaardt, aged 27, demonstrated outstanding play in South African cricket. She received the prestigious Best Player of the Year award for South Africa for the third consecutive time, as well as awards for Best Player among South African women, Best ODI Player among women, and Best T20 Player among women.
Under her leadership, the Proteas Women team reached their debut ODI World Cup final. Furthermore, she became the first woman to score centuries in both a semi-final and a final.
The only women's awards Wolvaardt failed to win were the 'KFC Sponsored Best Women's Bowling Award,' which went to Proteas left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, and the International Newcomer of the Year award for Kayla Reineke.
The men's division saw more diversity among the winners. Markram received the highly valued awards for Best Player of the Year for South Africa and Best Player among South African men. His consistency was noted across all three formats, but the highlight of the last twelve months was his decisive century against Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord's.
Spinner Simon Harmer was awarded Best Test Cricketer of the Year following impressive performances in tours of Pakistan and India last year. He performed particularly well in India, where he took 17 wickets, helping Proteas secure a clean 2-0 victory over the hosts.
Proteas batsman Lungi Ngidi was very popular at the evening, receiving three awards: Best Men's T20 Player, Best South African Fan Player, and Best Men's Bowling Award sponsored by KFC.
Young Dewald Brevis was recognized as the International Newcomer of the Year among men, while Matthew Britzke won the award for Best Player in One Day International matches. Britzke holds the world record for the highest individual debut score in an ODI, scoring 150 runs against New Zealand in February 2025, and he is also the first player in ODI history to score over 50 runs in each of his first five games.
The national team of Uzbekistan concluded its participation in the Asian Boxing Championship in the U19 and U23 age categories, which was held in Jakarta. On the final day of the competition, boxers from Uzbekistan won four gold and two silver medals in the U23 finals.
Ilhomjon Ergashev won the men's 65 kg weight category, securing the Asian title after defeating Vanshadja from India with a score of 4:1 in the final. Abdullokh Madaminov won gold in the 70 kg category, beating Nurbek Mursal from Kazakhstan with a score of 5:0 in the title bout.
Faziddin Erkinboev added another gold medal to Uzbekistan's tally, defeating Oner Seilkhan from Kazakhstan with a score of 5:0 by unanimous decision in the 80 kg final. In the men's category over 90 kg, the Asian champion was Ozodbek Aliyev, who overcame Mirzakir Koshariev from Kyrgyzstan in a tense final with a score of 3:2.
Silver medals were won by Norbek Abdullaev in the 85 kg category after losing 1:4 to Temrlan Mukataev from Kazakhstan in the final, as well as Samir Sobirov in the 90 kg division, who lost 2:3 to Ibragim Betaev from Kazakhstan. Farozbek Dusmatov received bronze in the 55 kg category, Abdurakmon Mahmudjonov won bronze in the 60 kg category, and Abdulaziz Abdulkhamidov finished third in the 75 kg category.
Overall, Uzbekistan won four gold, two silver, and three bronze medals across ten weight categories, allowing it to take first place in the final medal table. Kazakhstan finished in second place. The successful performance of the Uzbek team confirmed the high level of its preparation and leading position in Asia among young boxers.
