Sports Digest: Tom Lehman is to be named as US Ryder Cup captain for the 2006 tournament in Ireland according to reports in the US media last night.
Florida's Palm Beach Post, last night reported that while US PGA officials would not confirm Lehman's captaincy, a news conference has been planned for today at the Ritz Carlton hotel on Florida's Amelia Island resort, where the Palm Beach Gardens-based organisation is holding its annual meeting this week.
According to the report Lehman secured the job after another front-runner, Paul Azinger, bowed out of the race, saying he would prefer to be captain at the 2008 matches. Last week he said he'd prefer to be the captain for the 2008 matches at the Valhalla Gold Club in Kentucky.
Azinger is taking a network analyst's job with ABC and also is reshaping his swing, so he told PGA officials to take him out of consideration for two more years.
Lehman (45) has played on three Ryder Cups, but was not a member of the recent team that lost six weeks ago at Oakland Hills. He is 5-3-2 at the Ryder Cup and has never lost a singles match.
GOLF: Three players share the lead after the third round of the Robe di Kappa women's European Tour qualifying school after a day of mixed emotions for many players at Riva dei Tessali GC in southern Italy. Topping the field on two-under par 214 are Anna Highgate from Wales, Miriam Nagl from Germany and Lisa Holm Sorensen from Denmark.
Four Irish players are involved with Hazel Kavanagh closest, at five shots behind, Rebecca Coakley a shot further back, Martina Gillen on 225 and on 233 - and missing the cut - was Yvonne Cassidy.
TENNIS: Castlebar Lawn Tennis club in Mayo could carry off the prestigous medium-sized club of the year award for the second time at the annual Eagle Star National club awards function at the Fitzwilliam club in Dublin tomorrow evening, reports Pat Roche.
The categories for the annual awards come under three headings, large, medium and small clubs. The Mayo club has the Downshire Hillsborough as its opposition in the medium-sized category.
Contesting for the honour of being voted the best large club are Sunday's Well in Cork and Carrickmines in county Dublin. The Kells club in Meath and Tipperary's Lattin Club are the contenders for the small club award.
CRICKET: Shane Warne has been ruled out of the fourth Test between Australia and India with a broken right thumb.
Leg-spinner Warne was forced out of consideration on the eve of the series finale at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, after sustaining the fracture while batting in the nets.
