Golf Digest: A round-up of other golf stories.
West Ham fan Paul McGinley is getting back to golf ahead of schedule and mainly because of an Arsenal supporter.
Ryder Cup match-winner McGinley hopes to return at the Marriott Forest of Arden next week to compete in the British Masters following surgery on a serious knee problem a month ago.
The operation to correct a torn cartilage, ligament damage and chipping of the bone was conducted by knee surgeon Andy Unwin in Windsor just hours after an MRI scan revealed the injury.
McGinley became acutely aware of the problem in Portugal.
"Mr Unwin, who is the knee surgeon to the Arsenal footballers and attends all their games, told me that there was so much damage it would have collapsed completely within a month if I hadn't had the operation," he said.
"It might be a bit of a risk coming back so quickly, but Mr Unwin has been pleased and impressed at my progress and doesn't think there will be any problem.
"I played three more tournaments and the knee swelled up after each one so there was obviously something wrong, but I had no idea it was as bad as it was."
YOUTHS INTERPROS: Ulster are in pole position to win the Golfsure Youth Interprovincial Matches for the second year running thanks to a hard-fought 5-4 win over Munster at The Island yesterday.
Despite a stiff northeast wind gusting up to 35 mph, Ulster proved to have more strength in depth in the singles, and wins for Harry Diamond, Stephen Crowe and Gareth Shaw, coupled with Nicky Grant's half with Cian McNamara, were enough to see them home.
In the other match, Connacht caused a surprise when they beat host province Leinster by 6 ½ matches to 2 ½ and maintain their chances of winning the Interprovincial Matches for the first time at Youths level since the competition was first played in 1961.
Two of Irish golf's brightest prospects, McNamara and Grant showed their class as they covered the testing north Dublin links in figures of approximately one over par.
In the end McNamara salvaged a deserved half when he holed a testing 15-footer for par on the final green after Grant had opened the door by slicing his tee shot into the high dunes on the right.
Leinster were in need of four points from the six singles to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the morning foursomes clashes with the Connacht side, but only the Island's Robert McCarthy, with a five and four triumph over Co Sligo player Garth McManus, managed to accomplish his mission.
