Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki engaged

Sports stars Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki have announced their engagement.

 

The couple spread their happy news via Twitter, with the duo posting matching pictures of themselves with a ring.

 

Northern Irish golfer and current world number six McIlroy told his more than 1.8 million followers: "Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling it's going to be a great year!! My first victory of 2014 #shesaidyes!!"

 

Danish tennis player Wozniacki, who is also in her sport's top 10, also took to Twitter, saying: "Happy New Year everyone! Rory and I started 2014 with a bang! ... I said YES!!!!"

 

Wozniacki, 23, pulled out of this week's Brisbane International with an injured right shoulder but is confident she will be able to play in this week's Sydney International in preparation for the first major of the year, the Australian Open which begins on January 13 in Melbourne.

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Sky Sports News club golf survey reveals slow play main concern

 

Slow play and declining memberships are the main causes of concern among golf clubs in the UK, according to a Sky Sports News survey.

 

Over 250 British clubs took part in the poll, which revealed that slow play was the biggest talking point in the 19th hole.

 

An overwhelming 94% of clubs admitted that the average round is taking too much time, while 91% insist the problem could be eased if golf's governing bodies took firmer action against professionals guilty of slow play.

 

Five-hour rounds are common on the European and PGA Tours these days, and club golfers believe heavier and more frequent punishment for the pros would speed up the pace of play around the local municipals.

 

After a year in which a ban on anchored putting was agreed by the R&A and the PGA Tour, only 8% of clubs said this was a bigger cause of concern than slow play.

"A lot of the juniors who are watching golf are picking up bad habits after seeing us taking our time. It's down to the intricacies of the rules or people not being ready when it's their turn ... it's a reasonably big problem in the game."
Luke Donald

Another worrying trend is the decline in club membership, with 70% of clubs reporting that subscriptions have decreased over the last five years.

 

Only 1% said their dominant membership group was in the 31-40 bracket, and youth membership has also taken an alarming dive despite 76% of clubs having a youth scheme in place.

 

Female membership has been hit even harder, with a 75% drop according to the survey.

 

Despite the declining numbers, 52% of clubs believe they are getting enough assistance from golf's ruling bodies, although non-major tournaments appear to have little impact on club business.

 

The Open Championship (21%) and the Masters (29%) are known to have a "significant" effect on revenue, but regular European Tour events staged in the UK rarely boost club coffers.

 

The other main cost to British golf clubs is, of course, the weather. Adverse conditions have cost 37% of clubs more the 31 days of business over the last three years, although 22% have lost less than a fortnight.

 

Sky Sports News golf survey - the key points

- 254 respondents
- 70% say membership down over past 5 years
- 81% say 51+ is predominant membership demographic
- Only 1% say 31-40 is dominant membership group
- 75% say female membership has dropped over past 5 years
- 60% have seen a drop in youth membership numbers over past 5 years
- 64% say success of British players on Tour makes no impact on their business
- 21% says Open Championship has significant impact on business
- 29% say The Masters has significant impact on business.
- 61% say another UK Tour event would have no impact on business
- 34% say another UK Tour event would have a small impact on business
- 2% say another UK Tour event would have a significant impact on business
- 52% say biggest selling club in pro shop is the driver
- 39% say most popular club brand is TaylorMade
- 20% say most popular club brand is Ping
- 82% say most popular ball brand is Titleist
- 94% say slow play is problem at club level
- 91% say problem would be eased if Tour dealt more effectively with slow play
- 92% says biggest talking point in club this year is slow play while only 8% says anchored putting
- 37% say they've lost more than 31 days of business due to bad weather in past 3 years
- 34% say they've lost 15-31 days of business due to bad weather in past 3 years
- 22% say they've lost 8-14 days of business due to bad weather in past 3 years.

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Luke Donald warns against slow play

 

Luke Donald has warned that slow play on the European Tour could have a negative impact on youngsters playing golf at club level.

 

Sky Sports News has undertaken a survey of clubs across the UK and Ireland and found that the issue is one that frustrates amateurs more than any other.

 

In the survey, 94% of clubs said it was a problem whilst 92% thought it was a bigger talking point than the ban on anchored putters.

"It used to be that golf was a half-day activity. You could have breakfast with the family and be back home for lunch. But now it seems to have expanded into something that take up two thirds of the day and I think it's having a negative effect on participation - it needs speeding up."   
Peter Dawson

"A lot of the juniors who are watching golf are picking up bad habits after seeing us taking our time," said Donald.

 

"It's down to the intricacies of the rules or people not being ready when it's their turn - there are so many different factors but unfortunately it's a reasonably big problem in the game.

 

Nicolas Colsaerts agrees: "Something needs to be done," he said. "Most of the time you end up playing for over five hours and that's not good enough."

 

However, European Tour Chief Executive George O'Grady believes the game's governing bodies are taking adequate steps to combat the problem.

Leadership

"I think the Tours take really good leadership - certainly the European Tour does. Last time I checked - at the end of the year - we'd had 400 different cases of players being timed and 12 penalties imposed."

 

But the bodies that help regulate the amateur game see slow play as a major problem to attracting new players into the game.

 

"The people we want to get to haven't got four hours going spare and therefore we do have to have a two hour version of the game," said England Golf Chief Executive David Joy. "It would be great to have a nine hole format that people could choose to play in."

 

"It used to be that golf was a half-day activity," added R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson. "You could have breakfast with the family and be back home for lunch.

 

"But now it seems to have expanded into something that take up two thirds of the day and I think it's having a negative effect on participation - it needs speeding up."

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Solheim Cup star Charley Hull is keen to progress further in 2014

 

Charley Hull may have enjoyed arguably the greatest year of her life but she is keen to progress even further in 2014.

 

The 17-year-old from Kettering was named Ladies European Tour (LET) rookie of the year and played a key role in helping Europe win the Solheim Cup on American soil for the first time ever.

 

Hull became the youngest player to compete in the tournament, the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, beating Paula Creamer 5 & 4 in the singles.

 

But she has set her sights high and after finishing second in her first five tournaments since turning professional in March, she is keen to become the top-ranked player in the world during her career.

 

"It was a great season and I loved every minute of it. Looking back on it now, I couldn't wish for a better rookie season," she told Sportsline on Sky News.

 

"Beating Paula Creamer on the final day was fantastic as I have looked up to her for years. To beat one of the most famous names in golf was pretty awesome.

 

"I didn't feel very well when I played her but I just went out and played really well."

 

Hull was offered the chance to work with England Golf but opted instead to stick with her own coaching and support team, a move she feels has paid dividends.

 

"I was always an individual player. I've never been into big team sports, even though it was awesome in the Solheim," she added.

 

"Golf is an individual sport and I (would) have to have their coaches. I have done so well with the coaches I have had, so why change?

 

"That was the route I chose to go and it has done me pretty well."

 

Hull also confirmed she will look to play some tournaments on the American LPGA Tour after impressing during the Solheim Cup but has no immediate plans to move to the USA.

 

"I am going to play on some invites on the LPGA and then play LET as well," she said.

 

"I feel I am too young to go over there at the moment. I still want to enjoy going out with my friends, so I don't want to move over there yet.

 

"I think I have balanced it out well and you have to enjoy life."

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Golf: Tiger Woods, despited limited schedule, racks up world ranking points

Along with wins, money and scoring average, another way to measure the strength of a golf season is total world ranking points. Tiger Woods won that category, too, but just barely over Henrik Stenson. A closer look reveals it wasn't really that close.

 

Woods earned 488.75 points this year, only 3.65 ahead of Stenson. Masters champion Adam Scott was third, more than 100 points behind.

 

The difference, though, is Woods played only 19 tournaments that awarded ranking points. Stenson played 31. Woods averaged 25.7 points for every event he played, compared with 15.6 for Stenson.

 

This is nothing new for Woods. He tends to play the toughest courses against the strongest fields. He also helps to make the field strong as the No. 1 player in the world. And while he doesn't play often, he plays well when he does tee it up.

 

"Most of my events I play have been on the more difficult venues and against the better fields," Woods said this month. "And now that we have not just the majors and The Players, but we also have the World Golf Championships ... and also the playoffs at the end of the year, you're getting the top players to play together more often. And I'm very proud of my overall record, especially in the bigger events."

• The PGA Tour already alters the pairings to create marquee groups for the opening two rounds. Now it's letting the fans get involved. In voting that will end Monday, fans can go to the tour's website (pgatour.com) to vote who should be paired with defending champion Dustin Johnson at Kapalua for the Tournament of Champions that starts Jan. 3 in Hawaii. The choices are Scott, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker.
• Darren Clarke has a three-year deal to be the pro and global ambassador at The Astbury in Shropshire, England. It's the first course designed by KK Downing, founding member of the heavy metal band Judas Priest. 
•  LPGA Tour regular Cristie Kerr became a mother Dec. 8. Kerr and husband Erik Stevens had Mason Kerr Stevens through surrogacy because of what she said were "personal medical complications precluding us from traditional pregnancy. We'd like to send out a special thanks to all the people who helped make this miracle happen."

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