Guan completes memorable Masters debut

Great effort ... Guan was the only amateur in the field to make the cut. Source:AFP

Guan Tianlang's historic debut at the Masters ended on Sunday with a rousing reception from fans gathered around Augusta National's famous 18th hole.

Playing his final round in the company of 55-year-old Scot Sandy Lyle, the 1988 Masters champion, the 14-year-old Chinese schoolboy carded a three-over 75 which left him at 12-over 300 for the tournament.

At that stage, he was third from bottom of the 61-strong field that survived the cut, but Guan had already left an indelible mark on the tournament as the youngest player to compete in the Masters and the second youngest in any of the major tournaments.

Bogeys at the first, fifth and sixth had him reaching the turn in 39 and he dropped a further shot at the 11th before finally bagging a birdie at the par-5 13th, his first since sinking a putt from the edge of the 18th green in the first round.

Another birdie followed at the par-3 16th before he bogeyed 17 and parred 18, where he doffed his cap to the fans already clustered around the green in anticipation of the tournament climax still hours away.

"It's not easy to play here and make the cut and be the low amateur and I think I did a pretty good job,'' said Guan, who completed the tournament without a double bogey on his card and without a three-putt.

"I'm a little bit tired today - still a lot of things to improve. Short game is good, but could still get better and my driving has to get a little bit longer. Yes, everything needs to improve."

With the leaders yet to go out at that stage, the finale to Guan's first Masters largely went unnoticed, but he had already attracted the crowds and the plaudits by making the cut against all the odds with rounds of 72 and 73.

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jack Nicklaus had all expressed their admiration for his stroke-making skills and composure in the line of fire, especially when he was handed a penalty stroke for slow play near the end of his second round.

Words of praise apart, there was silverware substance also for Guan in the form of the Silver Cup that goes to the top amateur, as long as he completes all 72 holes.

That was already a given since Friday evening as Guan's five amateur rivals all failed to make the cut.

That leaves the Guangzhou prodigy in illustrious company as past winners of the trophy include Ben Crenshaw, Woods, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.

Guan will return home to China to continue his studies and work on his game but he has already said he will try to qualify for the US and British Opens.

As to when he would turn professional, he said that that could wait.

"Haven't decided yet, but it won't be too early as a lot of things need to improve - nothing to rush."

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Di Canio debut ends in Chelsea loss

Paolo Di Canio ... Italian may have lost his first game in charge but he remains defiant. Source: Alastair Grant / AAP

Chelsea came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, denying Paolo Di Canio a sensational start in his first game as a Barclays Premier League manager.

Chelsea's victory, in a game that witnessed two own goals, lifted them above both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur into third place, while Sunderland remain just a point above the relegation zone.

Appointed as the successor to Martin O'Neill amid a whirlwind of controversy over his alleged fascist sympathies, Di Canio saw his side take the lead on the stroke of half-time via a Cesar Azpilicueta own goal.

Matthew Kilgallon accidentally gifted Chelsea an equaliser in the 47th minute when he diverted Oscar's pass past visiting goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man United	30	25	2	3	39	77
2	Man City	30	18	8	4	29	62
3	Chelsea	31	17	7	7	28	58
4	Tottenham	32	17	7	8	15	58
5	Arsenal	31	16	8	7	27	56
6	Everton	31	13	13	5	12	52
7	Liverpool	32	13	10	9	19	49
8	West Brom	32	13	5	14	-1	44
9	Swansea	32	10	11	11	1	41
10	Fulham	31	10	9	12	-4	39
11	Southampton	32	9	10	13	-7	37
12	West Ham	31	10	7	14	-9	37
13	Newcastle	32	10	6	16	-14	36
14	Norwich	32	7	14	11	-19	35
15	Stoke	32	7	13	12	-11	34
16	Aston Villa	32	8	9	15	-24	33
17	Sunderland	32	7	10	15	-11	31
18	Wigan	31	8	7	16	-20	31
19	QPR	32	4	12	16	-23	24
20	Reading	32	5	8	19	-27	23

Branislav Ivanovic completed the Chelsea comeback 10 minutes into the second half but his strike was similarly fortuitous, David Luiz's strike cannoning off him and trundling into the bottom-right corner.

"I am not worried (about relegation),'' said Di Canio.

"When I decided to move to Sunderland, I knew what players were here but we have to fight until the end of the season.

"I won't say this was a bonus game but it was a test for us to see what we can do. I am not happy we lost 2-1, but there were positive things I can take from this.''

Chelsea interim manager Rafa Benitez aimed a dig at his critics in the media after the victory.

Benitez has had to cope with constant scrutiny over his selection, tactics and future after taking charge of the Stamford Bridge club, but the club remain on course to secure UEFA Champions League football next season and remain in contention for FA Cup and Europa League glory.

"Two or three days before it was a crisis, two hours before the game it was the end of the world. Now we are in the top three again," he said.

"The media, you are too quick, too fast, everything is going too fast. We have to settle down and analyse things and have more relaxation when you do your analysis."

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Frost set for hot Magpies debut

Debut ... Jack Frost could play after being elevated from the rookie list. Source: Wayne Ludbey / News Limited

Jack Frost is in for a hot introduction to the AFL when the Collingwood defender debuts this Sunday against North Melbourne.

Coach Nathan Buckley says Frost is a prime example of the greater depth of talent that Collingwood will take into this season.

The 21-year-old joined the Magpies last December through the rookie draft and his impressive pre-season prompted an elevation last week onto the senior list.

The 'Pies will throw him into the deep end against North Melbourne, which features the three-pronged tall forward set-up of Drew Petrie, Robbie Tarrant and Lachie Hansen.

"One of the most positive aspects of our pre-season was the emergence of a couple of our rookie-list players,'' Buckley said.

"Jack Frost ... has proven his ability to shut down tall defenders with the absence (in the pre-season) of Nathan Brown and Ben Reid at times.

"He adds to our depth there and it becomes important, shutting down North's talls.

"They generally play that three-tall forward set-up more often than not.''

While Collingwood will be without prime movers such as Luke Ball and Dale Thomas for round one, Buckley said on Tuesday that they have more ability to cope.

"As I've banged on about all pre-season, I feel like we have some great depth,'' he said.

"We have a few injuries we'd rather do without, but the fact is we have the depth to cover it.''

Thomas and Andrew Krakouer will play for Collingwood's VFL team at the MCG in a curtain raiser to the Carlton-Richmond clash.

Ball has been in full training for about a fortnight, but he might not return for another month.

"In his mind, he'll tell you he's about two weeks away,'' Buckley said.

Ruckman Darren Jolly, forward Tyson Goldsack and Reid should all play.

It is a big season opener for Collingwood, particularly given North opened them up in round 21 last season.

"The intensity is going to be high and North Melbourne are a hard-running side,'' Buckley said.

"They showed us up in round 21 last year, so we have some work to do.''

While Collingwood and North have done their pre-season homework on each other, Buckley said there was always a sense of the unknown going into round one.

"You don't know what's changed - you find out soon enough,'' he said.

"We have a look ... at what they've done through the NAB Cup and we see the way they've trained and what they're trying to do in their training.

"How much of that gets rolled out on match day is that last 10 per cent that you need to stay agile enough as a coaching group to be aware of and prepare your players for.''

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Sims brother No.3 set for debut

Korbin Sims ... could make an impact for the Knights on Monday night. Source: News Limited

It will be a case of "Sims like old times" at Hunter Stadium on Monday night.

Newcastle giant Korbin Sims, the youngest brother of Cowboys Ashton and Tariq Sims, is set to make his NRL debut when the Knights battle North Queensland.

While the Knights refused to confirm over the weekend whether the 190cm, 112kg forward would be named, they did say they had a space on their bench after a series of injuries and team adjustments at their final training session.

Korbin will go head-to-head with eldest brother Ashton, but Tariq will not play after performing strongly in a 38-12 win for Mackay over the Central Capras in the Queensland Cup on Saturday night.

Centre Timana Tahu was ruled out and replaced by Alex McKinnon for Newcastle, while former representative hooker Danny Buderus was named to play his first game of the season at the expense of Matt Hilder.

Cowboys coach Neil Henry said although Buderus's addition had come as a surprise, it would not disrupt their preparation.

"It will add experience and leadership to their team, he's a very good defensive player, with great service ... it'll just be another person to be wary of," he said.

Henry  predicted the Knights would make an explosive opening, fired by their humiliating 32-0 round two loss to Manly, and said the Cowboys weathering an early onslaught would be crucial.

"We have been slow out of the blocks ... in the first two rounds of the year, so we might tinker with our warm-up a little bit and the guys really need to be focused on getting into the game early," he said.

North Queensland travelled with an extended 18-man squad, although extra Blake Leary is not expected to be used.

Halfback Michael Morgan successfully got through three days of contact training, including taking on man mountain Jason Taumalolo one-on-one, and will make his return from a broken jaw sustained in the pre-season.

Henry expected the 21-year-old's partnership with star five-eighth and co-captain Johnathan Thurston to pick up where it left off last season.

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Video: mixed debut for Sonny Bill

Rusty ... SBW says he has plenty of work to do to get back to his best NRL form. Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

Sonny Bill Williams admits he still has some way to go to get back to his best after his return to the NRL ended with a 28-10 defeat on Thursday.

The former All Black's Sydney Roosters debut was spoiled by an impressive South Sydney side but the 27-year-old, who scored a late try, said he's happy to have the game out of the way.

"Maybe people were expecting me to work some magic," Williams told the Footy Show.

"For me, it's about concentrating on the little things and doing my job well."

"There's a few things that I was bit rusty on, but it's a start."

Williams played the final 50 minutes, coming on after Souths raced into a 16-4 lead through Nathan Merritt's second of his three tries.

Greg Inglis was named man of the match after having a hand in four of his side's five scores.

The Queensland superstar says he's in the best shape of his career and the backed Williams to get better as the season progresses

"Obviously being out for so long it's going to be difficult," Inglis said.

"But it's great having one of the best players in the world back in our game and he'll be good.

"It shows the game is going in the right direction."

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Heart spoil Neill's A-League debut

Melbourne Heart ... spoil Lucas Neill's A-League debut. Source: George Salpigtidis / News Limited

A great week off-field for Sydney FC has fallen flat on the pitch as Socceroos skipper Lucas Neill's A-League debut resulted in a feeble 3-1 loss to Melbourne Heart.

The defeat sent Sydney tumbling out of the top six on goal difference while the Heart replaced them in fifth spot.

Neill had said pre-game he was happy to play the part of a "pantomime villain'' and it turned out that way, as he was repeatedly booed by Heart fans for backtracking on an indication he would join their club to instead sign with the Sky Blues.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast	22	13	6	3	25	45
2	Western Sydney	22	14	2	6	13	44
3	Adelaide	22	11	3	8	2	36
4	Victory	22	11	3	8	-2	36
5	Heart	22	8	3	11	-1	27
6	Newcastle	22	7	6	9	-7	27
7	Sydney	22	8	3	11	-9	27
8	Brisbane	22	7	4	11	0	25
9	Perth	22	6	4	12	-4	22
10	Wellington	22	5	6	11	-17	21

One fan held up a sign labelling him a rat.

But the AAMI Park crowd quickly found plenty to cheer about as the 34-year-old debutant and his fellow defenders proved unable to stop the Heart's attack running rampant.

Nick Kalmar capitalised after the Sydney defence failed to clear a Richard Garcia cross in the 31st minute.

Jonathan Germano gave 'keeper Vedran Janjetovic no chance five minutes later after a slick one-touch pass by Eli Babalj put him clear one-on-one.

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The game was effectively over 10 minutes into the second half when David Williams converted a penalty to create a three-goal lead after Sydney's Seb Ryall was sent off for dragging him down in the box.

Joel Griffiths gave the visitors a faint flicker of hope when he received the ball in congestion, turned cleverly and fired truly from the top of the box three minutes later.

But a bad day turned worse for Sydney when Griffiths was subbed off with a hamstring injury soon after.

While Neill had a quiet first half, he showed some of his class with a fine lunging challenge to strip the ball from Matt Thompson in the penalty area in the second.

The match drew 13,752 fans, the Heart's biggest non-derby crowd ever, attracted no doubt by the presence of Neill and Alessandro Del Piero, who announced during the week he would continue with Sydney next season.

It was the Heart's fifth straight home win.

They'll now have to focus on fixing a dreadful record elsewhere - having lost their past six away - when they play in Wellington next Sunday.

Sydney play in Perth on Saturday night.

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