1. Waratahs have a wonderful chance to end the trans-Tasman misery. At the risk of cursing them, the Waratahs must go into the match against the Blues at Brookvale on Saturday with a fair chance of ending Australia's dreadful record against Kiwi sides.
It's hard not to feel for the Blues. Not only do their young halves seem determined to drive coach Tana Umaga to the brink of despair, but they are so beaten up, so deep into their playing reserves that they bear no resemblance to the rest of the NZ conference. They have lost almost an entire back line outside No.10, they have issues at the scrum and lineout particularly when hooker James Parsons is off the field and the Ioane brothers are not getting the room they need. Streak breakers: Surely the Waratahs can topple the Blues next week? Photo: AAP The Waratahs have test players at No.9, No.10 and No.12 who played in a World Cup final three years ago. This is not a match they will lose. Get that champagne ready. Probably. 2. Light at end of Brumbies tunnel Baffling: The Brumbies will be wondering what happened on Saturday night. Photo: AAP Yes, there were moments against the Crusaders on Saturday that made you scratch your head. The inability of the Brumbies to profit from a numerical advantage is becoming a recurring theme (remember the Highlanders game?). However, you do hope that someone in Brumbyland gets the squad together and reminds them that they are at least getting themselves into situation to win games. Once they started building momentum in Canberra they made the Crusaders look uncomfortable and they took the Highlanders to the same place in Dunedin. True, it is small comfort but players such as Rory Arnold are really fronting for the Brumbies and it is not the physical elements of the game that is letting them down. They are better than the ladder suggests. 3. Douglas will leave with head held high Second best: The Rebels were never in it against the Stormers. Photo: EPA Kane Douglas hasn't been showered with too much praise this year but the departing second-rower has done a big job for Brad Thorn at the Reds this year. His role is pretty simple win lineouts, crash into rucks and push hard in the scrum and he has gone about that work with unassuming efficiency. The young Reds side can be helter skelter at times but Douglas' consistency has been a major plus. Perhaps his impending move to Bordeaux will kill his Wallabies chances in June, but he's been among the top four second-rowers in the country over the season. 4. Rebels were never in it If you have watched a lot of the Rebels since their inception then the performance against the Stormers would have been very familiar. Sure, there were some pleasant patches when the game was drifting but the Stormers always had another gear to go to physically to keep them at bay. Front-on defence at No.10 is something that is sniffed at in Australia at times as if it doesn't count as much as throwing a nice cut-out ball in attack but if you look at the performances of Jack Debreczeni and Hamish Stewart at the weekend you can see why coaches are so insistent that No.10s can defend. Damian De Allende's try, when he ran over Debreczeni, was just cheap points for the home side they didn't have to manipulate the defence, just target one player and the Crusaders will no doubt be coming down that channel in Melbourne on Friday. 5. Australia will be watching the Brad Shields situation New Zealand Rugby is reluctant to let the Hurricanes captain play for England in June because of the precedent it would set, not because they want him as a player. If World Rugby rules he can be picked for England while playing for the Hurricanes, it certainly raises a few questions from an Australian point of view. In theory, it would open the door for the Wallabies to pick the likes of Mike Alaalatoa, Pete Samu and Tyrel Lomax from their New Zealand franchises. There'll be others with dual eligibility, too. Whether Rugby Australia would want to do this is another matter, but you can understand why NZ Rugby does not want Shields to join Eddie Jones with England while under contract. Team of the Week 1. JP Smith (Reds) 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Reds) 3. Taniela Tupou (Reds) 4. Rory Arnold (Brumbies) 5. Kane Douglas (Reds) 6. Angus Scott-Young (Reds) 7. George Smith (Reds) 8. Caleb Timu (Reds) 9. Joe Powell (Brumbies) 10. Hamish Stewart (Reds) 11. Sefa Naivalu (Rebels) 12. Samu Kerevi (Reds) 13. Tevita Kuridrani (Brumbies) 14. Filipo Daugunu (Reds) 15. Tom Banks (Brumbies) http://canberratimes.com.au/rugby-union/super-rugby/waratahs-can-end-our-trans-tasman-blues-20180429-p4zca8.html
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Jacob Collier's response to Quincy Jones's offer to produce his first album was certainly novel: "Can we just be friends?" This was a London kid, whose ingenious reimagining of such songs as Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely? had gone viral on YouTube, knocking back the producer of all those Michael Jackson hits, and the man whose management company can turn bedroom stars into real ones.
The exuberant Collier was hugely flattered by Jones's offer, but, despite his youth (then 19, now 23), he had worked by himself for so long that he was wary of outsourcing any control over his music. "It was just a matter of Quincy's got his world and I've got mine, and I want to make sure that mine is safe," he explains on the telephone. Jacob Collier, the boy who knocked back Quincy Jones.Photo: Supplied He did, however, let Jones book his debut gig nothing less than opening for Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea at the 2015 Montreux Jazz Festival. "It was absolutely crazy," says Collier, "because I'd never really done a show before. It was a 30-minute set, and I had nothing other than the idea that I wanted to do something on my own. I wanted to accurately represent what my creative process had been up to that point." That process had begun years before when his classical musician parents had allowed him to treat music as a giant playground, rather than corralling him into formal lessons. The young Collier discovered for himself the array of feelings that music could engender and the mysterious knowledge that underpinned this. "There was this spirit of music in the house," he says, "and I always enjoyed just looking and listening, and trying to figure out how I could sort of be Jacob in it all." From YouTube to the Grammys: Jacob Collier.Photo: Supplied Coming to the art formwith that sort of openness has coloured all that's happened since. "It definitely feels more like a human endeavour than a musical one," he observes. "Music is just another language, but it's very special because it crosses everyone's borders. You can get people to follow very intricate pathways of musical information, but it feels like a nursery rhyme or a children's story. There's an amazing power that music has, and it definitely had its power over me as a boy. I just saw fit to keep exploring it." As a kid he sang in operas (The Magic Flute,The Turn of the Screw), while teaching himself how to play an arsenal of instruments not with the goal of becoming a multi-instrumentalist, but to be able to realise the sounds in his head. Meanwhile he was mastering the technology needed to multitrack himself when Jones suddenly put him in the position of doing it on stage. "That was one of the steepest learning curves of my whole life, because I wanted to play all of these really complicated things live, and there you can't hide behind a machine," he says. "You have to play the music." His saviour was Ben Bloomberg, an electronics expertwho, out of the blue, suggested they collaborate on live-performance gadgetry. "It was the crazy, serendipitous moment that was exactly what I needed," says Collier. "It's so easy for technology to take over the humanity of something.I still wanted to play real instruments with real strings and real keys, the challenge was how to do it." They developed a voice-triggered synthesiser that allowed Collier to replicate his earliest forays into music-making, when he just had one microphoneand sang all the melody, harmony and drum parts. Then it was off to Montreux. "It was a miracle that I got through that first show in one piece," he recalls. "But it was really fun: kind of like the same world that I was used to inhabiting at home but in front of people!" In 2017 Collier won two Grammy Awards for songs off the album that he wouldn't let Jones produce, appropriated titled In My Room. Meanwhile the childhood inclination to treat music as a game remains. "It's not like I wake up and think, 'Now I'm going to go to work,'" he says. "It just feels like a continuing exploration." Jacob Collier performs at the Metro Theatre, Sydney, April 30 and Howler, Melbourne, May 1 and 2. http://canberratimes.com.au/entertainment/music/jacob-collier-the-youtube-star-who-knocked-back-quincy-jones-20180419-h0yznp.html Last week, we published the heart-warmingtale of Wal Smith, the long-standing guardian of the Martin Place Cenotaph in Sydney's CBD.
After almost eight decades of unbroken service, this Wednesday will mark Mr Smith's final year as guardian. The 96-year-old has decided to retire after turning out for one more Anzac Day. The last post: Wal Scott Smith prepares for his final Anzac Day as guardian of the Martin Place cenotaph.Photo: Dean Sewell People like Mr Smith epitomise all that is great about our city, and all that is good about remembering our military past. His long years of voluntary service, his respect and solidarity for our soldiers and their families. Above all his great dignity and respect. And it's not just Mr Smith. These qualities are on display in abundance on Anzac Day, when Australia pauses to remember conflicts both ancient and modern. We look back to World War I, which ended a century ago this year, and the battles fought on foreign lands, in Turkey and Europe. This year has seen a push to recalibrate our focus, to shift the emphasis from the hills and beaches of Gallipolito our efforts on the Western Front, in the trenches of Villers-Bretonneux in France and beyond. Our own Peter FitzSimons is leading this push, publishing books on both Villers Bretonneux last year, and his forthcoming book on the outstanding Australian general John Monash, a chapter of which we have published today. Monash is a fascinating character, bringing an engineering and scientific focus to the bloody business of trench warfare, and by all accounts making a significant impact on various battlefields that helped turn the tide for the allies and lead the eventual defeat of the axis powers. This Anzac Day,Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will open the Sir John Monash Centre in Villers-Bretonneux, a modern interpretive centre to commemorate the achievements of the 300,000 Diggers who served on the Western Front, and their commander. But Anzac Day is not just about the leaders. It's the day we remember the ordinary folk, the everyday heroes who sometimes never returned from the battlefields, or returned as broken men, suffering from what we now know to be post traumatic stress disorder. We remember those who served in both world wars, in Vietnam, Korea, and also those who are still serving today. Australian forces are active in Afghanistan and Iraq, helping provide training and support for local army personnel. Their numbers may not be huge, and they might not be fighting on the front line, but nonetheless these troops make significant sacrifices and face significant danger to serve the needs of international peace. It's all too easy forSydneysiders to get caught up in our daily grumbles about bad traffic, astronomical house prices and the latest outrage about smashed avocado. But this Wednesday is a chance to put aside these concerns and reach out to families and friends. Maybe you have a relative who served. Or a neighbour. Even if you don't, you owe it to people like Wal Smith to attend a dawn service and talk to someone carrying medals on their chest. This is not a day for the glorification of war. It is a day to reflect on what a terrible event war is. It is a day to honour the sacrifices of those who served. It is a day to look at how Australia can help make the world a more peaceful place. And it might just be a day to shout guys like Wal Smith a beer and have a spin in a game of two-up. Lest we forget. http://canberratimes.com.au/nsw/new-focus-on-the-past-brings-renewed-attention-to-anzac-day-20180420-p4zavg.html Women fighting breast cancer will no longer face treatment bills in the tens of thousands of dollars for treatment after two drugs were listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
On Friday, the PBS Authority said it had placed Palbociclib and Ribociclib, two tablet-form inhibitors prescribed to patients suffering metastaticbreast cancer, on the PBS. Play Video Don't Play Up Next This 2015 video, an education scammer is caught in the act Play Video Don't Play Video duration02:21 More National News Videos Previous slide Next slide New blood test could save lives A simple blood test could change thousands of lives by detecting common cancers well before symptoms start to show. Vision courtesy: Seven News. Without the government subsidy, the costs of the drugs are about $5000 a month. Holly Masters, chief executive of the Jane McGrath Foundation, said the listings would be "hugely beneficial". "Our McGrath breast care nurses tell us that when a patient is at this point, quality of life is a priority," she said. "Reducing anxiety and increasing their ability to optimise time with their family and community is key." The drugs were approved for use in Britain last year and have been hailed as "groundbreaking" for women who have secondary cancer. You will now receive updates from Breaking News Alert Breaking News Alert Get the latest news and updates emailed straight to your inbox. Since their adoption around the world, Liberal Party womens' councils from state divisions across Australia have been privately lobbying Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Health Minister Greg Hunt. The breast cancer drugs previously cost about $5000/month.Photo: Lyn Osborn Mary Lou-Jarvis, president of the New South Wales womens' council, raised the issue personally with Mr Turnbull last week. She told Fairfax Media she had watched two of her friends suffer from recurring breast cancer and seen the enormous costs they faced. "On top of seeing the crushing emotional and physical toll their respective conditions caused, I became aware of the huge financial cost of treatment beyond what was covered by Medicare or their health insurance," Ms Lou-Jarvis said. Last month, the NSW branch passed a motion calling for the drugs to be "urgently listed", citing government figures that estimate 18,235 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed this year. "Liberal women have worked together across Australia to achieve a result that can only have a positive impact for women and their families facing a huge financial cost of breast cancer treatment," she said. "The ripple effect for their family and friends is huge and anything we can do to help makes sense." She said the collaborative effort mirrored that shown a decade ago when Liberal women fought social conservatives like Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce to have the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil subsidised. Australia is now poised to become the first country to eradicate cervical cancer as as result of the vaccination program. A spokesman for the Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government is committed to making life-saving and life-improving medicines available for Australian patients through the PBS. "We welcome the decisions made by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. This is a very important step in the PBS listing process," the spokesman said. "Since coming into Government, the Coalition has helped improve the health of Australians by subsidising more than $8.2 billion worth of new medicines." http://canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/government-subsidises-two-5000-month-breast-cancer-drugs-20180420-p4zaur.html Former premier Morris Iemma described one of the councillors at the centre of a corruption inquiry as a f---wit after councillor Pierre Azzi detailed to Mr Iemma alleged inducements he had made to the general manager, a corruption inquiry has heard.
By hook or by crook two councillors, the Liberals' Michael Hawatt and Labor's Mr Azzi, were determined to get their preferred candidate Spiro Stavis appointed planning chief, the former mayor of Canterbury Council, Brian Robson, told the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Thursday. Former premier Morris Iemma.Photo: Kate Geraghty The corruption watchdog is examining the roles played by Mr Hawatt and Mr Azzi, then general manager Jim Montague, Labor fixer Bechara Khouri and others in the controversial appointment of Mr Stavis to the role of planning director. The commission is also inquiring into whether favourable development decisions were made to friends and relatives of the two councillors following Mr Staviss appointment. Former Canterbury councillor Michael Hawatt is at the centre of a corruption inquiry.Photo: Brendan Esposito In his evidence, Mr Robson said that two councillors were described as a junta or a military dictatorship because they controlled the council. Two other candidates have told the inquiry that Mr Hawatt and Mr Azzi, who were on the November 2014 interview panel, were rude and aggressive towards them and they got the impression that they were looking for a planning director who would do what the general manager told them to do. Mr Robson said there was blowback from council staff when Mr Stavis got the top planning job as the previous year he had failed to secure a junior planning position at the council. Judith Carpenter, who was in charge of the recruitment process, was furious about the selection of Mr Stavis. She informed Mr Montague that there were issues about his personal integrity. Further details Ms Carpenter provided about Mr Staviss integrity have been suppressed by the commission. Following Ms Carpenters revelations about Mr Stavis, just before Christmas in 2014, Mr Staviss job offer was withdrawn by Mr Montague. Mr Robson said that Mr Iemma had rung him on the evening January 6, 2015, to detail an extraordinary conversation Mr Iemma had just had with Mr Azzi. According to Mr Robson, Mr Iemma was astounded that Mr Azzi had told him about threats and inducements he and Mr Hawatt had made to Mr Montague to ensure that Mr Stavis was re-offered the job. I clearly recollect that Iemma said 'Azzi is a f---wit' during our conversation. And he said, 'I told Azzi this was corrupt behaviour', Mr Robson recalled. Mr Robson described a gotcha moment several days later when Mr Hawatt sent an email to Mr Montague detailing that he would be sacked if he didnt restore Mr Staviss job. The email also offered Mr Montague a generous payout, due to take effect in August 2015 which would mark his 50th year in local government. How stupid is he to do it? he recalled Mr Iemma saying. Mr Iemma also urged that the matter be reported to ICAC. Mr Robson said it had already been done. Mr Montague did change his mind and re-instated Mr Stavis to the job. Counsel assisting the inquiry has foreshadowed that the council will examine allegations that potentially corrupt planning decisions which were allegedly made by Mr Stavis at the behest of the two councillors. In 2016, not long before Canterbury council was amalgamated with Bankstown, Mr Khouri hosted a meeting at his Enfieldhouse to discuss various scenarios if the two councils became one. In attendance were Mr Hawatt, Mr Azzi and Mr Montague. Also present was the mayor of Bankstown Khal Asfour and his general manager Matthew Stewart. In a statement to the commission, Mr Stewart said the three men from Canterbury wanted assurances that if the amalgamation went ahead it was essential that Mr Stavis be the planning chief of the combined councils. Theres one thing I can tell you, Mr Stewart recalled saying. Im not like him (I pointed to Mr Montague) where I will concrete my feet to the desk and do anything to stay there. I wont have Spiro as my director of planning. The inquiry continues. http://canberratimes.com.au/nsw/icac-hears-of-ex-premier-morris-iemma-s-graphic-outburst-20180419-p4zalq.html Surrey coach Michael Di Venuto has confirmed he'd be keen to sign one of Australia's banned Test stars.
Di Venuto was Australia's batting coach until 2016 and remains close to both Steve Smith and David Warner, who are serving 12-month bans from international and domestic cricket following the ball tampering scandal in South Africa. Steve Smith and David Warner are serving 12-month bans from Australian cricket.Photo: AAP Cameron Bancroft, who was issued with a nine-month suspension, had his contract with Somerset ripped up following the incident, with Smith and Warner losing their lucrative IPL deals. The trio are only permitted to play grade cricket in Australia, but their bans do not prevent them from playing in England, although it would require approval from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Test all-rounder Mitch Marsh was Surrey's overseas signing for the season, but he is now unavailable following ankle surgery. South Africa opener Dean Elgar was signed by the club for April and May leaving another overseas spot available for the second half of the season. Australia will defend their World Cup crown in England next year followed by an attempt to win a first away Ashes series since 2001. None of Smith, Warner or Bancroft will have played any first class cricket before the start of the World Cup and Di Venuto believes a spell in England will benefit the players and Australia. "From an Australian perspective, it is probably important that they play a bit of cricket at some stage," Di Venuto said. "I don't know if they are allowed to play in this competition. "I know what it states in their sanctions that they can't play domestic cricket in Australia. "We have got a relationship with Mitch to see how he goes with his ankle but we have got a spot we have got to fill as well. "So, if they are in the right mental state to play cricket and the ECB will have to allow it to start with, then we'd be mad not to look at some of the world's best players potentially playing." Meanwhile, Glamorgan coach Robert Croft believes Australia batsman Shaun Marsh won't be affected by any sledging about ball tampering. "It is not an issue for me," Croft told PA Sport. "Shaun was not mentioned in any of that - and do you think an Aussie ever worries about chirping? "But if he does get any of that I think he's the type of chap to just stare them down." AAP http://canberratimes.com.au/sport/cricket/surrey-coach-keen-on-signing-australia-s-banned-cricket-stars-20180417-p4za7v.html Sydney is my home and a city that I love. Despite everything that is beautiful about it, there is a frightening aspect of living here: street harassment.
In only the last two weeks, I have been harassed no fewer than six times: from a man cat-calling out of a car, to the chilling experience of a group of older men yelling profanities about my appearance in an attempt to, at the very best, get my attention and at the very worst, to frighten me. Every time, this behaviour comes from men seeking to objectify or intimidate. Is walking Sydney's streets safe? Illustration: Greg Newington These experiences are common. The barrage of street harassment I experience simply getting from one place to another leaves me feeling defiled, powerless and numb. Ive become desensitised to it. But this isnt right. It should not be normal. It doesnt make any sense that I can be harassed by a complete stranger, sometimes to the extent that I fear for my safety, and then go about my day as if nothing has happened. But so many other women do. Alice Rummery has adopted a number of strategies to try to prevent any harassment.Photo: Supplied A survey by Plan International Australia of around 450 women living in Sydney my age, between 18 and 25, found 90 per cent of us dont feel the city is safe after dark and 92 per cent dont feel comfortable on public transport at night. Even during the day, it can be sketchy. Almost half the women surveyed (44 per cent) said they didnt feel comfortable using public transport during the day. I shouldnt have to think twice about what I wear when I go out, fearing that if I choose something too provocative, that I will be inviting harassment, and that will be my fault. Every time I walk home, I can only cross my fingers and hope that something doesnt happen to me. Here are some of the things I do to feel safe while Im out in public. Every time I get onto a crowded train I stand with my back to the wall because this is the best way that I have found to ward off men who grope. Every time I think about which train stop to get off at, I consider which station is darker, which one has a safer walk home and where there will be more people. Every time I see a man walking towards me at night, I think about what I have in my bag. Can I speed dial 000 if I need to? Is there something I can use to protect myself? It is important to remember that these behaviours arent born from nothing, they are learnt from the persistent harassment that I experience on Sydneys streets. Im just one woman navigating the big city. But when these stories are told together, and when more and more people share them, they have significant power. Plan International Australia understands this and has developed an online mapping tool called Free to Be, which is launching tomorrow, where women can log their positive and negative experiences while out and about in Sydney. I was proud to be part of developing Free to Be because its designed by young women like me, for young women, to help make our streets safer. I dont want to have to change my behaviour so that Im not harassed. I want decision makers, authorities and men to act. Sydney should be a place where all women feel safe, empowered and where our experiences are understood.The more we speak out, the more effectively we can make a change. Alice Rummery is a university student, a Youth Activist Leader at Plan International Australia, and helped co-design the Free To Be Sydney city safety map. http://canberratimes.com.au/nsw/i-m-a-walking-target-for-men-on-our-city-s-streets-20180416-p4z9ul.html Manama:Sebastian Vettel held off a thrilling late challenge from Valtteri Bottas on Sunday to win the Bahrain Grand Prix and extend his lead over Lewis Hamilton at the summit of the world championship.
Hamilton, who started only ninth, completed the podium places after Kimi Raikkonen retired following a nasty collision with one of his own mechanics during a disastrous pit stop. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel en route to victory in Bahrain on Sunday.Photo: AP The mechanic was knocked down and taken to the medical centre to be assessed in an incident that was not out of place during a chaotic race under the floodlights of the Sakhir circuit. Vettel was on a different strategy to both the Mercedes cars, but he masterfully managed to nurse his less durable tyres over the line to finish half a second clear of Bottas, and claim his second win in as many grands prix. Australia's Daniel Ricciardo was forced to retired when his Red Bull lost power on the second lap. In a disastrous race for Red Bull, Ricciardo's teammate Max Verstappen also withdrew after clashing with Hamilton also on the second lap. Reuters http://canberratimes.com.au/sport/australian-grand-prix/bahrain-grand-prix-vettel-extends-championship-lead-over-hamilton-20180408-p4z8gu.html 4/8/2018 0 Comments Police discover car containing drugs, firearms during routine intercept in PrahranPolice got more than they bargained for after stopping to check a doubled-parked car in Prahran in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Officers were patrolling Irving Avenue when they came across a Hyundai Getz about 1.25am. The driver, who allegedlyhad drugs, firearms and ammunition in his car, then tried to avoid police from stopping him by waving officers around. Despite his attempts, police stopped to inspect his car, finding a cash of ice, heroin, cocaine and other drugs as well as firearms and ammunition. The man, 33, has been charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, possessing multiple drugs of dependence and trafficking drugs of dependence. He will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Sunday. http://canberratimes.com.au/victoria/police-discover-car-containing-drugs-firearms-during-routine-intercept-in-prahran-20180408-p4z8dj.html The good news: a bloke who wears red and black every tournament Sunday will be in the final groups at the US Masters, as most have craved all week.
The bad news: a bloke who divides opinion on tour and does it to pay homage to Tiger Woods will be the one to do it, rather than the man himself. Contention: Patrick Reed leads after two rounds at Augusta National.Photo: AP Patrick Reed has long insisted on dressing like the 14-time major champion down the stretch - he has done so for years - but this time it's not just his get-up mirroring Tiger, toying with Augusta National as his idol wallowed a few groups in front of him. Woods had to scramble just to make the weekend. His closet may be bursting with a number of green jackets that Reed can only dream of matching, but Tiger will have at least have a chance to pull the red and black out again at Augusta. Hanging tough: Tiger Woods.Photo: AP Reed, meanwhile, had never broken 70 in any round in four previous visits to Augusta for the Masters, but monstered the National's par fives for a second straight day to record a day two best with a six-under 66. He has played eight par 5s this tournament, and has birdied every one. "Everyone wants to win [majors] and if you don't believe you can win them, then you probably shouldn't be playing in them," world No.24 Reed (-9) said after powering to a two-stroke lead from Australian Marc Leishman (-7) after the second round. "I believe that if I play the golf that I know how to play that I can win majors." But no matter which way Woods dresses it up, it's a long road back to being a major champion. That's still allowing for the better-than-expected finishes in key Masters lead-in events, which led to hyperbolic forecasts of the imminent greatest comeback win in the history of sport. Even for someone whose every twitch is forensically followed, professional golf is a lonely existence. For the second straight day, the most beautiful part of Augusta National brought out the ugliest in Woods' game. Reed wears his inspiration for all to see.Photo: AP He splashed his tee shot into Rae's Creek which winds in front of the 12th green - a fate which also befell Phil Mickelson earlier in the day. It's a corner of the golfing cathedral so exclusive fans are not allowed to clamour closer than behind the 12th tee. Woods was no more than a hundred metres away from his nearest Tiger disciple, but a million miles away from winning the comeback major he had built himself up for. He ended the second round at four-over for the tournament, just a single stroke inside the cut line and 13 off Reed. At least it preserved his record of making every US Masters cut as a professional, stretching way back to the first of his four green jackets in 1997. He can still draw a crowd, but he's never been more prolific at scattering them with errant drives and rusty iron play. Told he will need mid-60s in both weekend rounds to maybe be in contention, Woods joked: "I would have done it the first two days ... if I would have quit playing after 16 [holes]. I would have had it. Let's see if we can get 18 holes [in the third round]. "Putting it in perspective, six months ago I didn't know if I'd be playing golf. Forget playing at the Tour level. But it's incredible to have the opportunity again, to still come out here and play this golf course. Now I know I'm on the weekend." And so will Reed. But does dressing like a major champion equate to becoming one? http://canberratimes.com.au/sport/golf/reed-dresses-like-tiger-but-can-he-win-like-tiger-20180407-p4z8al.html |
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