Nick Kyrgios wins second title in a fortnight

Nick Kyrgios won his previous event, at the Sarasota Challenger. Photograph: Mal Faircough/AFP/Getty Images

Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios celebrated his 19th birthday with a tournament win on the ATP's Challenger tour, his second title in as many weeks.

Kyrgios defeated American Jack Sock 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 on Sunday to lift the trophy at the event in Savannah, Georgia.

It was his second straight tournament victory on American green clay following his triumph at the Sarasota Challenger in Florida the previous week, and takes his winning streak to 10 matches.

"Awesome couple of weeks, nice rewards for the whole team and our hard work. Couldnt have asked for much more. Nice Bday pressie too!!," he tweeted after the match.

He also said that he had picked up a slight adductor strain in the win over Sock, but hopes to be fit for the next Challenger tournament in Florida next week.

US Open course proves Rory McIlroy is right to worry about golf's direction

Rory McIlroy has voiced concerns over the number of young players taking up golf. Photograph: Wilfredo Lee/AP

Rory McIlroy's pre-Masters assertion that participation in golf has dropped by 13% was understandably lost in the subsequent tournament melee. Apart from anything else, McIlroy's comment lacked context; where, since when, among whom?

But the Northern Irishman had struck upon an important issue. It is now generally recognised that recreational golfers are playing more than ever but encouraging youngsters to take up the game in the first place has never been tougher. Golf's return to the Olympics, it is hoped, will provide a positive legacy in the latter regard.

However, a glance at the setup of Pinehurst's No2 course for the upcoming US Open hardly augurs well. At par 70, the venue is more than 7,500 yards long. There are four par-four holes in excess of 500 yards. Three par threes measure more than 200 yards. Leading amateur players would be entitled to say "no thanks" to such a golfing slog; professionals will of course turn up because of the stature of the competition. Stand by, though, for sniping.

Players who miss the Pinehurst fairways will find their ball in scrappy, sandy, weeded areas. Approach shots? They'll be hit into treacherous, upturned saucer greens. Put all of this together and you have attritional – routinely dull – golf, the like of which preceded Justin Rose's victory in last year's US Open at an aggregate of one over par. Merion provided a brutal, borderline unfair, challenge.

Nothing should be taken away from Rose's triumph, which was terrific in itself. However, too many high-profile events are being turned into the sort of grind which will hardly prove appealing to would-be golfers.

Early indications, unfortunately, suggest the 114th US Open will follow suit. It promises to be engaging, but lacking in that wow factor which boosts participation in the sport.

Pinehurst at 7,214 yards was hardly a stroll in the park for the 2005 US Open. The halfway cut fell at plus nine. After four rounds, no player had broken par.

Amid paranoia by tournament organisers about players shooting rounds of 62, excitement is being drained from championships. There were even glimpses of such at the Masters; for all of Bubba Watson's brilliance, Augusta National's iconic back nine didn't produce anything like the thrills and spills of previous years. And these are the world's top professionals; what chance for run-of-the-mill amateurs if clubs decide these formats are valid?

McIlroy clearly has a legitimate concern about golf's direction, away from the professional level where cash rewards have never been better. Offering more chances for blue-chip players such as McIlroy to thrill rather than fret over the consequences of tiny errors would have a bigger impact than some people seem willing to recognise.

So when will Donald Trump preside over his first Open Championship?

That is the burning question after confirmation arrived that the billionaire has completed his purchase of Turnberry after months of speculation. Those perturbed by Trump's arrival should bear three things in mind; this is simply a business swapping hands from Dubai to the United States, and the new owner has an impressive track record for spending big on the sport at a time when few others will do likewise. Trump also represents the polar opposite of golf's crusty, oft-criticised membership culture.

Peter Dawson, the Royal & Ancient's chief executive, chuckles when recalling his early exchanges with Trump. The businessman insisted back then that he would seek to host an Open at his purpose-built Aberdeenshire resort. Dawson duly explained the complexities and formalities associated with such a scenario; Trump marched over to inform waiting media that his Open dream was very much alive.

A few years later, it's reality but at an alternative venue. Turnberry spent years in the Open wilderness amid concerns about infrastructure around the Ayrshire course. Those worries weren't entirely placated at or after it hosted the third major of the year in 2009. Historically, Turnberry Open crowds are at the low end of the scale. The fact a 59-year-old Tom Watson came within a whisker of winning five years ago, albeit a terrific story, raised questions about Turnberry's strength.

Still, the outgoing Dawson is adamant that Turnberry remains part of the Open rota. Venues have been announced up to and including 2016, with the 2017 host course due to be named imminently. After successive years in Scotland, Royal Birkdale appears the favourite. Thereafter, an inevitably revamped Turnberry resort has a live chance. And one fuelled, suffice to say, by plenty of campaigning from its' owner.

Anthony Kim: gone as fast as he arrived?

This weekend's Wells Fargo Championship marks the second anniversary of Anthony Kim's last appearance on the PGA Tour. Even then, Kim withdrew after just 18 holes.

Kim is in danger of becoming a forgotten man, which is a terrible shame given his undeniable level of talent. When people do speak about him, it is commonly in reference to a party boy lifestyle rather than a Ryder Cup appearance and rapid arrival on to the professional scene.

Between 2008 and 2010, Kim won three times in the United States. He has subsequently picked up injuries but apparently lost interest in the game he was once a rising star in.

Ominous words appeared this week from the golfer's agent, in an interview with the Golf Channel's John Hawkins. In short, even Kim's representative has no clue as to when the 28-year-old will return to tournament action. He isn't even playing golf for fun. It is getting harder and harder to foresee a comeback.

Rory McIlroy slips out of contention after second round 76 in Charlotte

Rory McIlroy's nightmare start left him way off the pace at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow . Photograph: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Martin Flores and Angel Cabrera lead the way after two rounds of the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte after Rory McIlroy endured a difficult day to slip down the leaderboard.

The Northern Irishman's hopes of repeating his 2010 win receded after a nightmare round of 76 on Friday. After starting out three strokes off the lead, McIlroy suffered a back-to-back double bogeys at holes three and four, while further losses at two, six and 16 were only partially offset by three birdies to leave him at one over and spared the cut by a single stroke.

But it was an unassuming Zimbabwean who made the headlines with a record-equalling round. Brendon de Jonge began the day dead last on the leaderboard after shooting 80 on Thursday but turned his form around in dramatic fashion 24 hours later, a 10-under-par 62 vaulting him up the standings and back to two under overall - seven shots off the joint leaders.

De Jonge's efforts saw him tie the Quail Hollow course record held byMcIlroy, whose final-round 62 saw him to his first career PGA victoryfour years ago. De Jonge's Friday charge has spared him from the cut and the 33-year-old is now looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

"I wish I could go into every round with that kind of a mind set, but it's easier said than done," De Jonge, who made eight birdies and an eagle, said on pgatour.com.

"As horrible as yesterday was, today was as nice. So this game gives you something and takes something away."

The story could have been even more remarkable for De Jonge when he gave himself an 18-foot putt on the last hole for a course-record 61, but it was not to be.

"I knew I had to keep going really just to make the cut, so I had that mind set all day that I needed to get out and get as far under par as possible and thank goodness it worked out," De Jonge added.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to be playing this weekend, so everything is a bonus. I have to do a good job of starting fresh tomorrow and realizing that it's a new round."

The Charlotte event has been more consistent for Argentinian veteran Cabrera, who led by one shot after a first-round 66 and followed up with a 69 on Friday to ensure he kept his place at the top of the leaderboard.

Flores joined Cabrera at the top of the pile after adding a 68 to his opening 67, while England's Justin Rose is also well in the mix, his second-round 67 keeping him just a stroke off the leaders at eight under.

Scotland's Martin Laird is on five under, but England's Lee Westwood will play no further part in the weekend after he missed the cut at three over, having added a 76 to his opening 71.

Jason Day to miss Players Championship with thumb injury

Jason Day of Australia has been suffering from injury and illness. Photograph: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Jason Day's persistent thumb injury continues to dog his season, now ruling him out of the lucrative Players Championship next week.

Day placed the left thumb in a cast for two weeks after the Masters to immobilise the joint and stimulate healing but the method has failed to have him ready for what is known as the ‘fifth major'.

Also suffering from a bout of bronchitis, the world No.6 is now hopeful of a return at the Memorial Tournament, hosted by Jack Nicklaus, in his US backyard in Columbus, Ohio from May 29.

After failing to commit to the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Day admitted to further frustration with the injury that has seen him play just once since claiming the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship in February. "It's tough but I just have to put this thing front and centre now and make sure it heals," Day said via text message.

Traditionally the Memorial Tournament would also constitute Day's last start before the US Open a fortnight later, this year's event being held at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

The Queenslander has been runner-up twice at the US Open, including last year at Merion where he had the lead with eight holes to play.

The injury has come at an awful time for the 26-year-old who was in career form and set to push on from his World Cup win last November in Australia and his WGC triumph earlier in the year.

Adam Scott spearheads the now nine-man Australian contingent who have qualified for the Players Championship where he will once again have the chance to become the No.1 player in the world.

Stuart Appleby, Aaron Baddeley, Steven Bowditch, Greg Chalmers, Matt Jones, Marc Leishman, Geoff Ogilvy and John Senden join Scott in the field.

Formula One holds its breath as Bernie Ecclestone's bribery trial begins

Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One chief executive, could face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty in Munich. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP

Bernie Ecclestone goes on trial in Munich on Thursday and for the next five months Formula One will hold its breath. The man who transformed the sport into a billion-pound business and who has run it for four decades in his idiosyncratic and controversial way faces the possibility of 10 years in jail if found guilty of bribery. The sport could face an even longer term of uncertainty, even decline.

The judge Ecclestone will be up against does not take any prisoners; or rather, he does. Peter Noll convicted the former German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky, a central figure in the Munich hearing, and sent him down for eight-and-a-half years in 2012. In his concluding statement, Noll said: "In this process we assume the driving force was Mr Ecclestone."

Last month the same prosecutors, who have spent two years preparing for the Ecclestone case, brought down Uli Hoeness, then president of the European football champions Bayern Munich. Hoeness was jailed for three-and-a-half years for tax evasion.

If all this was not enough to seriously daunt Ecclestone – who will be 84 in October – Noll has also been handed what could be a loaded gun. In February Ecclestone – who denies any wrongdoing – won a civil case brought by the German media company Constantin Medien.

Ecclestone was accused of entering into a "corrupt agreement" with Gribkowsky, and that, as a former shareholder, Constantin Medien lost out in BayernLB's deal to CVC as the shares were undervalued.

But although F1's chief executive won that time, the comments by Mr Justice Newey were immensely damaging. He said it was "impossible" to regard him as a "reliable or truthful witness".

Looking ahead to this trial, Ecclestone said: "He [the German judge] might find, when I'm in court there, that he doesn't agree with what the English judge has said. The judge in England didn't have all of the central witnesses, and I wasn't there to defend whether I'm a liar or unreliable. I was there to simply state whether the shares were cheap or not."

In Munich, Ecclestone will be accused of paying Gribkowsky a bribe of $44m (£26m) to smooth the sale of F1 to the private equity firm CVC eight years ago.

The possible consequences for Ecclestone are dire. The CVC co-chairman, Donald Mackenzie, has said that he would fire Ecclestone if he was found guilty of wrongdoing. Ecclestone would appeal against any guilty verdict.

It was the future of F1, more than Ecclestone, that was being discussed in the paddock in China last week. Although there was much sympathy for Ecclestone there was even more concern for what would be left behind. And the fact that before then, for the next 20 weeks over which the 26-day trial will be spread, this will be a massive distraction from a sport only just showing signs of recovering from a difficult start, following a vast number of changes to the rules and regulations.

F1 does need some fresh air blown through it. There are a number of important people in the paddock who feel that Ecclestone is well past his sell-by date but the same people are also fearful of the post-Ecclestone era, which will arrive soon enough, whatever happens in Munich.

It seems certain that Ecclestone, ultimately, will be replaced by a number of people, and one of them may include the Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, whom the current supremo gets on with better than any other leading paddock figure. Just who might take control of the sport is occupying everyone's thoughts at CVC.

It is not just a private equity firm that is preoccupied by all this. The fact is that Ecclestone, a brilliant deal-maker who carries most of the information in his entrepreneurial head, is a hard act to follow.

Bernie Ecclestone launches defence against bribery charges

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone (2nd right) with his lawyers and a translator at court in Munich for his bribery trial. Photograph: Joerg Koch/Getty Images

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has launched his defence against charges of bribing a public official in the first of at least 26 days of hearings at a Munich court.

Ecclestone has denied the bribery charges, claiming he was the victim of a blackmail scam.

In a statement to court, he said: "The alleged bribery never happened. The prosecution's claims are based on statements by Dr [Gerhard] Gribkowsky which are wrong, misleading and inconclusive."

Entering the court at 9.30am on Thursday clutching what looked like a scrapbook, Ecclestone appeared calm and relaxed.

Asked by the judge Peter Noll about his marital status, Ecclestone said he was divorced. "Divorced? I thought you were married," said Noll. "I like to remember the divorced part," quipped Ecclestone, who is married to his third wife, Brazilian Fabiana Flosi.

Noll seemed to appreciate Ecclestone's sense of humour: "Those were the easier questions," he said.

The 256-page indictment against Ecclestone, formulated after a two-year investigation, accuses him of bribing a German banker with the intention of cementing his powerful position at the top of the motorsport.

The banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky, was notionally the chief risk assessment officer for the Formula One shareholder Bayern Landesbank at the time. But, the indictment alleges, payments totalling $44m (£26m) and the promise of future employment in Formula One swayed Gribkowsky to act against his employers' interests, easing the sale of Bayern LB's share to a company that had guaranteed to keep Ecclestone in charge as chief executive.

Gribkowsky was sentenced to eight and a half years' jail in 2012 by the same judge presiding over the trial against Ecclestone. The former banker is expected to appear as one of 39 witnesses later in the trial.

In a long personal statement read to the court on Thursday, Ecclestone denied bribing Gribkowsky, claiming instead that the former banker had blackmailed him by threatening to supply false information about his family trust Bambino to the tax authorities. Rather than a bribe, Ecclestone's defence team claims the $44m payments were hush money.

The statement said: "It was clear, he [Gribkowsky] wanted money. He said he had always protected me, but that there was a lot he could say. I often asked my lawyers: 'Is there a German word for blackmail?'"

Far from being an easily manipulated pawn, Ecclestone painted a picture of Gribkowsky as a power-hungry man who dreamed of becoming "Mr Formula One" and owning his own race team.

In one meeting, Ecclestone said, the German had made himself comfortable in the chief executive chair and smoked a cigar throughout, causing Flavio Briatore, then a senior figure in Formula One who had recently quit smoking, to storm out halfway through the meeting.

The indictment acknowledged that Gribkowsky had made "insinuations" about Ecclestone being ultimately in charge of Bambino, but seemed to dismiss the possibility of blackmail as Ecclestone had "no concrete evidence to hand".

Ecclestone's defence is that he had been forced to act even though he felt he had done nothing wrong in his affairs with Bambino, because the risk involved of a reputable banker like Gribkowsky contacting the UK tax authorities was "hard to calculate" and could have led to a fine of "more than £2bn".

"Some people have asked me how it is possible that someone like Bernie Ecclestone can be put under pressure", said his statement. "I say: Yes, it's possible, if you know exactly where to apply the right pressure, and Gribkowksy got the right spot for me and Bambino"

Ecclestone's statement claimed he had been unaware that Gribkowsky, who was employed by a state-owned bank, was a public official. He claimed Gribkowsky had sent him a note saying: "Banking is a people's business. Never ask what a bank can do, but what a banker can do for you. There's no relationship between institutions, but only between individuals."

Far from him alone trying to cling on to his position in Formula One, Ecclestone claimed, the racing teams were supportive of his role and concerned about the growing involvement of banks in the running of the sport.

A spokeswoman for the court did not rule out the possibility of Ecclestone paying a settlement to avoid jail. "There has been no attempt to reach a deal so far, but it remains possible that an arrangement could be made over the course of the trial", said Andrea Titz.

Ayrton Senna to be remembered in Imola 20 years after his death

Link to video: Ayrton Senna: fans mark 20th anniversary of F1 legend's death

Ayrton Senna never drove for Ferrari, the most passionately supported of all Formula One teams, but in the northern Italian town of Imola, where the great champion perished 20 years ago, they are putting aside such petty prejudices.

Five days of events to mark Senna's death will commence on Wednesday, for the last man to die in a grand prix is remembered like no other.

Senna was one of the three or four greatest drivers in history, and very possibly the finest; his sheer speed, high intelligence, utter dedication, ruthlessness and good looks placed him apart from his rivals, and his early death added lustre to the legend.

The figures are incredible enough – three world championships, 41 wins and 65 poles – but it was the ferocity of his will outside as well as inside the car that separated him from the others in his sport. This was a man who walked away from his wife, his country and his friends in order to devote himself to Formula One.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are not always in agreement, as anyone who worked at McLaren in 2007 would ruefully agree, but in their grief for the loss of their hero they are united.

Sitting beside each other shortly before the last grand prix in Shanghai, Hamilton said: "When I was a kid I had all the books, all the videos ... Ayrton was the driver I looked up to, way before I even started racing.

"He inspired me to be a driver and on the day of his passing, his death was ... it was very difficult for me to show my emotions in my family, so I went off to a quiet place and it was very difficult for several days ... your hero's gone.

"He is an incredible legend. You can still learn things from how he approached racing and how he drove. You like to think that one day you may be recognised as someone that was able to drive similarly to him. He was always my favourite driver."

Alonso said: "It's the same for me. He was an inspiration. I remember some of the races that we could see in the news in Spain, because we didn't have the TV coverage of Formula One.

"I remember I went to school and on my book I didn't have pictures of girls, but I had Ayrton there, and the same in my room. I had a big poster of Ayrton and even my first go-karts were in the colours of Ayrton's McLaren because my father also liked him.

"It was a very sad moment [when he died]. I know there is something happening at Imola in Italy in the next weekends and I intend to be there, just to be close on this unfortunately important day."

He was first known as Ayrton da Silva, then Ayrton Senna da Silva and finally Ayrton Senna. His first F1 team was Toleman, and his aggression – he would drive straight at competitors rather than yield – upset everyone. "I could maybe forgive him if I liked him, but I don't," said one of his rivals, Michele Alboreto.

But Toleman knew exactly how good he was. The engineer Pat Symonds, who is now with Williams, told Christopher Hilton, in Memories of Senna: "There was one area at Dallas where just about everyone hit the wall. He hit it there too. When he got back to the pits he said: 'I just cannot understand how I did that. I was taking it no differently than I had been before. The wall must have moved.'

"We thought: 'Yeah, right, sure the wall's moved.' He was very insistent on this so after the race we went out and had a look. The wall had moved. It was concrete blocks and someone had clipped it, moved it, moved it just a few millimetres – and I mean just a few millimetres – and he had been judging it that perfectly."

His last employer in F1 was Frank Williams, who said: "My abiding memory of Ayrton is not his world-class ability as a racing driver but as an intellectually unbeatable businessman. Throughout the several meetings that took place between me and Ayrton regarding his joining Willams, it became apparent that he arrived for each and every meeting fully prepared on every point for discussion.

"He had prepared in his mind at least three counter moves to every possible counter move by myself. He was gifted with a propensity for extraordinarily clear thinking and an outstanding ability to out-guess, out-think and out-manoeuvre his business opponent."

When the president and CEO of Formula One Management Bernie Ecclestone was asked about the great Brazilian he said: "The trouble with asking for good memories of Ayrton is that I do not have any bad ones. Perhaps my very vivid memories are of his strong opinion, and most of the time he was right."

Back to Hamilton, who said recently: "Sebastian Vettel always runs over the astroturf and over the kerb a little more than he should, going beyond the white line, which you're not actually allowed to do but they let you get away with it.

"In Senna's day, if he went one foot over that kerb, it would be grass and he would spin, and be penalised. He would be right on the limit, rather than over the limit, and I respect that style of driving more.

"Now you can go beyond and get back because modern tracks have run-off areas. They used to be gravel. Hit that, and your car was damaged or stuck. Now you can push beyond, go wide and come back on.

"If I could choose an era, I would love to have driven in Senna's time, 1988, 1989. The cars were dangerous then. When I went around Silverstone in his car, I went flat out and my head felt so exposed. I thought to myself: 'Jeez ... those guys.'"