TIGER WOODS HEADS DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP BETTING
Mikel Arteta will not be allowed to play for England after Fifa brought to light a ruling which states that Arteta would need to have held dual nationality when he represented Spain at Under 16 and Under 17 levels.
England manager Fabio Capello is believed to have approached the Everton midfielder about the prospect of playing for England. However, this ruling has now put an end to any possibility.
England play Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday night in the first match of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Skybet make the home side the 3/10 favourites with Bulgaria available to back at 10/1 and the draw at 3/1.
In golf, tomorrow sees the start of the second FedEx Cup event, the Deutsche Bank Championship. After his 12th place finish at The Barclays Tiger Woods once again appears to be clawing his way back to form. Last week’s result means he is a justified favourite this week at odds of 8.6 on Betfair.
Perhaps more important than the Deutsche Bank itself is the naming of the US Ryder Cup wildcard picks by Corey Pavin following the conclusion of the event. Woods’ return to form is expected to have solidified his inclusion in the October event, if indeed there had ever been any doubt in Pavin’s mind, leaving just two places up for grabs. Names battling it out to impress the US captain include Anthony Kim, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Sean O’Hair and Nick Watney.
And finally, Kevin Pietersen made 38 on his Surrey debut last night as the Surrey Lions lost by 90 runs to Worcestershire. Surrey were set a mammoth 377 to win from just 40 overs but despite a blistering start from Rory Hamilton-Brown and Pietersen wickets tumbling at regular intervals meant they couldn’t get close.