The 32-year-old clinched his maiden Asian Tour title just two weeks ago in Indonesia and is hoping to continue that winning run after surviving a long-haul flight that finally brought him to the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

Harding will spearhead the strong international challenge in the 156-men field with 32 other Asian Tour winners including Malaysia’s Danny Chia and Australia’s Todd Sinnott who are determined to end their lean spells this season.

“I’ve been playing well and I won three tournaments on the Sunshine Tour and one on the Asian Tour already. I have just been playing more intelligent golf,” said Harding the seven-time winner on the Sunshine Tour.

“This is my first visit to Thailand, I have only ever been to Asia once before I played in Indonesia. It was the travelling back and forth that was the toughest part. The grass is a little different in Asia and is probably the trickiest part of the game that I have had to adjust to,” said the South African who  played college golf at Lamar university in Texas.

Chia, a two-time Asian Tour winner, has had a long history with battling injuries, after a shoulder injury in 2013 nearly ended his career. The Malaysian revealed he is suffering from a hip injury this year due to his busy schedule on the Japan circuit and the Asian Tour but will keep his head up high this week and rely on his course knowledge to put up a good showing at the US$500,000 event.

“I have been doing some physiotherapy and exercise to try and get my body back on track before this week but it’s been a process. Still feeling a bit stiff but and I have not had the time to target the problem and get treated,” said Chia.

Sinnott has also been juggling his time between several Tours this season and has yet to enjoy a top-10 finish on the Asian Tour this year.

The 26-year-old, who won his maiden Asian Tour title in Myanmar in his rookie season last year, plans to stay positive despite enduring a frustrating start to his season.

The Royal Cup is the Tour’s fourth stop in Thailand this year and is held in honour of His Majesty King Rama X who will celebrate his 66th birthday this Saturday. Former Thai ace Thongchai Jaidee, young gun Pachara Kongwatmai and current Thailand Open champion Panuphol Pittayarat are local potential players to keep the trophy of King Rama X at home.

Luka Modric was nominated for the prize as well after helping Croatia reach the final, with the Real Madrid midfielder named the player of the tournament in Russia.

Belgium duo Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne were also shortlisted along with England striker Harry Kane, in addition to Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah.

However, there was no place for Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil forward Neymar, whose country lost 2-1 to Belgium in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

France coach Didier Deschamps and compatriot Zinedine Zidane, who led Real Madrid to a third successive Champions League title, headlined the 11 candidates in the running for men’s coach of the year.

Deschamps became just the third man to lift the World Cup trophy as both a player and a coach, joining an exclusive club featuring Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer.

Zlatko Dalic was recognised after Croatia’s impressive run to the final, while Gareth Southgate and Roberto Martinez were also among the nominees, having respectively led England and Belgium to the last four.

Six members of Lyon’s Champions League-winning side are in contention for the women’s player of the year award, including Norwegian forward Ada Hegerberg, whose 15 goals fired them to a record fifth European title.

Lyon boss Reynald Pedros is one of 10 nominees for the best women’s coach.

With the help of fan voting, the final lists will be trimmed to three candidates in each category and revealed in early September.

This is the third edition of the Best FIFA awards following the end of a six-year merger between the FIFA honour and France Football’s Ballon d’Or in 2016.

Ronaldo is the two-time winner of the accolade, which is a revival of the FIFA World Player of the Year award.//AFP

“In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose,” Ozil wrote in a lengthy farewell statement on Sunday.

At just 29, Ozil walks away from Germany duty in the wake of the fiasco caused by his meeting, on the eve of the World Cup, with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“It wasn’t about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family’s country,” Ozil wrote to finally break his silence over the event in London in May.

He quits Germany after scoring 23 goals in 92 international appearances, having been a key component of the 2014 World Cup-winning side.

His ability to split defences with a single pass singled him out as one of the most technically gifted players of his generation.

Born in Gelsenkirchen to Turkish parents, Ozil’s talents were discovered by local club Schalke, whom he left for Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen in 2008.

His international breakthrough was at the 2010 World Cup as part of a bold, young German team which played eye-catching football in heavy knock-out-stage wins over England and Argentina.

– Booed in Berlin –

Ozil’s superb cross for Thomas Mueller to score Germany’s fourth goal in the 4-1 thrashing of England was the highlight of an outstanding display in Bloemfontein in the last 16.

After the finals in South Africa, Ozil moved to Real Madrid for 18 million euros ($21m).

However, the shy midfielder first found himself in the grey area between sport and politics soon after.

He was booed while playing for Germany at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium in October 2010 in a European Championship qualifier against Turkey.

Berlin has a large Turkish community and many in the 74,244-strong crowd were supporting the away team.

There were loud whistles whenever Ozil got the ball — just because he had opted to play for Germany.

Like him, three members of the Turkish team that night — Nuri Sahin, plus brothers Hamit and Halil Altintop, were born in Germany’s industrial Ruhr region.

Unlike him, however, they chose to represent Turkey.

Ozil, just 21 at the time, scored the second goal in an outstanding display in a 3-0 win and subdued his celebrations out of respect.

Nevertheless, Angela Merkel’s press department put out a picture of the German Chancellor congratulating Ozil in the German changing room.

The softly-spoken midfielder was now Germany’s integration mascot.

The following month, Ozil won a Bambi award, a prestigious German media prize, as a prime example of successful integration in German society, but he has often had to cope with criticism.

– Social media following –

The subtle differences Ozil makes on the pitch often means he sometimes fails to shine in matches.

Ozil quit the Bernabeu for Arsenal in 2013 and has built a large social media following with 31 million Facebook followers, 23 million on Twitter and 17 million on Instagram.

He is known for his charity work, financing medical surgery for 23 Russian children after the World Cup.

He did the same for sick minors in both Brazil and South Africa following the 2010 and 2014 finals.

Yet on the pitch, he has frustrated both Germany and Arsenal fans in recent seasons with a series of below-par displays for club and country.

In interviews, he has always avoided questions about his heritage and only once, in 2015, did he vent his anger at being referred to as a ‘German-Turk’.

“Many forget that I was born in Gelsenkirchen, grew up in Germany,” he fumed.

His parting shot to Grindel “I will no longer be playing for Germany … while I have this feeling of racism and disrespect” is a direct challenge to shake up the DFB.

However, the rise of populism in Germany has often been echoed in some of the criticism he has been forced to endure.

Ozil’s statement on Sunday, over three posts on both Instagram and Twitter, was seized upon by Germany’s right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) which has also criticised centre-back Jerome Boateng in the past.

“With his farewell tirade #Ozil proves to be a typical example of the failed #Integration of far too many immigrants from the Turkish-Muslim culture,” tweeted AfD deputy leader Alice Weidel.

 The OCT executive member said the Kingdom had the potential to win no less than 10 golds, four from the sepak takraw competition, and added that the football team should reach at least the semi-finals.

“Judging from our standard, 10 gold medals are the number I target. We should win all four golds in the sepak takraw,” said Charouck during a meeting with representatives from sports associations at the OCT headquarters on Monday.

“For football, we should make it to the semi-finals, as we have done it before. But if possible, we hope to see a historic medal this time around,” he added.

He also said that the athletes would meet Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha at Government House on August 8 before they fly to Jakarta. The windsurfing team will be the first to depart to prepare, on August 1.

The Asian Games will run from August 18 to September 2.

Kapur will be one of the leading contenders in the showpiece tournament, along with former Thai No 1 Thonghcai Jaidee, rising stars Panuphol Pittayarat and Pachara Kongwatmai, who is playing at home for the first time since winning the Chiangrai’s Singha Masters in March, India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and American John Catlin, the first player to win twice on the Asian Tour this season.

Kapur has been sidelined action for the past two weeks due to a bone spur in his left foot and tendinitis in his right wrist.

While he has yet to recover fully, he is hopeful of repeating his success when he returns to Thailand for the US$500,000 event.

“I started feeling a sharp pain in my left foot and found out that I have a bone spur in it, plus tendinitis in my right wrist. I tried playing through the pain but it became too frustrating so I decided to take two weeks off to get treated,” said Kapur.

The 36-year-old will draw inspiration from last December, when he won the Royal Cup to notch his fourth Asian Tour victory.

In doing so, Kapur also became the only player to win three titles in the 2017 season on the region’s premier Tour.

“In our line of work, it is so hard to take long breaks,” he added. “I had physiotherapy and laser therapy but I knew the best way to get treated was to take a break. Now I am at 70 per cent, I am trying not to play more than two weeks in a row and hoping I will peak at the right time.

“I expected myself to perform at the same level following the win but I had a bit of a letdown this year with the injuries,” added Kapur, who finished last year’s event with a four-under-par 67 to win by one shot from Prom Meesawat of Thailand.

Held in honour of King Rama X, the 2018 Royal Cup will take place in conjunction with the 66th birthday celebration of His Majesty, which falls on Saturday, July 28.

Mesut Ozil said Sunday he was quitting the German national football team, citing “racism” in the criticism of him after the side’s World Cup debacle.

Ozil, who has Turkish roots, had been under fire since posing for a controversial photograph with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May which sparked questions about his loyalty to Germany’s squad ahead of the tournament in Russia.

In a four-page statement sent out in three images on Twitter and Instagram, an angry Ozil saved his bombshell for the final salvo.

“It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect,” he said.

The Arsenal midfielder blamed the German Football Federation (DFB) for failing to defend him against his most strident critics.

“Arguably the issue that has frustrated me the most over the past couple of months has been the mistreatment from the DFB, and in particular the DFB President Richard Grindel,” he said.

He said that Grindel and Germany coach Joachim Loew had asked him to give a “joint statement to end all the talk and set the record straight” over the picture with Erdogan.

“Whilst I attempted to explain to Grindel my heritage, ancestry and therefore reasoning behind the photo, he was far more interested in speaking about his own political views and belittling my opinion.”

Ozil, 29, said he had been unfairly blamed in Germany for the side’s shock first-round defeat at the World Cup.

“I will no longer stand for being a scapegoat for his (Grindel’s) incompetence and inability to do his job properly,” he said.

“In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose.”

Ozil had said earlier that he was true to both his Turkish and German origins and insisted he did not intend to make a political statement by appearing with Erdogan.

– ‘I have two hearts’ –

“Like many people, my ancestry traces back to more than one country. Whilst I grew up in Germany, my family background has its roots firmly based in Turkey,” he said.

“I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish.”

Ozil said that despite the timing of the picture with teammate Ilkay Gundogan and Erdogan — shortly before the president won re-election in a poll endowing him with sweeping new powers — “it wasn’t about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family’s country”.

“My job is a football player and not a politician, and our meeting was not an endorsement of any policies,” Ozil added.

Germany is home to more than three million people of Turkish origin.

Manchester City midfielder Gundogan presented Erdogan with a signed club shirt on which he had written “to my president”.

The two players were booed by German fans in pre-World Cup friendlies over their appearance with the Turkish strongman, and Ozil said Sunday that he had his family had received threats.

After the tournament, Ozil came in for stinging criticism by DFB officials and German politicians across the spectrum.

– ‘Right-wing propaganda’ –

Ozil said he could abide criticism of his performance on the pitch but not when it was linked to his ethnic background.

“If a newspaper or pundit finds fault in a game I play in, then I can accept this,” he said.

“But what I can’t accept are German media outlets repeatedly blaming my dual-heritage and a simple picture for a bad World Cup on behalf of an entire squad,” he added, calling it “right-wing propaganda”.

“This crosses a personal line that should never be crossed, as newspapers try to turn the nation of Germany against me.”

He also furiously denounced disparaging remarks by former captain Lothar Matthaeus, who he noted “met with another world leader a few days back and received almost no media criticism” in an apparent reference to an appearance with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And Ozil railed against an unnamed sponsor, which, he said, removed him from promotional videos for the World Cup after the pictures with Erdogan emerged.

“For them, it was no longer good to be seen with me and (they) called the situation ‘crisis management’,” he said.

It was expected that recent American dominance of the majors would continue at the British Open, but instead Carnoustie delivered Italy’s first ever winner of the Claret Jug in the shape of Francesco Molinari.

Perhaps it was not the outcome that the huge crowds thronging the fairways on Sunday were hoping for, especially as Molinari’s playing partner Tiger Woods looked in line at one point to claim his first major in a decade.

But while Woods faded after dropping three strokes in two holes at the 11th and 12th, Molinari kept his cool to shoot a second consecutive bogey-free round.

His 69 left him eight under par, two shots clear of his nearest challengers including Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy, three ahead of Woods and four shots ahead of last year’s winner Jordan Spieth.

Molinari is a rare golfer from continental Europe to lift the Claret Jug — Sweden’s Henrik Stenson triumphed at Royal Troon in 2016 but before him you have to go back to Seve Ballesteros in 1988.

The 35-year-old also finally delivered a major win for his country, going one step further than Costantino Rocca, who famously lost in a play-off to John Daly at St Andrews in 1995.

And he hopes his victory will have an impact back home in Italy, where Formula One is usually just about the only sport that competes with football for the headlines.

“The last round already was big news in Italy. Obviously, to achieve something like this is on another level,” said Molinari, who started the day six under par, three shots off the lead.

“Hopefully, there were a lot of young kids watching on TV today, like I was watching Constantino in ’95 coming so close. Hopefully, they will get as inspired as I was at the time, watching him vie for the Claret Jug.”

Molinari, who lives in London and supports West Ham United, was not the favourite coming into the week but perhaps he should have been given his recent form.

He won the PGA Championship at Wentworth in May and recently claimed his first victory on the PGA Tour at the Quicken Loans National. He was also the runner-up at last year’s US PGA Championship.

Molinari has long since emerged from the shadow of his elder brother Edoardo, who played at the 2010 Ryder Cup and finished in the top 10 at the 2014 British Open but has dropped to 397th in the world rankings.

“I would love for him to get back to where he was a few years ago. Golf is a tough beast,” said Francesco.

“He’s experienced some bad injuries and two hand surgeries, but he’s come back from this one again already.

“I wish him all the best, and I’m sure this will motivate him even more to achieve some great things in the game of golf in the future, and hopefully we’ll be competing more together again very soon.”

– Ryder Cup boost –

Contributing to Molinari’s success has been a performance coach called Dave Alred, who used to work as a kicking coach for England rugby star Jonny Wilkinson.

The improvement in his game is a huge boost for Europe as they aim to reclaim the Ryder Cup from the United States at Le Golf National near Paris in late September.

Molinari has been there before — he and his brother played in the European team that won at Celtic Manor in 2010, while Francesco’s half with Woods gave Europe victory at Medinah in 2012.

“There’s going to be a lot of European guys vying for his partnership in the foursomes at the Ryder Cup, that’s for sure,” said McIlroy.

Meanwhile, the Americans will be particularly wary of the Italian after his outstanding performance in Carnoustie.

“He’s been playing unbelievable golf. He’s been working his butt off. I see him in the gym all the time, going through his routine, grinding on the range, doing his own stuff,” said Spieth.

“It truly is hard work that paid off for Francesco. I’m certainly happy for him.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Final scores from The British Open on Sunday at Carnoustie (GBR & IRL unless stated, par 71, x denotes amateur):

276 – Francesco Molinari (ITA) 70-72-65-69

278 – Rory McIlroy 69-69-70-70, Xander Schauffele (USA) 71-66-67-74, Justin Rose 72-73-64-69, Kevin Kisner (USA) 66-70-68-74

279 – Tiger Woods (USA) 71-71-66-71, Eddie Pepperell 71-70-71-67, Kevin Chappell (USA) 70-69-67-73

280 – Tony Finau (USA) 67-71-71-71, Matt Kuchar (USA) 70-68-70-72, Jordan Spieth (USA) 72-67-65-76 281 – Tommy Fleetwood 72-65-71-73, Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 70-70-70-71, Patrick Cantlay (USA) 70-71-70-70, Webb Simpson (USA) 70-71-67-73, Ryan Moore (USA) 68-73-69-71 282 – Jason Day (AUS) 71-71-72-68, Charley Hoffman (USA) 71-70-68-73, Pat Perez (USA) 69-68-74-71, Alex Noren (SWE) 70-71-67-74, Zach Johnson (USA) 69-67-72-74, Adam Scott (AUS) 71-70-68-73, Erik Van Rooyen (RSA) 67-71-71-73

283 – Bernhard Langer (GER) 73-71-68-71, Phil Mickelson (USA) 73-69-70-71, Danny Willett 69-71-70-73, Stewart Cink (USA) 72-70-71-70

284 – Chris Wood 70-74-66-74, Julian Suri (USA) 74-69-70-71, Austin Cook (USA) 72-70-67-75, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 72-70-69-73, Rickie Fowler (USA) 70-69-73-72, Patrick Reed (USA) 75-70-68-71, Thomas Pieters (BEL) 70-73-70-71

285 – Satoshi Kodaira (JPN) 72-71-68-74, Michael Kim (USA) 73-69-69-74, Adam Hadwin (CAN) 73-70-71-71, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 70-75-71-69 286 – Luke List (USA) 70-70-77-69, Kyle Stanley (USA) 72-69-69-76, Ross Fisher 75-70-68-73, Ryan Fox (NZL) 74-71-71-70, Cameron Davis (AUS) 71-72-73-70, Brooks Koepka (USA) 72-69-75-70, Li Haotong (CHN) 71-72-67-76, Masahiro Kawamura (JPN) 77-67-71-71

287 – Brendan Steele (USA) 68-76-73-70, Tom Lewis 75-70-68-74, Yusaku Miyazato (JPN) 71-74-65-77, Sean Crocker (USA) 71-71-69-76

288 – Jason Dufner (USA) 75-70-68-75, An Byeong-hun (KOR) 73-71-66-78, Kevin Na (USA) 70-73-73-72, Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 73-71-71-73, Lucas Herbert (AUS) 73-69-69-77, Yuta Ikeda (JPN) 70-73-71-74, Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 75-70-73-70, Tyrrell Hatton 74-71-72-71, Paul Casey 73-71-72-72

289 – Marc Leishman (AUS) 72-72-69-76

290 – Marcus Kinhult (SWE) 74-69-71-76, Brett Rumford (AUS) 74-70-72-74, Shaun Norris (RSA) 74-68-69-79, Brandon Stone (RSA) 68-72-73-77, Gavin Green (MAS) 72-73-71-74, Lee Westwood 72-72-69-77

291 – Sung Kang (KOR) 69-72-72-78, Paul Dunne 71-73-73-74, Rhys Enoch 74-71-70-76, Gary Woodland (USA) 71-72-72-76, Zander Lombard (RSA) 67-71-71-82, Matthew Southgate 69-72-73-77, Kim Si-woo (KOR) 71-72-75-73

292 – Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 74-70-76-72

293 – Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 74-71-74-74, Beau Hossler (USA) 73-70-77-73, Sam Locke (x) 72-73-70-78

294 – Cameron Smith (AUS) 73-71-73-77

295 – Keegan Bradley (USA) 74-71-73-77

The 23-year-old fired a final round 70 to finish on nine-under-par 271, four shots behind the winner Thanyakorn Korngpha who despite shooting a final 72 walked away with the trophy with a total 13-under-par 267 at the Laem Chabang International Country Club.

“I came into this tournament trying to build up my confidence before I enter the Japan ISPS Handa Match Play in Saitawa next week. I’ve done pretty well by finishing second,” said Rattanon, who trailed the leader by six strokes going into the final round.

After the 28-year-old Thanyakorn committed a double bogey on the second hole followed by back-to-back bogeys on the third and fourth, Rattanon cut the deficit to only two shots. As 2016 winner Thanyakorn stumbled to his next bogey on the 11th, the younger Rattannon parred the hole and was breathing down his neck just a shot behind.

https://www.facebook.com/NationNews/videos/10155525417791937/?t=0

However Rattanon’s challenge faded quickly, sinking three bogeys to leave Thanyakorn firmly in the driver’s seat by the end.

“Playing five weeks in a row finally took a toll on me. I felt so tired from then on. But finishing second isn’t so bad,” said Rattanon, who took home Bt277,500 as his runners-up prize.

With the All Thailand Tour counting for World Golf Ranking points from 2019, Rattanond sees it as a good opportunity for Thais to climb up the world ladder while playing at home.

“We will be more motivated to produce good results. And when we play overseas, there will be less pressure about trying to get world ranking points,” he said.

Thanyakorn completed his wire-to-wire victory after overcoming a sluggish final round play to claim his second All Thailand Tour trophy.

“Although there were some downs, I managed to achieve my goal by winning the title here,” said Thanyakorn who took home Bt450,000 in prize money.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say I didn’t want to play again but, I didn’t want to see a ball, or to see any more football played,” 26-year-old Neymar told AFP in an exclusive interview on Saturday.

The Paris Saint Germain forward was talking at his Neymar Praia Grande institute where the Red Bull Neymar Jr 5’s (five-a-side-soccer) tournament was being played.

Dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt, with his six-year-old son Davi Lucca sat upon his knee, the striker was however in a relaxed mood as he explained his post-World Cup blues.

“I was in mourning, I was really sad about it, but sadness passes, I have my son, my family, my friends and they don’t want to see me moping around. I’ve got more reason to be happy than sad,” said Neymar, reflecting on his team’s 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Belgium.

Asked about reports in Spain linking him with a transfer to Real Madrid the forward said “that’s all speculation from the press.”

“The guys who come up with these stories seem to know more about my life than I do. I won’t respond to this type of question because nothing happened,” he scoffed.

The Brazilian superstar, who moved to PSG for a world record 222 million euros ($264 million) last year, insists that the burden of expectation on his shoulders — whether with his club or country — does not weigh heavily.

“No, all the great players feel pressure,” he said.

“It’s true that when it comes to me, there are double standards. I have been aware of this responsibility, not only for Brazil, but also in club fotball, since I was 17, 18 years old.

“I have prepared myself to handle this pressure and I know that when the results are not what they should be then that pressure increases.”

Neymar has been hit by a barrage of criticism for theatrical rolling around after being fouled at the World Cup, but says he should have been better protected.

– ‘Criticism of me exaggerated’ –

“People were faster to criticise the one being fouled than the one doing the fouling,” he insisted.

“I went to the World Cup to play, to beat the opposition, not to get kicked. The criticism of me was exaggerated, but I’m a big boy, I’m used to dealing with this kind of thing

“And I can’t be the referee and play at the same time, but there are times I wish I could,” he said.

Earlier this week, Neymar took a swipe at his critics with a tongue-in-cheek video in which he teaches children how to fall to the ground.

“One, two, three, go!” shouts Neymar on the Instagram video as around a dozen youngsters fall to the ground of a parking lot.

“That’s a free-kick!” screams the Brazilian breaking into fits of laughter.

The video was released with a hashtag #ChallengeDAFALTA, the free-kick challenge in Portuguese.

During the recent World Cup, the player’s antics sparked the “Neymar Challenge” where he was widely mocked.

In Mexico, a football club even rganised a competition in which contestants attempted to roll the entire length of the pitch.

Meanwhile, Neymar described PSG’s new coach Thomas Tuchel as a great addition to the club.

“He’s a great coach and we’re hoping for a great season,” he said.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Neymar said of his second season in Paris.

“We have signed a football legend (Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon) who will bring with him all his experience and that will be a great help for this coming season.”