Europe's Rory McIlroy asked for a "foul-mouthed American fan to be thrown out of the Ryder Cup during his fourball win with Thomas Pieters on Saturday." The Northern Irishman, 27, said that "he was verbally abused when he was walking to the eighth tee, stopping to point the offender out to officials at Hazeltine." McIlroy said, "Someone said a few derogatory things I thought were over the line. That particular guy, who is in a small minority, just took it a bit too far" (BBC, 10/2).
Thailand plans to "attract more foreign visitors by setting up a sports tourism program, which it hopes will benefit the economy." Using the power of certain sports, such as Thai boxing, cycling and marathons, the agency is "determined to organize events that will attract people in general, rather than only seeing professional sportspeople chasing silverware." Thailand Tourism Authority Advertising & Public Relations Exec Dir Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya said, "We're not targeting elite sports. Instead, we aim to attract people, both local and international, to participate in sports events in Thailand" (JAKARTA GLOBE, 10/1).
Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Estadio Vicente Calderón and 6,000 Atlético Madrid members "turned up to watch the game taking place in Valencia on the big screen." Coincidentally, on October 2, 1966, when the stadium first opened its doors, Valencia was "also the opponents." Those present were allowed in areas normally off limits to the general public; the dressing room, press room, Royal Box and VIP lounges (MARCA, 10/2).
