The Hong Kong Golf Club has hosted the H.K. Open at the course in Fanling for 59 years.GETTY IMAGES
Hong Kong Golf Association CEO Danny Lai Yee-june said that building new flats on part of a 170-hectare golf course in Fanling would have a "big impact" on the sport's local development, as he urged the government to "look for land elsewhere to deal with the housing shortage." Lai said, "Taking away a part of the golf course is like taking one stick away from a pair of chopsticks. What am I going to do with just one chopstick?" The HKGA's appeal comes after a government-appointed committee agreed that "partial development of the exclusive golf course would be a quicker way to provide much-needed land for new homes" (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 2/20).
Former Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen warned "new law amendments for the breakdown could risk making rugby union resemble unlimited tackle rugby league." The new rules, already adopted in the northern hemisphere, will be in place when New Zealand and Australia's teams begin their Super Rugby campaigns this week and will also be enforced during this year's Rugby Championship. Six amendments, including changes to the scrum, have been introduced in "an effort to make the game simpler to play and referee" (AAP, 2/20).
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board "expressed satisfaction with its levels of out of competition drug testing on horses" in '17 but predicted testing rates will increase this year. A total of 4,094 tests were taken in '17 by officials from the IHRB -- the body formerly known as the Turf Club -- according to the board's statistical report. The figure was up from 3,540 in '16, with 3,074 taken at racecourses (IRISH TIMES, 2/20).
