Royal Portrush has been revealed as a potential candidate to host the US PGA Championship if plans to stage the tournament overseas are approved.

The PGA of America has commissioned a committee to look into the possibility of holding the final major championship of the season outside of the United States.

The tournament will remain in the US until at least 2019, but PGA of America president Ted Bishop has admitted the search is already underway for an overseas venue.

Asia was rumoured to be preferred destination, but Bishop has declared his interest in taking the tournament to Portrush, which hosted its one and only Open Championship in 1951.

“Royal Portrush would be a great first international major,” Bishop told Golf Channel’s ‘Morning Drive’ programme.

“I think given the powerful effect that Irish golfers have on the professional game today, that might be a good place to start.”

Former US Open champion and Portrush native Graeme McDowell admitted the possibility of staging a major was “very bizarre,” adding: “It’s always been a dream of mine to play the Open there but the US PGA would do nicely.

“It’s very bizarre and an amazing statement. I couldn’t believe it and read it three times. I had heard the US PGA was looking at going global, which is a very positive step forward, but I was expecting Asia, not the north coast of Ireland.

“Even if it never comes to fruition it’s a great boost to be mentioned in that breath. My brother Gary is on the greenkeeping staff there and he will have a spring in his step.

“Having three majors in America with the way the game is growing is a little too weighted. It’s the fourth major of four so taking it somewhere else would really boost the interest. Asia, Australia or Europe would really embrace it.”

McDowell’s compatriot Rory McIlroy revealed the PGA of America had sought his views on the subject a few months ago, adding: “I spoke to Ted about it. He did not mention Portrush, just Ireland, but he has always liked Ireland as a venue.

“It’s a long way down the road, maybe 10 years or so, but I would love to play a major championship at home.

“They (the PGA of America) are very forward-thinking and want to think outside the box. It’s something the other majors have not done, they can’t really go elsewhere. I think it’s a good thing. It would be great to see.

“It would be huge. The Irish Open had a huge impact and everyone saw how well it was supported.”

Match-fixing of soccer matches are set to be discussed by the top European leagues at the International Centre for Sport Security summit in Doha on Thursday.

Government officials, police chiefs and around 400 delegates are attending a two-day meeting in Doha where the issue of match-fixing is high on the agenda.

Football’s governing bodies have been keen to crack down on corruption since Europol’s recent claims that around 680 matches worldwide could have been fixed by Asian crime syndicates.

Four days ago the Football Association said there was suspicious betting activity in the Conference South.

In the wake of the claims an unnamed non-league player said he was approached about fixing a game while bookmakers refused to take bets on Chelmsford, Billericay and AFC Hornchurch.

The FA contacted all 22 teams in the Blue Square South and reminded players and officials of the rules surrounding gambling and match-fixing.

Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens, who is in Qatar attending the International Centre for Sport Security summit, warned of the risk of corruption in the lower leagues.

“If you look lower down in other areas of sport and football is one of them,” said Lord Stephens.

“There is and will be an opportunity there to fix matches and fix matches in a way that brings lots of money for those people who are in other parts of the world and remember that’s where most of the betting goes on.”

The controversial British Olympic Association’s (BOA) doping bylaw has been overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) today.

Former drug cheats, including sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar will be allowed to compete for a place in the British team following the decision by CAS.

The Lausanne-based panel have, as expected, ruled that the BOA bylaw which stops athletes convicted of serious drugs offences representing Britain at the Olympics is against the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and must be scrapped.

“The CAS Panel has ruled that the BOA bye-law [sic] related to the selection of British athletes for the Olympic Games was not in compliance with the World Anti-doping Code,” a statement on their website said.

“Such decision confirms the jurisprudence established last year in the case between the US Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee.”

WADA had challenged the ban at a hearing in London last month claiming its controversial anti-doping bylaw non-compliant with its code, which the BOA are signatories too.

It followed a CAS decision last October that the International Olympic Committee’s controversial Rule 45 – or “Osaka Rule” – banning convicted drugs cheats from future Games was illegal.

The decision will leave the way clear for Chambers, banned for two years in 2003 after testing positive for a cocktail of anabolic steroids, to compete in the 100 metres at London 2012 and also join the 4x100m relay team.

It also opens the door for cyclist David Millar, banned for two years in 2004 after admitting taking the banned blood-boosting drug Erythropoietin, to compete.

The CAS ruled that the bylaw was against the World Anti-Doping Code.

“The Bye-Law is a doping sanction and is therefore not in compliance with the WADA Code,” the judgement said.

“The CAS confirms the view of the WADA Foundation Board as indicated in its Decision.

“Therefore, the appeal of BOA is rejected, and the decision of the WADA Foundation Board is confirmed.”

UK Athletics response was “UK Athletics has always supported the BOA byelaw but welcomes the clarity the CAS decision brings to this issue. Athletes affected by the ruling are now eligible for the team, in both individual and relay events, and will be subject to the same selection criteria and process as every other British athlete.”

by Ismail Uddin

In a strange twist to ongoing London 2012 Olympic ticketing saga, parents with infants including babies will have to pay for their admission during the games.

Organisers of the 2012 Games have confirmed that every child, including young babies carried by parents, will require their own ticket, even those who hadn’t been conceived when the tickets were purchased.

One of many angry parents on the influential website Mumsnet described it as the “biggest rip-off in the history of London”.

Around a third of the Olympics sessions had special “pay your age” prices for those under 16, but for those events that didn’t parents with newly born children find themselves in the position of having to buy new, and in some cases, full-price tickets costing more than £100 for their child.

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver admitted babies under two years of age for free. Lord’s Cricket Ground has the same policy for its cricket matches, yet when it hosts the Olympic archery competition babies will need their own tickets.

A press spokesman conceded that some venues are more baby friendly than others, but that a consistent line had to be found across all venues.

A London 2012 spokesperson said, “We want families and young people to come and enjoy the Games, which is why we created pay your age tickets at a third of sessions. Of course we understand that some new mums may want to take their babies to events they have tickets to and we will look at what we can do when the remaining tickets go on sale in April.”

This ploy is also ironic as official sponsors Procter & Gamble recently introduced a marketing campaign aimed at mums during the Olympics.

The Scottish Premier League (SPL) and Mitre has announced an extension of its partnership with the SPL that will see Mitre continue as the league’s official ball supplier until 2015.

The partnership has existed between the two parties since 1998, and the Mitre Tensile ball will continue to be used for the 2011/12 season, with each club having a personalised ball printed in club colours and displaying its club badge.

Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the SPL said: “Mitre has been a valued partner of the SPL since 1998 and I am delighted to announce their continued commitment to the SPL for the next four seasons.

“This year the SPL distributed over £17 million to Clydesdale Bank Premier League clubs. We remain focused on supporting SPL clubs financially as much as possible. The partnership with Mitre is an important piece in that jigsaw.”

Gary Hibbert, managing director of Mitre, added: “The SPL is as passionate and exciting a competition as any and we’re thrilled to extend the deal to be the official ball supplier, continuing our long standing involvement in the Scottish game.

“We’re looking forward to further successes with the SPL over the next four years and with the additional partnership with ACA Sports – meaning fans can buy replicas of their club’s footballs – this only enhances our offering to fans and clubs.”

Mitre’s partnership with leading sports retailer ACA Sports will also enable supporters to purchase each club’s Tensile ball as Mitre’s official online retail partners for the SPL.

ACA Sports managing director, Alistair Cameron, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the SPL and Mitre. This landmark deal will allow every fan in the SPL the opportunity to buy their clubs match and replica balls for the first time in the league’s history – something we are all very excited about.”

The New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB) are set to repeat losses of almost US$50m from 2010 this season, generic according to the New York Times.

In the midst of a $1bn lawsuit tied to the Bernard L. Madooff Ponzi scheme, the owners of the Mets are trying to sell a portion of the team.

According to the Times report, the Mets contributed about $24m to baseball’s revenue-sharing pool in 2010, compared with $40m two years ago.

Revenue fell by more than $60m last year, and the paper revealed that the net loss, after interest, was about $50m during 2010, the same year the Mets secured a $25m loan from the league.

The Mets declined to discuss finances, the New York Times said.