1. Golf – Tom Watson didn’t win The Open Championship but he captured the hearts of millions around the world with an unbelievable performance at the age of 59. If Watson had won it would have been one of the sporting stories of the century, but his bogey at the 18th hole on the final day saw him slip in to playoff with Stewart Cink, which he eventually lost.
2. Cricket - After scraping a draw in Cardiff, the England cricket team managed to post their first win over the Australians at Lords since 1934. Andrew Strauss and Michael Clarke produced fine batting performances, with the latter threatening to carry Australia to a miracle victory, but the story of the match was Andrew Flintoff’s five wicket haul, just days after announcing that he would retire from test cricket at the end of the series. The ‘five-fer’ made him only the 6thman to feature on both batting and bowling honours boards at Lords.
3. Cycling – The Tour de France has produced plenty of stories already this year. The battle for the Green Jersey between Thor Hushovd and Mark Cavendish dominated most of last week stories but it was Stage 15 that saw a Laureus Breakthrough of the Year nominee and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year winner steal the headlines. Alberto Contador’s attack up Verbier confirmed his position in many people’s eyes as the best climber in the world and the favourite to be wearing the Yellow Jersey in Paris. Lance Armstrong dropped 1min 37secs back in the overall standings but, at the age of 37, his pursuit of his teammate reaff-irmed the American’s reputation as one of the fiercest competitors on the planet.
4. Rugby - The Tri-Nations kicked off on Saturday with the All Blacks coming from behind to beat the Australians 22-16 in Auckland.
5. MotoGP – Valentino Rossi’s victory in the German MotoGP not only extended his lead in the championship but also saw him equal Laureus World Sports Academy member Giacomo Agostini’s record of 159 podium finishes.
