Slider1
Slider2
Slider3
Slider4
previous arrow
next arrow

Archive March 9, 2025

Garcia hopes LIV Golf win boosts Ryder Cup chances

Getty Images

LIV Golf Hong Kong – final leaderboard

-18 S Garcia (Spa), -15 D Burmester (SA), -14 P Mickelson (US), -13 Lucas Herbert (Aus), -12 P Casey (Eng)

Selected others: -11 P McKibbin (NI), J Rahm (Spa), -9 G McDowell (NI), -7 T Hatton (Eng), -4 L Westwood (Eng), -2 I Poulter (Eng), + 1 D Johnson (US)

Sergio Garcia hopes winning the LIV Golf Hong Kong title will help persuade Europe captain Luke Donald to pick him for the 2025 Ryder Cup.

The Spaniard shot an impressive seven-under-par 63 to finish 18 under, sealing victory by three strokes from South Africa’s Dean Burmester.

Last November Garcia rejoined the DP World Tour for the 2025 season, and settled fines reportedly worth £1m imposed on him by the tour for his previous defection to play LIV events, to make himself eligible for Ryder Cup selection.

Garcia, 45, who is the Ryder Cup’s record points scorer, wants to match Lee Westwood and Sir Nick Faldo’s European record of 11 appearances at the biennial competition in New York later this year.

“We’ve been in touch, so I know that he]Donald] is keeping an eye]on me]. The only thing I can do is keep playing good golf”, Garcia said after his victory in Hong Kong.

“I just want to help the European team like I’ve tried to do every single time I’ve been a member of that team. Hopefully he will think I’m good enough for it”.

Garcia is outside the world’s top 400 as LIV events do not carry ranking points, so would have to be one of Donald’s six wildcard picks.

Donald said last year he had held talks with Garcia over the Ryder Cup, which will be held at Bethpage Black from 26-28 September.

Garcia has won 16 titles on the European tour, as well as 11 PGA Tour titles.

He joined the breakaway LIV Golf, a Saudi Arabia-backed series, in 2022 along with other big names from the sport.

Garcia’s victory at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Sheung Shui came after he started the final day tied at the top of the leaderboard with England’s Paul Casey and American Peter Uihlein.

The former Masters champion eagled the par-five third then sunk four straight birdies from the eighth hole to the 11th and could not be caught.

Related topics

  • Golf

Huddersfield sack Duff after fourth defeat in five

  • 19 Comments

Huddersfield Town have sacked head coach Michael Duff following their fourth defeat in five League One matches.

Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Bristol Rovers proved to be Duff’s final match in charge as the Terriers dropped out of the play-off places with 10 games of the season to go.

Related topics

  • League One
  • Huddersfield Town
  • Football

Huddersfield sack Duff after fourth defeat in five

  • 19 Comments

Huddersfield Town have sacked head coach Michael Duff following their fourth defeat in five League One matches.

Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Bristol Rovers proved to be Duff’s final match in charge as the Terriers dropped out of the play-off places with 10 games of the season to go.

Related topics

  • League One
  • Huddersfield Town
  • Football

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,109

Here is the situation on Sunday, March 9:

Fighting

  • Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had retaken the village of Lebedevka in its western region of Kursk, and taken the village of Novenke, across the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region.
  • Russian special forces were storming the town of Sudzha after using a gas pipeline to surprise Ukrainian units as part of a major offensive to eject them from Kursk, pro-Russia war bloggers said.
  • Russian authorities said air defence units destroyed 88 Ukrainian drones overnight, with no injuries or other damage reported. The Defence Ministry said 52 of the drones were destroyed over the border region of Belgorod, 13 over the Lipetsk region and nine over the Rostov region.
  • Ukraine said its attacks in the war aim to destroy infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts and are in response to the continued bombing of Ukraine.

Politics and diplomacy

  • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is “fully committed” to having a constructive dialogue with the representatives of the United States in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would consider taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, but stressed it was too early for any deployment.

Christine McGuinness ‘miserable’ sharing £2.5m mansion with ex Paddy and ‘wants to sell up’

Christine McGuinness is reportedly growing increasingly unhappy with her living situation as she continues to share a home with her ex-husband Paddy McGuinness, despite their divorce being finalised. The former couple, who announced their split in 2022, had initially agreed to remain in their £2.5 million mansion in Cheshire for the sake of their three children.

However, sources close to Christine claim she is now “desperate to sell up” and move on. The unusual arrangement, which saw both parties remain in their seven-bedroom home despite their separation, was said to be driven by Paddy. Friends of the pair suggest the former Top Gear host was reluctant to part with the property, which features a swimming pool, gym, and glass balcony.

The couple finalised their divorce in 2023 (Instagram/@mrscmcguinness)
 Paddy is reportedly reluctant to sell the home they share and downsize
Paddy is reportedly reluctant to sell the home they share and downsize

In an interview with the Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine, Paddy, 51, gave a positive assessment of the living situation, stating that it could work if it was done in a “respectful way”. However, Christine, 36, has reportedly confided to friends that her reality is far from harmonious.

According to insiders, Christine is growing increasingly frustrated with the arrangement, feeling “utterly miserable” as she continues to share the space with her ex-husband. She is now preparing for a fresh confrontation, having made it clear to Paddy that she wants to sell the property and move into a new home with their children.

The luxury home in Cheshire has a swimming pool, gym and glass balcony
The luxury home in Cheshire has a swimming pool, gym and glass balcony (Instagram/mrscmcguinness)

Despite Christine’s insistence, Paddy, who is currently on tour with his comedy show, is said to be resistant to the idea. In his interview with the outlet, he maintained that their plan was “still the same” and added, “It doesn’t feel tricky”.

Christine’s friends have raised concerns over his reluctance to sell, suggesting that he is stalling until he can afford a new home that meets his expectations. One insider stated, “Christine is at the end of her tether and can’t carry on living with Paddy…She is desperate to sell the house, split the proceeds, and buy a smaller property where she can live happily with their three children”.

The couple, who were married in 2011, share three children, 11-year-old twins Leo and Penelope, and eight-year-old Felicity, all of whom are autistic. Christine was also diagnosed with autism in 2021.

The couple's three children have autism and they were keen to keep things 'normal' for them
The couple’s three children have autism and they were keen to keep things ‘ normal ‘ for them (Instagram)
Christine is reportedly 'desperate' to sell
Christine is reportedly ‘ desperate ‘ to sell (mrscmcguinness/Instagram)

Adding to Christine’s frustration, Paddy reportedly made a joke about their divorce during his recent stand-up tour. Just over a minute into his show, Nearly There, he quipped, “Tonight, folks, we’re all here as human beings with one common goal – and that’s to help me pay for my divorce. I’ve had the pants down, me, the pants down”. The BBC Radio 2 host also added: “I’m thinking of getting Children In Need to do a bike ride for me next year, or come round to a bedsit in Bolton filming me”.

However, sources close to Christine told The Sun that she had been “horrified” that Paddy made jokes on their relationship on stage since she has “kept a respectful silence during their divorce proceedings”. A source also added that Christine had been “distraught” at the idea people were laughing at their split.

This led to him scrapping any mention of their break-up during his later show in Middlesbrough, according to Mail Online, with a source saying he only mentioned Christine in regards to her autism diagnosis. The source said: “Paddy performed two 40-minute sets with a half hour break in between but at no point did he mention his divorce or splitting from Christine”.

Following her participation in ITV’s The Games in 2022, speculation began to grow about the state of their marriage. Later that year, they announced their separation, finalising their divorce in December 2023.

They both released statements on Instagram at the time, saying: “This was not an easy decision to make but we’re moving forward as the best parents we can be for our three beautiful children. We’ll always be a loving family, we still have a great relationship and still live happily in our family home together”.

The Mirror has approached Christine and Paddy’s reps for comment.

Coleen Rooney’s £10m fly-on-wall show promises to be ‘compulsive viewing’

Coleen Rooney and her brood are set to give fans an unprecedented insight into their lives with a brand-new fly-on-the-wall reality show. Disney+ has reportedly won a furious bidding war against fellow streaming giant Amazon in a whopping £10 million deal.

And the star of the show will no doubt be down-to-earth I’m A Celebrity campmate Coleen, 39 – who was runner up in the jungle, swiftly becoming the nation’s new sweetheart – with cameras set to roll inside the Rooneys ‘ £20 million super-mansion in Cheshire.

Thought to be in an ‘ at home with ‘ format, it is expected that former Premier League star Wayne will appear alongside his wife – as well as their four sons Kai, 14, Kit, 11, Klay, eight, and Cass, six. And following her stint down under, appetite for insight into the life of Coleen and her family has never been higher.

coleen rooney in i'm a celeb
Coleen became the nation’s sweetheart after her jungle stint (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutters​tock)

Sources close to the project is reported as saying that Liverpudlian Coleen will receive £5 million of the massive fee, with the rest going to Lorton Entertainment – the same production company which made the WAG’s previous show, Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story.

The ‘ at-home-with ‘ format is expected to see former England footballer Wayne Rooney appear alongside his wife – runner-up on last year’s I’m A Celebrity – and their four sons: Kai, 14, Kit, 11, Klay, eight, and Cass, six (pictured together on Christmas)

An insider revealed that bosses are hoping for a similar success to david Beckham’s hit Netflix documentary last year, which won an Emmy and was watched by millions.

Rooneys with Mickey mouse
The fly-on-the-wall show will see the Rooneys as we’ve never seen them before (PR)

“‘ The Beckhams documentary was the most-watched show on Netflix in the UK last year, and has racked up more than 200 million hours of viewing time globally.

” Coleen is loved by the British public, especially since she played a blinder on I’m A Celeb. It wasn’t surprising that Disney and Amazon wanted it and went head to head.

“It will make for compulsive viewing. It won’t just feature Coleen but Wayne and their children, too. It might be expensive, but the view is that it will be worth every penny”.

Coleen’s first major deal post I’m A Celeb, which she was reportedly paid £1.5 million for, was a collaboration with Applied Nutrition which she signed before heading to Australia and launched in January, following speculation about her beauty secrets from fans, who spotted her glowing skin in camp.

Now, with a huge Disney deal on the horizon which will see her and her family beamed into the homes of millions, it seems the proud mum-of-four, who went from WAG, to queen of the jungle, is set to become one of the most sought-after British celebrities.

* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.