Staging this year's Ryder Cup without fans is not in the event's best interests but it might have to "take one for the team" and proceed that way amid the COVID-19 crisis, Team Europe captain Padraig Harrington told The Times newspaper.

Qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic golf tournament will be extended to June 2021 to accommodate the year-long delay caused by the coronavirus outbreak, the International Golf Federation (IGF) said on Wednesday.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is hoping to get the 2020 season under way with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational from July 15-18, the start of what will be a busy second half of the year.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is hoping to get the 2020 season under way with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational from July 15-18, the start of what will be a busy second half of the year.

The North of Ireland Amateur Open in 2005 was not an event expected to produce much glamour, but a 16-year-old Rory McIlroy was dressed to impress.

SOCCER - Inter Milan striker Ronaldo rounds Lazio goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani before slotting home into an open net to seal a 3-0 win in the UEFA Cup final.

This year's World Amateur Team Championships (WATC), scheduled for October, have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Golf Federation (IGF) said on Tuesday.

Organised sport will only resume in the Netherlands from Sept. 1, but recreational golf and tennis will be allowed from Monday, Dutch prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday as he announced an easing of COVID-19 lockdown measures.

Sergio Aguero may be scared about returning to action in the Premier League but the Manchester City striker will join Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Barcelona midfielder Arthur Melo on a Formula One esports grid this weekend.

The coronavirus relief golf match featuring Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will be on May 24 at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, WarnerMedia's Turner Sports said on Thursday.

Major sports events around the world that are in the process of re-starting or have been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

England's Jason Roy is ready to play in empty stadiums if the post-coronavirus situation demands so, said the opener who got a taste of it in his last outing.

Alexander Albon won a virtual Formula One thriller, against a field that included England cricketers Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad, around Brazil's Interlagos circuit on Sunday to deny Charles Leclerc an esports hat-trick.

MOTOR RACING - Briton Damon Hill of Williams salutes the crowd as he passes the chequered flag at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was second and Gerhard Berger in a Benetton finished third.

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has committed to playing for his country in all three formats of the game in the 2020/21 season, a boost for a test side that lacks experience and depth in the batting lineup.

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne wants to enhance his power-hitting ability in one-day internationals as he seeks to establish himself as an all-format player, the 25-year-old said on Monday.

England's players would have to "make do" with limited chances to prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup scheduled for later this year in Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic, limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan said.

The British government is looking at the option of restarting sports leagues behind closed doors, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Tuesday.

England's World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan says cricket's 10-overs format would be ideal for a global multi-sport event such as the Olympics as the entire tournament could be squeezed into 10 days.

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara will be offered a one-year extension as president of the Marylebone Cricket Club in the "extraordinary circumstances" resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the MCC said on Wednesday.

SOCCER - Manchester United great George Best poses with a life-size version of a Royal Mail stamp featuring former United midfielder Duncan Edwards.

India captain Virat Kohli and his team mates would be ready to spend two weeks in quarantine in Australia if that helped the tour go ahead as planned later this year, a top official of the Indian board has said.

Playing against India behind closed doors in the much-anticipated test series at the end of the year might end up being an advantage for the home side, according to Australia batsman Usman Khawaja.

Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey Baldwin are opening up in an intimate series for Facebook Watch in which they discuss their marriage, their problems and their lives together.

The Men's Milan Fashion Week set for June will be postponed to mid-July and presented in purely digital format with photos and video to avoid the risk of coronavirus contagion, Italy's national fashion chamber said on Wednesday.

Television can fake it, movie audiences can wear masks, but a live theatre performance like "Romeo and Juliet" needs real actors kissing and fighting rivals in front of real people.

The real chief of the U.S. Space Force said on Wednesday he had hoped actor Bruce Willis would have played him on the upcoming Netflix show lampooning the military's newest branch of service - instead of comic actor Steve Carell.

Paris will hold a men's fashion week in virtual format from July 9 to July 13 for the Men Spring/Summer collections 2021, organisers said on Wednesday.

Florian Schneider, co-founder of pioneering German electronic band Kraftwerk, which influenced generations of pop and dance musicians with mesmerising tracks such as "Autobahn", has died of cancer aged 73, longtime bandmate Ralf Huetter said.

Magician Roy Horn, who alongside Siegfried Fischbacher starred in a popular, long-running Las Vegas act built around rare tigers, died on Friday from of complications of COVID-19, the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper reported. He was 75.

Britons stood in silence and Queen Elizabeth was to address the nation on Friday's 75th anniversary of "Victory in Europe" Day, though the coronavirus dampened commemorations for the end of World War Two on the continent.

An autographed and well-worn pair of basketball legend Michael Jordan's Nike shoes hits the auction block at Sotheby's on Friday, in a celebrity-infused test of the market for sneakers as highly-prized collectibles.

Madagascar is putting its self-proclaimed, plant-based "cure" for COVID-19 on sale and several countries in Africa have already put in orders for purchase, despite warnings from the World Health Organisation that its efficacy is unproven.

With its season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, one of Austria's most popular glacial ski resorts covered its glacier in protective fabric earlier than usual this year to help preserve it for a still uncertain reopening.

After several failed crossings from Libya to Italy and a long spell in detention, Nigerian migrant Olu had pinned his hopes on being evacuated from the besieged city of Tripoli with his family.

Britons stood in silence and Queen Elizabeth was to address the nation on Friday's 75th anniversary of "Victory in Europe" Day, though the coronavirus dampened commemorations for the end of World War Two on the continent.

Far from barking its orders, a robot dog enlisted by Singapore authorities to help curb coronavirus infections in the city-state politely asks joggers and cyclists to stay apart.

A federal judge on Friday declined to dismiss the charges against "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin and other wealthy parents awaiting trial in the U.S. college admissions scandal after they accused investigators of fabricating evidence.

Magician Roy Horn, who alongside Siegfried Fischbacher starred in a popular, long-running Las Vegas act built around rare tigers, died on Friday from of complications of COVID-19, the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper reported. He was 75.

Japan's ruthless animated hitman has become the latest victim of the coronavirus, as the nation's longest-running manga comic announced it would take its first hiatus in its 52-year history as social restrictions to contain the virus have made it difficult to produce the hand-drawn series.

Russian authorities said on Saturday they had recorded 10,817 new cases of the coronavirus in the last day, pushing the nationwide tally to 198,676.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday that Saudi Arabian authorities recently detained and are holding incommunicado Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, who had previously been netted in an anti-corruption drive and released in late 2017.

The Philippines' health ministry reported on Saturday that coronavirus deaths have reached more than 700.

Tokyo reported 36 new cases of coronavirus infections on Saturday, TV Asahi said, three less than a day earlier and the seventh consecutive day that new infections have remained below 100.

Indonesia reported on Saturday 533 new coronavirus infections, the biggest daily increase, taking the total number to 13,645, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.

Slovakia on Friday recorded no new cases of coronavirus for the first time since March 10, government figures showed.

Russian soldiers are operating drones over Venezuela as part of a search operation for members of a paramilitary force that led a botched invasion this week, local media reported on Friday, citing deleted tweets from a state military command center.

Venezuela's Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab said on Friday his office had requested the detention and extradition of U.S. military veteran Jordan Goudreau and two Venezuelans accused of involvement in a failed armed incursion earlier this week.

The British government has told airlines it will introduce a 14-day quarantine period for most people arriving from abroad to try to avoid a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic, an association representing the airlines said on Saturday.

Australia's most populous states held back from relaxing coronavirus restrictions on Saturday although other states began allowing small gatherings and were preparing to open restaurants and shops.