Richard Coughlan has reaped an instant reward for his decision to abandon the Asian golf circuit. The Luttrellstown Castle-attached touring professional decided to by-pass the Phillipine Open in Manila this week and, instead, seek a pre-qualifying spot into the Kemper Open in Washington DC.

And a round of 69, in extremely windy conditions, enabled the Irishman to grab just one of four spots from a pre-qualifying field of 126. "I'm delighted to be back playing with the big guys again," said Coughlan. "The Asian scene was just too choppy for me and I felt it was better to give myself the chance of tournament play in the United States."

He added: "I've worked extremely hard on my game and I feel a lot more comfortable here in the States. Hopefully, I can make a few bucks and, you never know, it could be a sign that things are on the up again."

Boxing: Heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, who fought to a controversial draw in New York on March 13th, will fight again in November in Las Vegas.