GOLF: Colin Montgomerie, still waiting for his first US Tour win after the wash-out of the Nissan Open in Los Angeles, might have to wait a long time for his next opportunity.

Montgomerie had to settle for fifth place at Riviera Country Club when the rain-delayed third round was abandoned.

Although back into the world's top 64, Montgomerie has not qualified for this week's Accenture World Match Play in San Diego because the cut-off point was a week ago.

He does not have a place yet in the Masters or US Open and also needs to climb into the top 50 to earn a spot in next month's Players' Championship in Florida. To achieve that from his current 62nd spot he may have to win next week's Dubai Desert Classic or the TCL Classic in China two weeks later.

"My next time in America might not be until the US PGA in August," said Montgomerie.

SWIMMING: Three high-profile applicants, including Britain's Nick Gillingham, have failed to reach the interview stage for the new post of high performance director at Swim Ireland, writes Pat Roche.

Gillingham, an Olympic medalist and currently a key figure in the British ASA, has told a close friend in Irish coaching that he intends to ask Swim Ireland why he does not qualify for an interview.

EQUESTRIAN: Kevin Babington moved another step closer to qualifying for show jumping's World Cup final in Las Vegas in April when finishing second in the Palm Beach Grand Prix in Florida on Sunday, writes Grania Willis.

Babington brought out his Athens mount Carling King for the Palm Beach showdown. The Irish duo looked set to claim the top slot when stopping the clock on 43.88 seconds in the timed decider, but America's Anne Kursinski came home half a second to the good.

Babington now has 39 World Cup points and will be aiming to secure a few more to guarantee his ticket for Las Vegas. He has three World Cup outings left.