Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas recently pipped Aussie Sam Kerr to win the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year award. The 2021 Balon d’Or winner is the first Spanish player in history to win the Best Player at FIFA’s World Player of the Year awards for either men’s or women’s soccer.
Putellas beat off the challenge of Sam Kerr (Chelsea) and teammate Jennifer Hermoso to win. The Barcelona forward added the prestigious award to her collection, following her Balon d’Or success in November of last year. The 27-year-old captained her side to treble success, winning the Women’s Champions League, the Spanish League and Copa de la Reina last season.
On an individual note, Putellas ended her season as the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe with 26 goals in all competitions, leading her to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League Midfielder of the Season award.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the star guest at the awards, presented mainly as an online ceremony hosted at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, to collect a special prize for breaking the all-time scoring record in men’s internationals.
Morgan wins Australian PGA Championship
The comparisons to Greg Norman were impossible to ignore recently at Royal Queensland as Jed Morgan, a fresh-faced kid with flowing blond hair, defeated the field to win by a record margin in just his fourth professional golf event.
The 22-year-old Queenslander won the Australian PGA Championship by a record 11 shots, beating the previous best eight-stroke margin Norman managed in back-to-back wins in 1984-85.
Morgan’s 22-under total was also the equal lowest score-to-par since the event moved to stroke play in 1964, with nobody younger winning it since then. Rounds of 65, 63, 65 and 69 at his home course were filled with fist-pumps and cries to the thousands who attended the first major Australian golf tournament in more than two years.
