When play was halted Sunday night at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, Brendon Todd was tied with Vaughn Taylor for the lead, at 20 under par.

When play resumed, Todd faced a 20-footer for birdie while Taylor had 5 feet for par at the 15th hole. Todd promptly buried his putt .

Taylor also made his putt, but Todd grabbed a one-shot lead with three holes to play.

Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia has come out in defence of Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, who has come under scrutiny in Spain over his passion for the sport.

Nicknamed "The Golfer" by his club teammates, the media in Spain have criticised Wales international for thinking too much about golf and not about playing for the club.

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However, Bale said last week that he found some of the headlines such as AS' "triple bogey" on Nov. 5 -- which the winger claims he's never had -- "hilarious."

Asked about Bale and the controversy surrounding golf, Garcia told Gol TV: "As I said to some of my friends, I think it's much better that a golfer who likes golf goes and plays 18 holes rather than going out drinking until 4 a.m.

"It's healthy, it's sport and I'm thrilled that he likes it."

Garcia, the 2017 Masters winner, and Bale coincided last month in the Spanish Open in Madrid.

"We are friends," Garcia said. "I've played a few times with him and the truth is that he likes it a lot. He does it very well. He is very good."

Bale, who came close to leaving Madrid this summer, was rumoured in July to have gone golfing in Spain while Real Madrid were playing their Audi Cup semifinal against Tottenham at the Allianz Arena.

Former Real Madrid player Predrag Mijatovic recently said Bale's priorities were "Wales, then golf and after that, Real Madrid."

Bale, who had been sidelined with a calf injury since Oct. 13, started in his country's last two qualifiers, including Saturday's 2-0 win at Azerbaijan.

Rory Burns has only played a dozen Tests but looks set to link-up with his fifth* opening partner later this week in Mount Maunganui. But this time, at least, there will be a familiar face at the other end when he takes strike.

While Dominic Sibley may have left Burns' county, Surrey, a couple of years ago, the pair played a huge amount of cricket together as they were growing up. As well as providing many lifts to training and matches, Burns was also at the other end when Sibley made his Surrey debuts for the first-team and the seconds, as well as his debut in an England shirt last week in Whangarei. (Indeed, it is probably a reflection of England's reliance upon private schools that three of England's last four openers - Burns, Sibley and Jason Roy - all attended Whitgift.)

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As a result, Burns is well placed to offer a view on Sibley's capabilities as opener.

"I've known Sibbo for - we were trying to work it out the other day - since I was 12 or 13," Burns said. "I don't really remember him at school because I left Whitgift at 16. But I remember seeing him down at academy stuff, Surrey stuff and he only lives a town down so I gave him a lot of lifts when he was coming through in the second team. I remember driving him to most of those games. I won't have to drive him to this week: we've got the coach

"It would be a pretty cool feeling to open with him on his Test debut, too. I'm very proud of him to have got to where he has, particularly having left Surrey and doing what he's done at Warwickshire. That's a testament to him as a character.

"He showed all his attributes: his determination and his character to bat for days at a time, to put up the weight of runs he did and to bat the number of balls he did in tricky conditions you get in county cricket with a lot of assistance for bowlers a lot of the time. He's earned his spot."

While Burns is somewhat defensive of Roy's record - and not just because Roy served as one of his best men only a few weeks ago (Surrey seamer Matt Dunn was the other) - he accepts that Sibley may be more obviously suited to the role of Test opener.

"Obviously Jason's main grounding is white-ball cricket, but his red-ball cricket is very good as well. I don't think we can judge him on his Test career batting out of position," Burns said. "But I think him and Sibs' styles are slightly different. Sibs is more traditional in terms of opening the batting in red-ball cricket because that's where he's learned most of his stuff.

"His concentration levels and determination to go about that process are his strong points. He likes batting time, he can bat days at a time and he's willing to grind bowlers down and not necessarily race away at the start of an innings. He's willing to build an innings and wait for people to come to him and pick them off when he can. Sibbo was the standout batter in the country regardless of position."

There is little doubt Sibley has earned this opportunity. He not only scored more than 300 more runs than any man in Division One of the Championship in 2019, he faced more than a thousand deliveries more than anyone else in that division. But the New Zealand bowlers will have noted that he was struck on the grille of the helmet by an excellent short ball during the game against the New Zealand A side and flashed at one outside off stump a few minutes later. More short balls are likely.

As for Burns, he is probably as established as any England opener since the years of Andrews Strauss and Alastair Cook. He has already achieved something Cook never could - a century in a home Ashes series - while his tally of runs in that series (390) also surpassed anything Cook ever achieved against Australia at home. Bearing in mind how tough opening the batting was in the summer of 2019 - David Warner averaged 9.50, remember - his average of 39.00 was a fine effort.

He has also looked an asset in the field, taking some sharp catches in the cordon, and there have been early whispers that he could, one day, emerge as a leadership contender.

"You're never truly settled because there's always another Test coming," Burns said. "New Zealand have got a fine bowling attack to try and expose any weaknesses in your game. It's a summer to build on for me, but at the end of it there were a few scores I left out there. So there's a lot to keep improving upon."

There sure is. But, in picking two specialist openers to combat the new ball, England are, at last, giving themselves the best opportunity to improve in New Zealand.

*Oh, and just in case you are wracking your brain trying to remember Burns' Test opening partners, they are: Keaton Jennings, Joe Denly, Jack Leach and Roy.

Bayern Munich's new president Herbert Hainer has left the door open for Pep Guardiola to return to the club as manager.

Niko Kovac left his role as Bayern boss earlier this month following a string of bad results in the Bundesliga, with his final match a 5-1 away to Eintracht Frankfurt. Hansi Flick has been in a caretaker role since Kovac's departure.

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In his first news conference as president, Hainer praised Guardiola, who won seven trophies in three seasons with Bayern.

"Pep Guardiola is a super manager who is under contract at Manchester City," Hainer said. "Let's wait and see until the managing board approaches us.

"Generally speaking we want the best possible coach for FC Bayern Munich."

Former adidas CEO Hainer replaced Uli Hoeness as president of the Bavarian side and said Flick will remain in charge for the short-term.

"[Sporting director] Hasan [Salihamidzic] and I decided that he will sit on the bench until Christmas at least or even beyond that," Hainer added.

Guardiola left Bayern to manage Manchester City in 2017 and is under contract at the Etihad until 2021.

Bayern have also been linked with Ajax boss Erik ten Hag and Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel, but both have said they will remain in their positions at least until the end of the season.

Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal has said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman fits the criteria to coach Barcelona one day but that Ernesto Valverde retains the club's backing.

It was revealed recently that Koeman's contract with the Netherlands includes a clause that would allow him to join Barca after next summer's European Championships if the Catalan club come calling.

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The pressure has been growing on Valverde in recent weeks, with sources having told ESPN FC the club are concerned about the side's performances.

There were calls for Valverde to be sacked after the losses to Liverpool and Valencia in the Champions League and Copa del Rey at the end of last season and three defeats in 12 league games this season has seen more doubt cast on his future.

"The list of potential coaches for this club is very short," Abidal told Mundo Deportivo. "The information about the Koeman clause is generally well-known now. But it's not his decision, it's the club's.

"[Koeman] meets the criteria [to coach the club], but I have not spoken with anyone [about the job] because I have a lot of respect for Ernesto."

Asked who will be in charge next season, Abidal added: "It will probably be Ernesto because he has a contract [until 2021]. There are no doubts there."

Abidal also said that €120 million summer signing Antoine Griezmann has not yet found his best form since moving to Camp Nou.

The former Atletico Madrid forward has scored four goals since joining the club but has failed to find the back of the net in his last five matches and has struggled to get involved in the play from a wide left position.

"I speak with Antoine a lot," Abidal said. "He is playing a different position and he knows it's tough to adapt.

"The movements are different [at Barcelona] but he's a player that can add a lot -- the coach knows that. He knows he is not at his best and that's only fixed by working hard."

Griezmann, who scored in France's win over Albania on Sunday, also said over the weekend that it's not been an easy start to life at Barca.

"Barcelona is not the easiest place to play," he told Telefoot. "It's a new team, a different club, new tactics.

"But you have to work hard and I'm proud of where I am. They believe in me and everything else will come."

Playing his first competitive cricket in six months following a ban for doping, Prithvi Shaw hit a match-winning 39-ball 63 for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He felt down at one point during his time away from the big stage, Shaw said, but "got his act together" as the day of his return drew nearer. He credited Rahul Dravid, under whom he trained at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru during his ban, for playing a role in mentoring him during this difficult time.

The 20-year-old, who made his Test debut last year, was suspended in July for a doping violation during the previous edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in February this year. A BCCI release at the time stated that Shaw had "inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups", leading to the ban.

Shaw returned to action on Sunday at the Wankhede stadium, helping Mumbai, who were coming into this game at the back of an upset against Meghalaya, to an 83-run win against Assam to put them on top of the Group D points table.

"This period [of suspension] has been a big learning experience for me," Shaw was quoted as saying by Mid-Day. "Obviously, I committed a mistake. I had no idea what I was consuming. In that period, I was alone and was trying to stay away from people and their advice. I kept telling myself that I can get out of this mess and be mentally strong.

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"I got a lot of love and support from a lot of people. There obviously was a period where I was not feeling too well. But then, as the day of my return drew closer, I started to get my act together. If I had gone into my shell at that point of time, I would have felt pressure during the game. I committed a small mistake, now all that is in the past."

Speaking of his time at the National Cricket Academy, Shaw said: "A lot of focus was on training under Rahul sir's guidance. I had to clear the yo-yo test. What also helped was that during the practice nets, good bowlers like Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Aaron were available and Rahul sir was always there for guidance and sorting out mental issues."

Shaw made his Test debut against West Indies in October last year, hitting an impressive century to become the youngest Indian Test centurion on debut, and followed it up with a half-century in the next Test. He was then picked for the Australia tour, but he injured his ankle in a warm-up match, which ruled him out of the series. He was not picked in the Test squad for the West Indies tour in August because of a hip injury, and following that the news of his ban came out. As a result, he missed out on the home Tests against South Africa in October and the ongoing Bangladesh series.

"I never thought something like this would happen. I was obviously upset. For the first 20-25 days after I was banned, I was not able to make any sense of things. After that, I stabilised and kept myself mentally strong. Each day was hard," Shaw said. "I was desperate to play a game. I was excited about today's game and what better than a victory. I'll keep scoring runs; this is my job."

Bangladesh fast bowler Shahadat Hossain was withdrawn midway through an NCL clash on Sunday against Khulna Division, effectively leaving Dhaka Division with just 10 players, after an incident of physical assault with a team-mate.

The temperamental fast bowler, who has featured in 38 Tests, 51 ODIs and six T20Is, is alleged to have hit Arafat Sunny when the 24-year old is believed to admitted having no knowledge of shining the ball. Supposedly, it needed the Dhaka Division players' intervention to stop Shahadat.

His actions in Khulna amounted to a Level 4 offence, which now leaves him with the possibility of a one-year ban from all forms of cricket in Bangladesh as well as a fine of BDT 50,000 (USD 592). The NCL technical committee will need on Tuesday to decide on his punishment.

The disciplinary breach is yet another blot of sorts to Shahadat's career, that has somewhat hit a dead end since he was arrested in 2015 for beating up his domestic help, which led to a temporary suspension. He hasn't featured for Bangladesh since.

Japan head coach Jamie Joseph is out of the running for the vacant New Zealand job after committing to lead the Brave Blossoms through to the 2023 World Cup.

The ex-New Zealand forward, 49, guided hosts Japan to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time last month.

Joseph was one of 26 coaches invited by the All Blacks to apply for the New Zealand job after Steve Hansen stepped down following the World Cup.

"I have great expectations for rugby in Japan," said Joseph in a statement.

"I'm very honoured that I can lead the team towards the next World Cup."

Japan beat Russia, Ireland, Samoa and Scotland to reach the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time, before losing to eventual winners South Africa.

Joseph says the Brave Blossoms, who have climbed to eighth in the world ranking, have "many more issues to tackle" before the World Cup in France in four years' time.

"That's why I decided to choose the path of taking on a challenge again with the Japan team. I hope to make the team even stronger," he added.

Japan Rugby Football Union president Shigetaka Mori said: "We highly value his capability, which took the Japan team to the world's top level in just three years.

"I hope he will make the team stronger in the next four years. I look very much forward to seeing how strong the Japan team will be under the leadership of Mr Joseph."

Saracens are still to formally contest their points deduction and fine for breaching the Premiership salary cap before Monday's midnight deadline.

They face a 35-point deduction and £5.36m fine after an inquiry into business partnerships between owner Nigel Wray and some of their players.

Reports on Sunday suggested the current domestic and European champions were set to accept the punishment.

Wray had previously vowed to "appeal against all the findings".

In a statement issued on the same day the sanctions were announced, Sarries strongly denied the charges brought by an independent disciplinary panel, with owner Wray saying it felt as though "the rug is being completely pulled out from under our feet".

The club apologised for "administrative errors relating to the non-disclosure of some transactions" to Premiership Rugby Limited, but added it would "continue to vigorously defend this position especially as PRL precedent already exists whereby co-investments have not been deemed part of salary in the regulations".

Although, strictly speaking, they are unable to appeal against the punishment, they can request a review into the findings.

They can only request such a review on one of three grounds; error of law, whether the decision was irrational or whether there was procedural unfairness.

Saracens, who lost 30-10 at Racing 92 as they began their European Champions Cup defence on Sunday, brought in a major communications company to help manage the public fallout of the scandal last week.

Should the points deduction stand, Mark McCall's side will drop from third to bottom of the Premiership with -22 points.

What's the background?

The charges relate to a failure to disclose player payments in each of the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Saracens previously claimed they "readily comply" with salary cap rules and were able to spend above the £7m cap because of the high proportion - almost 60% - of home-grown players in their squad.

The Allianz Park outfit have several of the game's biggest stars on their books, including seven of the 31-man squad that represented England at the World Cup in Japan, such as captain Owen Farrell and forwards Maro Itoje and Billy and Mako Vunipola.

One of the dominant forces in northern hemisphere club rugby, Sarries have won five Premiership titles and three European Champions Cups since 2010-11 - with two of those domestic titles coming in the timeframe that Premiership Rugby have been investigating.

Their three European successes have all come within the past four seasons.