Seve Ballesteros champion in 1991 (Photo by Stephen Munday Getty Images)

One year alter his death, the memory of Seve Ballesteros is being kept alive at an event he won five times. For many of the players competing in the Volvo World Golf Championship at Finca Cortesín – especially the three Spaniards, Sergio García, Álvaro Quirós and Rafael Cabrera-Bello – Seve’s record when the tournament was held at Wentworth remains an inspiration.

The late Spanish legend won the title in 1981 (beating Ben Crenshaw by one-up in the final), 1982 (defeating Sandy Lyle on the 37th and first sudden-death hole), 1984 and 1985 (triumphing over Bernhard Langer on both occasions, 2 & 1 and 6 & 5, respectively) and finally against Nick Price in 1991 (3 & 2).

Seve Ballesteros, ex-wife Carmen Botín and their son Javier in 1991 (Photo by Getty Images)

This is the first year that three Spaniards are competing in the event, which dates to 1964 (Worldly Lustre Regained). Two played in 1977 (Seve and Manuel Piñero); 1986, 1989, 1992 and 1994 (Seve and José María Olazábal); 1999 (Sergio García and Olazábal); and 2011 (Álvaro Quirós and Miguel Ángel Jiménez).

In this year’s championship, García and Quirós are in the same group for the round-robin stages, with Tetsuji Hiratsuka; while Cabrera-Bello plays Martin Kaymer – at ninth, the highest world-ranked player in the field – and Richard Finch. The only Australian in this year’s field is John Senden, who plays defending champion Ian Poulter and Tom Lewis in the round-robin stages.

The other groups are: Justin Rose, Robert Rock and Darren Clarke; Charl Schwartzel, Nicolas Colsaerts and Retief Goosen (who has played in more World Match Plays than any other player in the 2012 field, 11); Graeme McDowell, Robert Karlsson (who replaced Paul Casey, originally the sponsor’s invitee but a late withdrawal due to injury) and Jbe Kruge; Peter Hanson, Paul Lawrie (competing in his 500th European Tour event) and Camilo Villegas; and Brandt Snedeker, Thomas Bjorn and Branden Grace, who is aiming for an unprecedented “Volvo hat-trick”, having already won the Volvo Golf Champions and Volvo China Open this year. Ten of the players are competing in their first World Match Play Championship.

Divided into eight groups of three, the 24 players compete in the round-robin group format on Thursday and Friday, with 16 players progressing to Saturday’s knock-out stage (two from each group), and the semi-finals and final played on Sunday. The first 16 players were seeded based on their Official World Ranking points, and the eight unseeded players were drawn at random.

In recent months there had been increasing speculation that Volvo and IMG would not extend their three-year contract with Finca Cortesín – there were even rumours earlier in the year that the 2012 edition might be cancelled or moved elsewhere at the 11th hour – and it has now been confirmed that the championship will in fact leave the Costa del Sol after 2012.

Speaking at the traditional press presentation on the eve of the championship, Volvo Event Management president Per Ericsson said several other venues had expressed an interest in hosting the event, and Volvo believed it was important to move the event around the world. IMG spokesperson Guy Kinnings concurred, noting that rotating a tournament around various venues, and countries, “refreshed” an event. Ericsson said it was possible the championship would return to Spain in three or four years.

Formula 1 racing driver Heikki Kovalainen competed with Retief Goosen in the pro-am, finishing third behind winner Sergio García and second-placed Robert Karlsson and their teams.

In the meantime, the Junta de Andalucía (regional government) is once again conspicuous by its absence from the event. Following the 21st and final Volvo Masters in 2008, relations between then Minister for Tourism and Sport Luciano Alonso and Volvo soured, and the Junta launched another European Tour event, the Andalucía Masters, held at Valderrama in 2010 and 2011. On the previous two occasions the Volvo World Match Play was held at Finca Cortesín (2009 and 2011), and again this year, the government has – inexplicably, bearing in mind the promotional impact of the championship around the world – failed to provide even minimal institutional support to the event.

During the same press conference, Casares mayoress Antonio Morera declined to comment on the arrest, the previous day, of her predecessor Juan Sánchez, as part of an investigation into alleged corruption related to the Ukrainian-owned Majestic urbanisation just down the road from Finca Cortesín.

Mine host BigM and the cheerleaders

Australia makes a long-awaited return to the Fuengirola fairground as the popular Feria Internacional de los Pueblos opens on Saturday 28 April (continuing until Tuesday 1 May).

This fun-filled melting pot of 30 countries’ culture and cuisine, now in its 18th year, attracts between 500,000 and one million visitors over the four days. Australia is one of four new countries (not present last year) with a caseta in 2012 – together with Finland, Romania, France and Italy.

Rev Richard John

As always, one of the most popular venues (apart from the Brazilian!) will be the US caseta run by Costa del Disco, featuring live music (blues, C&W, rock and traditional American pop), cheerleader displays, line dancing performances and a repeat of the Superbowl, and Madonna’s half-time show, on a giant screen.

Sideshows and competitions have been organised for the younger revellers while their parents enjoy classic American food and drinks, and the caseta will also be adorned with traditional memorabilia and some “Hogs” outside, thanks to the presence of the Fuengirola Harley Davidson Club.

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber test their cricket skills on St Kilda Beach in Melbourne.

An unprecedented six world champions will be on the grid when the new Formula 1 season begins in Australia on 18 March. Red Bull’s reigning champion Sebastian Vettel is pre-season favourite to win a third consecutive world title, with his main rivals Australian team-mate Mark Webber (career-best third in the 2010 and 2011 world championships), McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button (world champions in 2008 and 2009, respectively), and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso (2005 and 2006).

Michael Schumacher completed final track testing in Barcelona before heading to Australia.

Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, at 43 nearly 20 years older than his compatriot Vettel, is seeking his first podium finish since returning to the sport two years ago. He was the last driver to win three world titles in a row (actually five, from 2000 to 2004), while Juan Manuel Fangio is the only other to have achieved a consecutive hat-trick (four in his case, from 1954 to 1957).

Kimi Raikonen is the sixth world champion (2007) this year, making his Formula 1 comeback with Lotus after an unremarkable stint in rally driving.

Daniel Ricciardo during pre-season testing in Barcelona.

Spain’s Pedro de la Rosa also returns to a seat at the top table, with Madrid-based HRT; while Australian Daniel Ricciardo, the 2009 British Formula Three champion starts his first full season with Toro Rosso, having been loaned out to HRT for 11 races last season.

The 2012 season comprises 20 Grand Prix, including the Gran Premio de España in Cataluña on 13 May and the Grand Prix of Europe in Valencia on  24 June, concluding with the Grande Prêmio Do Brasil on 25 November.

Complete race, team and driver information at:  Formula1.com

By September, she was number three – the highest-ranked Belarusian player in the history of the women’s tour, two better than Natasha Zvereva. Now the 2007 US Open (with Max Mirnyi) and 2008 French Open (Bob Bryan) mixed doubles champion has secured her first singles Glam Slam title, with a comprehensive Australian Open triumph over fellow arch-grunter Maria Sharapova of Russia, and wrested number one spot from Caroline Wozniacki – who had held on to the position since October 2010 in spite of still seeking her own first Grand Slam victory.

Azarenka’s win made it a rare double: she was also the Australian Open junior singles champion in 2005, the same year she won the US Open junior title and was named the ITF Junior Girls World Champion. Her first career WTA title was the 2009 Brisbane International, and earlier this year, in the lead-up to the 2012 Australian Open, she won the Apia International Sydney tournament.

Dinara Safina signing autographs

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anabel Medina visit Marbella’s Old Town

Winning style from Azarenka

A friend “very high up in the media world who has been tapping the phones in Australia House for many years” gave Barry Humphries an inkling. “I can’t tell you his name; he is married to a Chinese girl. He said it was between me and Julian Assange and it turned out to be me.”

In his acceptance speech after being named Australian of the Year in the UK, comedy legend Humphries borrowed a celebrated quote from that same unnamed friend’s comments to a British parliamentary committee on phone hacking in 2011, “This is the most humble day of my life.”

He won the award, presented at a ceremony at Australia House in London, after a 50-year theatre career, highlighted by his alter egos “priapic and inebriated cultural attaché” Sir Les Patterson, archetypal Aussie bloke Barry “Bazza” McKenzie and housewife “gigastar” Dame Edna Everage.  The latter would be jealous, he said. “Well it’s about time really, I think.”

Seventy-seven-year-old Humphries already holds the title of Officer of the Order of Australia. Wine writer Matthew Jukes was named Honorary Australian of the Year and the Young Australian of the Year award went to fashion consultant Yasmin Sewell.

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Oh yes… and the winner was Leila Lopes from Angola. Miss Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs, who was also reprimanded by the organisers for an “offensively see-through” evening gown and a “way too sexy” bikini, finished in the top 10.

IT MIGHT be a mystery for the Punch columnist but here in Spain we are all-too familiar with the dear soul with the “furrowed” lines. It’s the indomitable Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, a grandee of Spain and current head of the House of Alba. According to the Guinness Book of Records, she is the aristocrat with the highest number of titles recognised by an existing government.

A favoured target of Spain’s TV gossip programmes, the 128-year-old socialite duchess is due to marry 61-year-old civil servant Alfonso Díez Carabantes in October. She reportedly overcame the objections of her children by giving them their inheritance in advance.

Okay, the photo is not of the furrowed noble but rather “Cayetana, Duquesa de Alba”, one of the characters in the satirical TV show La Escobilla Nacional that aired on Antena 3 in 2010.

Marriage of InConvenience

AN ATTEMPT by Australian TV presenter Karl Stefanovic from Channel 9’s Today show to tell a Dalai Lama joke to the man himself backfired with hilarious results, at least for viewers. As elements of the joke were translated to the religious leader, he mostly maintained a blank stare though he did laugh when Stefanovic tried to explain the joke.

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