Golf - No Woods, but seven of world's top eight will play in Maui

There had been speculation Woods would play at Kapalua but he was not on the list of the final field of 34 players released by the tournament on Friday. It now seems likely that the 14-times major champion will begin his 2019 campaign at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego from Jan. 24-27.

* World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont has been recognised in the British New Year's Honours list with the former England captain given a knighthood for his services to the sport.

* Juventus striker Juan Cuadrado has undergone successful surgery to treat an injury to his left knee, the Serie A champions reported on Friday. The 30-year-old, capped 75 times, picked up the injury in Juventus's 2-1 defeat at Swiss side Young Boys in the Champions League group stage on Dec 12.

* AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso's job is not at risk, the club's sporting director Leonardo Araujo said on Friday, despite a loss of form which has seen his side fail to score in their last four league games. Milan have slipped to sixth place in Serie A, three points outside the top four where they need to finish to qualify for the Champions League next season, after a miserable December.

* Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has urged the club to "solve the problem" of Eden Hazard's future, amid speculation that the Belgian winger will leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season. Hazard, who has one-and-a-half years remaining on his Chelsea deal, said he will not make a decision on his long-term future until the end of the campaign, which did nothing to stop the persistent rumours linking him to Real Madrid.

* Hashim Amla found welcome form with the bat amid a morning of good fortune for South Africa as they pushed towards victory at 81 for one at lunch in pursuit of a modest 149 on day three of the first test against Pakistan at Centurion Park on Friday. The second test begins in Cape Town on Jan. 3 with the series to conclude in Johannesburg on Jan. 11.

* Liverpool's impressive climb to the top of the Premier League has been built on the foundations of a solid back-line in which every defender regularly makes a key contribution, centre back Virgil van Dijk said. Dutchman Van Dijk, who joined the club from Southampton in January for a reported 75 million pounds has become the lynchpin of a defence that has conceded only seven goals in 19 matches and helped Liverpool move six points clear.

* Slovakia's Petra Vlhova won her first World Cup giant slalom Friday at Semmering, Austria, and stopped world leader Mikaela Shiffrin's run for the record. Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg and France's Tessa Worley finished second and third respectively.