A roundup of today's other Masters news in brief

‘Blood-spinning’ to be all the rage

A SPECIALIST believes the “blood-spinning” treatment used by Tiger Woods will become increasingly popular with athletes in all sports.

Woods said on Monday he had used the therapy, known as PRP (platelet-rich plasma), to recover from knee surgery, as well as repair a torn Achilles’.

The practice was approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) in January as it is not performance enhancing, unlike blood doping.

Dr Kal Parmar, who works for London-based Pure Sports Medicine, told journalists: “This is just the start.

“It’s because it is now allowed in professional sport, so we can say to athletes this is a safe treatment that’s not banned.

“It’s not a dangerous substance because it’s from your own blood, a concentrated form of the natural healing properties of the body.

“It contains not just platelets, but also growth factors and other healing substances, which accelerates the body’s natural healing.”

In simple terms, blood is taken from the arm, placed in a centrifuge and spun for 15 minutes until the yellow plasma and the platelets separate from the red cells.

The PRP is then injected back into tendons and joints to treat injuries and inflammations, but not for specific muscle injuries.

That is still prohibited by Wada, unless a doctor like Parmar can prove to the agency, after filling in a simple form, it is necessary.

Parmar added: “I’ve tried it with several professional athletes and they’ve all said it has a good effect, as good as cortisone for instance.

“You can also inject PRP as many times as you want.”

Floyd calls time 34 years after win

ALL GOOD things must come to an end, and Raymond Floyd, the 1976 champion, has decided his time has come and gone.

The 67-year-old American has failed to make the cut in the tournament since the turn of the Millennium, and has called time.

“It was something I toyed with pretty much all year, as to whether I would play or not,” he said.

“It’s getting to the stage that I felt I wanted to leave with really fond memories of the course and the way I played through all these years . . . I’m not competitive there now, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself, or play the best and make a whole lot of putts so I could shoot in the 70s.”

Floyd, with 22 PGA Tour wins and 14 on the Champions Tour, appeared in 44 Masters. He last made the cut in 1999, when he shot rounds of 74-73-72-76 for 295, which left him in tied-38th position.

No hugs please, we’re Irish

EVER SINCE Tiger Woods revealed he has been hugged by players since returning to the lockerroom on tour, Pádraig Harrington has been inundated with queries wondering if he was one of those to give golf’s prodigal son an embrace.

Harrington would like to put the record straight – “I’m Irish, I don’t even give my brothers hugs!”

Duck is off the menu as Cabrera stays true to roots

ANGEL CABRERA may answer to the name of Pato – The Duck, a nickname given by friends in his hometown of Cordoba because of his shuffling gait. But there was no sign of actual duck on the menu at last night’s Champions Dinner in the clubhouse as last year’s winner played host with a barbecue menu that, not surprisingly, had Argentine beef as the main course.

“It could happen that someone does not like it, (but) they can take it or leave it,” said Cabrera ahead of the dinner.

However, he held out the hope that everyone would enjoy the fare.

Cabrera arranged for Hector Rolotti, who grew up in Cordoba and who now runs a restaurant in Miami, to cook the feast.

The dinner started with empanadas filled with beef and chicken, while the main course consisted of ojo de bife – rib-eye – wrapped in a pork belly to retain the juices, accompanied by mashed potatoes and asparagus. Dessert consisted of crepes.

Cabrera chose a 2007 Malbec – an Argentinian wine – to be served with the meal, attended by among others Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer. Nicklaus and Palmer, incidentally, will act as the honorary starters for the tournament.

Cabrera took no chances in ensuring his meat feast would be a success. Last week, he did a trial run at the Houston Open when he dished out the barbecue meal to 150 players at the regular tour event in Texas.

Forza Italia sweeps in

A SIGN OF the changing times perhaps in the shift of golfing power? Italy, with three players, have the same number of competitors in this 74th edition of the US Masters as Scotland and Sweden combined.

The Italians are represented by the Molinari brothers – Edoardo and Francesco, who teamed-up to win the World Cup last year – and superstar teenager Matteo Manassero, the British Amateur champion who is set to turn professional after the championship.

Scotland has one representative – 1988 champion Sandy Lyle – while Sweden has two, Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson.

• IAN POULTER quit after nine holes of practice yesterday – but it was all planned.

Poulter is a huge Arsenal fan and was off the course in time to see the entire Champions League quarter-final second leg against Barcelona.