Two-time champion Phil Mickelson has predicted that Tiger Woods will challenge at the top of the Masters leaderboard despite five months out. Woods, returning after five months out after details of his infidelity emerged, won the 2008 US Open despite having a badly injured left knee. “I do not think anyone expected him to play well in 2008. He was injured yet he came back and won,” said Mickelson. “Nobody here will question his ability to perform at the highest level.” Mickelson believes Woods’ play-off victory over Rocco Mediate round Torrey Pines for the most recent of his 14 majors is a warning that has been heeded by the rest of the field. “From a player’s point of view we expect to see the same player we have always seen,” he said. Mickelson and Woods were drawn together for the final day of a major for the first time in last year’s Masters at Augusta National. Both surged through the field – Mickelson equalling a tournament record with a score of 30 over the first nine – but neither could force their way into a play-off won by Argentina’s Angel Cabrera. Mickelson went on to take a share of second place in the US Open and victories in the Tour Championships and HSBC Champions tournament, but his form in recent weeks has been less encouraging. He has slid from second in the world ranking to third behind Steve Stricker after just one top-10 finish in seven starts this season. Tiger Woods does not owe me a thing. In the last 12 years he has done so much for the game of golf “My performance has not been what I wanted. I am not overly concerned, but I would have liked to have been in contention, for sure,” he said. “The putter has actually been coming around the last few tournaments. It feels really good.” Since November much attention has been focused on Woods’ absence and when he might return. But Mickelson insisted his fellow American’s subsequent apology to his fellow players was unneeded. “He does not owe me a thing. In the last 12 years he has done so much for the game of golf,” he said. “I do not know if there has been an individual who has capitalised more on the opportunities he has brought to the game than myself.” Honorary starters Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus get the Masters first round under way at 1240 BST on Thursday. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Mickelson expects Woods challenge

British duo Anne Keothavong and Heather Watson crashed out of the Sony Ericsson Open in the first round in Miami. Keothavong, the British number three, suffered a 6-4 6-2 defeat at the hands of Austria’s Tamira Paszek after losing a 3-1 lead in the first set. Wildcard Watson, the 2009 US Open girls’ singles winner, made a good start against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova before losing 6-4 6-2. British number one Elena Baltacha is scheduled to play Iveta Benesova later. In addition to losing her advantage in the first set, Londoner Keothavong was broken three times by Paszek in the second. The 26-year-old Briton won less than 50% of points on her first serve. 606: DEBATE What do you think of the British women’s performances in Miami Guernsey’s Watson, meanwhile, matched Pironkova in the opening set but failed to take three break-point opportunities. Instead, the world number 117 took her single chance to snatch the set 6-4. Watson could not match her opponent’s effort in the second set as she went down 6-2. Pironkova now faces world number two Caroline Wozniacki in the second round. Baltacha, ranked 62nd in the world, takes on world number 59 Benesova with a potential clash against 12th seed Yanina Wickmayer awaiting her in the second round.

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Keothavong & Watson lose in Miami

The Virgin Atlantic airline is creating more than 200 jobs over the next two years with the opening of a new customer service centre. The company says it plans to open the new centre at Alexandra House in Swansea by September and will start recruiting later this month. The airline said it would run in conjunction with its existing centre in Crawley, West Sussex. The investment has been supported by the Welsh Assembly Government. The airline’s chief commercial and financial officer, Julie Southern, said: “Virgin Atlantic is really pleased to be opening a new customer service centre based in Swansea, particularly at a time when few companies are announcing an expansion in job opportunities in the UK. “We know that Swansea has many experienced customer service staff and we look forward to being able to use their valuable experience to support Virgin Atlantic’s customers.” The airline operates a fleet of 38 aircraft out of London Heathrow and Gatwick, and flies to 30 destinations worldwide. Deputy First Minister and Economy and Transport Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones, said: “Virgin Atlantic is one of the world’s largest airlines serving the world’s major cities and it’s excellent news to attract a business of this calibre to Wales.” He said the investment would provide an “important boost to the local economy creating a range of jobs and career opportunities which is of particular importance during the current economic climate”. “The assembly government will continue to work with and support Virgin Atlantic to ensure the maximum success for the investment in Wales,” he said. The centre will handle UK and US calls, mainly dealing with customer service and sales.

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Virgin Atlantic creates 200 jobs

ATHLETICS WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Venue: Aspire Dome, Doha Date: 12-14 March Coverage: Updates on BBC Radio 5 live. Watch live at telegraph.co.uk Britain’s world indoor 60m champion Dwain Chambers is hopeful his form can lead to invitations to race in Europe. The 31-year-old, subject to an Olympic ban and excluded from big meets after a two-year drug suspension in 2003, battled to gold on Saturday in Doha. On negotiations to run in the lucrative Diamond League, he told the BBC: “We’ve had a lot of positive responses. “I’ve just got to be patient and put out a good enough time that will hopefully warrant an invitation.” Talking to BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek, Chambers added: “I have to concentrate on the races I can participate in. We are working on building bridges and relationships. “Firstly we’re building a more positive relationship with UK Athletics and once we can do that then hopefully other opportunities will develop. 606: DEBATE ” Would you invite Dwain Chambers if you were a race organiser ” Mark A “For now I’m going to enjoy the moment with the team.” Soon after Jessica Ennis won the pentathlon title on Saturday, the Londoner stormed home in 6.48 seconds to become world indoor sprint champion with the fastest time of the year and improve on the indoor silver he shared in 2008 in Valencia. Those championships in Spain saw Chambers return to the track in a British vest after his drug suspension, but only after a legal dispute with the governing body to force his participation. However, with a new UK Athletics chief at the helm in Charles Van Commenee, relations have improved and the sprinter is now hopeful of running in other competitions and being able to face Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt. Declaring he was “back in love” with the sport after a brief spell in American football and rugby league, Chambers told BBC Radio 5 live: “One thing I know I can do is run fast and I just have to do the best I can with the opportunities I have. “I’m here and inspiring others looking up at me and I’m moving on with my life. It’s just the beginning.” Chambers still owes money to the International Association of Athletics Federations and, as it stands, can only compete at international championships, but after seven years of turmoil he is only bothered about the future. “I’m running well but I’ve realised that what I’ve always had I almost lost. That is why it means so much to me every time I run,” he added. “I want to make use of all the time I’ve got in the sport. My next objective is to make the team for the European Championships in Barcelona.” Regarding the

More schools are being judged inadequate under a new inspection regime, figures from England’s schools watchdog Ofsted show. Half of the 2140 schools inspected in the autumn were found to be either satisfactory or inadequate. The proportion of schools classed as inadequate has more than doubled to 10% , compared with 4% in the 2008/2009 inspection period. Schools now have to achieve higher results to be good or outstanding. The watchdog has insisted its new-style inspections would “raise the bar” on its expectations of schools. Only 9% of schools have been given the top rating of outstanding – compared with 19% of those inspected in the academic year of 2008/9. A total of 40% of the schools inspected were marked down as satisfactory. A spokesman for Ofsted has said: “We have made it clear that every time an inspection framework is revised, expectations are raised too.” But John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC News: “I don’t think it [Ofsted] is serving parents very well in the comparative views it is providing.” Opinion divided Chris Richardson, head teacher at the Kings of Wessex School in Somerset, said the new inspection framework brought “significant improvements”, particularly a sharper focus on student achievement. “A new self-evaluation form meant we felt well prepared for inspection and it gave the inspectors a good overview of the school. “Our students valued the opportunities to engage with the inspectors and give their perspective on the school.” But John Fairhurst, head of Shenfield High School in Essex, said the new inspection framework had downgraded his school from good with outstanding features to satisfactory, simply because the school’s GCSE results in 2008 were weak. “It’s become a rather skimpy inspection with an altered agenda – heavily data driven,” he said. “The framework proved, in our case, superficial and underestimated the good work of the school.”

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More schools fail Ofsted checks

More schools are being judged inadequate under a new inspection regime, figures from England’s schools watchdog are expected to show. Ofsted introduced a new framework in September 2009 which requires schools to achieve higher results to be rated as good or outstanding. The watchdog has insisted its new-style inspections would “raise the bar” on its expectations of schools. Data on schools’ performance under the system will be released on Wednesday. Last week the Times Educational Supplement said the new regime had seen a near doubling in the proportion of schools judged “inadequate”, while the proportion rated “outstanding” was less than half of what it used to be. But inspectors said they now had “higher expectations on behalf of pupils and parents”. ” It is no surprise if there is a rise in inadequate schools – it just reflects the fact that the bar has been raised ” Department for Children, Schools and Families A spokesman for Ofsted said: “We have made it clear that every time an inspection framework is revised, expectations are raised too.” Ofsted said the reaction from schools had been “overwhelmingly positive”, with nine out of 10 who had responded to feedback surveys saying they were satisfied with the way inspection was carried out. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “We made clear in the schools White Paper last June that inspection from September would be more challenging. “It is no surprise if there is a rise in inadequate schools – it just reflects the fact that the bar has been raised and weaker schools are being inspected earlier in the cycle.” New regime Under the new arrangements, outstanding and good schools are only inspected once within a five-year period – previously it was every three years. Satisfactory schools are inspected every three years and inadequate schools are visited regularly until they make the improvements necessary. The new regime sees inspectors assess twice as many lessons and more emphasis is put on questionnaires filled out by parents and pupils. Inspectors put more emphasis on pupil attainment – a point which has caused controversy, particularly for schools in challenging areas – rather than on improvement. Schools are given two days’ warning of an inspection and the inspections lasts for two days. Ofsted said the new format was introduced in response to teachers’ concerns inspections focused too much on schools data and inspectors did not assess enough lessons. The watchdog said more than 2,000 inspections had been carried out under the new system between September and December last year. Chris Richardson, head teacher at the Kings of Wessex School in Somerset, said the new inspection framework brought “significant improvements”, particularly a sharper focus on student achievement. “A new self-evaluation form meant we felt well prepared for inspection and it gave the inspectors a good overview of the school. “Our students valued the opportunities to engage with the inspectors and give their perspective on the school.” But John Fairhurst, head of Shenfield High School in Essex, said the new inspection framework had downgraded his school from good with outstanding features to satisfactory, simply because the school’s GCSE results in 2008 were weak. “It’s become a rather skimpy inspection with an altered agenda – heavily data driven,” he said. “The framework proved, in our case, superficial and underestimated the good work of the school.” The Association for School and College Leaders and the National Association of Head Teachers are also critical of the regime, saying it puts too much emphasis on raw attainment.

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More schools likely to be failed