Hi there,

With the Australian Open golf starting on Thursday, here are a few terms to get you through...

Botox: a putt that lips-out.

Captain Kirk: a shot that goes where no ball has gone before.

Joe Pesci: a tough 5-footer.

In this issue of Sport Journal...

⛳️ Australian Open

🏉 Sam Burgess' 10 yr plan

⚽️ Copa America draw

🏏 Steve Smith denies ‘white anting’

Messi or Neymar? Socceroos set to learn fate in historic Copa America draw

The Socceroos will discover today just which giants of South American football they’ll face at next year’s Copa America.

The 10 South American teams have already been drawn into north and south zone groups with Australia and Qatar to discover which zone they’ll play in at the draw in Cartagena, Colombia from 11.30am AEDT.

Australia are one of two guest nations competing in the continental championship, which will be held in Colombia and Argentina from June 12 to July 12 (local time) next year.

If Graham Arnold’s men are put into the south zone they’ll play their group matches in Argentina and face Messi’s Albiceleste as well as Suarez’s Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay.

The north zone will play their group matches in Colombia with the hosts, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela already locked in.

⛳️ Golf

The 2019 Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club in Rosebery in Sydney

This year will be the 21st time the course has hosted the tournament, with Cameron Davis winning in the most recent visit there in 2017.

Who is playing?

Leading Australian trio Adam Scott (Favourite), Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman, with Paul Casey, Louis Ooshuizen, Sergio Garcia and CT Pan all set to appear.

Last year's champion Abraham Ancer is back to defend his title, with South Korea's KJ Choi and Canadian Mike Weir are also in the mix.

If you can't get to The Australian this year, you can catch all the action for free on Channel 7.

Who is going to win?

Marc Leishman credits a change in diet - and a reduced beer consumption - for shedding eight kilograms this year.

"I just try to cut out sugar and bread really, that’s about it. And cut down a little bit on the beer. But that’s going to be easier said than done while I’m home in Australia, so yeah. It was a conscious thing that I did and I’m glad I did it."

We're having a tickle on the beer swilling Marc Leishman (13.0) & 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia (15.0). 

🏉 NRL

Storm stocks take another hit as Fijian flyer gets poached by rugby

Star winger Suliasi Vunivalu headed to rugby union at the end of the 2020 NRL season.

The exciting Fijian flyer has signed a two-year deal with the Queensland Reds and Rugby Australia in a move that could see him line up for the Wallabies alongside former Storm teammate Marika Koroibete. (Foxsports)

Rugby Australia reportedly blew the Storm out of the water with a contract offer for Suliasi Vunivalu that NRL wingers can only dream of. Reported to be in the region of $1.8million over 2 years.

The 10-year plan to keep Sam Burgess a Bunny in an administration role

News Corp reported that English forward Burgess — who had to give the game away because of a shoulder injury — will earn as much as $360,000 a season over 10 years in the job. That would take him up to the amount he was set to receive as a contracted player over the next three years.

‘He’s like three humans’: Inside Sonny Bill Williams’ brutal new training regime

Nine News Sydney reported on Tuesday night the 34-year-old has been conducting a “torturous training camp” at the Surfing Australia high performance centre in Kingsliff.

Williams’ has been working with former Roosters strength and conditioning guru Keegan Smith, the son of former Roosters coach Brian Smith.

Smith says Williams’ training camp is unlike anything he is aware of previously being used to train rugby league athletes.

“The kind of training that we’re doing, I don’t think any player’s ever actually done to prepare themselves for footy,” Smith said.

🏏 Cricket

‘I’m not undermining him’: Steve Smith denies ‘white anting’ captain Tim Paine

“I tell you what I don’t like to see, Steve Smith is moving a few fieldsmen around,” Cricket legend, Ian Chappell said on Macquarie Sports Radio during play.

“England used to do it a bit, blokes other than the captain and I always felt it was white anting the captain.”

But Smith denied he was acting outside his jurisdiction.

“I only try to help Tim as much as I can,” Smith told Channel 9 on Tuesday.

“He’s doing a terrific job. I give him suggestions and things like that.

“I only want the team to do well, I’m certainly not undermining him.”

Worst dropped catch of all time?

⚽️ Football

Messi Conquers Soccer’s Golden Ball for Sixth Time, Becoming Greatest Winner...Virgil van Dijk 2nd with Cristiano Ronaldo 3rd.

Leaked: The London Evening Standard says a leaked copy of France Football's voting records appears to show that Barcelona captain Lionel Messi beat Van Dijk to the Ballon d'Or crown by just two votes.

🗓 701 - appearances for Barcelona

⚽️ 614 - goals for Barcelona

🎩 52 - career hat-tricks

🇦🇷 70 - goals for Argentina

🏆 10 - LaLiga titles with Barcelona

🇪🇺 4 - Champions League wins

🌏 6 - times he has won the Ballon d'Or

Check out all of Messi and Ronaldo's individual achievements MessivsRonaldo well worth a look.

Megan Rapinoe of the United States won Women's Ballon d'Or for 2019, with England's Lucy Bronze the runner-up.

Winger Rapinoe, 34, co-captained the US to victory at this summer's World Cup, where she was named player of the tournament and finished joint-top scorer with six goals.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told his players he could be sacked depending on his side's results against Tottenham and Manchester City in their next two games. (Sun)

Arsenal's board want former Gunners captain Mikel Arteta, currently Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City, to replace Unai Emery as manager. (Mirror)

Nineteen-year-old Swedish midfielder Dejan Kulusevski, who plays for Parma on loan from fellow Italian side Atalanta, is wanted by Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal but has revealed he is a Chelsea supporter. (Team Talk)

AFL

AFL 2019: Existing players still waiting for debuts at every AFL club | Fox Sports — www.foxsports.com.au

With the draft done and dusted for another year it’s only inevitable that we start turning our attention towards potential debutants in 2020.

🎾 Tennis

Roger Federer becomes first living person immortalised by Swiss mint

Tennis great Roger Federer is to become the first living Swiss person to have a coin minted in their honour, with a commemorative 20 franc silver piece bearing his image being issued in January.

Back on Friday 👋🏼