Frozen Four: What Denver and Minnesota State need to do to win it allFrozen Four: What Denver and Minnesota State need to do to win it all
The Frozen Four final is set. Here’s what the Pioneers and Mavericks need to do to win the national title.
Day: April 7, 2022
Top NHL prospects to watch in the Frozen FourTop NHL prospects to watch in the Frozen Four
With nearly 40 draftees playing, a piece of the NHL’s future is on display in Boston.
Tiger Woods does not look ready to play like an old manTiger Woods does not look ready to play like an old man
Tiger Woods is 46 years old. But he is aging champion, returning to the sport, not ready to exit the stage.
Round 1 review: The MastersRound 1 review: The Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. – A quick look at the opening round of The Masters, where Tiger Woods made his comeback, Sungjae Im holds the lead and several big names are lurking. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Tiger Woods at the Masters, that old familiar feeling THE LEADER Sungjae Im began his round with three straight birdies and eagled the par-5 13th hole on the way to a 5-under 67 in the first round, giving him the solo lead. Im, who picked up his second PGA TOUR victory at the Shriners Children’s Open earlier this season, has admittedly battled inconsistency since then, but said he got “good vibes” from a tee shot his father, Ji Taek, hit within 5 feet on the ninth hole of the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday. “It was the ninth hole, the final hole of the Par 3 Contest,” said Im, 24. “And when he was setting up, I remember the group behind us, we were at the tee box, Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns and Billy Horschel, they were just having fun and having a crack at my dad, and it got me, too, so I was laughing. But once he hit the shot, it was the most beautiful shot I’ve seen. It was like a professional shot. It was definitely a fun day and a memorable one.” STORYLINES ON THE PROWL: Tiger Woods’ return was the day’s dominant story. In his first official round since November 2020, Woods exceeded expectations with a 1-under 71. Despite having what he described as an “awful” warm-up session, he made three birdies – including a near-ace at No. 6 and a 30-footer on the 16th – and just two bogeys. Woods walked slowly, with a slight hitch in his gait, and occasionally used his club for support while strolling down the fairways. He struggled with a left miss off the tee but still averaged 288 yards with his drives and reached the green in two at the par-5 13th. Woods only hit nine greens and eight fairways but used his experience around a venue where he’s won five times to his advantage. “To play this golf course and to do what I did today, … to hit the shots in the right spots, I know where to hit it to a lot of these pins, and I miss in the correct spots and give myself good angles,” he said. “I did that all day, and I was able to make a few putts and end up in the red like I am now.” TOUGH GOING: Augusta National may have been drenched by rain in the days leading up to the Masters but softer conditions didn’t lead to low scoring. The field averaged nearly 74 strokes per round Thursday. A tricky, inconsistent wind made it harder for players to gauge their approach shots, as did the occasional mud ball. Conditions are expected to get even tougher over the next two days as colder, drier air moves into the region. Both days will feature lows in the 40s and wind gusts around 25 mph. The low temperature Sunday is forecast to be 37 degrees. BIRDIE SANDWICH: PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith sandwiched eight birdies between double-bogeys on his first and last holes to shoot 68 on Thursday. Thursday was Smith’s first competitive round in 2 ½ weeks, but he continued his strong season with another good round at Augusta National. In his previous start, at THE PLAYERS, he won the largest first prize ever awarded at for a single PGA TOUR event. He also won the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January by shooting the lowest score in relation to par in PGA TOUR history. The Australian arrived at Augusta National ranked sixth in the world and third in the FedExCup. Smith, who has three top-10s in his last four Masters starts, is trying to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win THE PLAYERS and the Masters in the same year. Smith’s average proximity to the hole on his approach shots today was 21 feet, 7 inches, nearly 8 feet closer than the second-ranked player in that stat, Rory McIlroy. NET EFFECT: Thunderstorms impeded players pre-tournament preparations, forcing the course to be closed early Tuesday and Wednesday. Harry Higgs got creative to get his swings in before his Masters debut, however. His brother/caddie, Alex, and agent went to Dick’s Sporting Goods on Tuesday to buy a net, allowing Higgs to hit balls on the porch of his rental home. “It’s one thing to feel that just holding a club and making air swings, let’s say, and it’s another to hit a golf ball and hit it into a net,” Higgs said after shooting 71. “So we made a makeshift net, covered it with some sheets and towels to make sure that it didn’t hit off the little bull’s-eye and come flying back at us. Yeah, it was fun. Everybody in the house just sat around and basically watched me hit balls.” NOTABLES SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (69) – Making his first start as world No. 1, Scheffler made four birdies and was bogey-free until his final hole. This is Scheffler’s first Masters with Ted Scott, who caddied for Bubba Watson in his two Masters wins, on the bag. PATRICK CANTLAY (70) – The reigning FedExCup champion shot 70 thanks to three birdies in his final six holes. HIDEKI MATSUYAMA (72) – The defending champion made three birdies and three bogeys. One of the TOUR’s pre-eminent iron players, Matsuyama hit just half his greens Thursday. Matsuyama’s countryman, Keita Nakajima, also shot 72. Nakajima is the world’s top-ranked amateur. JON RAHM (74) – The world No. 2’s streak of four straight top-10s at Augusta National may be in jeopardy after a first-round 74. Rahm’s streak of par or better rounds at Augusta National ended at 15, one shy of Tiger Woods’ record. JORDAN SPIETH (74) – The perennial Masters contender, and 2015 champion, made three birdies and five bogeys. He has finished outside the top 10 in just three of his eight Masters starts, and shot over par in the first round all three times. He’s finished in the top three all five times he’s shot under par in the opening round. BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU (76) – DeChambeau played his final five holes in 3 over, including a double-bogey at the 14th. He was seen gripping his left hand, which has a fractured hamate bone, several times during his round. JUSTIN THOMAS (76) – Playing his first Masters with “Bones” Mackay – who caddied in all three of Phil Mickelson’s Masters wins — on his bag, Thomas made six bogeys and just two birdies. He hit 10 of 14 fairways but hit just six greens in regulation. WORTH WATCHING BY THE NUMBERS 18 – The number of players who finished under par today. 100 – Thursday was Sungjae Im’s 100th round of 67 or better on TOUR. He joins Justin Thomas and Webb Simpson as players with 100 or more rounds of 67 or better since 2018 (Im’s first round on TOUR). 9 – Years since an eagle had been made on Augusta National’s ninth hole before Joaquin Niemann did it Thursday in his first-round 69. Bill Haas eagled the hole in 2013. 60 – Thursday was Dustin Johnson’s 60th sub-70 round in a major since 2008 (when he made his first major start). Only Rory McIlroy (64) has more in that span. 0 – Number of bogey-free rounds Thursday. SUPERLATIVES Longest average driving distance: Rory McIlroy, 333.2 yards Most fairways hit: 14, Louis Oosthuizen/Bernhard Langer Most greens hit: Tyrrell Hatton, 16 of 18 Lowest average proximity: Cameron Smith, 21’,7” Scrambling: Patrick Cantlay/Marc Leishman/Xander Schauffele, 100% Fewest putts: Garrick Higgo, 24 Lowest score: Sungjae Im, 67 Most birdies or better: Cameron Smith, 8
Tiger Woods at the Masters, that old familiar feelingTiger Woods at the Masters, that old familiar feeling
AUGUSTA, Ga. – You can see it in the way he gingerly reads putts, marks his ball, reaches for the odd leaf in his line. Tiger Woods is not the same. He’s 46, his right leg is full of metal rods and pins, and his next fierce uppercut could be his last. RELATED: Tiger Woods’ first round at the Masters | A look at Tiger Woods’ equipment for the Masters And yet here he is again, finding comfort in the familiar, making his first official PGA TOUR start in 508 days after his fifth back surgery in late 2020 and a single-vehicle accident that nearly cost him his right leg in early 2021. Woods shot an opening 71 in swirling winds at the 86th Masters Tournament on a rain-soaked Augusta National. He’s under par. He’s in his element. He’s right in this thing. “I know where to hit it to a lot of these pins,” Woods said, “and I miss in the correct spots and give myself good angles. I did that all day, and I was able to make a few putts.” Was he in pain? “I am as sore as I expected to feel,” he said. Translation: He trained for four rounds of this, not one. Woods’ only competitive start over the last year and a half, at the parent-child PNC Championship in December, uses a scramble format, and he took a cart. The whole experience was so far from what he’s doing now, he said it doesn’t even count. He is 973rd in the Official World Golf Ranking. What he’s doing here, just four off Sungjae Im’s lead and not far behind two of the hottest players in the game – Cameron Smith (68) and Scottie Scheffler (69) – defies logic. And yet it’s Woods. That’s what he does. While he held steady, Paul Casey withdrew with a bad back. Louis Oosthuizen, who played with Woods, winced as he shot a 4-over-par 76. Players in their 20s shot in the 80s. Woods, 46, doesn’t walk like he used to, but the thick crowds willed him up the steep hills. “I know one thing about him, he’s definitely not missed any days of trying to recover and get the most out of whatever he has now,” said Stewart Cink (76). “The fact that he’s out here walking around this golf course is really remarkable.” But predictable. Woods is the rare athlete for whom those two adjectives exist simultaneously. “I mean, are we really that surprised?” said Zach Johnson (74). “… He loves challenges.” Rory McIlroy said he no longer allows himself to be shocked by Woods. Max Homa said he wasn’t surprised but amazed, a quintessentially Woodsian question of semantics. Cink admitted he was “astonished” but quickly added, “It’s just – if there was one person, I guess, I’ve ever known that I would say could do it, it would be Tiger Woods, and he’s doing it.” Woods lost his opening tee shot right but saved par, took what the course gave him, and was careful to avoid the big mistakes that so often doom the chances of others. He looked out of sorts at times – a flubbed pitch and rifled chip that led to a bogey at the eighth hole; a one-handed follow-through with the driver on 14, leading to another bogey – but that was to be expected. “Lack of concentration on the first one,” Woods said of his first mistake at the par-5 eighth. “Second one, lack of commitment. Then a blocked putt, so three bad shots in a row.” Despite the lack of competitive reps, such lapses were rare. With just 27 putts, and birdies at the sixth, 13th and 16th holes, Woods looked a lot like the guy who was wearing the green jacket as recently as 2019 – his most recent (and 15th) major victory but not his most recent win. He captured the rain-delayed ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP amidst the deliriously happy fans in Japan later that year. “I mean, how many comebacks has he had?” Jordan Spieth said this week. Good question; with Woods, it’s easy to lose track. When he won the 2018 TOUR Championship, it was his first win in over five years, his 80th on the PGA TOUR. Now he has 82, tied with the late Sam Snead for the most ever. How many might Woods wind up with? It looked like a valid question again Thursday. Although he missed another drive into the left trees on 18, casual water led to an advantageous drop, and he scrambled for a closing par. All of it came after a terrible warm-up session before the round. “I hit it awful,” Woods said, adding that he fell back on something his late father, Earl, said: Don’t read too much into it; just go play. “That’s exactly what I did,” Woods said. “I went and played.” Soon he would be headed back to his rental house to treat his leg. “Lots of ice baths,” he said. “Just basically freezing myself to death. That’s just part of the deal.” The unglamorous part. Woods would spend the rest of Thursday finding ways to reduce swelling so that he can later work on mobility and explosiveness heading into his 1:41 p.m. tee time Friday. He’ll go through the same routine Friday and, presumably, Saturday and Sunday, too. There are certainly no pictures of this on the scorecard. “I’ve got to figure out a way to do it,” Woods said. “My team’s been incredible at getting me into this position so that I can compete. I’ll take it from there. I know how to play.” Yes, he does. And he’s proving it one shot at a time, one step at a time, in ways both familiar and new.
NBA play-in tracker: Where the races stand entering ThursdayNBA play-in tracker: Where the races stand entering Thursday
Here’s everything to know about the NBA’s pre-playoff tournament, including the latest standings and schedules.
Dustin Johnson adds a hybrid for Augusta NationalDustin Johnson adds a hybrid for Augusta National
He has four headcovers in his bag this week: a 10.5-degree Stealth Plus driver, a 16.5-degree Stealth 3HL (high launch) 3-wood, 21-degree Stealth 7-wood and the 22-degree Stealth 4-hybrid. A 4-iron is the longest in Johnson’s bag. Johnson also used the 4-hybrid at the Farmers Insurance Open to help him hit the ball higher out of Torrey Pines’ thick rough. A TaylorMade representative said his use of the club is “infrequent,” however. Johnson did use a 3-iron when he set the Masters scoring record two years ago, shooting 20-under 268 to win by five shots. His winning total also was the lowest score in relation to par in major history. The higher launch that a hybrid offers wasn’t necessary during that unique fall Masters, however, as the course played softer than usual. AUGUSTA, Ga. – Hybrids can help even the best players hit their long approach shots higher. That’s why Dustin Johnson took the 3-iron out of his bag this week as he seeks his second Green Jacket. Johnson replaced the club with a TaylorMade Stealth 4-hybrid with 22 degrees of loft. The club has a Project X HZRDUS RDX Black 100 TX shaft. Johnson hits both the 3-iron and Stealth 4-hybrid 245 yards, but gave the nod to the hybrid because he launches it higher. “With par-5s being crucial scoring holes at Augusta National, DJ took out his 3-iron during practice this week and put the Stealth 4-hybrid he played back at (the Farmers Insurance Open) back in the bag,” said Keith Sbarbaro, TaylorMade’s vice president of tour operations. Johnson switches between the 3-iron and 4-hybrid based on course conditions. While higher-lofted fairway woods and hybrids are often thought to provide the biggest benefit to players with lower swing speeds, Johnson shows that even one of the TOUR’s longest hitters can use them to his advantage.
Oscar Pope Lift Every Voice Fellowship recipient A.J. Norwood interviews Jerry Stackhouse, Bobby HurleyOscar Pope Lift Every Voice Fellowship recipient A.J. Norwood interviews Jerry Stackhouse, Bobby Hurley
The Oscar Pope Lift Every Voice Fellowship focuses on amplifying underrepresented voices. This year’s fellowship recipient, A.J. Norwood, sat down with Jerry Stackhouse and Bobby Hurley at the Final Four to ask them about the Duke/UNC historic rivalry and Coach K’s impact.
MLB Opening Day live: Cubs hit the first home run of the year, prospects make their debuts and moreMLB Opening Day live: Cubs hit the first home run of the year, prospects make their debuts and more
Baseball is back! Here is your one-stop shop to keep up with the action as your team takes the field.
MLB Opening Day live: Brewers get the first run, prospects make their debuts and moreMLB Opening Day live: Brewers get the first run, prospects make their debuts and more
Baseball is back! Here is your one-stop shop to keep up with the action as your team takes the field.