Sports

Rory McIlroy has masterful start at Augusta and closes in on career Grand Slam

Published

4 days ago

April 12, 2025

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, celebrates after making a putt on the fifth hole during the third round at the Masters golf tournament, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The greatest start in the 91-year history of the Masters wasn’t enough for Rory McIlroy. He delivered what looked to be a haymaker late Saturday afternoon, a 6-iron so majestic and pure that he walked 10 yards before he saw it land 6 feet away for eagle on the 15th hole.

Bryson DeChambeau wasn’t the least fazed. He hit his tee shot to 4 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th, posing briefly to stare at the leaderboard, working up a gallery already delirious from a roaring, raucous at Augusta National.

“When I made that, I looked up and I said — kind of as a statement — like, ‘You know what? I’m still here. I’m going to keep going. I’m not going to back down.’”

McIlroy finished off another 6-under 66 for his first 54-hole lead in a major since he last captured one in 2014 at the PGA Championship. At stake Sunday at the Masters is a chance to end 11 years chasing the career Grand Slam, the most elite club in golf.

“It was an awesome day and it puts me in a great position going into tomorrow,” he said.

Joining him in the final group is a recent nemesis — DeChambeau — who ripped his heart out at Pinehurst No. 2 last June when he seized on McIlroy’s late mistakes to win the U.S. Open.

McIlroy is the sentimental favorite for dealing with a decade of major championship heartache. DeChambeau is wildly popular as golf’s greatest entertainer.

The arena is Augusta National, the greatest theater in golf that can thrill and torture the soul at every turn.

“It will be the grandest stage that we’ve had in a long time, and I’m excited for it,” DeChambeau said. “We both want to win really, really badly — shoot, there’s a lot of great players behind us, too; got to be mindful of that. It’s about who can control themselves and who can execute the golf shots the best.

“It’s going to be an electric atmosphere.”

It already was on a Saturday that started with McIlroy putting six straight 3s on his scorecard, which featured a chip-in for eagle on the par-5 second. It ended with DeChambeau making birdie with a putt just under 50 feet on the edge of the 18th green for a 69.

McIlroy was at 12-under 204, a two-shot lead and one round away from that coveted Masters green jacket and the grand prize that comes along with it.

Along with a memory of DeChambeau at the U.S. Open, McIlroy is also familiar with his position at Augusta National.

It was 14 years ago when McIlroy, a 21-year-old with long, curly locks and unlimited potential, took a four-shot lead into the final round of the Masters. What followed was a meltdown that left him in tears when he shot 80.

He hasn’t had a better chance at that green jacket until this week, when he recovered from two double bogeys in the opening round and responded with rounds of 66-66.

Corey Conners, who went from a five-shot deficit to one shot behind McIlroy in a span of three holes on this wild Saturday, closed with eight straight pars for a 70. He was in third place, four shots behind.

No one else was closer than six shots of McIlroy. Justin Rose, who had a one-shot lead at the start of the day, shot 75 and was seven shots back.

Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion and world’s No. 1 player, was stuck in neutral on a thrilling afternoon with so much movement. He was having to stay in the game with tough pars and managed only two birdies in his round of 72. He also was seven shots behind.

“You can only shoot so low if you’re going to have to wedge it from 100 yards to make par,” Scheffler said.

The rest of this Saturday didn’t lack for excitement, roars coming from all corners from the time McIlroy blasted his opening drive over the bunkers to set up birdie all the way to the end when DeChambeau went from a fairway bunker to the edge of the green to an unlikely birdie.

McIlroy shied away from the notion this is a rematch with DeChambeau, a chance to atone from last June when he missed two short putts down the stretch.

“The big thing is not to make it a rematch,” McIlroy said. “Stay in my own little world. There’s a few people who can make a run. I have to do what I’ve been doing, surround myself in my own little cocoon.”

DeChambeau was fist-pumping his way around Augusta National with key short-game shots. For all his power, this was a masterclass in chipping and putting. And he relishes a shot at green jacket, especially with McIlroy at his side.

“Two behind, I couldn’t ask for more,” he said.

So much of what McIlroy did was a reminder of how much it all can change. Even so, his start was nothing short of astonishing.

A wedge to 10 feet for birdie on the first hole. And after the cheers died for DeChambeau’s long birdie putt at the first, McIlroy cranked up the volume by chipping in for eagle on the par-5 second. He holed a 7-foot birdie on the third, had a two-putt on the par-3 fourth and then hammered another drive — 70 yards by Conners — leaving him a 9-iron to 18 feet for yet another birdie 3.

And it could have been better. He made a soft bogey on the par-5 eighth with a weak chip from behind the green. He missed a 5-foot birdie putt from above the hole on No. 9. He three-putted from long range for bogey on the 10th.

McIlroy missed another birdie chance on the 17th, missing an 8-foot putt and he was visibly angry with himself walking off the green. Every shot matters. McIlroy knows that from experience in 2011.

Patrick Reed, who won the Masters in 2018, birdied two of the last three holes for a 69 and was at 6-under 210 along with Ludvig Aberg, the runner-up a year ago who finally got in gear with three straight birdies on the back nine for a 69.

Shane Lowry also was in the mix, getting within two shots of the lead at one point until he missed a good birdie chance at the 15th and bogeys on the final two holes for a 72. He was seven behind.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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Sports

NBC Analyst Suggest Cincinnati Bengals Ownership Take The Team To Chicago

Published

1 hour ago

April 16, 2025

Austin Reed

Bears Proposed Chicago stadium

The Cincinnati stadium deal is up in 2026.

Could the National Football League put a second team in Chicago? Chicago once had two NFL franchises but that ended in 1959 when the Bidwill family decided to leave town for St. Louis. But an NBC sports analyst Mike Florio thinks the ownership of the Cincinnati Bengals franchise should just pick up and leave Cincinnati and head to Chicago and help the McCaskey family’s Bears ownership in its attempt to build a stadium in either Chicago or the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. The Bengals franchise ownership’s stadium deal with Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio, ends in 2026. The sides are negotiating but the talks seems to be moving at a snail’s pace and Bengals business Vice President Katie Blackburn said “We could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year.”

The McCaskey family would like to leave its present Chicago home stadium for a spot located in the present home stadium’s south parking lot or move to team to Arlington Heights where the McCaskey family has enough property for a stadium-village. Illinois politicians have not been impressed with the McCaskey’s want of over a billion dollars’ worth of taxpayers’ money to help pay the cost of a stadium and surrounding businesses. In Cincinnati, what to do with the stadium is a complex question. For instance should Hamilton County, Cincinnati and Ohio taxpayers kick in to help fund the cost of putting a dome on the stadium? That is one concept that Hamilton County officials are discussing. The cost of putting a lid on the stadium? Roughly one billion dollars. Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials claim they are ready to negotiate. But there have been a number of years of negotiations. Back in Chicago, Bears ownership had hoped to have a shovel in the ground by now and that has not happened. The stadium game continues.

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Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Hamilton County, Ohio has proposed a $1.2 billion renovation of Cincinnati’s football stadium.

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Sports

Bregman homers twice, goes 5 for 5 and Red Sox beat Rays 7-4

Published

10 hours ago

April 16, 2025

Austin Reed

Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Duran celebrates his two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

TAMPA (AP) — Alex Bregman went 5 for 5 with two home runs and four RBIs, Jarren Duran added a two-run homer and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Bregman fell a triple shy of the cycle and had his seventh two-homer game. Kameron Misner nearly robbed him of the second one, but the ball fell out of the rookie’s glove and over the right-center fence.

The Red Sox got three hits in the first off Ryan Pepiot (1-2), one more than they had in six innings against Shane Baz in a 16-1 loss on Monday.

Boston starter Walker Buehler (2-1) allowed three hits and two runs over five innings. He walked three and struck out three. Aroldis Chapman fanned Brandon Lowe for his fourth save.

Jonathan Aranda, who entered leading the majors with a .395 average, was 2 for 3 with a homer and an RBI for Tampa Bay.

A high-pitched ringing delayed the game for nearly two minutes in the bottom of the second with Jake Mangum at bat. Then in the fifth, the left-field video board briefly went black as play continued. The Rays have sold out all 14 home games at Steinbrenner Field (10,046) after Hurricane Milton heavily damaged Tropicana Field in October.

Key moment

Buehler, who hadn’t walked more than one in any of his previous five starts, issued two in the fourth inning to load the bases. After Misner’s sacrifice fly scored Junior Caminero, Ceddanne Rafaela’s diving catch got Buehler out of the jam.

Key stat

Bregman’s seventh-inning shot was the 40th homer already at Steinbrenner Field this season. Entering Tuesday, only Yankee Stadium (40) had as many home runs in 2025.

Up next

In the series finale Wednesday, Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell (0-3, 6.88 ERA) bids for his first win. Boston has not announced a starter.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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Sports

Brayden Point’s goal, 2 assists help Lightning beat Panthers 5-1

Published

11 hours ago

April 16, 2025

Austin Reed

Florida Panthers goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) makes a save on a shot by Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brayden Point had a goal and two assists to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-1 victory against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assists and Yanni Gourde added two assists. Conor Geekie, Jake Guentzel and Darren Raddysh also scored for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 23 shots.

Brad Marchand scored for Florida, which finished its regular season schedule. Vitek Vanecek finished with 26 saves.

The teams will meet in the opening round of the playoffs starting this weekend.

Tampa Bay scored three goals in the first period, with Point scoring 1:32 into the game. Geekie made it 2-0 with 4:35 left before Guentzel scored shorthanded with 1:51 to play in the period.

Kucherov made it 4-0 almost five minutes into the second, but Marchand answered about a minute later.

Raddysh scored a 5-on-3 power=play goal with 8:38 to play moments after Florida’s Jesse Puljujarvi was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head to Mitchell Chaffee.

Takeaways

Panthers: Florida played without regulars Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Gustav Forsling, Anton Lundell and A.J. Greer. … Marchand’s goal is his second since joining the Panthers.

Lightning: Geekie has two goals in two games since being recalled from AHL Syracuse. … Victor Hedman recorded his fourth 50-assisst season. … Anthony Cirelli recorded his 23rd career shorthanded point.

Key moment

Tampa Bay was up 2-0 late in the first period when Brandon Hagel took a double-minor to negate a Lightning power play. But seven seconds into the Florida power play, Cirelli won a puck battle against Seth Jones and fed Guentzel in front for a short-handed goal to make it 3-0.

Key stat

Kucherov reached the 120-point mark for the second consecutive season and third time in his career to become just the 14th player in NHL history with three-or-more seasons of at least 120 points.

Up Next

The Lightning finish the regular season at the New York Rangers on Thursday while the Panthers await Game 1 of their opening-round series against Tampa Bay.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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