Rory McIlroy is brimming with confidence as he sets out to complete career Grand Slam at Masters

Rory McIlroy is brimming with confidence as he sets out to complete career Grand Slam at Masters
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland on the 11th tee during a practice round prior to the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia, Apr. 09, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 09 April 2024
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Rory McIlroy is brimming with confidence as he sets out to complete career Grand Slam at Masters

Rory McIlroy is brimming with confidence as he sets out to complete career Grand Slam at Masters
  • Tiger Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player are the only players to have completed the modern slam
  • Tiger Woods: ‘He (McIlroy) will get it done. It’s just a matter of when’

AUGUSTA, Georgia: Rory McIlroy made that familiar turn off Washington Road and onto Magnolia Lane a year ago, the one that seems to suck in those fortunate enough to make it back in time, and felt as certain as ever that it was his time to win the Masters.
After all, McIlroy had been playing well. His confidence was soaring. He had a belief in himself that was more than just a hunch.
More like a premonition.
Yet by Friday afternoon, when storms would fell three towering Georgia pines and cause the second round to push into the weekend, all those positive vibes had disappeared. After opening with an even-par 72, and still believing he was oh-so-close to stringing it all together, McIlroy shot a second-round 77 and missed the cut.
His wait to win the green jacket, and complete the career Grand Slam, had stretched to a full decade.
“No question, he’ll do it at some point. He’s just — Rory’s too talented, too good,” said Tiger Woods, who along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player are the only players to have completed the modern slam.
“He’s going to be playing this event for a very long time,” Woods added. “He’ll get it done. It’s just a matter of when.”
Might be this week.
Much like last year, McIlroy drove down Magnolia Lane on Tuesday feeling good about his game. He had played well at PGA National and Bay Hill earlier this year, finished in the top 20 at The Players Championship and recently spent time in Las Vegas with renowned coach Butch Harmon, which paid dividends with a third-place finish last week at the Texas Open.
That’s not an event McIlroy typically plays before the Masters, but it was part of a plan put in place months ago. The idea was to play more often earlier in the year, getting his game sharp not only for Augusta National but the rest of the majors as well.
“This is my 16th start in the Masters, so I feel like I’ve done it quite a few different ways,” McIlroy explained, “and I guess just trying to bring a little bit of normalcy into what I sort of try to do week in, week out. I play 25 weeks a year, and there’s no point in doing anything different this week compared to other weeks, I guess.”
Even if the Masters is a week unlike any other.
Rather than arriving early and laboring through practice rounds, McIlroy instead popped into Augusta National last week for a two-day scouting trip before heading to Texas. In fact, he skipped Monday’s practice round altogether — even Woods played nine that day — and was planning to play just nine holes by himself on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I feel like I’ve already got most of my prep work done. So it’s just about going out there and being relaxed and being in the right frame of mind,” McIlroy said, “and the more I can do that, the more I’ll be able to execute on the golf course.”
He’s come so close so often that nobody would fault McIlroy if his frame of mind these days was as skewed as a snap hook into Rae’s Creek. He had a four-year streak of finishing in the top 10 beginning in 2014, the year he won the British Open and PGA Championship. He was fifth on an eerily empty course in 2020, when the pandemic pushed the Masters into the fall. Two years ago, a blistering final-round 64 still left him three shots back of Scottie Scheffler.
Over time, the 18-year-old Northern Irishman with the cherubic face and limitless potential, who ticked off those first four major championships in a four-year span, has grown up. McIlroy is 34 now, leaner and stronger but also wiser, and it’s almost hard to believe he has spent spent nearly a third of his life chasing the only major to elude him so far.
“If I cast my mind back to 18-year-old Rory and I’m driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time, how would I feel and I think? It’s just always trying to go back to being grateful and feeling incredibly lucky that you can be a part of this tournament,” he said Tuesday. “Thankfully, I’ve improved a bit since my first start here, and I feel like I’ve got all the tools to do well this week.
“But, again, to bring those tools out, I think one of the most important things is to enjoy it,” McIlroy added with a smile, “and smell the — I guess not the roses, the azaleas along the way.”


Alcaraz gives Spain Davis Cup delight as Australia, US and Germany also qualify

Alcaraz gives Spain Davis Cup delight as Australia, US and Germany also qualify
Updated 14 September 2024
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Alcaraz gives Spain Davis Cup delight as Australia, US and Germany also qualify

Alcaraz gives Spain Davis Cup delight as Australia, US and Germany also qualify
  • Spain and Australia with two successes each have booked their ticket for the Final 8 in Malaga at the end of November
  • The US booked their ticket to final eight series with a 3-0 win over Slovakia in Zuhai earlier Friday, with Germany also advancing

PARIS: France crashed out of the Davis Cup Friday when world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz beat Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-3 in the second rubber in Valencia with a convincing display.

Earlier, the defeat of Arthur Fils to Roberto Bautista 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 put France 1-0 down and Humbert was unable to revive the French against a solid Alcaraz in front of a home crowd.

Since the reform of the Davis Cup in 2019, France has never managed to get beyond the group stage.

Spain and Australia with two successes each have booked their ticket for the Final 8 in Malaga at the end of November and will compete for the head of this group B on Sunday.

“It was the goal since the beginning of the week, to qualify for Malaga,” Alcqaraz said.

“I was really, really focused, I was on a really high level of tennis and it’s one of the best matches that I’ve played this year.

“Seeing my last month I needed this kind of match and I’m really happy with my performance today.”

The US booked their ticket to final eight series with a 3-0 win over Slovakia in Zuhai earlier Friday, with Germany also advancing.

Mackenzie McDonald beat Lukas Klein 6-4, 6-3 in the opening singles rubber before Brandon Nakashima eased past Jozef Kovalik 6-3, 6-3 to give the Americans an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram then teamed up in the doubles to battle past Klein and Norbert Gombos 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/4), 10-1.

Bob Bryan’s US team, playing without top players including US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz and semifinalist Frances Tiafoe, also beat Chile 3-0 earlier this week.

The US victory meant Group C rivals Germany also qualified for the Final 8 which will be held in Malaga in Nov. 19-24.

Germany and the US will go head-to-head for top spot in their final group game on Saturday which will determine their seeding for Malaga.

Sixteen countries are competing in the group stage finals in four cities with the top two from each group advancing to the eight-team final.

“It means a lot,” said 40th-ranked Nakashima.

“To be able to be in this position right now, to be clinching that spot, it’s very important for us.”

The US, 32-times tournament winners, most recently in 2007, failed to progress out of the group stage finals last year after defeats to the Netherlands and Finland.

McDonald, ranked 149, has been returning from an injury-plagued season.

“I’m really proud of myself for performing well today and putting the team on the board,” he said.


A new era in Asian football begins Monday when the AFC Champions League Elite debuts

A new era in Asian football begins Monday when the AFC Champions League Elite debuts
Updated 14 September 2024
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A new era in Asian football begins Monday when the AFC Champions League Elite debuts

A new era in Asian football begins Monday when the AFC Champions League Elite debuts
  • Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli are among the favorites to win next May’s final and reinforce the ambitions of the Saudi Pro League of becoming one of the best in the world
  • The Elite version replaced the AFC Champions League as the continent’s top tournament

The first edition of the AFC Champions League Elite begins Monday with stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Riyad Mahrez looking to lead their Saudi clubs to success in Asia.

Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli are among the favorites to win next May’s final and reinforce the ambitions of the Saudi Pro League (SPL) of becoming one of the best in the world.

In the summer transfer windows of 2023 and 2024, SPL clubs spent over $1 billion on transfers to bring top-level players from the big European leagues.

Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves joined Al-Hilal in 2023 from Wolverhampton Wanderers of the English Premier League for a fee of around $60 million and has no doubt that the SPL has enough quality.

“I have said this a few times — if you compare my data from English football to Saudi football, I run even more, but with the difference that I run in 40 degrees (Celsius, 104 Fahrenheit),” Neves said after helping Portugal to a 2-1 Nations League win over Scotland on Tuesday when Ronaldo scored the winning goal.

“I am in good shape physically. Both Cristiano and I proved today that Saudi football has quality.”

Al-Hilal is the most successful team in Asia with four continental titles and starts its campaign against Al-Rayyan of Qatar. Ronaldo won five UEFA Champions Leagues but has yet to win a major trophy with Al-Nassr and he will face Iraq’s Al-Shorta while Mahrez and Al-Ahli hosts Persepolis of Iran in Jeddah.

As well as the big stars, also reinforcing the chances of the giants from Jeddah and Riyadh, is that from the quarterfinal stage on, all games will take place in Saudi Arabia.

There are bigger changes, however. The Elite version replaced the AFC Champions League as the continent’s top tournament.

The number of teams participating has reduced from 40 to 24. Instead of 10 groups of four, there are two groups of 12, divided into east and west geographic zones, with teams playing eight games with the top eight progressing to the second round.

In the east zone, China, South Korea and Japan all have the maximum allocation of three teams though Australia has only the Central Coast Mariners.

Clubs from the A-League have struggled in the Champions League in recent years but if the Mariners can succeed, there may be more places for Australian teams in the future.

“We know if we perform and we carry out our game plan and play our way, we know we can compete,” Central Coast head coach Mark Jackson said. “We’ve shown that. Whether we can compete consistently on that front, again with the size of squads these teams have, how they can travel because I’m sure these teams travel in a different way to how we travel.”

The Elite tournament has become more lucrative with the winner receiving $10 million in prize money, an increase from $4 million last season.


Nelly Korda leads Americans to a record-setting 6-2 margin on first day of Solheim Cup

Nelly Korda leads Americans to a record-setting 6-2 margin on first day of Solheim Cup
Updated 14 September 2024
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Nelly Korda leads Americans to a record-setting 6-2 margin on first day of Solheim Cup

Nelly Korda leads Americans to a record-setting 6-2 margin on first day of Solheim Cup
  • Korda has never won a Solheim Cup in three tries, but she put the US in a strong position to end that drought by winning the leadoff match of each session Friday 
  •  The US also led 6-2 in the inaugural event in 1990, when the first eight matches were played over two days

GAINESVILLE, Virginia: Nelly Korda danced at the urging of teammate Megan Khang as they walked off the first tee together at the Solheim Cup after a pep talk from former President Barack Obama. Then she let Khang raise her arms to pump up the crowd as they walked to the 12th green following another sterling shot from the world’s top-ranked player.

Korda has never won a Solheim Cup in three tries, but she put the US in a strong position to end that drought by winning the leadoff match of each session Friday while helping the Americans to a 6-2 lead over Europe at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

A Solheim Cup that began with an unforced error by organizers, who didn’t have enough shuttle buses to transport fans to the course in the early morning hours, concluded its first day with the largest single-day lead by either team.

The US also led 6-2 in the inaugural event in 1990, when the first eight matches were played over two days.

“We played opponents that are playing fantastic golf, that’s No. 1. Sometimes we almost invite them to play even better,” European captain Suzann Pettersen said. “At the same time, we have to face reality, and we have a massive job to do.”

In her better-ball match with Khang, Korda played 14 holes in 8 under and made two eagles on the back nine, the first after her 5-iron approach on the 480-yard, par-5 12th settled 2 feet away. Europe’s Georgia Hall conceded that putt, and Korda holed a 10-footer for eagle on No. 14 to close out a 6-and-4 victory over Hall and Leona Maguire.

A six-time winner on the LPGA Tour this year, including her second major championship, Korda came into the Solheim Cup with a 7-4-1 record. But Europe captured the trophy each time, winning in 2019 in Scotland and 2021 in Ohio before retaining the Cup last year with a draw in Spain. Neither side has captured the Cup four times in a row.

Korda can’t win it on her own — the US needs 14 1/2 points over three days — but she’s certainly a key figure for captain Stacy Lewis on a PGA Tour-tested course that favors power and appears to suit her eye. Korda won 16 holes in her matches, the most by one Solheim Cup player in a single day since 2015.

She knew she could play aggressively with the accurate Khang as her partner.

“When you have a teammate who’s so pure off the tee, you never have to worry. You just kind of send it,” Korda said. “So that was kind of the motto, is I was going to go first and send it.”

Lewis also got strong contributions from her two rookies, sending Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel out for both sessions and watching them win three points. Coughlin and Rose Zhang beat Celine Boutier and Albane Valenzuela 3 and 2 in alternate shot, while Schmelzel and Lilia Vu topped Linn Grant and Carlota Ciganda by the same score. The rookies paired up for better ball and beat Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark 3 and 2.

“I don’t think, at least to me, it was a surprise that we played really well, because we’ve been doing it all year,” said Coughlin, a two-time winner this summer.

Zhang, winless in her debut last year, went 2-0 on Friday. She teamed in the afternoon with Andrea Lee, whose approach on the 14th grazed the cup — just missing an albatross — to close a 5-and-4 win over Grant and Charley Hull.

“Things went according to plan today,” Lewis said.

Meanwhile, Pettersen got nothing from her best two players. Boutier, the top-ranked European at No. 10 in the world, was rested after her morning loss, and No. 12 Hull went 0-2.

The matches began quietly under overcast skies, with half-empty grandstands surrounding the first tee when Europe’s Esther Henseleit struck the opening tee shot at 7:05 a.m. Fans complained they were stuck for hours with no access to restrooms while waiting for bus rides to the sprawling property about 40 miles west of Washington, D.C., prompting an apology from the LPGA Tour.

Teamed with Allizen Corpuz in the opening alternate-shot match, Korda was steady on the back nine while German rookie and Olympic silver medalist Henseleit faltered. The Americans won the 14th and 15th holes with pars and then closed out Henseleit and Hull 3 and 2 when Korda hit her approach to 5 feet on the par-3 16th.

Korda and Corpuz became the first American duo to win three straight alternate-shot matches after they went 2-0 in the format last year.

The grandstands were full when the afternoon matches began, and the crowds tried in vain to urge on Lexi Thompson in what’s likely her final Solheim Cup as a player. Thompson and Alison Lee lost their better-ball match 6 and 5 to the Swedish duo of Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom, who wore matching bucket hats and had Sagstrom’s new husband, Jack Clarke, carrying Nordqvist’s bag.

Nordqvist, an assistant captain for Europe who is playing in her ninth Solheim Cup, made six birdies through 13 holes as the pair never trailed.

“I feel like I’ve been the wedding crasher lately. I crashed her wedding last week, and this week I’m crashing her and my caddie Jack’s honeymoon,” Nordqvist said. “We just had a lot of fun out there together.”


Unbeaten Duplantis reigns supreme, Alfred dominates Richardson

Unbeaten Duplantis reigns supreme, Alfred dominates Richardson
Updated 14 September 2024
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Unbeaten Duplantis reigns supreme, Alfred dominates Richardson

Unbeaten Duplantis reigns supreme, Alfred dominates Richardson
  • It was his 15th and final victory of a year in which he improved his own world record three times, up to 6.26 meters.
  • The opening session of the two-day finals of track and field’s elite circuit was high-octane affair, with a large percentage of some of the 82 medal winners from the Paris Oympics on show

BRUSSELS: Sweden’s undisputed pole vault king Armand Duplantis brought the curtain down on an unbeaten season with another fantastic victory in the Diamond League finals in Brussels on Friday.

It was his 15th and final victory of a year in which he improved his own world record three times, up to 6.26 meters.

The US-born Swede was again a world apart from the competition at the King Baudouin Stadium in cold conditions.

He vaulted only three times, at 5.62, 5.92 and 6.11m, the latter a new meeting record. Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis was second with 5.82m on countback from home favorite Ben Broeders.

“My legs felt terrible tonight and I’m just really tired,” admitted Duplantis, who was left ruing taking on hurdles star Karsten Warholm in a pre-event exhibition 100m race in Zurich last week.

“That took a lot more from my body that I expected. With 6.11 meter I got a good result, but the world record wasn’t meant to be tonight.”

Duplantis added: “Now it’s time to celebrate my beautiful season: I will drink some good Belgian beers tonight for sure!”

The opening session of the two-day finals of track and field’s elite circuit was high-octane affair, with a large percentage of some of the 82 medal winners from the Paris Oympics on show.

Olympic champion Julien Alfred scorched to victory in the 100m as US rival Sha’Carri Richardson finished well down the field.

It had been Richardson who triumphed in Zurich last week, edging Alfred at the line.

But the Saint Lucia sprinter turned the tables when it mattered, clocking 10.88 seconds for the win. Richardson eased off well before the line in the knowledge she had been well beaten, eventually finishing eighth in the nine-woman field in 11.23sec.

“I am so happy, it feels amazing to finish my season on a good note and to take the win,” said Alfred.

American star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone played her cameo to a tee.

The 25-year-old, who improved her own world record when winning back-to-back Olympic 400m hurdles golds in Paris, had not competed at a Diamond League event this season and was therefore ineligible for the finals.

But organizers managed to lure McLaughlin-Levrone, who won a second Olympic gold in Paris with the US 4x400m relay team, to Belgium to race in invitational 200 and 400m flat races as a way to “honor” her Olympic achievements.

She won her 400m race in 49.11sec, which was better than world and Olympic champion Marileidy’s winning time of 49.45sec in the 400m final proper.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen held off a strong field for victory in the ever-competitive men’s 1500m in 3min 30.37sec.

The Tokyo Olympic champion missed out on the podium in the French capital, but has been keen to make amends, once again holding off Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot and Paris Games winner Cole Hocker.

Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the world and Olympic champion and world record holder, notched up her eighth consecutive Diamond League win with a best of 1.97m, winning on countback from Australian Nicola Olyslagers.

But there was a rare defeat for Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, the double Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion, in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.

Kenya’s Amos Serem claimed the win in 8:06.90, with the Moroccan coming in second in 8:08.60.

Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake strode home in the men’s 100m, winning in 9.93sec ahead of Americans Christian Coleman (10.00) and Fred Kerley (10.01), the Olympic bronze medalist and 2022 world champion.

Blake’s teammate Tajay Gayle, the world bronze medalist, won the long jump with a season’s best of 8.28m, Olympic champion Militadis Tentoglou coming in third, 1cm behind Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer (8.16m).

And there was a surprise win for Britain’s Charles Dobson in the men’s 400m, laurels taken in 44.49sec.

American Valarie Allman won the women’s discus with a best of 68.47m and echoed many athletes’ sentiments after a long year of track and field.

“Now it’s off season! I really can’t wait for your fries, waffles and chocolate!”


Tagovailoa urged to retire after latest concussion

Tagovailoa urged to retire after latest concussion
Updated 13 September 2024
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Tagovailoa urged to retire after latest concussion

Tagovailoa urged to retire after latest concussion

MIAMI: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa faced calls on Friday to retire from the NFL for his own health after suffering his third documented concussion.
Tagovailoa was taken out of the game in the third quarter after suffering his latest head injury as he dived into a tackle searching for a first down in Thursday’s 31-10 defeat at home to the Buffalo Bills.
The 26-year-old was down on the floor for several minutes after the hit from Bills safety Damar Hamlin but left under his own power, hobbling slightly as he talked to team staff.
The quarterback suffered two concussions — along with other scares — during a 2022 season which threw his future in the game into doubt.
But he played without any noticable issues throughout last season only to see the concerns return in week two of this campaign.
The concern is that with each concussion the risks grow of the kind of serious long term brain problems that have afflicted players in the past.
“That’s it... NFL, go ahead and do the right thing,” retired former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant wrote on X after the incident.
“Tua has had entirely way too many concussions. He needs to retire for his longevity health concerns,” he added.
Former Denver Broncos tight-end Shannon Sharpe, now a prominent television pundit, agreed that Tagovailoa should call it a day.
“Really hope Tua is ok, but he’s gotta seriously think about shutting it down,” said Sharpe on X.
“I hate saying this. His concussions are getting worse and worse, and he’s a young man with his entire life ahead of him,” he said.
On Friday, Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said if he were the player’s coach he would make it clear that he should quit.
“I’ll be honest, I would tell him to retire. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it,” he said, noting this was the third such concussion.
“It’s scary, you could see right away the players’ faces on the field, you could see the urgency to get Tua help,” he said.
But Tagovailoa’s actual coach, Mike McDaniel, said it was not the right moment for him to broach the subject of retirement.
“It would be so wrong of me to sniff that subject. It’s more in line with actually caring about the human being. You’re talking about his career. His career is his.... Bringing up his future is not in the best interests of him. I would plead with everyone that generally cares that that should be the last thing on his mind,” he said.
McDaniel said on Thursday, in the immediate aftermath of the injury, that evaluations of the injury and questions over Tagovailoa’s return should be left to medical experts.
Some have questioned whether Tagovailoa was wise to have leaned into the challenge rather than taking the safer option of sliding to avoid contact.
But JJ Watt said he couldn’t blame the quarterback from going as far as he could to make the first down.
“It is a bit of a double-standard in my opinion, everyone wants to see modern-day gladiators but they don’t want the guilt that comes along with it,” he said.