Rory McIlroy is putting golf fans through another roller coaster of emotions during the Masters' final round.
Entering Sunday with a two-strike lead, McIlroy double-bogeyed on the opening hole. He bounced back with four birdies, extending his lead to five entering the 11th hole.
Things then got uncomfortable at Augusta National Golf Club. McIlroy's seemingly insurmountable lead evaporated after he bogeyed on the 11th, triple-bogeyed on an incredibly unlucky 13th hole, and scored a five on the ensuing par-4 hole.
Now in a tight battle, McIlroy can still salvage his first Masters victory and complete the career major grand slam. But he certainly hasn't made things easy.
ESPN's Mike Greenberg commented on McIlroy's erratic final round on social media.
"This just went from a coronation to potentially one of the most shocking and infamous finishes in Masters history," Greenberg said.
Greenberg wrote that before the tournament finished. Despite Sunday's heart-stopping twists and turns, McIlroy can still secure the green jacket.
If he doesn't, the final round will go down as another late meltdown for a golfer who's gone 11 years without winning a major.
Last June, McIlroy lost a two-shot lead at the U.S. Open by bogeying three times in the final four holes. Bryson DeChambeau capitalized at Pinehurst and entered Sunday in second place, but he's fallen down the Masters leaderboard.
McIlroy is instead fighting Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg for the green jacket. He momentarily regained a narrow lead with a 15th-round birdie before Rose tied him at -11 apiece.
After all they've witnessed on Sunday, nobody will get too comfortable during McIlroy's final three holes. Fans can watch what's shaping up to be a nail-biting finish to the Masters on CBS.
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Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and PGA Tour rookie Cristobal Del Solar of Chile each posted a 9-under-par 61 to share the first-round lead at the RBC Canadian Open on Thursday in Caledon, Ontario. Olesen and Del Solar took full advantage of TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in the venue's PGA Tour debut. They own a one-shot lead over Cameron Champ; Jake Knapp is alone in fourth at 7-under 63. Shane Lowry of Ireland went out in 5-under 30 on his way to a round of 64. He is tied for fifth with Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark and Trey Mullinax. The low Canadian for the day was Taylor Pendrith (65), who set the clubhouse lead in the morning wave before several players passed him by. Defending champion Robert MacIntyre of Scotland is among the several golfers knotted with him in eighth place at 5 under. Del Solar birdied 10 of his first 16 holes to pass Olesen for the outright lead and threaten a score of 59. However, he failed to get up and down from the bunker at the par-4 17th hole and took his only bogey of the day. He missed a 15-foot putt for birdie for the outright lead at No. 18. Del Solar's claim to fame is a round of 57 he shot on the Korn Ferry Tour in February 2024. It was the lowest round ever recorded in a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament. Olesen, meanwhile, has eight wins on the DP World Tour but is seeking his first title in the United States. Two-time Canadian champion Rory McIlroy is in danger of missing the cut after shooting a 1-over 71, which he ended with consecutive bogeys at Nos. 8 and 9. The Northern Irishman is playing for the first time since a T47 finish at the PGA Championship.
Through much of his time with the New York Rangers, Mika Zibanejad has been too good to be a second-line center, yet not quite a top liner for a contender. Now aging out of his prime, his play has dropped off the past two seasons, only rebounding when moved to the wing next to midseason acquisition J.T. Miller. That presents a problem for New York. The Rangers are not deep down the middle. Moving Zibanejad back to center provides that depth, putting Vincent Trochek back in his appropriate 3C role. But does Zibanejad again suffer without Miller? It also leaves the Blueshirts thin on the right side. Zibanejad can’t play two positions at once and the Rangers cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. There is a solution, however: Anaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish. Anaheim and New York already have strong front office ties, with a pair of trades in the past eight months. The cross-continental line should be open. McTavish is precisely the player archetype that Rangers general manager Chris Drury has sought in this past year. The 22-year-old possesses good size (6-foot-1, 219 pounds) and plays with a grit that Drury adores. An old-fashioned power forward in the making, McTavish hunts bodies, making life miserable for defenders on the forecheck and finds pockets of space when off the puck, where he unloads a cannon of a shot. An all-situations player, McTavish digs in the corners and is developing nicely as an offensive driver. McTavish is a hard worker who shows leadership traits. New Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan loves to play with speed and relentless pressure, a mantra that suits McTavish down to the ground. For a second-line center, McTavish’s numbers don’t exactly pop off the page, but 52 points (22 goals) in 76 games for a bad Ducks team is nothing to sneeze at. In New York, he would also presumably get to play with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. Given the playmaking ability of those wingers and McTavish’s heavy shot, 30-plus goals could be on the cards. Bleacher Report has stated that the Ducks are unlikely to extend McTavish an offer sheet, instead willing to match whatever offer comes his way. Does that mean he is on the trade block? At the very least it means that Anaheim will likely be willing to listen to offers. That said, it would take an almighty package to pry the former No. 3 pick out of Orange County. The Ducks would rightly command a first-round pick — if not two — and a highly-rated prospect. New York has its own first-rounders in store, as well as a, likely, late first-rounder next year, with second-round picks each year except 2027. Would New York part with a first, a second and a pair of its top prospects? The Rangers are loaded with left wing prospects. Whilst Gabe Perrault is likely off the table, Brennan Othmann, Adam Sykora and Brett Berard should be discussed, as should defenseman E.J. Emery. Would picks and a pair of prospects be enough for Anaheim, though? Here’s a thought experiment: a deal centered around Will Cuylle. As mentioned, the Rangers have a raft of left wingers coming through and Lafreniere is also a natural left winger. Would trading Cuylle for McTavish solve the Rangers' issues at the pivot, allowing Zibanejad to help fix the right-hand side and give the team room to develop more youngsters on the left? Could this solve three issues in one swoop? It would be a, potentially, seismic move, but it might just make sense for both teams, especially if the Ducks are not looking to keep McTavish around long-term. It would complete a remarkable offseason for Drury.
Caitlin Clark might be the most popular figure in women's basketball right now, but she continues to draw shots left and right, both on and off the court. The Iowa product has stayed even keeled and mostly unrattled, but that doesn't mean she won't fight back. That's why, in the light of Kelsey Plum's recent comments, she decided to take matters into her own hands and clapped back at her with a simple, six-word message. Plum shared a picture of her during the WNBA's All-Star Weekend, which showed half of a Nike logo in the background. Clark was quick to spot it and just wrote "Thank u for the Nike ad." This happened just hours after Plum seemingly took a shot at Clark and her Team Clark teammates for reportedly not getting involved in their pre-game protest. “The T-shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that,” Plum revealed. “That really needed to be mentioned,” Sabrina Ionescu added while both laughed. WNBA All-Stars warmed up with a T-Shirt that read 'Pay us what you owe us,' ahead of their new CBA agreement, which is expected to be signed in the offseason. WNBA players get around 9 percent of the league's revenue, and they're asking for a bigger share since most of them also have to play overseas during the offseason because of the salary disparity. Plum is the vice president of the WNBPA, so it's not surprising to see her so involved in the protest and the demands. Then again, it's hard to understand the reasoning behind the tattle telling, as not only does it show that there might not be a united front ahead of these negotiations, but it also drives attention away from where it should be.
The Chicago Blackhawks are likely to trade one of their three healthy goalies before the regular season begins, and the Edmonton Oilers are emerging as frontrunners. NHL reporter Greg Boysen began the new week off with a flurry of fresh news across the NHL. In Chicago, excitement continues about the prospects of the team, and two old stars weigh their future. Rumors about a possible additional goaltender on the Blackhawks' roster being traded also began. Postmedia's Kurt Leavins wrote that the Edmonton Oilers were having a look at trading for Arturs Silovs, but the Canucks wouldn't make the deal within their division. Arturs Silovs ended up with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Oilers are still looking for a goalie and Chicago has three to choose from That means Oilers GM Stan Bowman is still on the lookout for a goalie. Chicago might have three NHL goalies report to training camp healthy, and that might leave open trade possibilities. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland reported on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio that Anze Kopitar is not looking for a contract extension and will sign year to year. The 37-year-old captain, in the last year of his deal, has played his entire career with the Kings, scoring 440 goals for 1,278 points in 1,454 games. Twice the recipient of the Selke Trophy, Kopitar's future after this season is questionable. Another possible future Hall of Famer in the last year of his contract, Alex Ovechkin, told Russian media that he has he has had no discussions regarding an extension with the Capitals. no discussions regarding an extension with the Capitals. Blackhawks and Oilers supporters will be watching the situation between the goalies tightly, and we expect things to come into focus over the next few weeks.
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