Arguably the most accomplished set of irons and wedges in golf history are up for sale.

That’s right, the clubs Tiger Woods used to win the “Tiger Slam” in 2000-01 are up for auction for the first time since 2010.

They sold for $57,242 in 2010 to Todd Brock, and are expected to fetch near, or maybe more, than a million dollars this time around. Bidding doesn’t close until April 9, and the current winning bid is already $71,327. April 9, coincidentally, is the final round of this year’s Masters.

The set consists of 2-iron through pitching wedge, as well as a 58-degree wedge (bent to 56 degrees) and a 60-degree wedge. Both wedges have "TIGER" stamped on them. 

The marquee item is the 8-iron, on which the wear mark is described as “otherworldly” by Golden Age Auctions, who is selling the clubs.

Golden Age Auctions is the same company that sold one of Woods’ backup Scotty Cameron putters last year for $393,300.

Tiger used the clubs for the four consecutive major victories that make up the “Tiger Slam” – the 2000 U.S. Open, Open, PGA Championship and 2001 Masters – before switching to a new set seven weeks after the '01 Masters. At that point, he gave the iconic clubs to former Titleist director of player promotions Rick Nelson and Titleist VP of player promotions Steve Mata.

Mata took the clubs home with him and owned them until he put them up for auction in 2010.

Golden Age Auctions has affidavits from both Nelson and Mata verifying their authenticity. They also have the results of a 2010 polygraph test from Mata and a copy of a September 2000 Golfweek magazine article, which detailed the exact specs of Tiger's clubs used to win the 2000 PGA Championship. The article perfectly matches the description of the clubs, including the 58-degree wedge being bent to 56 degrees.

Tiger is the only golfer to ever hold all four modern major championships at the same time, and the clubs he used to do it will soon be headed to the highest bidder. 

In her first news conference since announcing her immediate retirement from professional tennis, three-time major champion and current world No. 1 Ash Barty called her decision "scary but exciting" and said she was looking forward to working with Australian junior players in the near future, as well as spending time with her family.

"It's exciting because there are so many things Ash Barty, the person wants to achieve and dreams that I want to chase after," Barty told a group of international reporters on a video call on Thursday in Australia. "But I think my purpose won't change, I just get to contribute in a different way. I get to contribute more on the tennis side with the younger girls, younger boys and throughout the communities, which is exciting for me."

Barty, 25, stunned the tennis world on Wednesday with a six-minute Instagram video in which she said she would be stepping away from the game, effective immediately, to "chase other dreams." In the clip, which was recorded as an interview with her friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua, Barty confessed she no longer had "the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top of the level any more."

"I am spent," she said.

Barty revealed she was initially planning on playing in Australia's clash at home against Slovakia in the qualifiers for the Billie Jean King Cup next month before retiring, but the event was ultimately cancelled after Australia took Russia's spot in the finals and no longer needed to qualify.

In January, Barty ended a 44-year title drought for home players at the Australian Open following an impressive straight-set victory over American Danielle Collins in the final. She never dropped a set in the tournament and joined Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the only active players to have won Grand Slam singles titles on all three surfaces. She had previously won the French Open in 2019 and Wimbledon, achieving her childhood dream, in 2021.

A former junior prodigy, a teenage Barty took a break from the sport following the US Open in 2014 and pursued a professional cricket career. She returned to tennis after 18 months, and since the start of 2017, her first full season back on tour, no woman has won more titles than Barty. In addition to her three major trophies, Barty has won 12 other singles crowns, including three 1000-level events, and four doubles titles, including at the 2018 US Open. She earned a bronze medal in mixed doubles in Tokyo.

Barty has held the world's top ranking for the past 114 weeks, and for 121 total weeks. She joins Justine Henin as the only women to retire while ranked No. 1. Henin was also 25 when she stepped away in 2008, but she ultimately returned two years later. Barty didn't completely rule out the possibility of a comeback when asked directly about it.

"You never say never but it's a long way off at this stage," Barty said.

Barty said her name would be removed from the rankings in the next cycle, following the conclusion of the Miami Open, in which she is the defending champion. Iga Swiatek, who won last week's Indian Wells' title, is currently the No. 2-ranked player, and Barty heaped on praise about her potential replacement.

"She's an incredible person, a great tennis player and the way that she's brought this fresh, fearless energy onto the court has been incredible," Barty said, before adding Swiatek was one of the first to message her after her retirement announcement.

But Swiatek was far from the only one of Barty's peers to comment on the announcement. Serena Williams, who holds the record for most major titles in the Open Era at 23, said she was "sad" to hear about Barty's decision, but "happy for your new chapter."

Andy Murray, a three-time Grand Slam victor, said he was also happy for her, but "gutted for tennis."

UFC star Jorge Masvidal was taken into custody Wednesday night in Miami Beach on charges of aggravated battery with bodily harm and criminal mischief, both of which are considered felonies, according to an arrest report obtained by ESPN.

Masvidal was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 10:27 p.m. local time Wednesday and is being held on $15,000 bond, per online records. According to the arrest report, Masvidal's attorney called Miami Beach police Wednesday and police instructed Masvidal to surrender.

On Monday night, Masvidal allegedly punched a man twice in the face outside the Papi Steak restaurant in Miami Beach, per an incident report obtained by ESPN. One punch was to the mouth and the other to the left eye. The report stated that the man punched suffered a broken tooth.

The Miami Beach Police Department redacted the name of the man in the report, but Masvidal tagged UFC rival and former friend Colby Covington in a tweet after the incident. Masvidal said in the Twitter video: "You talk that s---, you got to back it up. That's how my city rolls, man."

According to the report, the man said Masvidal told him, "You shouldn't have been talking about my kids." Masvidal took umbrage with Covington talking about his relationship with his children during the lead-up to their fight March 5 at UFC 272 in Las Vegas. Covington won the headlining fight by unanimous decision.

According to the arrest report obtained Wednesday night by ESPN, the man said an estimated $15,000 of damage was done to his $90,000 Rolex watch in the incident.

Police observed an injury to Masvidal's right hand that required stitches, per the report.

A request for comment from Masvidal's team was not returned Wednesday night.

Masvidal, 37, is one of the UFC's most popular fighters, a talented, self-made scrapper who grew up fighting on the streets of Miami. He signed a lucrative new contract with the UFC prior to the Covington fight that made him one of the highest-paid fighters on the roster, his representatives said at the time. In 2019, Masvidal won the BMF belt by beating Nate Diaz at Madison Square Garden. Masvidal is a former two-time UFC welterweight title challenger.

Covington, 34, has also challenged champion Kamaru Usman twice in losing efforts. He, too, is among the most popular -- and best -- fighters in the UFC. Covington and Masvidal were best friends, roommates and training partners at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, but had a messy split over the past three years, over what Masvidal says was a stiffed coach and Covington believes was due to jealousy.

Masvidal said in his postfight interview at UFC 272 that even though the fight was done, he would still get physical with Covington if he ran into him in Miami. Covington also lives in South Florida and trains at MMA Masters in Miami.

MIAMI -- Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem were shouting at each other, fingers were pointed in various directions, some Miami players were trying to play peacemaker and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra slammed a clipboard to the floor in frustration.

And that wasn't the evening's low point for the Heat.

The Heat fell 118-104 to the short-handed Golden State Warriors, their second straight loss and the fourth in their past seven games -- suddenly, Miami's grip on the top spot in the Eastern Conference is tenuous at best.

Tempers flared on the Miami bench in the second half, when Golden State started the third quarter on a 19-0 run. During a timeout amid that Warriors' flurry, Butler and Spoelstra had things to say to one another. Then Butler and Haslem exchanged words, both eventually needing to be held back by teammates.

After the game, it took Miami about 35 minutes to emerge from the locker room for postgame interviews, roughly three times as long as usual.

Heat guard Kyle Lowry chalked the incident up to passionate players who are frustrated with losing. Wednesday's loss cut the Heat's lead in the Eastern Conference race to 1 1/2 games over Milwaukee and Boston.

"Listen, our guys really want to win basketball games and we have guys that work extremely hard," Lowry said. "The passion comes out. The fire and the emotions come out sometimes. But like I said, to us it's nothing. We conversated and had a conversation and we continue to build."

Spoelstra brushed the sideline confrontations to the side, saying he believes they won't affect the team down the line.

"We have bigger things to accomplish," Spoelstra said. "But we do want to play better. Everything else across the board. It starts with our leadership, our veteran players have to lead and then we just have to play better. We got to play more consistently and that's really all the discussions were. I know how it could look on the outside, but as I mentioned before, that is more our language than playing without passion or without toughness or without multiple efforts."

Spoelstra added: "You can use moments during the season to catapult you. You can galvanize together over frustration and disappointment. Teams can also go the other way. I don't see that with our group. I don't see that with our locker room. But we have needed a kick in the butt."

The Heat have one day off before returning to action Friday, when they host the New York Knicks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Free-agent catcher Stephen Vogt has reached agreement on a major league contract to rejoin the Oakland Athletics, according to multiple reports.

The deal with the two-time All-Star is pending a physical.

Vogt, a 37-year-old journeyman who had become a minor league free agent this winter, spent from 2013 through part of 2017 with Oakland and also spent the 2019 season in the Bay Area with San Francisco. He lives in Olympia, Washington, and had hoped to stay on the West Coast.

That's where they "believe in Stephen Vogt!" -- a cheer that became popular for his unexpected playoff heroics.

Vogt was a minor league free agent because of a roster necessity by Atlanta during last year's postseason run to a World Series championship. Vogt got injured before the playoffs and had surgery for a sports hernia Oct. 6. The Braves needed his roster spot, so Vogt was designated for assignment, then immediately brought back on a minor league deal that allowed him to still be around the club through the postseason.

This will be his 10th major league season after starting 2021 with Arizona and being traded to Atlanta.

He shared earlier this month in an interview with The Associated Press how he opted to wait through the labor lockout to sign a contract just like his big league brethren even though he had interest from clubs to sign a minor league deal.

Over 78 games between the Braves and Diamondbacks last year, Vogt batted .195 with seven home runs and 25 RBI.

Oakland designated the fan favorite for assignment in June 2017. In October 2013, he produced a game-winning hit in the playoffs for a 1-0 win against Justin Verlander and the Tigers that sent the best-of-five AL Division Series back to Detroit tied at 1.

After striking out twice against Verlander, Vogt fouled off seven pitches -- including the initial five -- in a 10-pitch at-bat that ended the seventh. His next time up, he lined a bases-loaded single into left-center that won the game.

"It's a crazy feeling," he said at the time.

The NHL announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling the trade that sent forward Evgenii Dadonov from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks because it violated his limited no-trade clause.

Before Monday's NHL trade deadline, Vegas moved Dadonov, a 33-year-old right winger, to the Ducks along with a conditional second-round pick for defenseman John Moore and the contract of forward Ryan Kesler, who played his last NHL game in 2019. The Ducks would select whether to receive Vegas' second-round pick in either 2023 or 2024.

After burying Moore's salary in the AHL, Vegas stood to clear $3.375 million in salary-cap space.

But hours after the trade was announced, the Golden Knights said they had "become aware of an issue with respect to the trade. We have been consulting with the league office."

The issue involved Dadonov's limited no-trade clause, which was included in a contract he signed in October 2020 with the Ottawa Senators. According to a source, the Senators failed to disclose that clause when Dadonov was traded to the Golden Knights in July 2021. Hence, both Vegas and the NHL believed he could be legally traded to the Ducks.

But Dadonov and his agent claimed that Anaheim was on his 10-team no-trade list and that the list had been submitted to Ottawa for this season by the stated deadline in the contract. They went to the NHL Players' Association, and the NHLPA disputed the validity of the trade with the NHL on Monday.

The NHL announced on Wednesday that "the trade could not be concluded because Dadonov's contract includes a limited no-trade clause, which has not been complied with."

Not long after the announcement was made, Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek issued a statement through the team.

"We respect and accept the decision made today by the NHL with regard to our trade with Vegas on Monday. Evgenii Dadonov is a player we thought could help our team this year and beyond," he said. "We will move forward and welcome John Moore to our organization once he's healthy and ready to return."

The rejected trade is a blow to the Golden Knights, who were trying to remove Dadonov's $5 million contract from their salary cap in order to bring back players such as forward Mark Stone and defenseman Alec Martinez from long-term injured reserve. The Knights have lost seven of their past 10 games and are currently out of a playoff seed in the Western Conference.

Vegas would need $9.1 million in cap space to activate Stone and $4.8 million for Martinez. The Knights do have other injured players whose contracts could be moved to long-term injured reserve in their place to open up cap room, such as winger Max Pacioretty and forward Reilly Smith.

It's expected they'll try another trade with a team that isn't on Dadonov's list and would be willing to take on his salary-cap hit for this season and in 2022-23, the last year of his contract. Teams can make trades after the NHL trade deadline, but Dadonov would be ineligible to play for the rest of this season or postseason in 2021-22. He would still collect his salary.

Dadonov has 27 points in 62 games this season for the Knights, who acquired him in July 2021 for a 2022 third-round pick and defenseman Nick Holden.

On Dec. 5, the Vancouver Canucks fired coach Travis Green and GM Jim Benning. The club was in last place in the Pacific Division, and second-to-last in the Western Conference, with a record of 8-15-2.

That day, they hired Bruce Boudreau, and how their fortunes have changed. In the 39 games since, they've gone 22-11-6, good for a .641 points percentage in that span; to put that in perspective, a .641 points percentage for the entire season thus far would rank 10th in the NHL.

But can this resilient bunch make the playoffs, after GM Patrik Allvin trimmed from the edges at the trade deadline, but avoided dealing away players like J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser?

FiveThirtyEight projections give them a 9% chance of making the playoffs heading into Wednesday's game against the Colorado Avalanche. That will be a tough one, as the Avs continue to overpower most opponents. Thereafter is a critical stretch: at the Minnesota Wild, at the Dallas Stars, a home-and-home against the St. Louis Blues and a home-and-home against the spiraling Vegas Golden Knights. We'll have a much greater understanding of those playoff chances -- in a positive or negative direction -- following this gauntlet of matchups against playoff (or playoff-adjacent) clubs.

As we enter the post-deadline stretch of the 2021-22 regular season, it's time to check in on all the playoff races -- along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2022 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via FiveThirtyEight. Tragic numbers are courtesy of Damian Echevarrieta of the NHL.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today's games
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Washington Capitals
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 New York Rangers

Western Conference

C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Dallas Stars
C2 St. Louis Blues vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Calgary Flames vs. WC1 Nashville Predators
P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers

Today's games

Note: All times Eastern. All out-of-market non-TNT games available on ESPN+

New Jersey Devils at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres, 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche, 9:30 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks, 10 p.m.

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Florida Panthers

Points: 90
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 20
Next game: @ MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 20
Next game: @ BOS (Thursday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 83
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 20
Next game: vs. NJ (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Boston Bruins

Points: 83
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 19
Next game: vs. TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 59
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: @ NYI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 17

Buffalo Sabres

Points: 52
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: vs. PIT (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 10

Ottawa Senators

Points: 49
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: @ WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 9

Montreal Canadiens

Points: 44
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: vs. FLA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 2

Metropolitan Division

Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 90
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 19
Next game: vs. DAL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 18
Next game: @ BUF (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

New York Rangers

Points: 85
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 18
Next game: vs. PIT (Friday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Washington Capitals

Points: 80
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 17
Next game: @ BUF (Friday)
Playoff chances: 98%
Tragic number: N/A

Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Next game: @ WPG (Friday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 23

New York Islanders

Points: 63
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 21
Next game: vs. DET (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 2%
Tragic number: 25

New Jersey Devils

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: @ TOR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 9

Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: @ STL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 9

Central Division

Colorado Avalanche

Points: 95
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 19
Next game: vs. VAN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

St. Louis Blues

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 20
Next game: vs. PHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 98%
Tragic number: N/A

Minnesota Wild

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 21
Next game: vs. VAN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 98%
Tragic number: N/A

Nashville Predators

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 18
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 94%
Tragic number: N/A

Dallas Stars

Points: 73
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 20
Next game: @ CAR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 78%
Tragic number: N/A

Winnipeg Jets

Points: 70
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Next game: vs. OTT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 16%
Tragic number: 33

Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 53
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: @ ANA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 18

Arizona Coyotes

Points: 44
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: @ CGY (Friday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 9

Pacific Division

Calgary Flames

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 19
Next game: vs. ARI (Friday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 17
Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 89%
Tragic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 75
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 18
Next game: vs. SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 80%
Tragic number: N/A

Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 16
Next game: vs. NSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 37%
Tragic number: 31

Vancouver Canucks

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Next game: @ COL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 9%
Tragic number: 31

Anaheim Ducks

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Next game: vs. CHI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 26

San Jose Sharks

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Next game: @ EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 29

Seattle Kraken

Points: 46
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Next game: @ LA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 9

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order at the top of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team may move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here.

1. Montreal Canadiens

Points: 44
Regulation wins: 12

2. Arizona Coyotes

Points: 44
Regulation wins: 15

3. Seattle Kraken

Points: 46
Regulation wins: 17

4. Ottawa Senators

Points: 49
Regulation wins: 18

5. Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 16

6. New Jersey Devils

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 16

7. Buffalo Sabres

Points: 52
Regulation wins: 17

8. Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 53
Regulation wins: 14

9. Detroit Red Wings

Points: 59
Regulation wins: 15

10. New York Islanders

Points: 63
Regulation wins: 25

11. San Jose Sharks

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 19

12. Anaheim Ducks

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 18

13. Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 22

14. Vancouver Canucks

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 24

15. Winnipeg Jets

Points: 70
Regulation wins: 26

16. Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 28

AUSTIN, Texas – On paper this wasn’t a fight, but then the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play field is filled with paper lions.

This isn’t March Madness, despite the best efforts to market it as golf’s version of the NCAA Tournament. Actual seedings for the WGC-Match Play are little more than rough guidelines. But even by those subdued standards, Maverick McNealy, the last man into this week’s field, likely didn’t get much love in many brackets.

When the field was set by the world ranking two weeks ago, McNealy ranked 70th. A week later he’d dropped to 74th and the 26-year-old’s chances of making the field were slim enough that he made sure to have a Plan B in place.

“I would have gone to Punta Cana,” said McNealy when asked his plan if he hadn’t made it into the World Golf Championship.

On Sunday, he was still committed to playing both the WGC-Match Play and the Corales Puntacana Championship, the Tour's opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic, but he’d flown to Austin to play a practice round and, perhaps more importantly, visit with his brothers.

“I was actually watching my brother's adult league hockey game on Sunday night, and I got a call from my agent, we got a call from Sam Burns' agent saying he was going to withdraw from this week,” McNealy explained.

McNealy was officially added to the WGC-Match Play field on Monday as the 64th-seeded player, which would, in theory, make his Day 1 match against 14th-seeded Joaquin Niemann a one-sided bout.

It was definitely one-sided but it was McNealy playing his first seven holes in 4 under par for a commanding 5-up lead. In his first start in the event, he needed just 12 holes to close out his match for an 8-and-6 thwart. 

“I just wanted to keep the pedal down and make sure he didn't have the opportunity,” McNealy said.

For McNealy, a third-year PGA Tour player, this opportunity goes well beyond a “paper” upset or even the luxuries of playing a limited-field event for guaranteed money and FedExCup points. This is, on a macro level, where he wants to be.

In his mind, there are three different and distinct circuits on Tour.

“There's the I-just-got-on-the-Tour tour where you're playing in the Korn Ferry category and reshuffling and playing whenever you get the opportunity,” he explained. “Then the top 125 you get to pick and choose your schedule, but you're not necessarily guaranteed the invitationals, WGCs and majors.

“Then there's the Tour that the top 50 in the world play, where they're in all four majors, all four invitationals and all the WGCs, and then they pick and choose a handful of favorite other events and that's their schedule.”

It’s the latter where McNealy wants to be and even an 11th-hour addition to the WGC-Match Play's field is a significant step in that direction. The foundation for his climb began last fall when he started the new season with a runner-up finish at the Fortinet Championship and he’s been impressively consistent with just a single missed cut in a dozen starts.

McNealy’s Day 1 victory in Austin may not qualify as a bona fide upset, but it did check a few impressive boxes. Niemann is ranked 18th in the world and earned one of the season’s most impressive victories at the Genesis Invitational. That it came in the first organized match-play event McNealy has played in a half-decade is also worth noting.

The 2017 Walker Cup was his last official match-play event, although he said he gets plenty of match-play practice at home.

“Every week at home for $5 birdies or whatever it is. There's lots of good guys to compete with in Vegas at home,” he said. “I play a bunch of match play.”

That McNealy’s World Golf Championship breakthrough came the same week as an impromptu family reunion only added to what has already been a good week. His brother, Colt – all four McNealy brothers are named after American cars – won Sunday’s hockey game, and the youngest of the group, Scout, is in his third year of statistics at Baylor (Dakota is the fourth McNealy brother and lives in Nevada) and spent the night on McNealy’s couch.

“I'm the dumb jock of the family,” McNealy laughed.

With his statistics background, Scout could probably explain why his brother’s Day 1 rout wasn’t an upset, at least not in the context that we celebrate during March Madness. 

But following an eventful few days, Maverick McNealy is certainly starting to look like a Cinderella story.