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Tiger struggles, settles for a 6-over 78 at Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods didn't make much of a move on moving day, at least in the right direction, at the 86th Masters on Saturday.
Woods, who entered the third round 9 shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler and 4 strokes out of second place, couldn't get much momentum going in cold and windy conditions and finished 6-over 78. He finished the round with bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 and a double-bogey on 18.
It was Woods' worst score in 93 career rounds at Augusta National; his previous worst was a 5-over 77 in the third round in 1995, his debut at the Masters as an amateur.
While Woods, 46, seemed to have more speed and power with his driver on Saturday, he had four three-putts and a rare four-putt. He hit 11 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens, his highest totals in both in his first three rounds.
"I mean, it's just like I hit a thousand putts out there on the greens today," Woods said. "Obviously, it's affected the score. You take those away and I have normal two putts, I made even par for the day. I did what I needed to do ball striking-wise, but I did absolutely the exact opposite on the greens."
Woods needed 36 putts, which was his most in a round here since he also had 36 in the third round in 1999. According to the PGA Tour, it was the first time in Woods' career that he had five holes with three putts or more in a round.
"I just could not get a feel for getting comfortable with the ball," Woods said. "Posture, feel, my right hand, my release, I just couldn't find it. Trying different things, trying to find it, trying to get something, taking practice strokes and just trying to feel the swing and the putter head, trying to get anything, and nothing seemed to work."
Woods, who is 7 over after 54 holes, said the colder temperatures on Saturday affected his back. About two months before his car wreck, he had a procedure to relieve nerve pain in his lower back. He had spinal fusion surgery, a more invasive procedure, in April 2017.
"It's not as limber and as loose as it normally is, that's for sure," Woods said.
Kevin Kisner, who played with Woods on Saturday for the first time in their PGA Tour careers, said it was difficult for him to move and hitting the ball "felt like concrete."
"I didn't ask him much about his leg," Kisner said. "We were trying to keep it pretty light out there. I'm sure his leg is hurting. I mean, I'm hurting and I'm healthy, so I hope he can get back out here and play a couple more events with us here soon."
Woods' unexpected start in the Masters is his first in 17 months, after he was seriously injured in a car wreck outside Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 2021. He has made the cut in each of his past 22 starts at the Masters, the third-longest streak by any player in the tournament's history.
Woods started his round with a three-putt bogey on No. 1, the second straight round in which he bogeyed the first. He rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 second. His chip out of a greenside bunker nearly went in the hole for an eagle, and he then made a 4-footer for birdie.
After carding pars on Nos. 3 and 4, things fell apart quickly on the par-4 fifth. After hitting a 304-yard drive down the middle, Woods was left with 202 yards to the hole. As soon as Woods hit his approach shot, he grimaced and yelled, "Damn it!" His ball was short and way right of the green, leaving him 65 feet to the hole.
Woods knocked his long putt above the hole and was left with a tricky, downhill putt. He missed the 6-footer and then inexplicably rushed the 4-foot comeback attempt and it lipped out. The double-bogey 6 dropped him to 3 over for the tournament.
It was just the second four-putt for Woods as a pro at the Masters; his only other one was on the 13th hole in the opening round in 2005. His last four-putt in a major came at the 2018 U.S. Open.
Woods plans to be back on the course on Sunday, even with a sixth green jacket well out of his reach.
"Never give up. Always chase after your dreams," Woods said. "I fight each and every day. Each and every day is a challenge. Each and every day presents its own different challenges for all of us. I wake up and start the fight all over again."
Grizzlies' Morant (knee) to return vs. Pelicans
Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant will make his return to the court Saturday, the team announced.
Morant has not played since injuring his right knee March 18. He has been listed as out with a sore knee since then.
The Grizzlies have thrived with Morant on and off the court this season and are 20-4 in games in which he hasn't played, although they have dropped their last two.
Memphis has already secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said the team will monitor Morant's minutes throughout the game.
"He may not play his playoff minutes, but we'll be smart," Jenkins said when asked about any minutes restriction on Morant.
"Obviously, we want to get him as good a run as possible with the group that he's going to be playing with, but he's been off for a few weeks. We want to be intentional about not throwing him right into the high-volume minutes right off the bat."
Jenkins mentioned chemistry heading into the playoffs as one reason for bringing Morant back before the postseason starts next week.
"A lot of it's just getting back on the floor, playing competitive basketball after a pretty long layoff," Jenkins said. "Those are all the factors that kind of go into our head, and if our medical team says this is good and he's feeling good about it, I think that that's a confidence boost going into the playoffs having been off for a couple of weeks here."
Women's Six Nations: England beat Wales 58-5 in front of record crowd at Kingsholm
England thrashed a brave but ultimately out-gunned Wales to claim another Women's Six Nations bonus-point win in front of a record crowd at Kingsholm.
Wales at first put up a stern challenge but, after Abby Dow went off with what looked like a World Cup-threatening injury, Lark Davies opened the scoring.
Wales' Kelsey Jones went over in the second half, but England were clinical as ever as they racked up 10 tries.
The crowd of 14,689 is a record for an England ticketed home game.
It surpasses the previous mark of 13,253, set at the Twickenham Stoop for the 2010 World Cup final.
The victory in front of a jubilant Kingsholm crowd was England's 21st win in a row and they remain at the top of the Six Nations table as they chase a fourth successive title.
Wales are third in the table after two opening wins but it is the fifth game in a row England have scored more than 50 points against them.
England eventually escape Welsh stranglehold
With England three years further along the path of professionalism than Wales - who recently awarded 12 full-time contracts for the first time - few would dare to predict a Welsh win in Gloucester.
But the visitors stifled their opposition in the first half as England squandered attacking line-outs and were repeatedly beaten at the breakdown.
The Welsh intensity was reflected in a tackle by number eight Sioned Harries - making her first Wales start since 2019 - on Marlie Packer as the England flanker was slammed to the floor.
Rather than repeating the slick offloads that helped them rack up 21 tries in their opening two games, England seemed determined to make use of their kicking game.
It did not initially pay dividends as Wales full-back Kayleigh Powell ran back at the white wall and sliced past Jess Breach and through Packer towards England's 22.
Then the Kingsholm crowd was quieted as full-back Dow - one of England's standout performers in recent years - went down in an awkward tackle and was taken off on a stretcher before being driven to hospital after receiving lengthy treatment on the pitch.
It looked like a leg injury potentially serious enough to keep her out of October's World Cup - a devastating blow for Dow and England.
Perhaps galvanised by a desire to perform for their team-mate and friend, once play eventually restarted England immediately hauled a maul over the tryline for Davies' opening score.
Having taken no longer than eight minutes to score in their opening two games, that it took 16 to get over is testament to Wales' defensive efforts.
With Wales still challenging at the breakdown, England managed to cross again as Abbie Ward dived over from short range.
Eventually England made use of their backs too and after a series of swift offloads Jess Breach stepped round Powell to score.
England's clinical edge shines through
Although the visitors showed dogged determination, the scoreline suggests they will require more investment from the Welsh Rugby Union if they are to reach England's heights.
England's clinical edge came out in all its sharpness after the break as Davies went over in another maul and Sarah Bern repeatedly bulldozed her way over the gainline.
Bern and her fellow forwards soon dragged in enough defenders to make space for Breach to walk in for a second on the right.
The England machine trundled on as Bern once more emulated a wing to run round defenders and across the tryline before a yellow card for Wales' Natalia John spelled further danger.
The Red Roses forwards again confused themselves for backs as a bullet pass found Abbie Ward and the lock's offload sent Alex Matthews speeding over to score.
Wales eventually made it over too - no small achievement given England had only conceded one try in their first two games - as Jones broke free from a maul to score.
As has become a trademark for England this Six Nations, the tries poured in during the final 10 minutes.
Replacement prop Shaunagh Brown went over, then Emily Scarratt and finally captain Sarah Hunter bounced through the middle of the breakdown to bring their try tally into double figures.
Player of the match - Abbie Ward
Line-ups
Wales: Powell; Neumann, Jones, Lake, Joyce; Wilkins, Lewis; Pyrs, Phillips, Rose, Tuipulotu, Crabb, Lillicrap (capt), Butchers, Harries.
Replacements: Jones, Hope, Hale, Callender, Lewis, Bevan, Snowsill, John.
England: Dow; Breach, Scarratt, Rowland, McKenna; Harrison, L Packer; Cornborough, Davies, Bern, Cleall, Ward, Matthews, M Packer, Hunter (capt).
Replacements: Powell, Muir, Brown, Galligan, Fleetwood, Hunt, Reed, Kildunne.
Tottenham Hotspur eased to a comfortable 4-0 victory at Aston Villa to boost their chances of a top four finish and Champions League football next season.
Son Heung-Min bagged a hat trick with Dejan Kulusevski also getting on the scoresheet but Spurs needed captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to produce a number of stunning saves in the first-half.
The result sees Antonio Conte's side remain in fourth place in the table and stretch their gap over rivals Arsenal to three points.
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It turned out to be an great day for Spurs with top-four contenders Manchester United and Arsenal also losing on Saturday.
"I'm so happy to get three points, it was a hard afternoon," Son told BBC in his postmatch interview. "The first goal was important, early goal to change the game. Without Hugo we were probably 3-1 down in the first half, Hugo saved us today and it was a big performance from our captain when we needed him and he turned up saving every ball. He was unbelievable.
"We knew about the other results of Arsenal and Manchester United -- when we did the warm-up the fans were celebrating so we knew but we don't want to focus on that result. They are playing their game and we're playing ours so we don't want to focus on other teams because it's different. We're in different situations, we have to focus our performances and be calm, cool and we did that today."
Spurs took the lead inside the opening three minutes when Son reacted quickest to a blocked shot and smashed the ball into the bottom corner.
Villa were the better team following the goal and the hosts missed a number of chances to equalise.
Lloris made a fantastic save to deny Jacob Ramsey from close range after 17 minutes while stopping a fine John McGinn effort.
Danny Ings missed a sitter after 30 minutes while Lloris was called on once again to deny Ollie Watkins.
Spurs doubled their lead five minutes after the break when Son set up Kulusevski who produced a fine finish into the corner.
The visitors grabbed a third after 66 minutes after Harry Kane headed the ball to Son who slotted home past Emiliano Martinez.
Son completed his hat trick five minutes later as Kulusevski returned the favour with the South Korean's shot going in off the post.
"Hugo was amazing -- we are talking about a keeper that has won a World Cup and everything with France, the captain of his national team and us. Important for us because of his experience, today we needed him and he answered very well," Conte told BBC after the game.
"We created a good chemistry between ourselves and we can speak about Son, but don't forget Harry and we have players on the bench who are important in Lucas [Moura] and Steven Bergwijn. We need to continue to work with this application and intensity and desire because the club deserve much better than fighting for fifth, sixth or seventh. I like to be competitive."
Manchester United are investigating an incident in which Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly smashed a supporter's phone following the 1-0 Premier League defeat to Everton on Saturday.
Footage shared on social media showed Ronaldo leaving the pitch at Goodison Park and appearing to slap a mobile phone out of a fan's hand and onto the floor after being verbally abused.
- Dawson: Everton loss suggests United not good enough for top four
- De Gea questions United after 'unacceptable' defeat
United told ESPN they are investigating the incident but stressed that it is not clear what happened or that it was intentional.
Ronaldo, United's top scorer this season, returned to the United team after missing last weekend's 1-1 draw with Leicester City due to illness.
However, he was unable to inspire the team to victory against relegation-threatened Everton.
Steven Mullaney, Joey Evison hundreds make Sussex supporters sweat
Sussex 375 and 29 for 1 trail Nottinghamshire 534 for 9 dec (Mullaney 192, Evison 109*) by 130 runs
Spring is nature's con-artist and every cricketer knows it. Two weeks ago in The Parks she was summer with its thin frocks and picnics; two days ago in Hove she was winter with thick scarves and steaming tea. This morning, though, there was no disguising the season or the pleasure derived from it. "Good morning, Paul," said Sam, the tall, rubicund, limitlessly cheerful steward, who is so much a part of this ground that one might believe his ancestors were here when Duleep almost took the county to the title in 1932. That was the season in which Sussex cricketers became Alan Ross's first gods, though the 10-year-old Ross little guessed they would also be his last. It was not much different for the folk who watched Tom Clark make his maiden hundred on Friday morning. Among them were his parents.
Sussex supporters, though, were concerned, even as they queued to get into the ground today. The first half of this match had gone wonderfully well but surely at some point Nottinghamshire, the divisional favourites, would slip themselves and demand a reckoning.
Left to weather 15 overs, the home openers batted capably until Tom Haines pulled Lyndon James straight to Liam Patterson-White at midwicket. And the last day's play will be affected by injury. Danial Ibrahim has damaged his shoulder and will take no further part in the match and Luke Fletcher bowled only one over this evening before leaving the field with a tight hamstring. "Whatevs" as the kids say. The pitch looks true and flat but Sussex folk are surely set for a few hours that will trample on their nerves.
But, in truth, the worries of home supporters had been deepened as soon as the 17th ball of the morning, when Delray Rawlins dropped Mullaney on 86, a low chance at cover off Steven Finn and one he should have taken; anxiety was then eased a shade when Rawlins made amends by having Tom Moores caught at slip by Tom Alsop for 43 two overs before the new ball was due. But that latter change only sharpened the visitors' appetite for quick runs. Patterson-White heaved Henry Crocombe over the short boundary for two sixes and had also hit five fours in his 45-ball 44 before he was leg before to a full-length ball from Clark just before lunch.
Throughout the session Crocombe and Jamie Atkins were receiving advice and encouragement from Finn at mid-off but nothing could prevent Mullaney reaching a fine century or Nottinghamshire scoring 118 runs in the session's 29 overs. (It should be noted, though, that if Kevin Pietersen had his way, lads like Crocombe and Atkins would probably not have the chance to learn their trade. And there are players like them in all 18 counties. When people talk about "reforming English domestic cricket" their plans often entail denying opportunities and messing with young people's lives.)
Perhaps supporters of both counties and none were wise to stroll to the esplanade at lunchtime. For the light was resplendent across Brighton and Hove this afternoon. The sun shone on the tall, squashed terraces in Russell Square and the high-ceilinged apartments in Portland Place with their Greek salads and double-walled cafetières. More obviously, it shone on the many blues of the endlessly glittering sea and on the bathers who braved the Channel. "That blue is all in a rush / With richness," wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins, and so it was again. Mysteriously, some folk sought refuge in the subterranean style of Hove Place, where the locals drank Harvey's Sussex Best and the visitors sampled the cheeses.
The cricket after lunch was nothing like so nourishing for Haines and his players. Fifty minutes after the resumption Nottinghamshire gained a first-innings lead and by then the spinners were on. Mullaney lifted Rawlins over mid-on to go to 150 and then over the long-on boundary to give his side their fifth batting point. It was ruthless stuff and all the more so because there was little obvious striving about it. Twenty-four hours previously Nottinghamshire had been 52 for 4 yet by this third mid-afternoon Sussex did not look like taking a wicket. Both Mullaney and Evison, his eighth-wicket partner, made career-best scores, and for the skipper this meant overhauling the 179 he made against Warwickshire three years ago. The contrasting ages and experience of the teams were suddenly stark.
Three balls after tea Mullaney finally miscued a pull and was caught by Crocombe off Atkins for 192. He had batted five minutes over seven hours and one suddenly noticed that Nottinghamshire's captain is 35 years old. Will he get another opportunity to score a double-century? Then Archie Lenham came to field below the press-box. He looked about 12 but was actually 22 months old when Mullaney made his championship debut for Lancashire in 2006.
Our attention switched to Evison, who was suddenly addicted to smacking Rawlins for boundaries, either down the ground or into the Sharks stand at extra-cover. But he brought up his maiden first-class hundred in what is his seventh first-class match with a cut to the backward square boundary off Atkins who, along with Rawlins, had reached his own century shortly before. Crocombe joined them a few overs later and Mullaney declared. We resettled ourselves for what would surely be the tensest cricket of the day…
And now the players have left the field and each side knows what it must do tomorrow. Brighton's ubiquitous restaurants are preparing for their Saturday trade. The April evening settles down with smells of fries in passageways. But in Portland Place and Burlington Street a quiet evening in may be preferable; perhaps an act or two of Alcina on Radio Three. The newly washed morning, so recent, so distant, beguiles the memory. "Spring is here and they can't stop you enjoying it," wrote George Orwell in 1946. "The earth is still going round the sun, and neither the dictators nor the bureaucrats, deeply as they disapprove of the process, are able to prevent it."
Paul Edwards is a freelance cricket writer. He has written for the Times, ESPNcricinfo, Wisden, Southport Visiter and other publications
Shastri: With du Plessis as captain, 'things could have been different' for Super Kings
Royal Challengers Bangalore 152 for 3 (Rawat 66, Kohli 48) beat Mumbai Indians 151 for 6 (Suryakumar 68*, Harshal 2-23, Hasaranga 2-28) by seven wickets
It didn't work, and a middle-overs meltdown left Mumbai winless after four games, leaving them bottom of the table alongside fierce rivals and fellow sufferers Chennai Super Kings, who have an identical record and a slightly worse net run rate.
The calm
The start of this match gave no clue as to how it would proceed. There was a green tinge on the pitch, and the new ball moved around initially, but once the shine disappeared, the ball pinged nicely off the bats of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. From 6 for no loss after two overs, Mumbai raced to 49 for no loss at the end of the powerplay.
The storm
Harshal gave Royal Challengers the breakthrough they craved in the seventh over, having Rohit caught and bowled when the Mumbai captain was early on a flick. That was the start of a dramatic slump, as Mumbai lost six wickets for 29 runs.
The bowling was responsible for this, chiefly Harshal's dipping offcutters, Akash Deep's hard lengths, and Hasaranga's wrong'un, which deceived Dewald Brevis and Kieron Pollard, both left leaden-footed and plumb lbw, playing all around the ball.
And Mumbai's situation seemed to induce a sense of panic too. Tilak Varma, who has made such a bright start to his IPL career, was run-out going for a needless quick single, taking on the fleet-footed Maxwell with predictable consequences.
The parallel universe
No other batter looked comfortable through the middle overs, but if there was anything two-paced about this pitch, it wasn't affecting Suryakumar, who middled his shots from the get go. A back-foot punch off Akash gave early warning of his form, and two overs later he stepped out and away from the line to launch Shahbaz Ahmed inside-out for six.
Jaydev Unadkat, playing his first match for Mumbai, gave steadfast support and got the best seat in the house to watch Suryakumar's strokeplay. He hit six sixes, including a slog-sweep off Hasaranga and a pick-up flick off Mohammed Siraj that flew into the back rows beyond the leg-side boundary. But the best of them just cleared the ropes. Aware that Suryakumar was standing deep in his crease with an open stance to allow him to access the leg side off anything remotely straight, Siraj went full and wide, forcing him to reach for the ball. He did this, and he somehow made sweet contact with an open bat-face to slice the ball over the third man boundary.
A brilliant last over from Harshal, who was getting his slower ball to dip and grip and behave unpredictably, went for just seven despite a last-ball full-toss muscled for the last of Suryakumar's sixes. Royal Challengers needed just 152 to win.
Rawat and Faf make slow start
Mumbai knew they needed early wickets to have any chance. Accordingly, they threw everything they had at Royal Challengers in the early overs, using Jasprit Bumrah for two overs out of the first six. Royal Challengers hit just two boundaries in the powerplay, back-to-back sixes from Rawat dancing down the track to Unadkat.
Kohli gives RCB impetus
Royal Challengers still only needed eight-and-a-half runs an over at that point, and Kohli, walking in at No. 3, immediately began finding the boundary even as Unadkat and Pollard got their cutters to stick in the pitch. Kohli stepped out and made room to flay Pollard through point, and stepped out in the next over to whip M Ashwin against the turn, wide of long-on.
Basil Thampi sent down a 15-run 12th over, easing any residual pressure Royal Challengers may have felt. This over included the shot of the innings, an effortless flicked six that showcased Rawat's balance and timing.
Mumbai's last hopes resided in the frame of Bumrah, who came on with 60 needed off 42. Kohli shut the door on those hopes in a moment that seemed symbolic, judging the length of a Bumrah bouncer instantly and swatting it between long-on and deep midwicket. When Brevis put down the simplest of catches at deep square leg to reprieve Kohli in the next over, the game was all but up.
Rawat hurried Royal Challengers towards their target with two more sixes, a pull off Pollard in the 16th over and a charging slog off Unadkat in the 17th. With just 23 needed off 20, though, Rawat was run out by a direct hit from the debutant Ramandeep Singh while responding to Kohli's call for a quick second.
Then Brevis, brought on to bowl his legspin for the first time in the IPL, had Kohli lbw with just eight runs to get. It gave the crowd at the MCA Stadium - whose chants suggested it was mostly Royal Challengers-supporting - a brief and satisfying glimpse of Maxwell at the crease.
Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
Who is Anuj Rawat, and why did Royal Challengers Bangalore pay big money for him?
Anuj Rawat's story is a lot like Rishabh Pant's. He is also an attacking wicketkeeper-batter who hails from Uttarakhand, who moved to Delhi as a pre-teen to better his chances of a future in professional cricket. He is originally from Ramnagar, a town in Nainital district, famous for the Jim Corbett National Park. Like Pant, he is a naturally attacking batter who loves hitting sixes and takes on the bowlers right from the outset.
Rawat made his Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi just before he turned 18, in October 2017, and he has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit since then, especially against the white ball.
RCB shelled out a lot for him because of his attacking strokeplay at the top, and because they lacked a left-hand batting option in their top and middle order.
What's his background?
Rawat was born and brought up in Ramnagar and he moved to Delhi soon after he turned 10. His father is a farmer back home, and his mother is a housewife. When he told his parents that he wanted to take cricket seriously, Rawat's father decided it was better to send his son to Delhi because of a lack of cricket facilities and academies in Ramnagar.
After a few years, in 2016-17, Rawat got a break in Delhi's Under-19 squad before he made his Ranji debut the following season, and he was soon picked for the Under-19 Asia Cup.
This is Rawat's third IPL season overall, but only the second in which he is getting a chance to play. He was first bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 80 lakh (USD 112,000 approx. at the time) in the 2020 auction, but he got his IPL debut last year. He got to bat only once and bagged a first-ball duck against Kolkata Knight Riders in Royals' last league game.
This season he has been opening for Royal Challengers in every game so far.
Has Rawat been an opening batter from the start?
In age-group cricket, Rawat was an opener, but when he played in the Ranji Trophy he had to move down to the middle order because of the team combination. On his IPL debut too, he played at No. 5, but Royal Challengers have decided to play him at his natural position at the top.
Man United investigating Ronaldo fan incident
Manchester United are investigating an incident in which Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly smashed a supporter's phone following the 1-0 Premier League defeat to Everton on Saturday.
Footage shared on social media showed Ronaldo leaving the pitch at Goodison Park and appearing to slap a mobile phone out of a fan's hand and onto the floor after being verbally abused.
- Dawson: Everton loss suggests United not good enough for top four
- De Gea questions United after 'unacceptable' defeat
United told ESPN they are investigating the incident but stressed that it is not clear what happened or that it was intentional.
Ronaldo, United's top scorer this season, returned to the United team after missing last weekend's 1-1 draw with Leicester City due to illness.
However, he was unable to inspire the team to victory against relegation-threatened Everton.
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