CHARLOTTE – (Wire Service Report) Golf’s reigning Player of the Year, Scottie Scheffler, broke out from of a logjam of leaders with a brilliant finish to seize a three-stroke lead as the cream rose to the top in the third round at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club.

On a day when strong, capricious winds tested the patience, judgment and execution of the game’s best, Scheffler rose to the challenge with a 6-under-par 65 that was little short of brilliant under the circumstances.

The world number one and two-time Masters champion posted an 11-under 202 total with one round remaining, while Alex Noren vaulted into second place with a similarly barnstorming finish for a 66.

The Swede, who birdied four of the final five holes, was alone on 8-under.

Davis Riley (67) and J.T. Poston (68) were four shots behind in a tie for third.

Scheffler was far from perfect, accruing three bogeys, but he more than made up for those blemishes with seven birdies and a brilliant eagle at the driveable par-four 14th, where he hit his tee shot to inside three feet.

He added birdies at the 15th, 17th and 18th holes to stamp himself as a hot favorite for a third major title.

Only a few holes earlier, five players had been tied for the lead.

“I hung in really well today,” Scheffler said. “I just battled really hard. Did a good job of staying patient and hit some nice shots. I definitely struck the ball a lot better today than the last couple of days.”

While Scheffler will clearly be the man to beat on Sunday, Noren, 42, cannot be totally discounted.

He holed a 30-foot bunker shot at the 15th, then an eight-footer at the 17th followed by a 15-footer at the last.

This is just his second start back since missing more than seven months with a severe hamstring tendon injury.

“Today was probably the best scoring day I’ve ever had,” he said. “I had so many bunker shots that kept me in the game.”

Noren said he had enjoyed time with his family during his enforced absence, but was delighted to be back in action.

“It’s good to take a break sometimes. It’s also great to be back with a purpose in life again,” he said.

The post PGA: Scheffler Surges Ahead appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

CHARLOTTE – We’re 36 holes into the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and Jhonattan Vegas still leads. Even the guys in Vegas didn’t have that one.

With rounds of 64-70, Vegas has consecutive under-par rounds for first time in 17 major championship starts (46 rounds). This is his seventh second-round lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR but stands only 1-for-6 to date (2011 American Express) in converting to a “Dub.” His most recent 36- hole lead came at the 2019 John Deere Classic (T37)

Vegas became the 16th player to hold the outright lead after the first and second rounds of a PGA Championship, with six of those going on to win. The most recent: Xander Schauffele/2024).

Over the many years, the PGA Championship has had only five wire-to-wire winners (outright lead after each round), with Brooks Koepka (2019) the most recent.

Vegas is the first Venezuelan to hold the lead/co-lead in a major championship.

International players have won 14 of the first 22 events this season.

Alex Smalley (T7/-4) became the last player in the field following Sahith Theegala’s WD on Wednesday b/c of a neck injury.

Notables to Miss the Cut at (+1) include: Jordan Speith, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry, Ludvig Åberg, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, Jason Day, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson, among many others.

PGA Championship Leaderboard | After 36 Holes

1 Jhonattan Vegas 64 70 134 (-8)

T2 Matthieu Pavon 71 65 136 (-6)

T2 Matt Fitzpatrick 68 68 136 (-6)

T2 Si Woo Kim 72 64 136 (-6)

T5 Max Homa 73 64 137 (-5)

T5 Scottie Scheffler 69 68 137 (-5)

Full Leaderboard: (PGATourCom)

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

CHARLOTTE – Quail Hollow Club will host the PGA Championship for the second time. The previous PGA tournament was back in 2017, and it was won by Justin Thomas.

The field is headlined by 49 of the Top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, with only Billy Horschelmissing because of hip surgery. The players are headlined by World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Xander Schauffele, No. 4 Collin Morikawa and No. 5 Justin Thomas.

International players have won 14 of the first 22 events this season: Hideki Matsuyama/Japan, Nick Taylor/Canada, Sepp Straka/Austria/twice, Rory McIlroy/Northern Ireland/three times, Thomas Detry/Belgium, Ludvig Åberg/Sweden, Karl Vilips/Australia, Viktor Hovland/Norway, Min Woo Lee/Australia, Garrick Higgo/South Africa, Ryan Fox/New Zealand.

Quail Hollow certainly plays to McIlroy. The reigning 2025 Masters Tournament champion and World No. 2 is a four-time winner at Quail Hollow Club, winning the Carolina’s Truist Championship in 2010, 2015, 2021 and 2024.

The 2025 PGA Championship | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Quail Hollow Country Club (Charlotte, NC)

ARCHITECT: George Cobb

YARDS/PAR: 7,626 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: TBA

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Xander Schauffele

PAST RESULTS: (link)

OVERVIEW: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 750

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup

OFFICIAL SITE: (PGA Championship) – (Official Tournament Site)

Field: (link)

The post PGA Championship Today appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

AUGUSTA – (Staff Report) – Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy bested England’s Justin Rose in a one hole playoff after they ended up tied after 72 holes at The Masters, the most prestigous golf tournament in the world.

After Rose missed a challenging birdie putt on the 18th green and putted out for par, McIlroy drained his three foot birdie putt to win the hole and a career Grand Slam of wins at the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship The Open and, now, The Masters.

McIlroy was overcome with emotion and fell to his knees, flipping his putter, after making the putt to win his Green Jacket.

“This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” the Northern Irishman said. “I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that — yeah, I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.”

McIlroy’s 1-over-par 73 left him tied with England’s Justin Rose, who posted 66 and waited for McIlroy to finish. They both shot 11-under 277 for the week.

Re-playing the 18th hole at Augusta National Golf Club, McIlroy’s approach shot rolled back toward the hole and inside Rose’s ball. After Rose missed a birdie attempt and notched a par, McIlroy didn’t flub another chance for a victory.

“There was a lot of pent-up emotion that just came out on that 18th green,” McIlroy said. “A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it.”

It marked the fifth major championship for McIlroy, and his first since capturing the PGA Championship for the second time in 2014.

McIlroy needed par at No. 18 to win in regulation, but after blasting from a greenside bunker on the 18th hole he rolled a 5-foot par putt too far to the left.

It was a starkly different reaction from when he departed the 18th green following Thursday’s first round, which included a pair of backside double bogeys and dodging the media on the way to the practice area.

Rose spoke briefly to McIlroy after the playoff and later added perspective to what just happened.

“This is a historic moment in golf, isn’t it — someone who achieves the career Grand Slam,” Rose said. “I just said it was pretty cool to be able to share that moment with him. Obviously, I wanted to be the bad guy today, but still, it’s a momentous occasion for the game of golf.”

The new champion — who gave away his two-shot lead through 54 holes with a double bogey at No. 1 — also recovered from a disastrous stretch on the back nine to birdie the 17th hole for a brief one-stroke lead. McIlroy’s bogey on No. 11, double bogey on No. 13 and bogey on No. 14 appeared to send him on track for another final-round collapse at a major.

McIlroy said sending his ball into the creek on a wedge shot on the par-5 13th could have doomed his chances.

“I did a really good job of bouncing back from that,” he said.

McIlroy recovered for a birdie on the par-5 15th hole by drawing a tremendous second shot around a tree, over a water hazard and to 6 feet of the pin, where he two-putted for birdie.

Then he stuck his approach on No. 17 and sank the putt to take the lead.

Rose, seeking his first Masters title, had six birdies and two bogeys across the last eight holes, finishing with a 20-foot birdie putt.

“To make the putt on 18, the one you dream about as a kid, to obviously give myself an opportunity and a chance was an unbelievable feeling,” Rose said.

Rose was the leader after the first and second rounds, and after a tough 75 on Saturday he made a major final-round push. He had only four pars on his card — countering four bogeys with 10 birdies.

Patrick Reed (69 on Sunday) was third at 9 under. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler (69) placed fourth at 8 under, giving him four consecutive top-10 finishes at the Masters.

“I was just proud of the way we hung in there and put up a good fight,” Scheffler said.

Bryson DeChambeau, who figured to be McIlroy’s biggest threat and in the final pairing, took the lead after the second hole before stalling with back-to-back bogeys and a string of pars to skid off the path. By the time he double-bogeyed No. 11, he was tied for ninth and seventh strokes back.

DeChambeau’s 75 left him at 7 under, tied for fifth place with South Korea’s Sungjae Im (69).

DeChambeau said his troubles began with a putt on the third hole that scooted well beyond the cup.

“There’s no way that putt goes that far by,” he said. “I just didn’t realize how firm and fast it could get out here. It’s great experience. Won’t let that happen again.”

–Field Level Media

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AUGUSTA – Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy experienced his share of “firsts” on Saturday. McIlroy became the first player in Masters history to start a round with six consecutive 3s on the scorecard.

He also had a “second,” as the second player in Masters history to record six consecutive 3s during one round (Jack Renner/1983/R1/Nos. 12-17).

But it was McIlroy’s first time making two eagles in one round at the Masters (Nos. 2 and 15) and he became the first player to do so since 2020 (three players).

McIlroy joined Jordan Spieth (2015), Tiger Woods (2005, 1997), Raymond Floyd (1976) and Johnny Miller (1975) as players with consecutive rounds of 66 or better at a Masters.

And, the big one: McIlroy can also join only five players who have won all four major championships, otherwise known as the career Grand Slam.

If McIlroy completes his career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, he’d be creating golf history:

• 90 years after Gene Sarazen/1935 Masters
• 60 years after Gary Player/1965 U.S. Open
• 25 years after Tiger Woods/2000 Open

As the great sports day of “Sunday at the Masters” is now upon us, McIlroy will not be out there alone. With a final-round score in the 60s today, Bryson DeChambeau (2nd/-10) would join Cameron Smith (67-68-69-69/2020/T2) as the only players to shoot all four rounds in the 60s in a single Masters tournament. DeChambeau owns the most rounds in the 60s at major championships since the start of 2024 (11).

In each of the last eight Masters, the eventual champion sat T2 or better through 54 holes.

Corey Conners (3rd/-8) seeks his best finish in a major championship (previous, T6/2022 Masters Tournament) as he looks to join Mike Weir(2003) as the only Masters champions from Canada.

Patrick Reed (T4/-6), Scottie Scheffler (T6/-5) and Zach Johnson (T10/-4) are the only past Masters champions among players at T10 or better on the leaderboard. Johnson’s 6-under 66 marks a span of 28 rounds since his last round in the 60s at the Masters (68/R4) back in 2015.

The Masters | Leaderboard After 54 Holes

1 Rory McIlroy 72 66 66 204 (-12)

2 Bryson DeChambeau 69 68 69 206 (-10)

3 Corey Conners 68 70 70 208 (-8)

T4 Patrick Reed 71 70 69 210 (-6)

T4 Ludvig Åberg 68 73 69 210 (-6)

Tournament Leaderboard: (link)

The Masters

COURSE: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

ARCHITECT: Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones Jr.; Perry Maxwell in 1937

YARDS/PAR: 7,555 yards/Par 72

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: TBD

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

OVERVIEW: (link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 750

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @The Masters

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AUGUSTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – There’s no shortage of stars jockeying for position midway through the Masters. England’s Justin Rose is eager to see how this plays out. Rose maintained the lead through the second round by shooting 1-under-par 71 on Friday.

He’s aiming for his first victory at Augusta National Golf Club, though this is the third time he has been at the top of the leaderboard through 36 holes in the tournament.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to knock on the door,” Rose said. “… You’re going to have to play great golf, and you’re going to have to go out there and want it and go for it and get after it.”

Rose stands at 8-under 136 but his lead has been reduced from three strokes to one, and there are several big-name golfers in close pursuit. LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau is in second place after shooting a 68.

“This is what golf is about. Got a lot of great names up there, and looking forward to an unbelievable test of golf,” DeChambeau said.

N. Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (66 on Friday) is tied at 6 under with Canada’s Corey Conners (70).

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler (71), Matt McCarty (68), England’s Tyrrell Hatton (70) and Ireland’s Shane Lowry (68) are at 5 under. It looked like Hatton might be in position to catch Rose until bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17.

“We’ve got some great guys on top of the leaderboard, so it should be a fun weekend,” Scheffler said.

Rose has captured one major, the 2013 U.S. Open, and he likes being in the conversation in the big tournaments.

“That’s the company that I expect to keep, and that’s where I have tried to be my whole career,” Rose said. “That’s where I’ve been for a lot of my career.”

Rose had four birdies and three bogeys. After sinking a 7-foot birdie at the par-3 17th hole to get to 9 under, he found the sand on No. 18 and couldn’t save par.

DeChambeau, who holed out from a bunker for birdie on No. 4, played the front nine in 4 under before making a bunch of pars interrupted only by a bogey on No. 16 and a birdie on the next hole.

Patience will be crucial for DeChambeau this weekend.

“It’s not easy to try and be more conservative when you know the leaders are starting to run away from it,” he said.

McIlroy got rolling on the back nine with three birdies and an eagle at the par-5 13th, where he drove it into the pine straw but hit a perfect second shot to 9 feet of the pin.

He said he tried not to be consumed with the notable names on the leaderboard.

“I was just looking for my name,” he said, drawing laughter. “I was not really worried about the others.”

Scheffler, who has won two of the past three Masters, had a couple of costly three-putts Friday. He finished with six birdies and five bogeys.

“Extremely challenging when you get greens this fast and you get that much wind, especially when it’s gusty,” Scheffler said. “It can be quite challenging.”

McCarty, in the Masters for the first time, had a horrid start at 3 over through two holes but bounced back with eight birdies, including four in a row at Nos. 6-9. Even with a bogey on the last hole, he’s at 5 under for the tournament.

Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard (67), Norway’s Viktor Hovland (69) and Australia’s Jason Day (70) are at 4 under.

South Korea’s Sungjae Im reached 6 under for the tournament through 14 holes but slumped late in the round. His 70 left him at 3 under.

Along with Im, the group at 3 under includes Patrick Reed (70), Collin Morikawa (69), Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (68) and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (73).

Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer of Germany missed the cut by one stroke at 3 over after missing a par putt on the final hole. He shot rounds of 74 and 73 in his 41st and final Masters.

“Coming up 18 was mixed emotions because I was still inside the cut line, and even when I made bogey, I wasn’t sure I’m totally out of there or not,” Langer said. “I actually thought 3-over would make the cut, as windy as it was.”

Langer, 67, received countless ovations through the tournament’s first two rounds.

“I always appreciated the beauty of this golf course and the challenges you have to face, pretty much on every shot,” he said. “The support of the patrons and so much more.”

Others falling outside the cut line include Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley at 3 over, Fred Couples and Spain’s Sergio Garcia at 4 over, and Brooks Koepka, Australian Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson at 5 over.

“It felt like this was a good week, a good opportunity for me, and unfortunately I didn’t score,” said Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion. “It’s disappointing because I felt I was playing well enough to at least be in the hunt.”

–Field Level Media

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WASH DC – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A report by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations accused the Saudi Public Investment Fund of entering negotiations with the PGA Tour only due to the threat of discovery in their antitrust lawsuit.

The report, released Friday, outlined the subcommittee’s findings from an inquiry into the June 2023 “framework agreement” for a merger between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF’s golf assets, namely LIV Golf.

US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), chair of the PSI, was among those concerned about “the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution.”

But the subcommittee’s investigation goes further back to before that shocking announcement, when LIV Golf was pursuing antitrust litigation against the PGA Tour for denying golfers the opportunity to play on both tours.

“The Subcommittee’s inquiry revealed that the first significant back and forth about a potential agreement between the PIF and the PGA Tour began with a renewed push from a representative of the PIF to broker a deal on April 14, 2023,” the report said, “and that a key term of the initial Framework Agreement entered into by the PIF and the PGA Tour involved the dismissal, with prejudice, of pending litigation between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

“On April 7, 2023, a judge in the Northern District of California had ruled in that litigation that the PIF and its Governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan, were subject to discovery and depositions by lawyers for the PGA Tour. This deposition would likely have revealed details of the PIF’s operations and Governor al-Rumayyan’s control over its commercial investments.”

Blumenthal went on to write that “U.S. defenses are inadequate to protect against increasingly sophisticated foreign influence efforts by Saudi Arabia and other malign actors and exposed loopholes within the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) that allow foreign governments to escape accountability.”

The PGA Tour and the PIF have supposedly been in negotiations for some time now, though the PGA Tour has since acquired additional funding for its new for-profit endeavor, PGA Tour Enterprises, from a coalition of sports owners and investors called Strategic Sports Group.

The PGA Tour and LIV have held meetings with President Donald Trump, an avid golfer, in recent weeks, which have not produced any material progress in the talks.

–Field Level Media

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk

AUGUSTA – Justin Rose has won in every corner of the globe. The 44-year old Englishman (born in South Africa) has one Major (2013 U.S. Open), is the oldest player since 50-year-old Fred Couples in 2010 to lead/co-lead through 18 holes at the Masters. Aside from the one Major, he’s finished second and third in the others. Rose won on the European Tour, the Japan Tour, and he’s won in Canada and Australia. In 2016, he won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics.

Rose has a victory at the World Golf Championship and has a FedEx Cup title to his name, and that banked $10,000,000 back in 2018. Add success in the Ryder Cup and it’s just an amazing career.

This weekend, he’s focused on The Masters and his (65) placed him atop the leaderboard after 18 holes, a place he’s now held five times – a Masters record.

Rose carded eight birdies, five on the front nine. He had one bogey which came on the 18th. The round matched his career-low 18-hole score at the Masters Tournament (65/R1/2021/finished 7th).

Three golfers, Corey Connors of Canada, Scottie Scheffler – the defending champion of the USA – and Ludvig Åberg of Sweden are a three shots off the lead.

LIV golfers, Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau are four shots back, shooting (69s).

Collin Morikawa was (-3) after an eagle on 13, but bogeyed three of his last four holes and sits T-27 after shooting E – (72).

Rory McIlroy (T27/E) carded two double bogeys in his last four holes (Nos. 15 and 17). It was his first time with multiple double bogeys or worse in a round at the Masters Tournament since 2014 (R2).

With a hole out from 191 yards on the par-4 14th hole, Fred Couples (T11/-1), in his 40th appearance, makes his first career eagle on a par-4 at the Masters. Couples, at age 65 years, 6 months, 7 days, became the second-oldest to break par in a round at Augusta National Golf Club (Tom Watson/2015/71/R1 at age 65 years, 7 months, 5 days).

Four of the six leaders are international players.

Nick Dunlap finished 18 over with a (90) and will be facing a cut with the top 50 and ties advancing to the weekend. It was the highest 18-hole score on the PGA TOUR since Aguri Iwasaki carded 91 in round two of the 2024 Open Championship.

The Masters | Leaderboard After 18 Holes

1. Justin Rose 65 (-7)

2. Corey Connors 68 (-4)

2. Scottie Scheffler 68 (-4)

2. Ludvig Åberg 68 (-4)

5. Tyrrell Hatton 69 (-3)

5. Bryson DeChambeau 69 (-3)

The post Rose Leads Masters After 18 appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

AUGUSTA – The 2025 Masters Tournament is the first major championship of the ‘25 professional golf season. Scottie Scheffler is the Masters’ defending champion and also the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking.

After missing the 2024 Masters Tournament due to injury, Bernhard Langer of Germany will make his 41st and final start at the Masters Tournament.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, fresh off serving the least expensive Champions Dinner in recent memory, is making his sixth appearance at Augusta National. The 2022 and 2024 Masters champion seeks to become the ninth player with three or more victories at Augusta and with a victory, would join JackNicklaus (1963, 1965, 1966) as the only players to win three Masters Tournaments in a four-year stretch.

Scheffler is also seeks to join Jack Nicklaus (1956, 1966), Nick Faldo (1989, 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002) as players to successfully defend their title at the Masters Tournament.

Scheffler has never finished outside the Top 20 in five prior starts at the Masters Tournament (T19/2020, T18/2021, Won/2022, T10/2023, Won/2024) and with his last three finishes at the Masters (Won/2024, T10/2023, Won/2022), he’s one of two players to finish among the Top 10 in each of the last three years. Collin Morikawa (5th/2022, T10/2023, T3/2024) is the other.

Rory McIlroy is making his 17th start at the Masters Tournament. He was the runner-up in 2022 which marked his best performance among seven Top-10 results.

McIlroy, as past winner of the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open Championship, is attempting to become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam.

• Gene Sarazen
• Ben Hogan
• Gary Player
• Jack Nicklaus
• Tiger Woods

McIlroy’s victory at the 2025 PLAYERS Championship marked his 28th win on TOUR (T20 all-time). He’s seeking to become only the third player to win the PLAYERS and The Masters in the same season, joining Tiger Woods (2001), Scottie Scheffler (2024).

With a victory at this year’s Masters Tournament, Collin Morikawa, the World No. 4 and two-time major champion (2020 PGA Championship, 2021 Open Championship) can join three active players (Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson) with three legs of the career Grand Slam.

The 2023 Open Championship winner and last week’s Valero Texas Open winner, BrianHarman heads to his seventh Masters Tournament where he has missed the cut in his last three appearances. Harman made the cut twice in prior six starts (T44/2018, T12/2021).

England’s Tommy Fleetwood seeks his first PGA TOUR win in his 152nd start; last player to earn first PGA TOUR win at a major championship: England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (2022 U.S. Open); finished T3 at the 2024 Masters Tournament, his best result in eight career appearances

The 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth is making his 12th start at Augusta National. He owns five Top-3 results in 11 prior appearances (T2/2014, Won/2015, T2/2016, 3rd/2018, T3/2021).

In 40 rounds at Augusta National, his 70.95 scoring average marks the lowest of any player with 25-49 career rounds); underwent wrist surgery in August following the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship and returned to competition at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The 2021 Masters champion and World No. 6 Hideki Matsuyama, the only male major championship winner from Japan, has made 12 cuts in 13 appearances at the Masters Tournament (MC/2014).

The Masters field has 25 different countries and territories represented this year, the most since 2015 (24). A total of 95 invitees are scheduled to compete this year.

Preview | The Masters

COURSE: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

ARCHITECT: Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones Jr.; Perry Maxwell in 1937

YARDS/PAR: 7,555 yards/Par 72

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: TBD

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

OVERVIEW: (link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 750

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @The Masters

The post Masters Preview appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

ABU DHABI  – (Wire Service Report) – Rory McIlroy said President elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House “clears the way” for a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

Trump recently said on the “Let’s Go!” podcast that he could negotiate a deal between the two sides in about “15 minutes.”

Of course, the “15 Minutes” has passed by ten times over.

“He might be able to,” McIlroy said Wednesday when asked about Trump’s remarks. “He’s got Elon Musk, who I think is the smartest man in the world, beside him. We might be able to do something if we can get Musk involved, too.”

McIlroy spoke at a press conference for the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

“Yeah, I think from the outside looking in, it’s probably a little less complicated than it actually is. But obviously, Trump has a great relationship with Saudi Arabia. He’s got a great relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows?

“But I think as the President of the United States again, he’s probably got bigger things to focus on than golf.”

McIlroy was also asked about a report in the London-based tabloid The Sun that claimed he and Tiger Woods had helped to negotiate a $1.3 billion deal between the rival golf leagues.

“It’s the first that I’ve heard of it,” the Northern Irishman said. “I know (PGA Tour commissioner) Jay (Monahan) was in Saudi Arabia last week … and was having some meetings. But no, I think I would have heard if there was.

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