By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Saturday’s Boston Red Sox vs Chicago White Sox was the kind of baseball game when absolutely nothing happened for the first four and a half innings. Nothin’ but a few scattered hits, three hit Red Sox batters, and six strike-outs by a sharp and effective Boston starter Garrett Crochet.

Although they left four batters on base in the first two innings, the Red Sox didn’t muster a base hit until rookie 2B Christian Campbell rocketed a single to left field in the bottom of the fourth.

Still nothing, until the home half of the fifth when No. 9 hitter Cedanne Rafaela doubled and left fielder Jarren Duran followed with a base hit to left which advanced Rafaela to third base with none out.

Red Sox slugger and designated hitter Rafael Devers cracked a 389-foot drive over the Green Monster to score Rafaela and Duran to give Boston a 3-0 lead. The home run perked-up the Fenway Park sellout crowd of 36,559 on an 83-degree Easter weekend day.

Devers chased White Sox starter Shane Smith who pitched 4.2 innings, and allowed three runs on four hits and the three hit batters. He threw 73 pitches (45 strikes) during his afternoon outing.

Crochet had a strong quality start but no decision. He threw six innings of scoreless baseball, allowing four hits on two walks and seven punch-outs. But the 3-0 lead he left the game with, vanished in the top of the seventh inning.

Boston reliever Greg Weissert walked pinch hitter Joshua Palacios who advanced to third a batter later when Boston’s Trevor Story mishandled a tag at second base. Chicago’s lead-off hitter Chase Meidroth singled, then Luis Robert Jr. parked a home run, some 375-feet to left. The homer tied the game, 3-3, and wiped a possible win off of Crochet’s pitching record.

After enduring such a costly error and allowing the game to go into extra innings, Boston first baseman Triston Casas hit a bases-loaded single off the Green Monster to drive in the winning run with one out in the 10th inning on Saturday, lifting the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

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GREEN BAY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Below is a ranking of the top 100 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft reflecting consensus opinion of Field Level Media evaluators.

Rank Pos Full Name School
1. DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
2. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
3. CB-WR Travis Hunter, Colorado
4. QB Cameron Ward, Miami
5. DT Mason Graham, Michigan

6. OLB Jalon Walker, Georgia
7. TE Tyler Warren, Penn State
8. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
9. DE Mykel Williams, Georgia
10. OG Armand Membou, Missouri

11. ILB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
12. WR Matthew Golden, Texas
13. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas
14. DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan
15. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona

16. OT Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon
17. DE James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
18. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
19. WR Luther Burden III, Missouri
20. OT Will Campbell, LSU

21. S Malaki Starks, Georgia
22. OT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
23. OT Josh Simmons, Ohio State
24. DE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
25. DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon

26. S Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina
27. DT Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
28. CB Shavon Revel Jr., East Carolina
29. QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
30. OT Marcus Mbow, Purdue

31. OG Grey Zabel, North Dakota State
32. OG Tyler Booker, Alabama
33. DT T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
34. OLB Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College
35. QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama

36. DE Jordan Burch, Oregon
37. DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
38. S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
39. OT Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota
40. CB Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame

41. OT Emery Jones Jr., LSU
42. DE JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State
43. WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
44. CB Trey Amos, Ole Miss
45. DE Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M

46. DE Landon Jackson, Arkansas
47. CB Jacob Parrish, Kansas State
48. DT Deone Walker, Kentucky
49. RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
50. OT Cameron Williams, Texas

51. S Kevin Winston Jr., Penn State
52. WR Isaiah Bond, Texas
53. CB Azareye’h Thomas, Florida State
54. WR Kyle Williams, Washington State
55. DT Alfred Collins, Texas

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox welcomed the Chicago White Sox to Fenway Park just as Boston’s newly acquired third baseman Alex Bregman and his wife Reagan were welcoming their second son into this world, their first child born as a member of Red Sox nation.

From April 11 to 13 this year, the Red Sox dropped two of three games to the lowly pale sox when Boston opened the season with an 8-9 record, hardly impressive. Starting this four-game, Easter weekend and Patriots’ Day set, the home team is an even 10-10, stuck in third place in the American League East.

Chicago is already dead last in the American League Central and their 4-14 record has those two home victories, showing for half of their win total for the young season. The White Sox have yet to win a road game in 2025.

Friday night at Fenway Park continued that trend in front of 35,620 fans.

Boston wasted no time in setting a 3-0 lead as DH Rafael Devers doubled on a ground rule bounce in center field, Bregman walked and Sox shortstop Trevor Story rapped a first pitch change-up from Chicago SP Martin Perez and sent it 427 feet to deep center field to clear the bases.

Boston added a run in the third inning when Story singled up the middle and right fielder Rob Refsnyder banked one off the left-center friend Green Monster for a double, scoring Story. Refsnyder’s blast fell about five feet short on the 37-foot, two inch wall.

Former Red Sox outfielder, Andrew Benintendi, now playing left field for the White Sox, put his club on the scoreboard with a towering home run over the famed Pesky Pole in right field to make it 4-1 in the fourth inning.

Chicago’s Penn Murfee relieved Perez in the bottom of the fourth, sending the starter to the showers after 3 IP, five hits, four earned runs, with two base on balls and no strike-outs. Perez threw 52 pitches over the short stint with 34 as strikes. He allowed the Story HR. The club later announced Perez left the game early because of left forearm soreness.

Boston went to quick work on Murfee as catcher Carlos Narvaez doubled to lead off the home fourth and Sox centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela took a 78 mph sweeper 406 feet and over the Green Monster in left field. The home run made it 6-1 Red Sox.

Benintendi singled in the sixth inning and scored on a ground out to cut the lead to four runs, 6-2, and reliever Tyler Gilbert entered the game to face Boston in the bottom of the inning.

For Boston, starter Hunter Dobbins pitched 6 innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs.  He walked none and struck out six Chicago batters as he tossed 79 pitches (55 strikes). Dobbins earned the victory and is (2-0) on the season.

In Boston’s half of the seventh inning, Story hit another home run on a 0-1 count, clocking a 365 foot bullet to the left field Green Monster seats to mark his 20th career multi-homer game. Story last had multi-HRs when he hit three off the Seattle Mariners on May 19, 2022.

Boston brought in reliever Josh Winckowski in the eighth inning, leading 9-2, and he held Chicago scoreless.

In the Red Sox end of the eighth, Narvaez hit his first career home run, a healthy 353 foot solo blast into the left field Monster seats. It made the score 10-2, Boston.

Winckowski gave up a run in the ninth inning to close out the score at 10-3, and Boston took the first game of the four game series.

Perez took the loss and is now (1-1) for the White Sox.

The two teams will meet again for a 4:10pm Saturday afternoon start.

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Red Sox activated third baseman Alex Bregman off the paternity list Friday, while right-hander Michael Fulmer was designated for assignment.

In other moves, the Red Sox recalled right-hander Hunter Dobbins, while infielder/outfielder Nick Sogard was optioned. Dobbins starts Friday night vs the Chicago White Sox.

Bregman, 31, last played Tuesday when he went 5-for-5 with a pair of home runs and four RBIs in Boston’s 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. In his first 19 games with the club since signing as a free agent in the offseason, he was batting .321 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.

He and his wife, Reagan, welcomed their second son this week.

Fulmer, 32, made his Red Sox debut Monday and gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. A former starter for the Detroit Tigers, he is 37-50 with a 3.96 ERA in 263 appearances (90 starts) over eight career seasons.

He won the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year with the Tigers.

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HILTON HEAD – The RBC Heritage from Harbor Town is the fifth of eight Signature Events of the PGA Tour season. The tournament includes 43 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, headlined by World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 3 Xander Schauffele, No. 4 Collin Morikawa and No. 5 Ludvig Åberg.

The field features:

• 56 players in the field competed at last week’s Masters Tournament, including seven who finished inside the top 10: Justin Rose (2nd), Scottie Scheffler (4th), Sungjae Im (T5), Ludvig Åberg (7th), Xander Schauffele (T8), Jason Day (T8), Corey Conners (T8).
• Four past champions: Matt Kuchar (2014), Jordan Spieth (2022), Matt Fitzpatrick (2023), Scottie Scheffler (2024).
• Seven past FedEx Cup champions: Billy Horschel (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Justin Thomas (2017), Justin Rose (2018), Patrick Cantlay (2021), Viktor Hovland (2023), Scottie Scheffler (2024).
• Sponsor exemptions: Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Mackenzie Hughes, and Jordan Spieth.

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

BOSTON – The radio and its sister, the transistor radio, gave way to the television which soon became a color TV. A few years later, we watched sports from around the globe by way of satellite TV. Years later, the technology improved from over-the-air to cable TV. A little while after that we could buy our own pizza-sized DIRECT-TV satellite dish which gave way to the smart TV and streaming devices.

Basketball’s set shot became a jump shot which morphed into running one-handers and finger rolls. Sooner or later, we had the dunk shot, then the slam dunk. Years later, the gimmick three-point shot was brought into the gamed years after that, pro teams were shooting 50 three-point attempts per game.

In baseball, the fastball was soon joined by the curve ball which gave way to a slider, then a cutter which is now a sweeper.

All-in-all, things ch, ch, ch, change.

Things change in life and in sports. It’s inevitable. When you take a giant step back to examine the progress, progress is good. Standing still is bad.

Take a look at the coverage of the 2025 Masters Tournament. CBS Sports via Paramount+ (and similar coverage by ESPN and its ESPN+ Streaming service) will provide over 100 hours of coverage this week. ESPN+ served up four hours of coverage of the Par 3 tournament on Wednesday. Not too long ago, over-the-air TV coverage of the Masters was limited to four or five hours from Augusta on the weekend.

For all four days of Masters Tournament play, viewers can watch four Featured Groups per day and Featured Holes coverage of Holes 4, 5 and 6, the famed Amen Corner and Holes No. 15 and No. 16. – all streamed on ESPN+ or Masters.com sites.

That a ton of TV coverage and a ton of change for the members of Augusta National who used to pride themselves as the ultimate “less is more” believers.

The “less is more” theory was perfected by the late NBA Commissioner David Sternwhen the league had to consolidate regular season coverage on CBS Sports in order to land a (then) lucrative tv deal that really focused on the NBA Playoffs and Finals. At the time, the NBA national tv deal was only eight regular season exposures plus the NBA All-Star Game. The power of the league’s cable tv package via Turner Sports had yet to reach its eventual impact.

Let’s talk about another ch, ch, ch, change.

The NBA will begin postseason play this week with a relatively new Play-In Tournament that will be as competitive as any first round match-up. Upon conclusion, the two teams to survive the Play-In will be in position to upset the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. That’s especially so in the West where about four games separates seed No. 2 from Seed No. 8.

In other words, the No. 2 Houston Rockets will have their hands full with their opponent, no matter who it is. That’s good for competition and good for the NBA which sparks interest in an extra four franchise markets and a massive marketing deal with So-Fi as the NBA Playoffs begin.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Back in the good old days of the Masters, these nine players were atop the leaderboard. In 2025, they all missed the cut. In fact, of the 18 former champions in the 2025 field, nine made the cut and these nine did not”:

• Dustin Johnson, 3 over (74-73)
• Bernhard Langer, 3 over (74-73)
• Sergio Garcia, 4 over (72-76)
• Mike Weir, 4 over (75-73)
• Fred Couples, 4 over (71-77)
• Phil Mickelson, 5 over (75-74)
• Adam Scott, 5 over (77-72)
• Jose Maria Olazabal, 7 over (77-74)
• Angel Cabrera, 11 over (75-80)
• Vijay Singh withdrew on Monday

This year’s tournament marked the end of his Masters playing career for Germany’s Bernard Langer, one of the true, gentlemen of the game of golf. He missed a 10-foot par putt on 18 and missed the cut by one after rounds of 74 and 73. Not only would making the putt have extended the two-time champion’s Masters career by two rounds, but it also would have made Langer the oldest player to ever make the cut at Augusta National. “It was a very special last two days for me,” said Langer, the 1985 and 1993 Masters champion, after 41 years playing Augusta.

All five amateurs in the 2025 Masters field missed the cut. Justin Hastings, the Latin American Amateur champion, shot 76-72 to lead the amateur contingent, but a player must complete 72 holes to earn low amateur honors. Hastings, No. 12 in PGA TOUR University, finished T13 at this year’s Mexico Open at VidantaWorld.

MASTERS: After an opening round 72 (even par), Rory McIlroy put two great rounds of (66) together and leads the 2025 Masters by two strokes over an equally impressive Bryson DeChambeau (69-68-69). The tournament’s 18 and 36-hole leader, Justin Rose, shot (75) on Saturday and fell seven strokes off the lead and is tied for sixth place. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is also seven back heading into Sunday’s final round.

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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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