The Sportsletter - The Masters Guide ⛳️

BY JEFF YODER

APR. 6, 2023  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

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It's A Great Day For Golf ⛳️

After a Wednesday full of aces at the Par-3 Contest, The Masters is ready for launch. Tiger Woods is warming up. Scottie Scheffler is ready to defend. The LIV-PGA saga gets a new chapter. And the weather looks like we could be golfing into next week — bonus coverage!

It’s everyone's favorite weekend in the golf calendar, and the Tiger Tracker is officially live. Let's tee it up at Augusta, shall we?

THE MASTERS ⛳️

A Tradition Unlike Any Other

Image Via Giphy

The Masters Guide: Everything You Need to Know For Golf's Greatest Weekend

Ah, here it is. The trickling creeks, Georgia pines and azaleas aplenty welcome golf back to center stage in the sports world. As spring blooms, April’s marquee event on the sports calendar is finally here. It's A Tradition Unlike Any Other at The Masters. Let’s make the walk up Magnolia Lane and see which golfers have the best shot to capture the green jacket in 2023.

⛳️ The Favorites

The top three players in the world are the clear-cut, odds-on favorites to secure the green jacket this weekend, but Scottie Scheffler is the man to beat. The defending champion has been as dominant as any golfer over the past year, while Jon Rahm (6 Masters, 4 Top-10s) and Rory McIlroy (13 Masters, 6 Top-10s) have never won at Augusta. One might say they’re due, but it’s Scottie’s tournament to lose.

⛳️ Tiger’s Chances

Everybody’s favorite golfer is back at Augusta in 2023. Tiger Woods has played sparingly in major tournaments since breaking his leg in the near-fatal car accident in 2021. He’s made the cut in 22 consecutive Masters appearances, and he owns five green jackets. At 47 years old, everyone’s expectations for Tiger are low, but you never know with the GOAT. Woods has +6600 odds to win (39th).

⛳️ PGA vs. LIV

One of the biggest storylines this weekend is the first epic clash between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. A total of 18 golfers who spurned the PGA for LIV are playing at Augusta this weekend, and that makes things a little tense. The feud between the two leagues has been well documented over the past year. LIV Golf leader Greg Norman has been asked not to attend to The Masters this year. The Thursday-Friday groupings avoided any major drama by not pairing notable LIV players with PGA Tour combatants — at least not the ones with bad blood. A weekend lineup with a pair like Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed could be… well, awesome.

⛳️ The Par-3 Contest

Wednesday’s Par-3 Contest is a staple of Masters week. The family event consists of golfers relaxing with family and loved ones while hacking away at the Par 3s at Augusta National. Tom Hoge won the event yesterday (-6), but Seamus Power made headlines with back-to-back hole-in-ones. No Par-3 Contest winner has ever went on to win The Masters.

⛳️ The Masters Odds

S. Scheffler (+700), R. McIlroy (+700), J. Rahm (+900), J. Spieth (+1600), P. Cantlay (+1800), J. Thomas (+2000), C. Smith (+2200), X. Schauffele (+2200), T. Finau (+2200), C. Morikawa (+2500), J. Day (+2500), D. Johnson (+2800), C. Young (+2800) | Full List of Odds

⛳️ Tee Times (Featured Groups)

9:24 AM: P. Reed, A. Svensson, S. Theegala

9:48 AM: B. Watson, S. Power, M. Fernandez de Oliveira

10:18 AM: T. Woods, V. Hovland, X. Schauffele

10:30 AM: A. Scott, P. Cantlay, K. Kitayama

10:42 AM: J. Thomas, J. Rahm, C. Young

10:54 AM: H. Matsuyama, C. Smith, S. Im

11:30 AM: J. Poston, F. Molinari, B. DeChambeau

11:54 AM: D. Willett, G. Woodland, B. Koepka

12:24 PM: P. Mickelson, T. Hoge, S. Woo Kim

1:12 PM: D. Johnson, C. Conners, J. Rose

1:24 PM: C. Morikawa, M. Fitzpatrick, W. Zalatoris

1:36 PM: S. Scheffler, M. Homa, S. Bennett

1:48 PM: R. McIlroy, T. Kim, S. Burns

2:00 PM: J. Spieth, T. Fleetwood, T. Finau

*All Times ET

Now teeing off...

Additional Storylines

USA Today: Spicy Food, No LIV Talk: What Happened at the Champions Dinner?

ESPN: Rory McIlroy Has Tried For 14 Years, But This Mastes is Different

CBS Sports: The Masters Predictions: One of These 9 Golfers Will Win at Augusta

Golf Channel: The Masters Tournament 101: History, Qualifications & Terminology at Augusta

NBA

Clippers Capture L.A.

Photo: Harry How / Getty Images

Clippers Hold Off Lakers (125-118) for Season Sweep; Bucks Clinch No. 1 Overall Seed

The fourth rendition of the battle for Los Angeles in the 2022-23 season went a lot like the first three — and the last ten. The Clippers stepped on the gas early and — despite a late run from the Lakers — controlled the game from tip to horn in a critical matchup for playoff seeding. Norman Powell (27) and Kawhi Leonard (25) led the Clips while a hungry LeBron James (33-8-7) posted his second straight 30-point game. The Clippers have now beaten the Lakers in 11 straight games dating back to 2021. Both teams will be in the playoff next week, at the very least via the play-in, but their security in the top-six is still uncertain (see standings below). The East is nearly locked, but the West is still a game of musical chairs with just four two games to play.

Watch: Clippers Hold Off Lakers in Wire-to-Wire Win (125-118)

Other NBA Highlights

Bucks Shred Bulls to Clinch No. 1 Overall Seed (105-92)

Mavericks Stay Alive With Comeback Against Kings (123-119)

Pelicans Fend Off Grizzlies With 3 30-Point Scorers (138-131, OT)

Knicks Top Pacers for 5th Straight Win, Lock East’s 5-Seed (138-129)

NBA Playoff Watch

Eastern Conference

1. Bucks (58-22) — Y

2. Celtics (55-25) — X

3. 76ers (52-27) — X

4. Cavaliers (50-30) — X

5. Knicks (47-33) — X

6. Nets (44-36)

7. Heat (42-37)

8. Hawks (41-39)

9. Raptors (40-40)

10. Bulls (38-42)

Western Conference

1. Nuggets (52-27) — X

2. Grizzlies (50-30) — X

3. Kings (48-32) — X

4. Suns (44-35) — X

5. Clippers (42-38)

6. Warriors (42-38)

7. Lakers (41-39)

8. Pelicans (41-39)

9. Timberwolves (40-40)

10. Thunder (38-42)

11. Mavericks (38-42)

12. Jazz (36-43)

Y — Clinched Home Court

X — Clinched Playoffs

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🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

⚾️ MLB: Rays 6-0 Start Not Seen Since 1884

The Rays earned a 7-2 win over the Nationals on Wednesday to stay unbeaten and make some baseball history. Tampa Bay is the first team to win their first six games of a season by four runs or more since the 1884 St. Louis Maroons. Wander Franco hit his second blast of the season, and the Rays’ pitching staff has a collective 2.00 ERA (outscoring opponents 44-13).

⚽️ SOCCER: Benzema Hat Trick Fuels Madrid

Los Blancos call it a comeback! Barcelona and Real Madrid met for Leg 2 of the Copa del Rey semifinal last night at Camp Nou. And while Barca were 1-0 leaders on aggregate after Leg 1, Leg 2 belonged to Real Madrid (4-0) after Karim Benzema’s second-half hat trick. They’ll face Osasuna in the Copa del Rey Final on May 6.

THE STORYLINES

🏀 Takeaways From the College Basketball Season

The college basketball season ended up being one of the most unpredictable rides we have seen in the sport. From a 16-seed beating a 1-seed to a school that had never won an NCAA Tournament game making a Final Four, it was a roller coaster ride. (FOX Sports)

⚾️ Early MLB Overreactions

It's that time of year when every reaction to what's happening in Major League Baseball is of the knee-jerk variety. The 2023 season isn't even a week old. Nothing means anything yet. This being said, we just can't help ourselves. (Bleacher Report)

🏈 2023 NFL Draft Needs

There was plenty of movement during the 2023 NFL free agency period, and that in turn will impact the 2023 draft. Needs and weaknesses have obviously shifted over the past month. So what position does each team need with three weeks until the NFL Draft? (ESPN+)

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Kentucky High School Football Player Dies After Head Injury in Scrimmage (USA Today)
• Colts Owner Jim Irsay Wants Colts to Draft Quarterback With No. 4 Pick (CBS Sports)
• John Elway No Longer Employed by Broncos After Contract Expires (SI)
• Lionel Messi’s Move to Saudia Arabia Increasingly Likely After PSG Talks Breaks Down (ESPN)
• MLB Streaming Viewership Up 42% on Opening Day (Yahoo! Sports)

• White Sox Closer Liam Hendricks Announces He’s Cancer-Free After Finishing Chemotherapy (SI)

• Angels’ Shohei Ohtani 1st Player to Have Pitch Clock Violation as Pitcher and Hitter (USA Today)

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