The Sportsletter - The Tiger Circus ⛳️

BY JEFF YODER

APR. 8, 2022  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Happy Friday 🙌

We’re underway at Augusta and at the ballparks in Major League Baseball. Plenty to get to, but one man stole the day. And you already know his name. The 2022 Tiger Watch is official…

Letter Rip!

THE MASTERS ⛳️

It's the Tiger Circus at Augusta

Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images

Tiger Woods Shoots Under Par in Round 1; Sunjae Im (-5) & Cameron Smith (-4) Out in Front at Augusta

Back like he never left. Tiger Woods not only played a complete Round 1 on Thursday at The Masters, but he looked great doing it. The patrons swarmed like bees to honey as Woods (-1) fired three birdies and two bogies to conclude his opening round in a tie for 10th. Augusta crowds roared everywhere Tiger went. Being in contention will only make the Tiger circus more rowdy on Friday, and I'm here for it. If he makes the cut, get ready for a media takeover.

The Leaders: Cameron Smith (-4) ripped off eight birdies in the middle of his round, but bookend double-bogeys would keep him from running away on the leaderboard. Sungjae Im (-5) opened with three birdies and added an eagle on Hole 13 to take the outright lead heading into Round 2.

The Cut Line: Out of the 91 players in the field, the top-50 and ties will make the cut after today. As of now, the cut line sits at 2-over. Players like Brooks Koepka (+3), Bryson DeChambeau (+4) and Justin Thomas (+4) have work to do.

Leaderboard (Round 1)

S. Im (-5)

C. Smith (-4)

D. Johnson (-3)

J. Niemann (-3)

D. Willett (-3)

S. Scheffler (-3)

J. Kokrak (-2)

C. Conners (-2)

P. Cantlay (-2)

Other Notable Scorecards: T. Woods (-1), T. Finau (-1), W. Simpson (-1), H. Matsuyama (E), C. Morikawa (+1), R. McIlroy (+1), J. Rahm (+2), X. Schauffele (+2), J. Spieth (+2)

Watch: Every Shot From Tiger Woods’ 1st Round

Round 2 Tee Times (Featured Groups)

10:12 AM: D. Johnson, B. Horschel, C. Morikawa

10:23 AM: W. Zalatoris, P. Cantlay, J. Rahm

10:34 AM: J. Spieth, V. Hovland, X. Schauffele

10:45 AM: M. Fitzpatrick, B. Koepka, R. McIlroy

1:30 PM: B. DeChambeau, C. Smith

1:41 PM: T. Woods, L. Oosthuizen, J. Niemann

1:52 PM: J. Thomas, H. Matsuyama, J. Piot

2:03 PM: T. Finau, A. Scott, S. Scheffler

Additional Storylines

PGA: Tiger Woods at The Masters, That Old Familiar Feeling

SI: 2022 Masters Day 2 Preview: Tiger Woods Isn’t Going Anywhere

The Masters: Thursday at Augusta in Photos

MLB

Opening Day in the Majors

Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images

Cubs, Cardinals & Reds Among Big Winners on Opening Day

Baseball is back! Thursday’s MLB Opening Day saw seven games take the diamond, and the 2022 season is officially underway. Nico Hoerner (Cubs) hit the first home run of the year. Shohei Ohtani (Angels) made history as the first player to throw and face his team’s first pitch of the season. And 40-year-old Adam Wainwright (Cardinals) tossed a six-inning gem to shut out the Pirates More teams have their Opening Day games today, and we’re off on this six-month marathon march to October.

Opening Day Highlights

Cubs def. Brewers (5-4)

Royals def. Guardians (3-1)

Cardinals def. Pirates (9-0)

Reds def. Braves (6-3)

Mets def. Nationals (5-1)

Astros def. Angels (3-1)

Padres def. Diamondbacks (4-2)

Today’s Opening Day 2.0 Schedule

Additional Storylines

MLB: Bobby Witt Jr. Delivers Decisive 1st Hit in Debut for Royals

CBS Sports: Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright Stellar in Opening Day Shutout

USA Today: Shohei Ohtani Makes Opening Day History as Team’s First Pitcher & First Hitter

🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

🏀 NBA: Anthony Edwards Flirts With 50-Piece

Anthony Edwards (49 points) was the high-point man in the NBA with a career-high for the Timberwolves in a win over the Spurs (127-121). Minnesota’s win locked them into the 7-seed in the play-in while the Nuggets also won to clinch the 6-spot in the West postseason.

Other NBA Notes: With the Bucks win over the Celtics, the Heat clinched the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference.

🏒 NHL: Matthews Scores 2 for Leafs Record

Auston Matthews’ goal frenzy continued on Thursday with two goals in the Maple Leafs’ win over the Stars (4-3, OT), including the overtime winner. The Toronto star broke the franchise record for goals in a season, and the Leafs are a win away from clinching.

Other NHL Notes: The Carolina Hurricanes rallied with a three-goal third period to beat the Sabres (5-3) and join the Panthers and Avalanche as the third team to clinch a playoff spot.

THE STORYLINES

🏀 2022 WNBA Draft Preview

Ahead of the 2022 WNBA Draft, here are answers to a few frequently asked questions about how the draft works, WNBA eligibility, which players have declared, which WNBA team has first pick, and more. (NBC Sports)

⚽️ Premier League Title Clash

Manchester City and Liverpool meet at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday with just one point separating the Premier League title rivals and eight games to go. Liverpool will leapfrog the reigning champions if they can come away from Manchester with all three points. (The Athletic)

🏈 NFL Draft Prospect Fits

NFL free agency is about filling needs and finding established starters who can step into a roster immediately and fill holes… That said, the NFL draft remains king when it comes to building a team and is still the best avenue for reshaping a roster. (ESPN+)

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Twins Acquire Chris Paddack in Deal With Padres (ESPN)
• Floyd Mayweather Jr. to Fight Don Moore in Exhibition on Helipad in Dubai (Bleacher Report)
• Steve Lavin Returns to Coaching College Basketball at San Diego (CBS Sports)
• NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to Look for Solutions on Star Players Sitting Out (SI)
• Boston Marathon Bans All Runners From Russia & Belarus After Ukraine Invasion (Yahoo! Sports)

🗓️ WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Weekend Watch-List

The spring swing takes us into mid-April with a busy weekend of golf and baseball. It’s the last weekend of the NBA regular season, too. Here’s what we’re watching the next 72 hours.

PGA Tour

The Masters (All Weekend)

MLB

Opening Weekend Schedule

NBA

Suns at Jazz (Fri. 9:30 pm)

Celtics at Grizzlies (Sun. 7:00 pm)

Warriors at Pelicans (Sun. 9:30 pm)

Full NBA Schedule

NHL

Bruins at Lightning (Fri. 7:00 pm)

Capitals at Penguins (Sat. 3:00 pm)

Avalanche at Oilers (Sat. 10:00 pm)

Full NHL Schedule

Soccer

MLS: LA Galaxy vs. LAFC (Sat. 7:30 pm)

EPL: Man. City vs. Liverpool (Sun. 11:30 am)

Racing

NASCAR: Martinsville Speedway (Sat. 7:30 pm)

F1: Australian Grand Prix (Sun. 1:00 am)

*All Times Eastern

Support The Sportsletter Team 

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Product Manager: Matthew Cahill

Lead Designer: Joe Stella

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