Sports
The Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters begins Thursday at Augusta National, where defending champion Scottie Scheffler will try to win his third green jacket, Rory McIlroy will try once again to win his first, and the biggest names in golf will come together amid the Georgia pines for the year’s first major championship. There are […]
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters begins Thursday at Augusta National, where defending champion Scottie Scheffler will try to win his third green jacket, Rory McIlroy will try once again to win his first, and the biggest names in golf will come together amid the Georgia pines for the year’s first major championship.
There are 95 players in the field, the largest in a decade, even without five-time champion Tiger Woods, who underwent surgery in March to repair a torn Achilles tendon. Last year, Woods set the record by making the cut for the 24th time in a row.
There is still a schism among the game’s best players, and just 12 from the breakaway LIV Golf league will be teeing up among the pink dogwoods and blooming azaleas. That includes Jon Rahm, the winner two years ago, and Bryson DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion, who has begun to transcend the game through his popular YouTube channel.
Here is a look at what you need to know leading up to the Masters.
When is the Masters?
The first round begins at about 7:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, when honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson tee off on Tea Olive, the first hole at Augusta National. Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod were the first honorary starters in 1963, but it was not until Byron Nelson and Gene Sarazen took over in 1981 that it became such a treasured tradition.
The rest of the field tees off in groups of three, which will be announced Tuesday. After the second round, the top 50 players and ties make the cut for the weekend and are paired according to score for the final two rounds.
How can I watch the Masters?
The Masters stream on its website begins Thursday at 7:30 a.m. and runs throughout the day, and cameras highlight holes and featured groups. The first two rounds are broadcast on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday. CBS takes over Saturday and Sunday with coverage on its Paramount+ platform at noon and on the network beginning at 2 p.m.
What are the betting odds for the Masters?
Scheffler, who has yet to win this season, is the 9-2 favorite, according to BetMGM. McIlory is the second pick at 13-2 following his wins at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship. Collin Morikawa is 14-1 while Rahm and DeChambeau are 16-1.
What is the forecast?
Most of Monday’s practice round was washed out by persistent rain and the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. But the forecast for the rest of the week calls for ideal conditions: plenty of sunshine and highs in the 70s.
Who should I watch at the Masters?
Scheffler, who along with his green jacket and Olympic gold medal won seven times on the PGA Tour last year, got a late start to this season after cutting himself on a wine glass in December. But the world No. 1 comes into the Masters with momentum after a final-round 63 left him one shot back of winner Min Woo Lee in his last start at the Houston Open.
McIlroy has been playing some of the best golf of his career. His collapse in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst last year in his Sunday duel with DeChambeau seems to have made the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland an even bigger sentimental favorite.
Xander Schauffele won two majors last year and is seeking his first green jacket, though he seems to be still rounding into form following a rib injury. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka has twice finished second at Augusta National.
The field has players from 26 countries and territories, the most ever for the Masters.
What about Hurricane Helene?
Augusta National lost numerous trees — the club has not divulged the exact number — when the deadly Category 4 hurricane swept into Georgia last September. Four greens had to be repaired, including the par-3 16th known as Redbud, but only the most astute observers will notice areas on the course where the pines have thinned out.
What happened last year at the Masters?
Scheffler shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday, keeping preternatural poise while his closest competitors faltered around Amen Corner, and finished with a four-shot victory over Masters newcomer Ludvig Aberg for his second green jacket in three years.
Aberg was among four players who had a share of the lead on Sunday; he lost ground when his approach went into the pond left of the 11th hole and he made double bogey. Morikawa had two double bogeys to fall out of the hunt, tying for third with Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa, whose own double bogey from the bushes at the par-3 12th ruined his chances.
Tiger Woods closed with a 77 and finished at 16-over 304, the highest 72-hole score of his career.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Sports
Fort Myers beach volleyball beats Estero for Class 2A-Region 4 title
History doesn’t repeat itself often, but for the Fort Myers beach volleyball team, it resulted in the hoisting of a trophy once again against a familiar opponent. And for Estero, the agony of being one set win away once more stung even more than it did the first meeting. The Green Wave closed out the […]
History doesn’t repeat itself often, but for the Fort Myers beach volleyball team, it resulted in the hoisting of a trophy once again against a familiar opponent.
And for Estero, the agony of being one set win away once more stung even more than it did the first meeting.
The Green Wave closed out the Wildcats in the Class 2A-Region 4 championship game, beating them for the second time this season in an identical 3-2 decision as the one 13 days ago.
“The fact that we are so tiny, our team is chugging along like a train,” Fort Myers coach Kelly Corr said. “They pull together, they do their part, they cheer when they have to, they play their hearts out, we try to touch every ball, we’re working in practice hard so that when we come to the game, they’re just seeing our skills.
“We still have some work to do each and every day just to get ready for state, but I’m proud of the fact that we’re hanging in there. We’re pushing through, and we’re fighting.”
Corr didn’t make any lineup changes relative to the last match against Estero, rolling with her best three pairs on the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 courts. After a dramatic three-set win in the district title game, Isabella Higby and Erin McDowell exploited the serve receive of Avery McCarthy and Jordyn Selander on the No. 5 court, cruising to a 21-13, 21-11 win.
It was a welcoming sign for Corr, who saw Higby and McDowell squander a 20-14 lead in the second set in the first meeting, losing 22-20 after McCarthy and Selander went on an 8-0 run.
“It was relieving,” Corr said. “It stresses me a little because sometimes they can get a little back and forth with it and give a little too much and get in their heads a little bit, but they pulled it together. They proved they deserve to be there. You could tell they wanted it more than anyone out here. The way they were looking and playing and communicating, their one mistake, they just let it fuel them to get the next point.”
Kasey Corr and Amber Englehart moved to 17-0 on the season with an easy 21-9, 21-5 win over Lilly Engle and Capri Phillipine, while Estero got a 21-17, 21-5 win on the No. 4 court from Katie Kuieck and Julia Martus. The No. 2 court saw the Wildcat tandem of Casey Kennedy and Kassia Perkins beat Briley Dodge and Addi Sprecher 21-14, 21-11.
The drama then shifted to the No. 1 court to close it, with a battle between Fort Myers’ Gabby Dwyer and Ashlee Tenkley and Brooke Smith and Delayna Kerry of Estero. Dwyer and Tenkley had their way through the duration of the district title match, but received a stingier fight on Tuesday, especially early.
Smith and Kerry fought hard, capitalized at the service line on misplays from the Fort Myers seniors, and nearly handed them their first set loss of the season. Level at 19-all, Dwyer and Tenkley ended things on a tip to the near side that went past Kerry’s outstretched arms.
“Of course you’re pulling for them at that point,” Estero caoch John Ban said. “I have so much faith in that team. They’re such great beach volleyball players, I thought we had every shot in the world to take them down in first set. That would’ve changed the whole momentum of the match.”
Smith and Kerry would fall behind early in the second, trailing 7-1. Dwyer and Tenkley would hold that mid-single digit lead the rest of the way, pulling away to win 21-12 with the regional trophy shortly in hand thereafter.
For Ban and the Wildcats, Martus and Kuieck are the lone seniors set to graduate from the program, giving them the foundation to be arguably the area’s top squad in 2026.
“The team was amazing this year,” Ban said. “We went 15-2 and lost to the same team twice. That’s the only team we lost to. The girls are a bunch of very good volleyball players and can play on the beach as well. Moving forward into the future, we’re just locked and loaded for next year.
“But the loss was definitely bittersweet. I’m happy for the Fort Myers kids that I coached in middle school at Saint Francis and the kids I’ve been able to coach in club over the years.”
The Green Wave will now head to Tallahassee to take on Gulf Breeze, the No. 2 seed in Region 1 who beat Chiles 3-2 with wins on the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 pairs.
Having Final Four experience on the roster this year will only help, as Kelly Corr coached Bishop Verot to Tallahassee a season ago. Kasey Corr and Higby were on the team that advanced last year, giving the team multiple voices to mentally prepare for the two-day stretch.
“We led with that at the beginning of the season,” Kelly Corr said. “These goals are attainable, they’re reachable, they are tough, but you can do it if you put your mind to it. That was literally one of our goals, was to get (to Tallahassee) for our seniors, for the experience of our underclassmen.
“To do that, and to be able to say you did it, very few teams get to do that. That’s always been one of the goals and one of the things we’ve talked about… They all know that experience, what it’s like, and they’ll be able to talk it up and hopefully that’ll fuel them to want to play even harder.”
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
Sports
San Diego State Athletics Releases NCAA APR Data
SAN DIEGO — All 18 athletic programs at San Diego State exceeded the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) standards issued by the NCAA with two teams recording a perfect multi-year APR score and a school-record-tying nine programs earning a perfect single-year score, the NCAA released Tuesday. The 18 varsity sports (represented by 17 scores as […]
Sports
Florida State University Athletics
TALLAHASSEE – Florida State Athletics has earned a school-record single-year Academic Progress Rate of 992, it was announced Tuesday. “Attaining a record-high APR score is a tremendous achievement and very meaningful,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford said. “It’s a result of sustained excellence and collaborative efforts by our student-athletes, coaches, academic support […]
“Attaining a record-high APR score is a tremendous achievement and very meaningful,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford said. “It’s a result of sustained excellence and collaborative efforts by our student-athletes, coaches, academic support staff and faculty. It’s a true testament to the commitment of our University to fulfilling our mission of preparing students for success in life.”
Florida State had 11 of its 20 sports post a perfect single-year APR score for the 2023-24 academic year. Beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s golf, softball, women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, women’s track and field and volleyball all earned a 1,000 score. Football and baseball also earned elite single-year scores of 997 and 990, respectively.
The NCAA also released multi-year APR scores, and six of FSU’s programs earned a perfect 1,000 score over the four-year span concluding with the 2023-24 academic year, breaking the previous FSU record of five perfect programs set in 2022-23. Women’s golf earned a perfect score for the 15th straight year, while women’s tennis earned its eighth straight perfect APR mark. Volleyball posted a perfect score for the fourth year in a row and sixth time in program history, and beach volleyball posted a perfect score for the second consecutive year and fifth time in program history. Softball had a perfect 1,000 for the second time in program history and first time since the initial release in 2004-05. The women’s swimming and diving team earned its first perfect score one year after a then-program-best 998.
Four additional programs earned a score of 990 or higher. Men’s basketball and men’s tennis both posted scores of 994, placing men’s basketball third among ACC programs. Football and women’s soccer both earned scores of 990. For football, it stands as a program-best score for the third straight report and was the fourth-highest score in the ACC, the top conference in this year’s report. Baseball posted a program-high 979, and its last two years have resulted in two of the three highest scores in the APR era.
The APR was established to recognize institutions for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term.
Sports
Townsend Earns MIAA Outdoor Field MVP; Overmyer Lands All-MIAA Honors
Story Links FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) announced its 2025 All-MIAA Outdoor Track and Field selections on Tuesday afternoon. The Adrian College track and field team earned two honors, with Cameron Overmyer representing the men’s team and Alysia Townsend recognized on the women’s side. Townsend received All-MIAA […]
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) announced its 2025 All-MIAA Outdoor Track and Field selections on Tuesday afternoon. The Adrian College track and field team earned two honors, with Cameron Overmyer representing the men’s team and Alysia Townsend recognized on the women’s side.
Townsend received All-MIAA honors in three events. She was named First Team in both the high jump and long jump, and Second Team in the 100-meter dash. Her standout performance earned her the 2025 MIAA Women’s Outdoor Most Valuable Field Athlete award. At the MIAA Outdoor Championships, Townsend claimed first place in the high jump with a mark of 1.59 meters and won the long jump with a leap of 5.25 meters. Her time of 12.41 seconds in the 100-meter dash secured a second-place finish and Second Team recognition.
On the men’s side, Overmyer earned Second Team honors in the pole vault with a mark of 4.26 meters. He achieved a season-best of 4.60 meters earlier in the year at the Calvin Invite in April.
Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will send a select group of athletes to compete at the Midwest Twilight Final Qualifier, hosted by Augustana University in Rock Island, Illinois, on May 14–15. The meet provides one final opportunity for competitors to improve their marks and qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.
Sports
Campillo Completes Second Round at NCAA Gold Canyon Regional
Story Links GOLD CANYON, Ariz. — Daniela Campillo completed her second round at the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional on Tuesday (May 6) at Superstition Mountain Golf Course in Gold Canyon, Arizona. After two rounds of play, Campillo shares 36th place overall with a score of +9. The sophomore from Viladecans, Barcelona […]
GOLD CANYON, Ariz. — Daniela Campillo completed her second round at the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional on Tuesday (May 6) at Superstition Mountain Golf Course in Gold Canyon, Arizona. After two rounds of play, Campillo shares 36th place overall with a score of +9.
The sophomore from Viladecans, Barcelona tallied a 78 (+6) in Tuesday’s second round Through two rounds, she is tied for third in the regional field with 27 pars recorded in the tournament.
Following Tuesday’s second round, the top five teams in the field are Oregon (-5), Oklahoma State (-1), Arizona State (E), Mississippi State (+9) and Auburn (+18) with Cal State Fullerton in sixth at +20. Currently, the lowest individual not on a non-advancing team is Cal State Fullerton’s Davina Xanh, who is tied for third overall with a score of -3. The top five teams and the lowest individual on a non-advancing team will qualify for the NCAA National Championships.
Campillo will tee off at 11:50 a.m. CT on Wednesday morning in the third and final round of the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional from Arizona.
Sports
Girls Water Polo Playoff Schedule 2025
Here’s a look at the girls water polo playoff schedule for the Journal-area: Glenbrook South Sectional: Wednesday, May 14 Game 1 at 5 p.m.: (1) Evanston vs. (8) Glenbrook North Game 2 at 6 p.m.: (4) Maine West vs. (5) Glenbrook South Game 3 at 7 p.m.: (2) New Trier vs. (7) Niles West […]
Here’s a look at the girls water polo playoff schedule for the Journal-area:
Glenbrook South Sectional:
Wednesday, May 14
Game 1 at 5 p.m.: (1) Evanston vs. (8) Glenbrook North
Game 2 at 6 p.m.: (4) Maine West vs. (5) Glenbrook South
Game 3 at 7 p.m.: (2) New Trier vs. (7) Niles West
Game 4 at 8 p.m.: (3) Maine South vs. (6) Maine East
Friday, May 16
Game 5 at 5 p.m.: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 6 at 6 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Saturday, May 17
Game 7 at 11 a.m.: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Barrington Sectional:
Monday, May 12
Game 1 at TBA: (9) Rolling Meadows at (8) Hoffman Estates
Wednesday, May 14
Game 2 at 5 p.m.: (1) Hersey vs. Winner Game 1
Game 3 at 6 p.m.: (4) Conant vs. (5) Schaumburg
Game 4 at 7 p.m.: (2) Fremd vs. (7) Palatine
Game 5 at 8 p.m.: (3) Prospect vs. (6) Barrington
Friday, May 16
Game 6 at 5 p.m.: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
Game 7 at 6 p.m.: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Saturday, May 17
Game 8 at 10 a.m.: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7
Libertyville Sectional:
Monday, May 12
Game 1 at TBA: (9) Wheeling at (8) Buffalo Grove
Thursday, May 15 (at Vernon Hills)
Game 2 at 5 p.m.: (1) Stevenson vs. Winner Game 1
Game 3 at 6 p.m.: (4) Mundelein vs. (5) Warren
Game 4 at 7 p.m.: (2) Libertyville vs. (7) Lake Forest
Game 5 at 8 p.m.: (3) Vernon Hills vs. (6) Deerfield Co-op
Friday, May 16 (at Libertyville)
Game 6 at 5 p.m.: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
Game 7 at 6 p.m.: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Saturday, May 17 (at Libertyville)
Game 8 at 10 a.m.: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7
York Sectional:
Monday, May 12
Game 1 at TBA: (9) Morton at (8) Leyden
Wednesday, May 14
Game 2 at 5 p.m.: (1) York vs. Winner Game 1
Game 3 at 6 p.m.: (4) Elk Grove vs. (5) Fenwick
Game 4 at 7 p.m.: (2) Oak Park-River Forest vs. (7) Northside
Game 5 at 8 p.m.: (3) St. Charles East Co-op vs. (6) Taft
Friday, May 16
Game 6 at 5 p.m.: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
Game 7 at 6 p.m.: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Saturday, May 17
Game 8 at 11:30 a.m.: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7
State Final Tournament:
Host Site: Stevenson High School
Thursday, May 22
Game 1 at 4:30 p.m.: Winner Glenbrook South Sectional vs. Winner Libertyville Sectional
Game 2 at 5:45 p.m.: Winner Naperville North Sectional vs. Winner Barrington Sectional
Game 3 at 7 p.m.: Winner Lane Sectional vs. Winner Lyons Sectional
Game 4 at 8:15 p.m.: Winner York Sectional vs. Winner Lincoln-Way West Sectional
Saturday, May 24
Game 5 at 9 a.m.: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 6 at 10:15 a.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Game 7 at 3:30 p.m.: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 8 at 6:30 p.m.: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
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