Golf

6:39 AM ET The Masters came upon us quickly in 2021, with the previous installment having just ended only five months earlier and without another major championship between them. Dustin Johnson’s time with the green jacket was short, and Hideki Matsuyama lifted up a nation in winning this one. Here are a few things we

7:04 PM ET ESPN News Services Hideki Matsuyama made history on Sunday as the first male golfer from Japan to win a major championship. Ten years after making a sterling debut as the best amateur at Augusta National, Matsuyama claimed the ultimate trophy with a victory in the Masters. Matsuyama, 29, closed with a 1-over

12:54 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Led by Japan’s prime minister, the country celebrated golfer Hideki Matsuyama‘s victory in the Masters — the first Japanese player to win at Augusta National and pull on the famous green jacket. “It was really wonderful,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said with his country struggling to pull off

8:33 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — Xander Schauffele, perhaps the best golfer on the planet without a major championship victory, stood on the tee box at the par-3 16th in Sunday’s final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Schauffele had just made four consecutive birdies to cut Hideki Matsuyama‘s lead to 2

9:14 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — Hideki Matsuyama smiled as he walked from the front nine to the back on Sunday, never looking toward the giant scoreboard to his right. He held a three-shot lead in the Masters, going out in 2 under. Nine holes remained between him and a major championship, the first ever

7:03 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — At the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, after Japan’s Hideki Matsuyma led at the turn and then bogeyed five of the final nine holes to finish in a tie for fifth, he buried his head in his hands and cried after an interview with a Japanese reporter. Even

8:57 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — A dangerous weather situation that caused the evacuation of Augusta National and was followed by a brief period of heavy rain was all it took to throw Justin Thomas off his game and out of contention at the Masters. Things were going quite well for Thomas before weather intervened.

8:01 PM ET Associated Press AUGUSTA, Ga. — The storms that stopped play for a little more than hour on Saturday at the Masters were expected. The masterpiece delivered by Hideki Matsuyama after the break was not. Matsuyama played the final eight holes in 6-under par, turning a two-shot deficit into a four-shot lead. With

8:45 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — For the first nine holes on Saturday, the leaderboard at the Masters was crowded. Then, after a weather delay, Hideki Matsuyama blistered the second nine at Augusta National, shooting 30 on his way to a 7-under 65 in the only bogey-free round at this place this year. So can

8:07 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — Here are the tee times for the final round of the 85th Masters at Augusta National: All times ET 10 a.m. — Jim Herman, Adam Scott 10:10 a.m. — Brendon Todd, Jose Maria Olazabal 10:20 a.m. — Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Gary Woodland 10:30 a.m. — Paul Casey, Billy Horschel 10:40

4:20 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — The scoring got easier, and Justin Rose got worse. That is often how golf works. For the Englishman who missed the last five weeks, an opening-round 65 came as a surprise. His follow-up 72 allowed a lot more players to stay in contention through two rounds of the Masters.

7:08 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — The process is far from complete, with plenty of work to be done. The prolonged slump might be a thing of the past, but getting his game to the level of those bygone days is still the goal for Jordan Spieth. He’s on another leaderboard, this time at the

8:17 PM ET AUGUSTA, Georgia — Defending Masters champion Dustin Johnson won’t be around for the weekend at Augusta National Golf Club after missing the cut. Neither will four-time major winners Brooks Koepka or Rory McIlroy. But after England’s Justin Rose came back to the field a little bit in Friday’s second round, there still

8:51 PM ET AUGUSTA, Georgia — Justin Rose entered the 85th Masters this week ranked No. 41 in the Official World Golf Ranking, his lowest ranking entering a tournament in a decade. Rose, 40, hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in more than two years, and he has just one top-30 finish in five worldwide

8:13 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — This is the Augusta National that leaves you breathing fire rather than soaking in its beauty, spewing expletives rather than hosannas, walking off bewildered. Other than Justin Rose, who somehow shot 7-under-par 65 after not playing for more than a month, most of those who traversed the hallowed ground

7:48 PM ET Associated Press Only a dozen players managed to break par in the opening round of the Masters. No one was close to Justin Rose. The 40-year-old Englishman has a commanding four-stroke lead after a blistering 7-under 65. He began his surge with an eagle at No. 8 and played the final 11

10:34 AM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — As the sun peeked over the tall Georgia pines on Thursday morning, Lee Elder joined Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as honorary starters on the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club for the 85th edition of the Masters. Elder, 86, was driven to the No. 1 tee in

2:50 PM ET AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy, who is known to be one of the most thoughtful and introspective golfers on the professional touring circuit, ended his pre-Masters news conference by going on an extended riff about Tiger Woods. That felt perfect because even though Woods is at home recovering from his car wreck,