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☆ Rahm feeling right at home ahead of Mexico Open title defence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Obviously I would love for this to be something I'm doing in Spain right now this close to the Masters, but this is the next closest thing," Rahm told reporters on Wednesday. Rahm has made six prior starts as the defending champion on the PGA Tour and his best result in those title defences came at La Quinta in 2019 when he finished in sixth place. In 11 PGA Tour events this season, Rahm has four wins, seven top-10 finishes and zero missed cuts. It was a lot of fun, played good golf," said Rahm. "Feeling good with the game where it's at right now."

☆ Rippers roll in Adelaide as LIV lands Down Under
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, April 20 (Reuters) - After falling short in their bid to gatecrash the Masters, the stars of LIV Golf break fresh ground in Adelaide this weekend when they take the rebel tour to Australia for the first time. The fourth of the 14 events on the schedule in the second season of LIV Golf was all but guaranteed a warm reception Down Under, despite concerns in some quarters that its Saudi backers are engaged in "sportswashing". "Obviously we're going there to win," said the 29-year-old world number six, who defected to LIV for a reported $140 million after his British Open triumph last year. Former world number one and twice major champion Martin Kaymer will make his return after six months on the sidelines recovering from a wrist injury as captain of "Cleeks". Having been pointedly excluded from Augusta, LIV Golf Commissioner Greg Norman has been ubiquitous in the media in his homeland this week promoting his product.

The triumphant pair on Sunday will also receive a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour. The Fitzpatrick brothers will pair together at the Zurich Classic. The golf world is very different from when I started to when he’s playing now so he’s going to focus on the Challenge Tour probably, he’s excited for that. Yet Fitzpatrick – dubbed the hardest-working golfer on the PGA Tour – has no intention of accepting his place in the food chain. “I’m constantly looking at ways to improve and get better, and that’s what’s really important is to keep pushing myself and try and catch them up.”

☆ What Walmart’s pullback from Chicago says about Corporate America’s limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —A line of Chicago mayors heavily courted Walmart over the last two decades, brushing aside community protests. Chains like Dollar General and Family Dollar are expanding in low-income areas, but they don’t sell fresh groceries. Walmart is closing neighborhood markets around the country, and three of the four stores closing in Chicago fall into that category. In Chicago, Walmart is closing in both low-income and high-income areas, a sign that it’s struggling across the city. But it’s the stores in low-income areas that will feel the loss most.

☆ Tired Rahm working on Spanish-inspired Masters Champions dinner
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A tradition of Masters week is the previous year's winner choosing what is served when former champions gather on the Tuesday of tournament week in the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club. Rahm wants to talk with twice Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, who is from the same part of Spain as him, to learn what he served at his Champions Dinners. While Rahm received plenty of congratulatory messages after his Masters win, a stand-out one came from 22-times Grand Slam tennis champion and compatriot Rafa Nadal. The 28-year-old Rahm said this year's Masters, where play was suspended early on two days because of weather, was demanding physically and mentally. If I was one of the kids, I would want to see the recent Masters champion play good or bad, just want to be there," said Rahm.

☆ Why Walmart is closing half its stores in Chicago
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Walmart announced Tuesday that next week it will close four poor-performing stores out of the eight it operates in Chicago. Now, it's closing four Chicago stores. Walmart said its remaining four Chicago stores “continue to face the same business difficulties,” but it believes closing these four will give the others the best chance of staying open. There were fears that Walmart and other businesses would leave Chicago, but Walmart pledged to stay and invest in the city. Some retailers have also cited higher levels of theft and other crime in their city stores.

☆ Masters final-round telecast ratings hit five-year high
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 11 (Reuters) - The final-round Masters showdown between eventual victor Jon Rahm and LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka was the most-watched golf telecast on any network in five years, CBS said on Tuesday. The telecast, during which Rahm came back from a two-shot deficit on Sunday to win his second major and reclaim the world number one ranking, averaged 12.06 million viewers, up 19% compared with Scottie Scheffler's win at last year's Masters. Ratings for Rahm's victory peaked at more than 15 million viewers from 7:00-7:15 p.m ET (2300-2315 GMT), as Rahm was putting the finishing touches on his four-shot victory over Koepka and Phil Mickelson. The Masters has long been one of the most anticipated golf events, but the 2023 edition had added intrigue given it was the first since the start of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit, which drew in a prominent group of players like Koepka and Mickelson. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Quinnipiac Shocked the College Hockey Universe in 10 Seconds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Jason Gay | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

I hope it isn’t too late to discuss the sporting event of the weekend, which really has a chance to go down as one of the greatest sporting events of the year. Not the golf Masters, though congratulations to the impressive first-time green jacket Jon Rahm—and also to second-place finisher Phil Mickelson, you crazy, slimmed-down, 52-year-old, 65-shooting Augusta National pirate.

☆ LIV Golf contingent leave mark on Masters leaderboard
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Patrick Reed, who won the Masters in 2018, was a further shot back with a share of fourth, while Joaquin Niemann was the next best from LIV Golf as he ended up tied for 16th. This year's Masters was the first since LIV Golf launched last June, and 18 players from the lucrative circuit, whose 54-hole tournaments with no cuts have raised talk about their competitiveness, teed it up in the year's first major. Koepka said nobody should be surprised to see that he and his LIV Golf peers posed a threat at Augusta National, which is one of the game's biggest stages. Although it proved too little too late for Mickelson, the six-time major said he and the others from LIV Golf were not out to prove a point to other players in the field. Augusta National cleared the way last December for eligible players from LIV Golf to compete in the year's first major.

☆ 'This one was for Seve,' says Rahm after Masters triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Golf - The Masters - Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 9, 2023 Spain's Jon Rahm thanks the late Seve Ballesteros during his speech after winning The Masters REUTERS/Brian SnyderAUGUSTA, Georgia, April 9 (Reuters) - Spaniard Jon Rahm captured the biggest win of his career at the Masters on Sunday and said he felt the presence of his idol, the late Seve Ballesteros, helping pull him through. Ballesteros, who died of brain cancer in 2011, inspired a generation of golfers in his country and counts two Masters titles among his five major championships. With victory all but sewn up, Rahm pulled his drive into the trees on the last and hit a provisional. "For me to get it done on the 40th anniversary of his win, his birthday, on Easter Sunday, it's incredibly meaningful," said Rahm. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia; Editing by Peter RutherfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jon Rahm Rallies to Win the Masters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Andrew Beaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AUGUSTA, Ga.—When Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm stepped onto the first tee for the final round of the Masters on Sunday, they were more than just two of the world’s best golfers vying to add another major win to their résumés. They were also proxies representing both sides of golf’s great divide. Koepka, who led by two strokes after 54 holes, had a strong chance to become the first player to win a major championship after joining the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit last year. Rahm, meanwhile, remained at the top of the PGA Tour—and was the player with the best chance of chasing down Koepka at Augusta.

☆ Koepka and Rahm set for Masters showdown as Woods withdraws
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Steve Keating | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Critics of LIV Golf have branded the Saudi-bankrolled big-money venture as uncompetitive and little more than a sportwashing enterprise by a country eager to polish its human rights record. A Koepka victory will not end the human rights questions but would give the rebel circuit some of the credibility and legitimacy it craves. The 47-year-old American has won the Masters five times, most recently in 2019, but he has struggled since his car crash. "I am disappointed to have to WD (withdraw) this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis," Woods said on Twitter. "Thank you to the fans and to The Masters who have shown me so much love and support.

☆ Woods withdraws from Masters due to foot injury
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Golf - The Masters - Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 8, 2023 Tiger Woods of the U.S. reacts on the 18th green during the second round REUTERS/Brian SnyderAUGUSTA, Georgia, April 9 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the Masters due to injury after completing seven holes of his third round, tournament organisers said on Sunday. "I am disappointed to have to WD (withdraw) this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis," Woods said on Twitter. But in unforgiving conditions on a cold Saturday with heavy rain falling, Woods was visibly limping and made back-to-back double bogeys. Last year, in his second start after the crash, Woods withdrew from the PGA Championship after carding one of his worst rounds at a major tournament -- a nine-over 79. American Brooks Koepka leads Spaniard Jon Rahm by four shots with the third round of the Masters yet to be completed.

☆ Koepka extends Masters lead before round three suspended due to rain
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/8] Golf - The Masters - Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 8, 2023 Brooks Koepka of the U.S. after playing out from a bunker on the 7th hole during the third round REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstSummary Play to resume Sunday at 8:30 a.m. It marked the second consecutive day that rain interrupted play at the year's first major as 39 golfers returned early on Saturday to complete their second round. Play will resume Sunday at 8:30 a.m ET followed by the final round starting at 12:30 p.m. "I'm pretty sure I'll be up for it considering it is the Masters. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia; Editing by Ken Ferris, Pritha Sarkar and Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Weather-hit Masters resumes at rainy, chilly Augusta
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Golf - The Masters - Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 8, 2023 General view of the 14th green as play resumes during the second round REUTERS/Brian SnyderAUGUSTA, Georgia, April 8 (Reuters) - The weather-interrupted second round of the Masters resumed under steady rain on Saturday with Spaniard Jon Rahm looking to catch clubhouse leader Brooks Koepka at Augusta National where tournament officials hope to get the major back on track. With temperatures around 48 Fahrenheit (8 Celsius) and the rainy and windy conditions expected to persist throughout the day, players will be in for a gruelling session. If Woods makes the cut, he would tie Gary Player and Fred Couples for most consecutive cuts made at the Masters (23). First-round co-leader Viktor Hovland was one over through his first 10 holes before Friday's play was halted and six shots behind Koepka. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pine trees fall near Masters patrons, nobody injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Augusta National Golf Club said nobody was injured from the trees that fell down as breezy northeasterly winds ushered in colder conditions. Threatening weather forced officials to suspend play for a second time at 4:22 p.m. "The safety and well-being of everyone attending the Masters Tournament will always be the top priority of the club," Augusta National Golf Club said in a statement. Moments after the two trees came down under darkening skies, there were several crew members on sight cleaning up the debris. Many of the pines found in the original forested part of Augusta National are over 150 years old while many others were planted when the course was built.

☆ Resurgent Koepka enjoying life in the fast lane at Masters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

First time didn't go, so figured try it again," said Koepka. Now Koepka, who also missed the 2021 Masters cut when he played three weeks after ligament surgery on his right knee, enters the weekend looking to restore his identity as major-championship specialist. "I mean, I've got a completely different knee, so the normal is a little bit different. Koepka also admitted that his decision to join LIV Golf would have been tougher if he was in full health and playing as well as he currently is but added that he was "happy with the decision" he made. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia, editing by Pritha SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Koepka storms into Masters lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Steve Keating | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Koepka, who shared the overnight lead with Norway's Viktor Hovland and Spain's Jon Rahm, returned a spotless five-under 67 to set a 12-under target for the afternoon wave that headed out under menacing skies. Resurgent Jason Day had looked poised to challenge Koepka until he stumbled to a double-bogey, bogey, par, bogey finish for a disappointing 72 that put the Australian in the clubhouse seven behind. While Rahm, winner of three events already this season, was always expected to contend at the year's first major, Koepka was not. "I just take it one shot at a time, one hole at a time, whatever I got in front of me," said Koepka. As Koepka was putting the finishing touches on his round, five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods was teeing off.

☆ Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm not yet the Big Three but in league of their own
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Steve Keating | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I just had breakfast with Jon Rahm and that didn't come up," laughed McIlroy, when asked if the three had discussed their dominance. It may be absurd to compare Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, who combined for 34 major titles, to Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm but on current form the present-day trio are in a league of their own. McIlroy opened his campaign with victory at the CJ Cup and hoisted the trophy at the DP Tour's Dubai Desert Classic. "You can say that (the new Big Three), if we do it for at least five-plus years like many of those players did," said Rahm. World number one Scheffler would not be drawn into the Big Three discussion but put the trio's domination down to a high level of consistency.

☆ Chicago mayoral election live results: Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas face off in runoff election
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas are facing off in the Chicago mayoral runoff election. The winning candidate will succeed Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was the third-place finisher in the initial Feb. 28 mayoral election behind Vallas and Johnson, respectively, missing her chance to compete in the runoff. Garcia came in fourth place in the February mayoral election; in 2015, he was also a mayoral candidate, forcing then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel into a runoff election, which he eventually lost. According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Vallas raised $6.4 million in the lead-up to the initial February mayoral election and has raked in at least $10.9 million since March 1. Johnson raised nearly $4 million before the February election and has taken in at least $5.8 million since March 1.

☆ Rahm no fan of proposed rule change that would reduce distance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But Rahm, speaking to reporters ahead of this week's World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play event in Austin, Texas, questioned why the sport's ruling bodies would even want to propose a rule that would reduce driving distance. "They're hyper focused on making professional golf a little bit more difficult than it already is. As it comes to me, I don't think it's going to matter that much," said Rahm. "I'm still going to be able to stop it in most places with a 7-iron when some people might not." Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Woods skipping Players Championship, next start likely Masters
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 4 (Reuters) - Twice-champion Tiger Woods was not listed in the field for next week's The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, meaning his next start will likely come at the Masters in April. Woods has said his schedule would be limited to the majors and a few other events each year, given the injuries he suffered in a 2021 car crash. Woods' most recent start at The Players Championship came in 2019 when he tied for 30th place a month before he ended an 11-year major title drought at the Masters where he claimed a fifth Green Jacket and 15th career major. The Masters runs April 6-9. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rahm returns to world number one with win at Riviera
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Feb 19, 2023; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Jon Rahm reacts following his victory in the final round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament. Spaniard Rahm, 28, made two late birdies to close with a two-under 69 for a two-shot win over home favourite Homa, finishing at 17-under for his 10th PGA Tour title and a fifth win in his last nine tournaments worldwide. "I don't need a ranking to validate anything," said Rahm, who was last ranked at number one in March 2022. "That was a tough week and a tough Sunday. "My streak continues here," said Woods, who has played at the Riviera course 12 times without winning.

☆ Woods goes low at Riviera but still 12 back of leader Rahm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Feb 18, 2023; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Tiger Woods hits from the twelfth hole tee during the third round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY SportsFeb 18 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods nearly posted an albatross while shooting one of the lowest third-round scores at the Genesis Invitational in Pacific Palisades, California, on Saturday where he will head into the final-round 12 shots back of leader Jon Rahm. "I've been pretty one dimensional on how to hit my tee shots. I've kind of gone to my little -- my stock shot, because I just haven't played enough where I feel like I can hit different shots," Woods told reporters. But Woods put on a ball-striking display during a round that included one eagle, three birdies and a bogey.

☆ Woods apologizes for tampon prank, poised to make cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

After out-driving Thomas on the ninth hole, Woods was caught on camera handing his friend a tampon. Thomas quickly threw the tampon onto the ground as the two golfers had a good laugh. Many did not find it so funny - social media exploded, accusing the 47-year-old of being sexist, taking the prank to mean Thomas hit like a girl. "It was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn't turned out that way," said Woods when asked about the incident after his second round. "It was just we play pranks on one another all the time and virally I think this did not come across that way."

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