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[ad_1] AUGUSTA: Viktor Hovland wore a shocking pink and white polo shirt for Thursday's opening round of the 87th Masters, but his game was simply electrifying. The 25-year-old Norwegian broke 70 for the first time at Augusta National, firing a seven-under par 65 to grab a share of the 18-hole lead with Spain's Jon Rahm and American Brooks Koepka. "You know a good score is out there, but you can't really force it," said Hovland. "You've just got to let it happen and if you have some makeable putts, you've got to make them and then you can get into a rhythm. "But it's one of those things, you push too hard and it will backfire." World number nine Koepka made five birdies and an eagle at the par-5 second on a 25-foot putt to dazzle the crowd. "Got off to a nice start," Hovland said. "Just kept hitting great shots on the front nine and made some putts, and before I knew it, somehow I was 6-under through 11 and j

[ad_1] ROCHESTER: Top-ranked Jon Rahm seeks his second consecutive major title, Rory McIlroy wants his first major victory since 2014 and Jordan Spieth just hopes to play when the PGA Championship tees off on Thursday. A field of 156 players, 16 of them from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League, chase the Wanamaker Trophy at Oak Hill, where discipline and patience will be as vital as any club. "Discipline is going to be a huge factor this week," McIlroy said. "You've got to keep it out of those fairway bunkers. "If someone can keep their discipline and not start firing at those pins and know that middles of the greens is a pretty good leave on most holes, I think that's (key)." Oak Hill offers tricky pin locations with thick rough and shifting tee box areas to make every challenge unique. "Discipline is a really good way to describe what one needs this week," Rahm said. "It's challenging, but it's one of those where if

[ad_1] LOS ANGELES: Jon Rahm used two late birdies to power past Max Homa for a victory in the Genesis Invitational on Sunday that moved the Spaniard back to number one in the world. Spain's Rahm grabbed his third US PGA Tour title of 2023 after wins at the Tournament of Champions and the American Express in La Quinta, California. It was his fifth win in his last nine worldwide starts, a run that included his third Spanish Open triumph in October and victory in the DP World Tour Championship in November. Rahm was thrilled to capture a win at Riviera Country Club, the classic course west of downtown Los Angeles that has produced such champions as Ben Hogan but where, Rahm noted, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have never won. Woods, who hosted this week's event, was in the spotlight as he returned to competition for the first time since missing the cut at the British Open. The 15-time major champion, still limited by the severe right leg injuries he suffered in a Fe

[ad_1] CNN  —  Tiger Woods played his best golf since the car crash in February 2021 that threatened to end his career to finish tied-45th at the Genesis Invitational, as Jon Rahm walked away with his third PGA Tour win of 2023 to regain the world No. 1 spot. It was Woods’ first competitive outing since The Open Championship in July 2022 and his first non-major appearance since October 2020. The 15-time major winner has played sparingly since sustaining serious leg injuries in the crash in Southern California, but shot his lowest single round score – 67 on Saturday – since the crash en route to finishing one-under-par for the tournament. Following his final round, Woods said his goal from now on is to play the four majors every year, but he doesn’t expect “to play too much more than that.” “My body and my leg and my back just won’t allow me to play much mo