Sports

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Norway’s Viktor Hovland has raced to the early first round lead at the Masters. He is 5-under par through nine holes on an 81-degree, partly cloudy day at Augusta National. Hovland is one of 16 golfers under par with the afternoon groups set to tee off. He has seven career wins

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemed like a nice pickup for Oklahoma City Thunder, a secondary piece in the trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers four years ago. Gilgeous-Alexander has turned out to be more than an afterthought — much more. He has blossomed

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Killorn of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Adam Fox of the New York Rangers were fined $5,000 apiece for separate slashing incidents in the teams’ game at Madison Square Garden. Killorn was fined for spearing Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin midway through the second period. Fox was fined for slashing Lightning

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods is off to a rough start at the Masters. The five-time champion is 2 over after five holes following bogeys at the par 4 third and fifth holes. Woods has fallen five shots behind leader Cameron Young, who leads the field at 3 under.

MILAN (AP) — Juventus has been given a partial stadium ban for its next home game in the Italian Cup after some of its supporters directed racist chants at Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku was sanctioned with a second yellow card for provoking Juventus fans by holding his finger to his lips as if

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods opened his 25th Masters with a par on the first hole at Augusta National while playing in front of a huge crowd, many stacked rows deep standing on tippy toes hoping to catch a glimpse of the generational star. Even before Woods took to the course, fans flocked to

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — LIV Golfer Louis Oosthuizen shares the very early lead at the Masters at 1 under in the early going, although fellow tour member Kevin Na is bringing up the rear five shots back of the leaders. So far eight of the LIV golfers are on the course, including former Masters champions

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain has annoyed Kylian Mbappé by making him the focus of a promotional video that excluded Lionel Messi, Neymar and other teammates. Mbappé writes in a statement published on his Instagram account that he is “not in agreement with this published video.” He adds “PSG is a great club and a

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Max Homa comes across on social media as snarky, witty and plain funny. And that’s what most golf fans knew about the former NCAA champion until the past few years, when his game suddenly began to match his social media brilliance. Now, Homa’s expected to

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Frank Lampard is returning to Chelsea as interim manager until the end of the season while the club searches for a fulltime replacement for Graham Potter. It is Lampard’s first role since being fired by Everton in January. The 44-year-old Lampard played for Chelsea from 2001-14 and is the

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — LIV golfer Kevin Na and 2003 champion Mike Weir launched drives down the first fairway at Augusta National, signaling the official start of the 87th Masters. Na is one of 18 players from the polarizing Saudi Arabia-backed golf league participating in the event, which is almost certain to make this “a

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The 87th Masters kicks off this morning amid the blooming azaleas and towering pines of Augusta National Golf Club. From the rival LIV tour to Scottie Scheffler’s bid for a second straight green jacket to an elongated 13th hole, golf’s first major of the year provides its usual abundance of compelling

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer An independent tribunal has ruled that the European tour was within its rights to sanction members who competed on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf without permission. An appeal panel at Sport Resolutions found that players including Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood committed “serious breaches” of the European tour code of

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — From the upstart LIV tour to Scottie Scheffler’s bid for a second straight green jacket to a supersized 13th hole, golf’s first major of the year provides an abundance of compelling storylines. Oh, and let’s not forget Tiger Woods. Welcome to the Masters, where the

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters loves its heritage and the tournament is loaded with big moments. This is a capsule look at key anniversaries this year. It was 75 years ago when Claude Harmon won the Masters while working as a club professional. It was 25 years ago

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — After years of negotiations, a land acquisition deal and millions of dollars, the Masters finally made modifications to what historically has been the easiest hole on the golf course. No. 13, the par-5 leaving Amen Corner, has a new look. The tee box has been