11/04/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | APR 11, 2026

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JON R AHM may be the hottest player on LIV Golf this season but the Spaniard was unable to carry that form into the Masters where he made a disastrous start to the year’s first major. Rahm, who is currently sit ting atop LIV’s individual rank ings with a win and three run ner-up finishes in five events, looked dejected as he made his way around Augusta National while carding a birdie-less 6 over 78 that left him searching for answers. “It’s a hard golf course,” Rahm said on the layout where he won the 2023 Masters. “Some of the players might have been able to manage a respectable round, but when you have no feel with the swing whatsoever, it’s just not an easy one.” The two-times major cham pion had four bogeys by the time he reached the turn and then ran into trouble at the par five 13th where he turned a potential birdie into a double bogey. Rahm sent his approach shot from 176 yards into the shrub but and was unable to find his ball. After taking a drop, he chipped to within 32 feet of the cup and then needed three putts from there to find the hole. “I still don’t know what hap pened, honestly,” Rahm said about his second shot at the 13th.“To get so lucky off the tee, to have an eight-iron in my hand, I don’t know, that ball came out 20 – about 10 yards left, 20 feet higher, and hooking in a way that I didn’t expect. “To make such a mistake from what could have been a good birdie look, it’s a big prob lem. It’s probably the part I’m the most upset at today.” Of the 10 LIV players in the starting Masters field of 91 golf ers, Rahm came into the week as one of the ones considered to have the best chance. He fin ished the first round in a share of 73rd place and 11 shots back of co-leaders Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns. Despite the disappointing start, Rahm knows there is plenty of golf left and knows a thing or two about bouncing back at Augusta. In 2023, he opened the tour nament with a four-putt double bogey but quickly turned things and slipped into a Green Jacket later that weekend. Last year he opened with a three over 75 before finishing in a share of 14th. “I’ve done that a few times,” Rahm said about his ability to bounce back from slow starts at the Masters. “But it still sucks to be in this position, to need a Herculean effort the next two days to give myself a chance to maybe sniff having a chance to win. It’s just frustrating.” – Reuters Rahm unable to translate LIV success

Major champion ejected after breaking strict

Augusta rule

Ű BY LAWRENCE OSTLERE

grounds, although prices are kept low at concession stands. Each visitor can bring in one collapsable chair. Booing or jeering misses and mistakes is not allowed, but celebrating good play is encouraged. – The Independent

Calcavecchia was in breach of this rule and was removed by security, according to Golfweek , which later spoke to the 65-year-old American on the phone. “I’ve got nothing negative to say about Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, so I think we should literally hang up right now,” Calcavecchia is reported to have said, when asked about the incident. There are a raft of rules for patrons to fol low or else risk having their ticket for the week ripped up. Cameras can only be used during practice rounds on

R ORY MCILROY said he was relieved to feel his hand shaking on the first tee of the Masters yesterday, saying it would have been “worrisome” if he had not been nervous despite arriving as the defending champion. McIlroy, who won his first Green Jacket last year, opened his title defence with a 5-under 67 for a share of the lead and said the familiar anxi ety on the opening tee was a sign that Augusta National still mattered as much as ever. “If I felt absolutely nothing on that first tee, that’s not a good sign,” McIlroy told reporters. “So it was nice to feel my hand shaking a little bit when the tee went into the ground and strug gle to put the ball on top of the tee. So I knew I was feeling it. That’s a good thing.” The Northern Irishman said the nerves were no different from previous visits, even after finally breaking through for a Masters title and complet ing the career Grand Slam in 2025. “I’m thankful that I felt the same as I always have,” he said. “I think it would be worrisome if I didn’t feel that way because it definitely still means something to me.” McIlroy’s scorecard suggested a smooth start, with six birdies against a lone bogey, but the opening stretch was anything but tidy. He spent much of the first seven holes playing from the trees before finding his rhythm from the eighth onward and playing his final 11 holes at 5 under for his lowest opening round at the Masters since 2011. Rather than panicking, McIlroy said he trusted that his swing would return and leaned on expe MA R K CALCAVECCHIA, the 1989 Open champion, has been ejected from The Masters tournament after breaking Augusta National’s strict no-phone policy. Calcavecchia was among the patrons at Augusta on Wednesday ahead of the 2026 tournament, in his role as an “honorary invitee”, having won one of golf’s four majors. He played in the Masters 18 times between 1987 and 2008, recording a best finish of second in 1988. Augusta has a number of regulations which it enforces to protect its status as one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, including a specific dress code, no running around the property and no brands or sponsors on the grounds. And patrons – Augusta’s word for visiting fans or spectators – must leave phones behind when they enter. The rule also applies to laptops and tablets as organisers seek to maintain a traditional atmosphere. A bank of old-fashioned telephones are stationed on the course.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and only for still photography, not filming. They are prohibited dur ing the tournament itself. Patrons are not allowed to ask players for autographs when they are on the course, only around the practice area. Food and drink cannot be brought into the

Reason to believe McIlroy welcomes nerves in strong start to Masters title defence

rience to avoid bigger mistakes. “I didn’t compound errors,” he said. “I got up-and-down when I needed to.” That patience, he suggested, may be one of the benefits of already hav ing won at Augusta. McIlroy said claiming one Masters title made it easier to chase another, even if there were still moments of tension. “I think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one,” he said, before delivering the line of the day about the comforts of being champion. “I think it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my Green Jacket on and have a Coke Zero at the end of the day.” McIlroy said his focus for the second round would be to find more fairways, especially with the greens expected to get firmer and faster as the week goes on. But for a player who once carried the burden of the unfinished business at s e d

Rory McIlroy reacts on the 18th hole during the first round of The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Augusta, yesterday offered a different kind of reassur ance – the nerves were still there, and so was the belief. – Reuters

Rose fades late but stays in contention

JU S TIN R O S E made a strong return to Masters contention in his first opening round since last year’s playoff heartbreak, but a late stumble left him three shots off the lead yesterday. The Englishman, runner-up at Augusta in 2025 after losing a playoff to Rory McIlroy, carded a 2-under 70 to sit level with a group that included Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry. Rose moved to 4-under and remained bogey-free through 13 holes before his round unravelled on the back nine. A bogey at the 14th briefly stalled his momentum, though he responded with a birdie at the par-five 15th to stay within a shot of the lead. But dropped shots at the 17th and 18th saw him slip back, capping a rollercoaster finish to an otherwise com posed round.

It marked the 12th time Rose has opened the Masters with an under-par round. The Englishman has fin ished runner-up at Augusta three times, including two playoff defeats, most recently last year, as he continues his bid to claim a first Green Jacket. “There’s nothing I can say I need to massively do differ ently. It’s just about in the moment finding that special shot,” Rose told Sky Sports . “Until then it’s doing what I am doing and not forcing a win.” – Reuters

“I think overall a good start,” Rose said. “Obviously my day, yeah, spoiled a little bit by two late bogeys, but other than that, I think a good start to the tournament.” Conditions became more difficult as the day progressed at Augusta National, with firmer greens and variable winds making scoring tougher, particularly on the closing stretch. “The par-five greens are getting much firmer now, so going for those greens in two is not such an easy thing,” Rose said. “Aggressive play hurts you out here.” Drawing on his experience, Rose added patience was key on a course where condi tions can quickly turn. “Every hole you’re just being patient… knowing that grinding out the pars is a good thing,” he said. “Experience doesn’t really make it any easier, it just makes you know what to expect.”