Rory McIlroy became only the fourth golfer in the 90-year history of the Masters to go back to back when he defeated Scottie Scheffler by one shot at 12-under par. McIlroy joins Jack Nicklaus in 1965-66, Nick Faldo in 1989-90, and Tiger Woods in 2001-02 as the only golfers to successfully defend their championships. McIlroy had a great second round 65 in the championship. He was even par for the last two rounds. Scheffler rebounded from a rough first round, but dug himself just too big of a hole to come back.
Some other golfers had a legitimate a chance to win as well. Justin Rose from England, who had a two-shot lead after the the 10th hole, faltered down the stretch to finish in a tie for third place. Russell Henley of the United States, also had a chance, but he just ran out of holes.
A lot of people thought McIlroy was very capable of defending his championship after breaking his 11-year drought in majors last year, since he was playing more relaxed. That was the case.
The Phillies definitely need to get their act together fast. For the first 18 games of the season, they are definitely not living up to the media's expectations. They seem to be playing incredibly nervous, uptight baseball, which is making them make simple mistakes, and their offense is incredibly inconsistent. They all seem to be trying to hit the longest home run possible by swinging as hard as they possibly can.
The only good thing is that no team has taken a significant lead in the National League East yet. The starting pitching staff has not been holding up their end of the bargain either. They haven’t had four quality starts in a row yet. That needs to start happening soon.
The Flyers and Sixers have made it into the playoffs. The Flyers will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. The Flyers worked very hard in order to make the playoffs, so I don’t know how realistic it is to think they have enough left to beat the Penguins. They haven’t been in the playoffs since 2020, so this is a big step. They are a young and generally heathy group. The games should be fast and exciting. The first game is Saturday at 8 p.m. in Pittsburgh.
The 76ers will play the Boston Celtics in a 7-2 seed matchup. They will probably play most of the series without Joel Embiid as he recovers from his appendicitis surgery.
I don’t usually wish for rain, but we definitely need some to get rid of this pollen!
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
