Meet the golf whisperer who helped Rory McIlroy win his first Masters
Golf's most renowned sports psychologist, who has been working with Rory McIlroy for years, had been sitting in a quiet room with the 36-year-old star from Northern Ireland in the caddie building at Augusta National, where they had a motivational chat before all four of McIlroy's Masters rounds last month.
When the moment of truth arrived at the end of what unfolded into an epic final round, with McIlroy's name atop the manually-operated white leaderboard, Rotella was floored by what he saw.
We all saw it: McIlroy's final putt disappeared into the cup on 18 to clinch his first green jacket, capture his first major championship in 11 years and complete the coveted career Grand Slam.
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USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
2025 Tour Championship odds, picks and PGA Tour predictions
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East Lake (par 71, 7,490 yards) underwent a major restoration project after the 2023 Tour Championship, completely changing the layout and look of the course. Holes were changed significantly, grass types were swapped out in the fairways and greens, making it feel like a vastly different track. Tour Championship – Expert picks Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 9:33 a.m. ET. McIlroy won here in 2022 and has finished no worse than 16th in his career at this event. East Lake is a long course and McIlroy is one of the longest hitters on tour, giving him an edge over most players in the field. And with there being no starting strokes anymore, he won't be chasing down Scheffler. Hovland is a former winner here, taking home the title in 2023. He also finished fifth in 2021, 12th last year and 15th in 2022, showing good form at East Lake. His game seems to be rounding into form after finishing seventh last week at the BMW, making him a real contender at the Tour Championship this week. Burns tied for fourth at the BMW Championship last week, 5 shots off the pace set by Scheffler. That performance got him back on track after some subpar performances, but he's another player who tends to succeed at East Lake. He finished 12th last year, eighth in 2023 and 18th in 2021, with his worst finish being 24th in 2022. Tour Championship picks – Contenders Hall is making some noise leading into the Ryder Cup selection deadline and though he hasn't garnered much interest from the European team, that could change with a win this week. He's finished 28th or better in 11 straight starts this season, including a solo sixth last week. Bradley isn't turning his full attention to the Ryder Cup just yet, putting his focus on this week's Tour Championship where he finished ninth last year after the course's redesign. He's a great driver of the ball and keeps it in the fairway, making him a perfect fit for East Lake where hitting fairways is critical. WATCH: PGA Tour is live on ESPN+! Get ESPN+ Tour Championship picks – Long shots Im is a perennial contender at East Lake, finishing between second and 24th in each of the last 5 years. He may not be in the best form but he's played well enough lately to earn his spot in the Tour Championship. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Golfweek: Follow @camdasilva on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook. Gambling involves risk. Please only gamble with funds that you can comfortably afford to lose. While we do our utmost to offer good advice and information we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may be incurred as a result of gambling. We do our best to make sure all the information that we provide on this site is correct. However, from time to time mistakes will be made and we will not be held liable. Please check any stats or information if you are unsure how accurate they are. No guarantees are made with regards to results or financial gain. All forms of betting carry financial risk and it is up to the individual to make bets with or without the assistance of information provided on this site and we cannot be held responsible for any loss that may be incurred as a result of following the betting tips provided on this site. Past performances do not guarantee success in the future and betting odds fluctuate from one minute to the next. The material contained on this site is intended to inform, entertain and educate the reader and in no way represents an inducement to gamble legally or illegally or any sort of professional advice. Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. 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3 hours ago
Iga Swiatek wins Cincinnati Open title, defeats Jasmine Paolini
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NBC Sports
3 hours ago
- NBC Sports
The new U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament begins with the defending champions showing how it's done
NEW YORK — The U.S. Open overhauled its mixed doubles tournament in hopes of drawing the top singles players. The defending champions don't intend to move out of the way so easily. Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori earned the first win in the tournament, beating the No. 2-seeded team of Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina 4-2, 4-2. Traditional doubles specialists like the Italian combo were among the biggest critics of the changes, with a format that feels more like an exhibition than one worthy of a Grand Slam trophy. The prize of $1 million to the winning team would be a huge boost to doubles players, but Errani and Vavassori are the only traditional doubles team in the event. 'We also are playing for all the doubles players who could not compete here, so we tried to do out best,' Vavassori said. Fritz, last year's U.S. Open runner-up in men's singles, and Rybakina, a past Wimbledon women's singles champion, are exactly the types of players the U.S. Tennis Association was seeking when it revamped the tournament. Now a 16-team event played over two days, the mixed doubles starts well before the singles tournaments begin, with organizers believing singles stars would be more interested in playing if it didn't interfere with their rest and recovery during that event. Errani and Vavassori didn't even know originally if they would get a chance to defend their title in the new format, which gives eight teams automatic spots based on the players' combined singles rankings. The other spots are wild cards awarded by the USTA. The Italians were given one of them and they showed off their skills in a victory that took just 42 minutes. The shortened format allows the matches to speed by, knowing winning teams would have to play twice on the first day to reach the semifinals and finals. The highlight match for the first-round schedule was to come in the afternoon, when Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu took on the top-seeded team of Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper.
