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Time of India
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Are Wayne Gretzky's daughter Paulina Gretzky and her husband Dustin Johnson still golf's ultimate power couple?
Paulina Gretzky and Dustin Johnson captured attention at the 2025 Masters Par 3 Contest (Image via Instagram) Paulina Gretzky and Dustin Johnson reminded the sports world why they remain golf's most glamorous and united couple during a memorable moment at last month's 2025 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. The duo turned heads on April 9 at Augusta National Golf Club as they walked hand-in-hand during the Masters Par 3 Contest, offering fans a rare and intimate glimpse into their personal bond. Paulina Gretzky and Dustin Johnson steal the spotlight as golf's most iconic couple Dressed in the traditional white caddie jumpsuit and green Masters cap, Paulina Gretzky accompanied her husband around the course, carrying his clubs and smiling from ear to ear. Operation Sindoor Pak to deploy students in case of war with India? What Khawaja Asif said Abu Jundal, Yusuf Azhar & more: 5 key Pakistani terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor Entry to airports banned, ATMs closed & more such news: Govt says 'fake news' The couple's chemistry was undeniable, especially during the sweet moment at the seventh hole when Gretzky reached for Johnson's hand—a simple gesture that spoke volumes about their connection. Dustin Johnson, a prominent figure in the LIV Golf league and one of the sport's most accomplished players, has long praised his wife for being the glue that holds their family together, especially during the intense travel and time commitments professional golf demands. In an earlier interview with People, he shared, "She's such a big supporter of mine... with golf or any professional athlete, or even a business, you got to have somebody to support you." He added, "She does a great job taking care of everything else, so all I got to do is worry about golf." Gretzky, who comes from sports royalty as the daughter of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky , understands the spotlight. But she's also been open about the challenges of growing up in the public eye. "I never got to be a kid," she said on The Netchicks podcast. "Not to say I am missing out on things — I had the best life ever — but it's hard to always have to censor myself." Today, her focus is firmly on her family. She and Johnson are raising their two sons, Tatum and River, with a shared commitment to balance fame and family life. As Johnson told Golfweek, "For me, golf was always the most important thing. And now, it's Paulina and the kids... they'll always be the most important." Also Read: Does Paulina Gretzky go too far on social media? The online controversies surrounding Wayne Gretzky's daughter The couple's appearance at Augusta wasn't just a show of affection—it was a reminder that behind every great athlete often stands an equally strong and supportive partner.
The Independent
07-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
The Masters: When it starts, how to watch, betting odds for golf's first major of 2025
The Masters begins Thursday at Augusta National, where defending champion Scottie Scheffler will try to win his third green jacket, Rory McIlroy will try once again to win his first, and the biggest names in golf will come together amid the Georgia pines for the year's first major championship. There are 95 players in the field, the largest in a decade, even without five-time champion Tiger Woods, who underwent surgery in March to repair a torn Achilles tendon. Last year, Woods set the record by making the cut for the 24th time in a row. There is still a schism among the game's best players, and just 12 from the breakaway LIV Golf league will be teeing up among the pink dogwoods and blooming azaleas. That includes Jon Rahm, the winner two years ago, and Bryson DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion, who has begun to transcend the game through his popular YouTube channel. Here is a look at what you need to know leading up to the Masters. When is the Masters? The first round begins at about 7:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, when honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson tee off on Tea Olive, the first hole at Augusta National. Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod were the first honorary starters in 1963, but it was not until Byron Nelson and Gene Sarazen took over in 1981 that it became such a treasured tradition. The rest of the field tees off in groups of three, which will be announced Tuesday. After the second round, the top 50 players and ties make the cut for the weekend and are paired according to score for the final two rounds. How can I watch the Masters? The Masters stream on its website begins Thursday at 7:30 a.m. and runs throughout the day, and cameras highlight holes and featured groups. The first two rounds are broadcast on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday. CBS takes over Saturday and Sunday with coverage on its Paramount+ platform at noon and on the network beginning at 2 p.m. What are the betting odds for the Masters? Scheffler, who has yet to win this season, is the 9-2 favorite, according to BetMGM. McIlory is the second pick at 13-2 following his wins at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship. Collin Morikawa is 14-1 while Rahm and DeChambeau are 16-1. What is the forecast? Most of Monday's practice round was washed out by persistent rain and the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. But the forecast for the rest of the week calls for ideal conditions: plenty of sunshine and highs in the 70s. Who should I watch at the Masters? Scheffler, who along with his green jacket and Olympic gold medal won seven times on the PGA Tour last year, got a late start to this season after cutting himself on a wine glass in December. But the world No. 1 comes into the Masters with momentum after a final-round 63 left him one shot back of winner Min Woo Lee in his last start at the Houston Open. McIlroy has been playing some of the best golf of his career. His collapse in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst last year in his Sunday duel with DeChambeau seems to have made the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland an even bigger sentimental favorite. Xander Schauffele won two majors last year and is seeking his first green jacket, though he seems to be still rounding into form following a rib injury. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka has twice finished second at Augusta National. The field has players from 26 countries and territories, the most ever for the Masters. What about Hurricane Helene? Augusta National lost numerous trees — the club has not divulged the exact number — when the deadly Category 4 hurricane swept into Georgia last September. Four greens had to be repaired, including the par-3 16th known as Redbud, but only the most astute observers will notice areas on the course where the pines have thinned out. What happened last year at the Masters? Scheffler shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday, keeping preternatural poise while his closest competitors faltered around Amen Corner, and finished with a four-shot victory over Masters newcomer Ludvig Aberg for his second green jacket in three years. Aberg was among four players who had a share of the lead on Sunday; he lost ground when his approach went into the pond left of the 11th hole and he made double bogey. Morikawa had two double bogeys to fall out of the hunt, tying for third with Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa, whose own double bogey from the bushes at the par-3 12th ruined his chances. Tiger Woods closed with a 77 and finished at 16-over 304, the highest 72-hole score of his career. ___
Associated Press
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
The Masters: When it starts, how to watch, betting odds for golf's first major of 2025
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Masters begins Thursday at Augusta National, where defending champion Scottie Scheffler will try to win his third green jacket, Rory McIlroy will try once again to win his first, and the biggest names in golf will come together amid the Georgia pines for the year's first major championship. There are 95 players in the field, the largest in a decade, even without five-time champion Tiger Woods, who underwent surgery in March to repair a torn Achilles tendon. Last year, Woods set the record by making the cut for the 24th time in a row. There is still a schism among the game's best players, and just 12 from the breakaway LIV Golf league will be teeing up among the pink dogwoods and blooming azaleas. That includes Jon Rahm, the winner two years ago, and Bryson DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion, who has begun to transcend the game through his popular YouTube channel. Here is a look at what you need to know leading up to the Masters. When is the Masters? The first round begins at about 7:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, when honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson tee off on Tea Olive, the first hole at Augusta National. Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod were the first honorary starters in 1963, but it was not until Byron Nelson and Gene Sarazen took over in 1981 that it became such a treasured tradition. The rest of the field tees off in groups of three, which will be announced Tuesday. After the second round, the top 50 players and ties make the cut for the weekend and are paired according to score for the final two rounds. How can I watch the Masters? The Masters stream on its website begins Thursday at 7:30 a.m. and runs throughout the day, and cameras highlight holes and featured groups. The first two rounds are broadcast on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday. CBS takes over Saturday and Sunday with coverage on its Paramount+ platform at noon and on the network beginning at 2 p.m. What are the betting odds for the Masters? Scheffler, who has yet to win this season, is the 9-2 favorite, according to BetMGM. McIlory is the second pick at 13-2 following his wins at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship. Collin Morikawa is 14-1 while Rahm and DeChambeau are 16-1. What is the forecast? Most of Monday's practice round was washed out by persistent rain and the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. But the forecast for the rest of the week calls for ideal conditions: plenty of sunshine and highs in the 70s. Who should I watch at the Masters? Scheffler, who along with his green jacket and Olympic gold medal won seven times on the PGA Tour last year, got a late start to this season after cutting himself on a wine glass in December. But the world No. 1 comes into the Masters with momentum after a final-round 63 left him one shot back of winner Min Woo Lee in his last start at the Houston Open. McIlroy has been playing some of the best golf of his career. His collapse in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst last year in his Sunday duel with DeChambeau seems to have made the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland an even bigger sentimental favorite. Xander Schauffele won two majors last year and is seeking his first green jacket, though he seems to be still rounding into form following a rib injury. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka has twice finished second at Augusta National. The field has players from 26 countries and territories, the most ever for the Masters. What about Hurricane Helene? Augusta National lost numerous trees — the club has not divulged the exact number — when the deadly Category 4 hurricane swept into Georgia last September. Four greens had to be repaired, including the par-3 16th known as Redbud, but only the most astute observers will notice areas on the course where the pines have thinned out. What happened last year at the Masters? Scheffler shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday, keeping preternatural poise while his closest competitors faltered around Amen Corner, and finished with a four-shot victory over Masters newcomer Ludvig Aberg for his second green jacket in three years. Aberg was among four players who had a share of the lead on Sunday; he lost ground when his approach went into the pond left of the 11th hole and he made double bogey. Morikawa had two double bogeys to fall out of the hunt, tying for third with Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa, whose own double bogey from the bushes at the par-3 12th ruined his chances. Tiger Woods closed with a 77 and finished at 16-over 304, the highest 72-hole score of his career. ___
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Trump is using the presidency to seek golf deals – hardly anyone's paying attention
In his first month in office, Donald Trump destroyed federal agencies, fired thousands of government workers and unleashed dozens of executive orders. The US president also found time to try to broker an agreement between two rival golf tournaments, the US-based PGA Tour and the LIV Golf league, funded by Saudi Arabia. If concluded, the deal would directly benefit Trump's family business, which owns and manages golf courses around the world. And it would be the latest example of Trump using the presidency to advance his personal interests. On 20 February, Trump hosted a meeting at the White House between Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, and Yasir al-Rumayyan, chair of LIV Golf and head of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, along with the golf star Tiger Woods. It was the second meeting convened by Trump at the White House this month with PGA Tour officials involved in negotiating with the Saudi wealth fund. A day before his latest attempt at high-level golf diplomacy, Trump travelled to Miami to speak at a conference organized by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which is managed by Al-Rumayyan but ultimately controlled by the kingdom's de facto ruler and crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Trump's sports diplomacy in the Oval Office and cozying up to Saudi investors in Miami did not get much attention compared with his whirlwind of executive orders and new policies. But these incidents encapsulate Trump's transactional and corrupt approach to governing – and the ways that wealthy autocrats including Prince Mohammed will be able to exploit the US president. While Trump will often boast he is making good deals for America, his relationship with Saudi Arabia and its crown prince is largely built on benefits for Trump's family and its extensive business interests. During Trump's first term, the Trump Organization had dealings with Saudi Arabia that posed a potential conflict of interest for the president, especially after Saudi government lobbyists spent more than $270,000 on rooms at the Trump International hotel in downtown Washington. Now with no guardrails from Congress or the courts, the Trump family business is plowing ahead with new agreements that could reap tens of millions of dollars in profit from Saudi-linked real estate and golf ventures. In December, a month after Trump was elected to a second term, the Trump Organization announced several real estate projects in Saudi Arabia, including a Trump Tower in the capital, Riyadh, and another $530m residential tower in the city of Jeddah. The projects are branding deals for Trump's family business with Dar Global, an international subsidiary of Dar Al Arkan, one of the largest real estate companies in Saudi Arabia. While Dar Al Arkan is a private company, it relies on large Saudi government contracts and the crown prince's goodwill. After a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, the Trump Organization lost a series of real estate partnerships and other deals in the US. During Trump's years out of power, Saudi Arabia became one of the few consistent sources of new deals and growth for the Trump brand, which was considered toxic by many US customers and businesses. Aside from real estate branding agreements with Saudi companies, Trump convinced the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund to host the LIV professional golf tour at several of his golf courses, including those in Washington, Miami and Bedminster, New Jersey. After the assault on the Capitol, the PGA of America, which is a separate organization from the PGA Tour and runs one of golf's most important tournaments, the PGA Championship, cancelled a 2022 tournament at Trump's golf club in New Jersey. The LIV Golf tournaments brought Trump's properties back into the professional golfing circuit and provided millions of dollars in revenue for the Trump family business. In November 2022, as Trump was preparing to announce his presidential campaign, the Trump Organization finalized a deal with Dar Al Arkan and the government of Oman to be part of a multibillion-dollar real estate development in Oman. While the Trump Organization is not expected to contribute funds toward the project's development, it will earn millions of dollars in licensing fees for a Trump-branded hotel and golf course – and will be paid millions more in management fees for up to 30 years. The project raised concerns that if Trump was re-elected, he would violate the US constitution's emoluments clause by profiting from being in a partnership with the government of Oman, a longtime US ally, and a real estate firm with close ties to the Saudi government. (A report released by Democrats in Congress last year found that Trump's businesses had received $7.8m from at least 20 foreign governments during his first term as president.) As Saudi Arabia helped keep Trump's family business afloat after the Capitol insurrection, it provided even more crucial support to Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser during the first Trump administration. Six months after Kushner left the White House in 2021, his newly created firm, Affinity Partners, secured a $2bn investment from the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund. Prince Mohammed overruled a panel of advisers who had recommended against investing in Kushner's company, citing its lack of experience and track record in private equity. The advisers warned that due diligence had found the firm's early operations 'unsatisfactory in all aspects', but internal documents leaked to the New York Times showed that the prince and his aides were more concerned with using the investment as part of a 'strategic relationship' with Kushner. Why was Prince Mohammed so eager to invest in Trump and Kushner's businesses, even when they were out of power? The prince was betting on a second Trump term – and he was rewarding Trump's steadfast support throughout his presidency. The Trump administration helped Prince Mohammed survive a severe challenge to his rule: fallout from the assassination of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. In October 2018, Khashoggi was ambushed inside Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul by a 15-member hit team, who suffocated the Saudi journalist and dismembered his body with a bone saw. As the international outcry over Khashoggi's killing intensified and members of Congress demanded sanctions against Prince Mohammed and other Saudi officials, Trump and Kushner never wavered in their support for the prince and his regime. While Saudi officials at first tried to claim that Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, the crown prince eventually blamed rogue operatives for the assassination. But a US intelligence report, which Trump refused to release, found that Prince Mohammed had ordered Khashoggi's killing. The president later made sure to remind Prince Mohammed that he owed Trump for defending him after Khashoggi's assassination. In interviews with the journalist Bob Woodward in early 2020, Trump boasted, 'I saved his ass'– meaning he protected the crown prince from a backlash in Congress. 'I was able to get Congress to leave him alone,' Trump told Woodward. 'I was able to get them to stop.' Today, the president is trying to reap more benefits based on his protection of Prince Mohammed – beyond what Kushner and the Trump Organization have already amassed from Saudi investments during Trump's time out of office. Trump is corrupting the presidency by using it to negotiate international golf agreements and other deals that will ultimately enrich his family – and hardly anyone is objecting. Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor at New York University
