Golf

1:12 PM ET Augusta National announced on Friday that it is postponing the Masters because of the coronavirus pandemic, likely meaning the tournament will be played outside of its traditional April time slot for the first time since before World War II. The announcement came a day after the PGA Tour announced the Players Championship

9:43 AM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rory McIlroy awoke early Friday morning ready to go through his routine to prepare for the second round of the Players Championship. With a scheduled 8:46 a.m. tee time, he had gone to bed early Thursday evening — and missed the text from the PGA Tour that

10:04 AM ET The Masters, golf’s first major tournament of the year, has been postponed due to fears of the coronavirus. The Masters was scheduled to be played April 9-12 and becomes the fifth straight tournament on the PGA Tour schedule to be put off due to the global pandemic. Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta

10:17 PM ET Associated Press PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The PGA Tour decided Thursday night to scrap the rest of The Players Championship and shut down its other tournaments for the next three weeks. Commissioner Jay Monahan had said earlier Thursday there would be no fans at the TPC Sawgrass for the final three

9:37 PM ET ESPN News Services PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Fans who were scattered around the ninth green saw Hideki Matsuyama finish with a 25-foot eagle putt to tie the course record and take the lead at the Players Championship. Hours later, the PGA Tour announced the rest of the tournament was being canceled

7:54 PM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rory McIlroy, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, called for all players and caddies to be tested for the coronavirus and said if any one of them tests positive, “we need to shut it down.” McIlroy also said Thursday after his first round at the Players

6:48 PM ET The LPGA Tour on Thursday postponed its next three events, including its first major of the year — the ANA Inspiration — because of the coronavirus pandemic. Postponed were the Volvik Founders Cup in Phoenix, scheduled for March 19-22; the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California, scheduled for March 26-29; and the ANA

6:54 PM ET Bob Harig Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior golf writer for ESPN.com Covered golf for more than 20 years Earned Evans Scholarship to attend Indiana University Mark Schlabach Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of Georgia PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida

5:20 AM ET Dilip Tirkey, former Indian hockey captain and one of only four men in the sport with over 400 caps, laughs when asked if earning a partial card for the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) for 2020 has made him put representing India in two sports at the Olympics as a realistic

8:38 AM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Players Championship began as scheduled Thursday morning, with an autograph ban in place. The PGA Tour said it continues to monitor the coronavirus outbreak and plans to deliver another update by noon ET. For now, spectators are allowed at the TPC Sawgrass, although it was a

The Players Championship, the first big tournament and the unofficial fifth major of the PGA Tour season, is here. All but three of the top 50 players in the world are competing for a $15 million purse, with Woods being the most notable absentee as he continues to rest his ailing back. Defending champion Rory

8:35 AM ET The Players Championship is the PGA Tour’s signature event. Even without Tiger Woods, who will sit out this week because of a stiff back, the field remains loaded. There are plenty of good choices for who will win. Can Rory McIlroy become the first player to repeat at The Players? Some of

8:37 AM ET ESPN Betting Insiders Golf’s unofficial fifth major — The Players Championship — begins Thursday at the historic TPC Sawgrass course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Our experts — ESPN’s Anita Marks and Chris “The Bear” Fallica, Stats & Info’s David Gordon and deputy editor David Bearman — are here to give their

2:05 PM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said Tuesday that the Tour has no plans to cancel upcoming events because of the coronavirus outbreak, including the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, in two weeks. There were concerns that the match play tournament scheduled to be played at

1:54 PM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The pesky question of a rival league that would siphon its biggest reason for existence and render inconsequential much of what PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was lauding Tuesday could not be avoided. It has been a topic of discussion at every tour event played in 2020

8:24 PM ET Associated Press NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Ernie Els won the Hoag Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions title, birdieing the par-5 15th and 18th holes for a two-stroke victory at Newport Beach Country Club. Making his third senior start, the 50-year-old Hall of Famer from South Africa closed with

7:50 PM ET ORLANDO, Fla. — Five Sundays from now, the struggles at Bay Hill will be but a faded memory, a result that will have no impact either way on whether Rory McIlroy wakes up on Easter morning with a green jacket in his sights. Sure, it stings to let an opportunity get away

6:29 PM ET MAN, I TOLD my brother, you really stepped in it this time. Dan shot me a sideways look as we headed for the 17th hole at Augusta National on Sunday, April 14, 2019. “You’ve never been to a major golf championship before,” I said. “And here you are witnessing the greatest Masters