End of the line for Ange?

Excellent European run could be over for Villa.

‘He was just being focussed, I guess.’

‘He was just being focussed, I guess.’

A classy touch.

A classy touch.

‘Welcome to the club.’

At last.

‘I’m not going to back down.’

The President has made his prediction.

We’re set for a gripping day at The Masters.

Rory McIlroy returns early on Friday.

Amateur Jose Luis Ballester was caught short during his opening round (Picture: Getty)

Amateur Jose Luis Ballester was unapologetic after he was spotted urinating into Rae’s Creek in the first round of the Masters on Thursday.

Playi…

Sir Nick Faldo is a three-time winner at Augusta (Picture: Getty)

Sir Nick Faldo and Butch Harmon have made their predictions for the 2025 Masters as the action gets underway at Augusta National.

95 players are in the field for the first …

Rory McIlroy’s four-year-old daughter showed her father how it was done by delighting the Augusta crowd with a monster putt on the eve of the 89th Masters.

The Northern Irishman, who needs to win the Masters to complete the career grand slam, helped Poppy sink a long birdie putt on the final hole of the Par 3 contest.

‘Yeah, very cool,’ McIlroy, who was joined on his round by wife Erica Stoll, said when asked about that heartwarming moment.

‘It’s just such a fun afternoon. Being out there with Shane (Lowry) and Tommy (Fleetwood) and their families, we’re all very, very close, so to have the kids out there and them having fun is the most important thing.

‘It’s a really nice way to sort of end the preparation going into what is the serious part of the week. So it’s nice to be able to get out here and do this.’

The McIlroy family were not the only ones to make special memories during the traditional pre-tournament competition.

Sammy Spieth, aged three, hit a better tee shot by his standards than playing partners Justin Thomas and Max Homa did by theirs on the second hole.

He teed up a driver, gripped it cross-handed and sent his ball about 30 yards down the middle, while Thomas and Homa hit their wedges short and right into a bunker.

Sammy’s dad, 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth, didn’t bother to tee off. He had enough to manage with a team of caddies — all wearing white Augusta National coveralls — that included Sammy, one-year-old daughter Sophie and wife Annie, who is expecting a third child in July.

The record book will show that Masters rookie Nico Echavarria won the contest beating J.J. Spaun with a birdie on the second playoff hole after each shot 5-under 22.

While the Masters is arguably the easiest major to win because of its small field that includes aging past champions, the Par 3 is much easier, because most players don’t even try.

Gary Player certainly does. The oldest living Masters champion at age 89, he made three straight birdies — flirting with aces on Nos. 6 and 7 — to get his name onto the leaderboard, although he ultimately didn’t post an official score.

The same was true of 70 players in the field of 90. That trend likely will continue as long as the winner on Augusta National’s tranquil, 1,090-yard par-3 course fails to win the green jacket. The contest began in 1960 and no one has won it and the Masters in the same year.

‘I’ve never really been, like, buy into the jinx too much, but I also don’t think I’ve ever turned in a card,’ Thomas said.

Participation in the Par 3 is optional, and a handful players — including Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Phil Mickelson — opted out, choosing to grind on the range or play practice rounds well into the afternoon ahead of Thursday’s opening round.

‘If you’re not ready by now, then you don’t really have a chance. This week takes a lot of energy,’ McIlroy said.

‘It’s a tough walk, it’s hilly, and the mental energy you’re expending as well. Get this done, and then just go home, have dinner, relax and get ready for tomorrow.’

Can Rory finally do it?

Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion this week at Augusta National (Picture: Getty)

The Masters returns at Augusta National this week as 95 players vie to take home the Green Jacket in the first men’s major of the golfing seas…

Scottie will take some beating.