Who is the most famous golfer in the United States these days? Dave Hannigan would argue that, “since Tiger Woods’ decline”, it is a certain Donald Trump. And that, he reckons, sums up golf’s current woes, Trump being “more box office than anyone else in the game right now”. Despite being the number one player in the world for nearly a year, Scottie Scheffler could, he writes, “walk down the streets of New York City unrecognised”. But this is the one week in the year when golf will have “the undivided attention of Americans” because it’s Masters time. And even if he’s not familiar to the majority of his compatriots, Scheffler is, writes Philip Reid, “unquestionably” the favourite.
Philip also looks at the prospects of the two Irish men in the field, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, as well as the tournament’s many subplots, not least how the LIV contingent, led by reigning champion Jon Rahm, will perform. They will play on a course on which “only minor tinkering has taken place”, unlike the days of the “grand scale Tiger-proofing” when more than 500 yards were added.
In rugby, Ronan O’Gara has taken his La Rochelle squad to Cork to prepare for Saturday’s Champions Cup meeting with Leinster, his assistant Donnacha Ryan telling Johnny Watterson that the locals have given the French the warmest of welcomes. “We’ve had a lot of people offering any bit of help we may need, you know, ‘if there’s anything you need, let us know’,” he said. Cripes, you’d almost think they aren’t rooting for Leinster. John O’Sullivan, meanwhile, hears from La Rochelle’s powerful Fijian flanker Levani Botia, affectionately known by the team’s supporters as Le Démolisseur, “the demolition man”. Gulp.
In soccer, Vera Pauw has finally spoken about the manner of her departure from the Republic of Ireland job after last summer’s World Cup, the Dutch woman taking aim at a number of the people she worked alongside, including players Diane Caldwell and Katie McCabe, her successor Eileen Gleeson and FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill. As if Hill hadn’t enough to be worrying about, Gavin Cummiskey brings news that the FAI still aren’t in a position to name their new men’s manager, a new deadline set for next week. On and on the saga rumbles.
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Louth’s footballers had to find themselves a new manager too after Mickey Harte’s surprise departure for Derry last September, Gordon Manning talking to forward Sam Mulroy about how the camp responded to that news and how they’re faring ahead of Sunday’s Leinster championship quarter-final against Wexford.
TV Watch: The Masters gets under way today, Sky Sports Golf bringing just the 10 and a half hours of coverage from Augusta (2.0pm). And this evening there are three English clubs in European League or Conference League action – Liverpool v Atalanta (Virgin Media Two and TNT Sports 1, 8.0), Bayer Leverkusen v West Ham (TNT Sports 2, 8.0) and Aston Villa v Lille (TNT Sports 3, 8.0).
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