The first thing that strikes you about Augusta National, as is probably to be expected from all the still and video images you’ve seen over the years, is the sheer greenness.

Every shade of green; the nuances provided by the dappled light of early April here on the border between Georgia and South Carolina. There are emerald, celadon, jade and seafoam greens, mint and sage if the sun catches the slope right, a verdant equivalent of the diamond-like shimmer found on the ocean waves.

And with every perfectly groomed curve, every neatly-coiffured undulation you proceed to the next level of understanding Augusta. The attention to detail. The perfection of it all.

There is not much to be written about this golf course and this tournament that has not been written before, least of all when it is your first time on Augusta National’s hallowed grounds and you are still coming to terms with its blooming azaleas and towering pines. But as every golf fan who has yet to come here dreams of their first stroll down Magnolia Lane, mouth agog as you lightly meander through other gawpers, covering your first Masters brings with it the opportunity to finally discover the course for yourself. A televisual artefact made life, a sporting holy grail that you can explore and touch and smell.

First of all, though, one must contend with the rules. No phones. No cameras (well, not after the practice rounds finish today) so there is no real way to memorialise your weekend in this golfing Mecca except the old-fashioned method of stashing them in your hippocampus and hoping you remember them faithfully. Many patrons, it would seem, have decided that the best way to remind themselves that they were at the Masters is via merchandise, hence a queue for the golf shop that stretches beyond 45 minutes. I am sure it is nice in there, but I won’t be waiting long enough to find out. At least not today.

Considering the true competition starts tomorrow, that very serious, century-old golf tournament that so many of these players have grown up dreaming of winning, it’s slightly odd that Wednesday has such a casual feel. The Par 3 Tournament obviously plays into that, with kids, family members and celebrities caddying or even putting. Instead, some golfers choose to grind extensively on the driving range, with Ludvig Aberg dropping out of the par 3 and hitting more shots on the practice area than anybody else on Wednesday. Others choose to take to the course, be it the Hojgaard brothers enjoying a special practice round they would never have imagined possible growing up in Denmark or Zach Johnson relentlessly practicing out of the sand on the second hole’s greenside bunkers.

These are the things you don’t see on television, and they start drawing you in to feel a little bit closer to Augusta. You can observe the player’s families going about their business, the smile and relaxation that melts away into nerves or frustration as the days progress. There are well-known media faces enjoying their last day of relative freedom before their own professional grind begins. Feverishly behind the scenes, a sprawling team keeps Augusta oiled and functioning.

It must be said that – again, fully as advertised – the service and staff around the course are as friendly and helpful as it is possible to be, without ever feeling overbearing or saccharine.

And that comes back to the great achievement and wonderful paradox of Augusta and the Masters – to make something so utterly exclusive feel so friendly and welcoming, an event that must be so chaotic and difficult to wrangle feels utterly serene.

All the while, this venue of such tradition, that guards its history fiercely, is also secretly always modernising. When players mentioned the trip from the clubhouse to the first tee was quite long, AGNC built tunnels under the practice range to make it shorter. When a tournament director felt the sight of golf buggies delivering supplies to food and beverage outlets was somewhat gauche and unsightly, they made it into a tunnel network. Things simply appear where they’re supposed to be, be that another pimento cheese sandwich on the shelf or Tommy Fleetwood’s hole-in-one this afternoon as his son Frankie caddied for him. No expense is spared in constantly improving, modernising and finding efficiencies at a tournament known for its old-timer feel, and that might be the secret sauce.

The true competition starts on Thursday, when the immaculate fairways will give way to divots and the pristine waters of Ike’s pond will be punctured by wayward tee shots.

Until then, as the sun goes down on Wednesday at Augusta, the perfect bentgrass is too well-kempt to even sway in this light breeze.

After Rory McIlroy’s historic win here last year there is a distinct lack of the tension that has hung over preceding warm-up days. The major story of this year’s tournament is yet to reveal itself and there doesn’t feel an obvious narrative to follow quite yet.

There is a main character, though.

There always is at the Masters, and it’s always Augusta National.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fred Ridley had his annual State of the Masters press conference Wednesday morning. (Tradition, tradition.) The club chairman sat in the middle of a windowless auditorium with a familiar face sitting to his left, Tom Nelson, the tournament’s media chairman. But to his right there was a new one, in that seat: Geoff Yang, an Augusta National member and a longtime USGA rules official. Yang, a tech investor from Northern California, is in his first year as the chairman of the competition committees, a position Ridley had all through the years Billy Payne was chairman of the club.
 
In this role, Yang serves as the ultimate rules official for the tournament, among other duties, including course setup. It is the ultimate behind-the-curtains position. You won’t see him, but you’ll see what he does.
 
Ridley took questions from 14 different media members Wednesday. Yang took one. It came from Jerry Tarde, the longtime editor of Golf Digest.
 
“We have the portraits of the founders staring at us on the wall here,” Tarde said. “What do you think would surprise Jones the most if he came back?” There was a little more after that, but that was the thrust of it.
 
There are two founders of the club, Cliff Roberts, a Midwestern banker, and Bob Jones, the great amateur who designed the course with the architect Alister MacKenzie.

“I think Jones would be amazed by a lot of things,” Yang said, “including how far people are hitting the ball and the level of athlete involved in the game. And I think the conditions have adapted to try to maintain those skills. I don’t think it would be any one thing. I think everything is a little bit of a reaction to where the game has gone.”

The response alone tells you that Yang can do careful and thoughtful when his public life calls for careful and thoughtful. What you wouldn’t know from that response is that Yang, who studied engineering at Princeton, has wry sense of humor with any eye for nuance and irony. Top rules officials — and Yang is now the Masters’ top rules official — typically seek to settle any rules debate in a binary way. A rule was broken, or not. When any of the four men’s Grand Slam events has a rules controversy it reverberates throughout golf, and that is especially true at the Masters.

There are still people talking about a drop Arnold Palmer took on Masters Sunday on the par-3 12th hole in 1958. Ken Venturi, Palmer’s playing partner that day, groused about the legality of that drop for decades, even though Bob Jones said Palmer’s drop was done correctly during play. That was the first of Palmer’s four wins in the tournament.

There are still people talking about the 1968 Maters, won by Bob Goalby after the great Argentine golfer Roberto De Vicenzo signed an incorrect Sunday scorecard. Had he signed for a correct score, Goalby and De Vicenzo would have played in an 18-hole playoff for the title. But that did not happen and Goalby walked off with a green club coat. Roberts sat with both men during a Butler Cabin interview and said to De Vicenzo that “in our hearts we will always regard you as one of the two winners of this tournament, without taking anything away from the new Masters champion.” That comment got deeply under Goalby’s skin — there was, under unfortunate circumstances, one winner — and remained there for years, until the annoyance finally gave way to acceptance.
 
In 2013, in the Saturday round, Tiger Woods took an incorrect drop after his second shot into the 15th green ricocheted off the flagstick and into a water hazard. Per the rules then, he could have been disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. Ridley, in the role Yang has now, ultimately decided to give Woods a two-shot penalty. Still gets discussed and analyzed.
 
This week, and in the years to come, Yang will face new rules questions, ones that will influence the outcome of the tournament. You won’t see much of Yang or hear much from him. But the rulebook rides herd over every aspect of this event, and any serious golf event. The Augusta National philosophy is to try to prevent rules problems before they happen or get out of hand. That’s what Jones did with Palmer in 1958. Yang, in his own way, will be asking a long series of questions: what do the rules say — and what would Jones do?

David Miller was visibly distraught following Delhi Capitals’ (DC) narrow one-run loss to the Gujarat Titans (GT) in their IPL 2026 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday. Miller, who slammed an unbeaten 41 off just 20 balls, took a massive gamble on the penultimate ball of the contest, but the decision backfired. With two runs needed off as many balls, Miller refused a single on the second-to-last ball of Prasidh Krishna‘s over. However, it turned out to be the defining moment of the contest as Krishna bowled a slower bouncer to beat Miller. 

Miller and Vipraj Nigam, who was at the non-striker’s end, attempted to steal a quick bye, only for Jos Buttler to affect a direct hit at the striker’s end to dismiss Nigam.

Miller was completely heartbroken after the result and had to be consoled by DC captain Axar Patel, who shook hands with his teammate and gave him a pat on the back.

Watch it yourself to believe it

A nerve-wrecking finish to a #TATAIPL classic @gujarat_titans fans, you can breathe now

Updates https://t.co/oOdPR1oSeP#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #DCvGT pic.twitter.com/Wh5EQvshqd

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2026

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Meanwhile, DC finished agonizingly short on 209 for 8 in pursuit of 211.

Jos Buttler (52 off 27) returned to his ballistic ways with a six laden half century before captain Shubman Gill (70 off) and Washington Sundar (55 off 32) powered Gujarat Titans to 210 for four.

Rahul (92 off 52) and Pathum Nissanka (41 off 24) provided an ideal platform for Delhi Capitals with a 76-run stand off 49 balls. However, Rashid Khan struck thrice in the middle overs to wrest the momentum from Delhi Capitals.

Titans had all under control until the 19th over with the home needing 36 off the last two overs.

It was a tough ask but with Miller (41 not out off 20) returning to the centre after treating his finger in the dressing room, there was hope.

Miller singlehandedly brought back Delhi Capitals in the game with a couple of cracking sixes and a four in a 23-run penultimate over from Mohammed Siraj.

(With PTI Inputs)

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IPL 2026 News | Shami’s Sensation Leads Lucknow to First Win of Season

Gujarat Titans (GT) stole victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) by just 1 run in a dramatic IPL 2026 encounter on Wednesday. Needing 2 off the final ball, DC batter David Miller missed Prasidh Krishna‘s delivery. However, GT wicket-keeper batter Jos Buttler made a terrific direct hit, resulting in Kuldeep Yadav getting run-out as he looked to scramble a single. Needing 13 off the final over, DC brought the equation down to 2 off 2 balls. But Krishna roared back with two excellent final deliveries to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

WATCH: 

Watch it yourself to believe it

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A nerve-wrecking finish to a #TATAIPL classic @gujarat_titans fans, you can breathe now

Updates https://t.co/oOdPR1oSeP#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #DCvGT pic.twitter.com/Wh5EQvshqd

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2026

DC vs GT, IPL 2026: As it happened

Gujarat Titans edged Delhi Capitals by one run in a humdinger finish in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, which will be replayed in the minds of everyone inside the Arun Jaitley Stadium for a long time to come. David Miller very nearly pulled off the impossible, but the run-out of Kuldeep Yadav on the last ball led to one of the great IPL finishes going in GT’s favour, as they got their first win of IPL 2026.

Miller had been extraordinary. Arriving at the crease with Delhi still some distance from the target, he retired hurt on 12 due to an injured left hand. When he came back, boundaries came in clusters off his bat. Miller ended up at 41 not out off 20 balls in the end, and yet it wasn’t enough to give Delhi Capitals a win, as they ended up at 209/8.

The pivotal moment came with two runs needed off two balls: Miller turned down a single off the penultimate ball, gambling on finishing it himself rather than trusting Kuldeep with the equation. Prasidh, with nerves of steel, denied him the winning finish with a short, slower ball, as Kuldeep was run out by a sharp throw from Jos Buttler, leaving Miller and DC heartbroken.

KL Rahul had given Delhi every reason to believe with a fluent 92 off 52 balls, laced with 11 fours and four sixes. But Rashid Khan had done the bulk of the damage with the ball to keep GT in the game, and eventually won the match at the end in a dramatic fashion.

With IANS inputs

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Delhi vs Mumbai IPL 2026: Fans Flood Arun Jaitley Stadium for High-Voltage Clash

Conor Benn has had his say on the claims that Regis Prograis is injured heading into their fight this weekend.

Benn and Prograis collide in a 150lb catchweight bout in the co-main event of the Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov card at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

It sees Benn back in action for the first time since his two fights with bitter rival Chris Eubank Jr in 2025. Eubank came out on top in the first meeting, but in the rematch Benn dropped his opponent on his way to a dominant unanimous decision win.

Those two contests took place at 160lbs, with Benn now planning to return to the welterweight division, starting with this catchweight bout against Prograis on Saturday.

Around a week ago, it was heavily rumoured that former super-lightweight world champion Prograis was ‘badly injured’ and would be forced to pull out of the fight, but instead the 37-year-old is proceeding with the showdown.

Benn has now spoken out about the matter, telling Boxing News that the outcome will be the same irrespective of the condition of Prograis.

“Whether he’s injured or not isn’t my problem….I ain’t bothered about if he’s injured or not. If he’s injured it’s not a smart move on his end. He’s getting paid a fortune. If he isn’t injured, it’s not going to make a difference regardless, the outcome will still be the same.”

This weekend’s card will be broadcast live on Netflix, and also includes a British heavyweight title fight between Jeamie TKV and Richard Riakporhe, and another heavyweight battle as Justis Huni meets Frazer Clarke.

Randy Orton’s rivalry with Cody Rhodes ahead of WWE WrestleMania 42 may get even more heated on the next episode of SmackDown.

Things have been heating up in WWE lately, which is expected considering the fact that WrestleMania 42 is just around the corner. Several storylines appear to be reaching their conclusion at The Showcase of The Immortals. One of the most anticipated climaxes of a rivalry is the one between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. Meanwhile, Pat McAfee was revealed to be the mystery man whom Orton was talking to on the phone in recent weeks. McAfee appeared on SmackDown last week and assisted The Viper in fending off an attack from Rhodes before revealing his alliance.

Interestingly, CM Punk recently fired shots at Pat McAfee in a pipebomb promo on RAW, while also targeting other names like Roman Reigns and even Vince McMahon. The involvement of Pat McAfee has clearly transcended brands. Furthermore, in a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the veteran also noted that he had some things to say on the upcoming episode of SmackDown, confirming his appearance and teasing an escalation in the feud between Orton and Rhodes.

“Friday Night, live from San Jose, I think I got some things to say. I think we will have a good time there on SmackDown,” McAfee said.

Pat McAfee also fired back at CM Punk after WWE RAW

CM Punk’s promo on RAW also got a response from Pat McAfee in kind.

Taking to X/Twitter, McAfee noted that he had heard Punk’s pipebomb promo, calling him a Punk a** b**ch. He also claimed that Randy Orton was the saviour who was going to bring the pro wrestling scene back on track, listing his various achievements in WWE over the years.

With how things have been going so far, it appears that the match between Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes at WWE WrestleMania 42 will be one of the most intense matches in recent memory. For now, it remains to be seen what Pat McAfee has to add to the situation on the next episode of SmackDown.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the source and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.