Ireland XV were outclassed by England ‘A’ at Thomond Park on Friday night, going down on a 14-52 score line.
Four tries and three conversions for the visiting side were followed by a further four successfully converted five-pointers in the second 40 minutes. The hosts only managed two converted tries in the opening period and failed to trouble the score board in the second half.
First score of the game
The visitors went into an early lead through an Ethan Roots try. The England ‘A’ captain’s effort was converted by Leicester Tigers’ Billy Searle.
Searle soon crossed himself for a try pushing the English into a 12-0 advantage – as he missed the conversion.
Ireland got on the scoresheet through Munster’s Brian Gleeson. The number eight’s score was added to by Ciarán Frawley as he successfully converted to reduce the deficit to 5-12.
Brian Gleeson gets @IrishRugby XV’s first points of the game ☘️
The visitors dominated the scoring for most of the following twenty minutes – in the process scoring two converted tries.
Two more tries for the visitors
Ollie Hassell-Collins joined his Leicester Tigers’ teammate Searle on the scoring charts as he touched down for his side’s third five-pointer of the night. Searle missed his second conversion effort of the night – this one from a more difficult angle than the previously one he had missed.
Harry Randall claimed the fourth England ‘A’ try of the fixture, before Searle converted to move the visiting side into a 24-7 lead.
Kenny try before half-time
Shortly before half-time Ireland XV struck back. The fast-reacting Joshua Kenny picked up the ball and raced to touch down – much to the delight, and relief of the home fans.
With an easy tap-over for Ciarán Frawley, the UCD man kept Cullie Tucker’s side in the game, as they headed for the tunnel at half-time 14-24 behind England ‘A’.
Half-time score: Ireland XV 14 England ‘A’ 24
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Within minutes of the restart Fineen Wycherley was sin-binned. With a one-man advantage, England ‘A’ pressured the home side’s line, before Geaorge Kloska crashed over for a try.
Searle’s conversion effort was again successful, as he moved his side to a 31-14 lead.
Ollie Hassell-Collins claimed his second try of the evening, while Wycherley was still in the sin bin. Searle again added the extras as England ‘A’ moved 38-14 ahead.
The England ‘A’ side dominated from then onwards, with winger Cadan Murley of Harlequins getting in on the try-scoring action. Roots scored his second try and with Searle converting the former’s try and Charlie Atkinson the latter, England ‘A’ ran out 14-52 victors.
A major WWE Superstar pushed to win at the Royal Rumble but still came up short at the PLE this past Saturday night in Saudi Arabia. The popular star competed in a major title match at Royal Rumble 2026.
Sami Zayn won a Fatal 4-Way match last month to become the number one contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship. He challenged Drew McIntyre for the title at the Royal Rumble but was unable to defeat The Scottish Warrior.
Thanks for the submission!
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According to a new report from the Wrestling Observer, Zayn was pushing to defeat McIntyre and capture the title at Royal Rumble, but it was not meant to be. McIntyre defeated Zayn at the PLE via pinfall after connecting with the Claymore.
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Why Did WWE Waste This Year’s Royal Rumble? Find Out!
Following his victory over Zayn, McIntyre interfered in the Men’s Royal Rumble match later in the show to eliminate Cody Rhodes. Roman Reigns won the Men’s Royal Rumble and will be challenging CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE WrestleMania 42.
Jackie Redmond reveals how Sami Zayn almost ruined their WWE interview
Backstage interviewer Jackie Redmond recently shared how Sami Zayn almost ruined a segment they had together.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on the INSIGHT podcast, Redmond shared that Zayn was very late to an interview segment they had in the past. Redmond disclosed that she started to get nervous, but thankfully, the former Intercontinental Champion showed up in time.
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“We are getting ready for a live shot backstage where I’m interviewing this person. And we’re like 20 seconds away. Don’t even have eyes on him. Don’t know where he is. I haven’t seen him. We chatted earlier in the day, like, yeah, we have backstage, and that will be great, whatever. But we’re getting close.” She continued, “And so I’m starting to panic a little bit. And literally, like, we’re in the 10 count. And finally, Sami Zayn shows up, and we’re ready to go. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, Sami! I’m so nervous!’ I was like, where is this man? But he was fine, and he nailed it, and we were great. And it was a wonderful segment,” she said.
.@DMcIntyreWWE RETAINS! 💪
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Sami Zayn after failing to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship.
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Manchester United’s majority owners, the Glazer family, are bidding for both Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals franchises, having previously failed to secure IPL expansion teams in 2021
The Glazer family are once more attempting to acquire an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, with both Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Rajasthan Royals under consideration. The Glazers already own one T20 team and are now reportedly pursuing considerably larger opportunities.
Avram Glazer is amongst the owners of Manchester United and NFL frachise Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whilst also holding a commercial stake in cricket.
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Through his firm Lancer Capital, Glazer owns Desert Vipers, one of the teams in the UAE’s ILT20 competition, and has been eager to enter the market in India for several years.
His attempt to secure one of the two IPL expansion franchises, which eventually became Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans, proved unsuccessful back in 2021.
However, the United owners remain determined and are now pursuing both RCB and Rajasthan.
According to State of Play, the Glazers have tabled an offer of approximately $1.8billion (£1.32bn) to purchase Bengaluru, the reigning IPL champions in both the men’s and women’s formats.
That sum, submitted via New Orleans-based Lancer Capital, positions them amongst the highest bidders from nine competing groups.
They are also contending to acquire Rajasthan, whose sale process is further advanced than Bengaluru’s, with a second round imminent. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regulations prohibit multi-franchise ownership, meaning, should they succeed, the Glazer family may need to select between the two teams.
The Cricket Monthly revealed that the Glazers’ proposals for the Ahmedabad and Lucknow franchises in 2021 were the weakest amongst all competing parties. The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group secured the Lucknow outfit following a bid exceeding £686m, whilst the Titans were acquired by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for £541m.
The Glazers appear determined not to miss out this time around, with the IPL continuing to flourish commercially as the globe’s premier and most profitable T20 competition.
Reports also suggested that Avram Glazer – the family member most enthusiastic about cricket expansion – sought to utilise the Man United brand within the sport. Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, son of Dubai’s ruler, posted on Twitter in March 2022 that he’d met Avram and discuss “the UAE T20 Cricket league’s launch in Jan 2023 featuring Manchester United cricket team & other teams.”
That proposal failed to materialise owing to copyright complications, yet the Glazers remain undeterred in their pursuit of cricket opportunities. The IPL venture isn’t their sole consideration in India either, with Indian cricket icon Sourav Ganguly disclosing in 2022 that the Glazers had engaged in discussions about acquiring Indian Super League club East Bengal.
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The Glazer family have held ownership of United since 2005, but did sell a 26.2 per cent share to Sir Jim Ratcliffe for £1.3bn in February 2024, and the British petrochemicals billionaire now oversees the daily operations of Reds.
Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.
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And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
NEW YORK — WNBA players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike said significant work remains for the season to start on time but said she remains confident games will be played in 2026.
“I know our players 100 per cent want to play this year,” she said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Friday. “We want a season.”
Ogwumike said the league and union are not close on key issues like revenue sharing in their effort to strike a new collective bargaining agreement. The clock is ticking. The season is supposed to begin May 8, but an expansion draft, free agency and a rookie draft also need to happen before the league tips off.
Ogwumike said once revenue sharing is solved, the rest hopefully will fall into place quickly.
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“We made the point that once we nail this, we can get everything else done,” Ogwumike said.
The players want around 30 per cent of the gross revenue — money generated before expenses — for the first year in their latest proposal. Under the league’s last proposal, players would receive in excess of 70 per cent of net revenue, though that would be their take of the profits after expenses are paid. Those expenses would include upgraded facilities, charter flights, five-star hotels, medical services, security and arenas.
Ogwumike reiterated several times that the union is still waiting for a response from the league to a proposal that it sent more than six weeks ago.
“I think that’s really what the players are considering now, is that the lack of movement from the league side is truly disappointing,” she said.
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According to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to the AP last month, the league previously didn’t feel that proposal was much different than an earlier one the union had sent and didn’t warrant a new response. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. After a three-hour meeting Monday at the NBA offices, the union left with the understanding that it would have a new proposal soon.
The league’s most recent offer last month would guarantee a maximum base salary of $1 million in 2026 that could reach $1.3 million through revenue sharing. That’s up from the current $249,000 and could grow to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement.
That was on slides that were presented to players at Monday’s meeting and obtained by the AP.
The slides also outlined 37 areas where the league was willing to make concessions that players wanted. Some of those proposals included adding two developmental player slots to teams, giving pregnant players the right to refuse trades, increasing the guaranteed contracts on a team and codifying charter flights as well as other first-class travel considerations.
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If a new CBA isn’t agreed upon soon, it could delay the start of the 2026 season. It’s already delayed the expansion draft for Toronto and Portland.
The last CBA was announced in the middle of January 2020, a month after it had been agreed to. It could easily take two months from when a new CBA is reached to get to the start of free agency, which was supposed to begin last month. With a massive salary raise expected in a new CBA, 80 per cent of players in the league are free agents this offseason, which makes this the biggest opportunity for player movement in the history of the WNBA.
A delay would hurt both sides as every game that is missed, revenue would be lost, as would be sponsorships, television money and fan support.
Ogwumike, who is in her third term as union president, said that the long wait for a response hasn’t been all bad, as she and union leadership have had a chance to talk with WNBA players. She was in Nashville on Thursday with union leadership at Athletes Unlimited. It was a chance to take the pulse of the players.
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“I actually like the fact that we’ve had these six weeks now, still waiting for a proposal. It’s given us the gift of time,” she said. “And so, you know, in December, after the strike authorization vote, we were able to meet in Miami and talk to players.”
Players voted to give union leadership the right to strike in December. Ogwumike said that, despite that, a strike is not imminent, although the union did post on social media a video about the 1964 NBA All-Star Game strike. The NBA All-Star Game is next weekend in Los Angeles.
“Having the strike on the table is something that we’re very much aware of, but there’s so many more conversations that have to happen,” Ogwumike said. “You know, we’re not just going to say, `Hey, today’s the day (we’ll strike).’ You know, I think that’s what we’re demonstrating right now is negotiating in good faith.”
Wednesday night during Super Bowl week marked a show of local talent.
The Toyota Glow-Up Classic, a glow-in-the-dark flag football game featuring Bay Area high school girls, took place on the same field where the Pro Bowl was played inside San Francisco’s Moscone Center.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is obviously a fan favorite, and he got to be even more so by serving as a coach for the game.
Toyota Glow-Up Classic, a glow-in-the-dark flag football exhibition at the Super Bowl Experience on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in San Francisco. Toyota is providing each participating youth player a grant that can be used for their flag football future.(Jeff Lewis/AP Content Services for Toyota Motor North America)
“It was awesome to have the ability to coach up some high school girls and watch them compete, and for Toyota to put on such a cool event, I thought it was just an amazing thing,” Purdy told Fox News Digital after the game. “That’s where the Pro Bowl was played. So for us to be able to go out there and those girls have fun, score touchdowns, jump in like a Tundra. It was a fun night”
Eli Manning, along with Kylie Kelce, served as an official, and despite his best efforts, he was not perfect, according to Purdy.
Toyota Glow-Up Classic, a glow-in-the-dark flag football exhibition at the Super Bowl Experience on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in San Francisco. Toyota is providing each participating youth player a grant that can be used for their flag football future. (Jeff Lewis/AP Content Services for Toyota Motor North America)
“They did a great job. I mean, Eli threw a couple flags where I was like, ‘Dude, come on.’ Like we had a big play. Eli threw a flag, called it back. So I wish I had a challenge flag to be able to throw out there, but he did a good job,” Purdy joked.
Division rival Puka Nacua was also a coach, but Purdy said the two were able to put aside their differences for at least a couple of hours.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy coaches female Bay Area youth flag football players during the Toyota Glow-Up Classic, a glow-in-the-dark flag football exhibition at the Super Bowl Experience on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in San Francisco. (Jeff Lewis/AP Content Services for Toyota Motor North America)
“We were chilling. I mean, we both had a good time,” Purdy said. “Puka is a competitor. Love his game and everything, but to be able to go out there and coach up some girls and have fun with it. It was pretty sweet.”
Romanian Twitch streamer and partner Madalina “Bisscute” recently went viral for injuring herself during a katana showcase. She has nearly 38,000 followers on the platform and averages about 300 viewers per stream. She’s been consistently streaming since 2021, and is recognized for her variety broadcasting where she ‘Just Chats,’ and plays a series of games from Teamfight Tactics to Elden Ring.
On February 5, 2026, Bisscute pulled her red katana away from the display on her wall to show the viewers in her chatbox. She walked up to the camera and held the sword by its sheath. This caused the blade to slide out. As soon as the metal came out, the streamer grabbed the sword:
“Do you see? Because of the chair… So I got my katana… I got my katana… Ah!”
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As soon as she grabbed the blade, she yelped and walked off camera, grabbing her hand. The stream cut out soon after.
Based on her Instagram Stories, she mentioned that the katana incident severed tendons in her hand. Typically, treatment for severed tendons involves a 12-week recovery process using splinting.
Streamer Bisscute shares an update after the katana incident
Bisscute shares an update on Instagram (Image via @bisscute__/Instagram)
Sure enough, a day later, Bisscute took to Instagram and shared a photo of herself in a splint and her hand covered up in a cast. The caption to the Story read:
“Back in the office. Long live painkillers and determination.”
On February 7, Madalina returned to Twitch in an emotional stream and talked about her injuries, assuring her chat that she was on the road to recovery.
In other news, streamer Tylil James injured himself live during Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 3 event following a dry ice-plastic bottle experiment. James then went out of commission for a few days to deal with his wounds.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Thursday said Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty would be the new venue for the event.
The 2029 Asian Winter Games had originally been planned to be held in Neom, a planned city and mega-project on the Red Sea in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Announcing the decision on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, OCA President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamas Al Thani thanked Kazakhstan for its commitment to and development of winter sports.
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“Almaty is a city with deep connections to winter sports and we have very fond memories of when we last hosted the Asian Winter Games in 2011,” he said at a press conference.
“We have no doubt we will build on this legacy and deliver an unforgettable Games in 2029,” Al Thani added.
Why are the 2029 Asian Winter Games being moved from Saudi Arabia?
The move to Kazakhstan comes after Saudi Arabia and the OCA agreed in January to delay the kingdom’s staging of the Asian Winter Games at Trojena, an under-construction mountain tourism resort and a centerpiece of the Neom mega-project.
The Line was set to cost $500 billion, but some say the true cost is over $8 trillionImage: Balkis Press/ABACAPRESS/IMAGO
The postponement was confirmed after Riyadh appeared to try to push back the delivery of the ski resort.
A source at the Saudi Olympic Committee told the Reuters news agency that the nation was still aiming to hold the Games in future, adding that the delay would allow time to develop a winter-sports culture.
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While the postponement has not been explained, it marks the latest blow for the mega-project, which is part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious “Vision 2030” strategy championed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler.
The project, which also foresees the construction of two parallel mirror-encased skyscrapers extending over 170 kilometers (105 miles) through desert and mountain terrain, has faced repeated delays and doubts over its feasibility.
Riyadh has been forced to reassess several large-scale development projects amid rising costs and stagnating oil prices.
Six games highlight Friday’s NBA slate, which begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, and has the last tip at 10 p.m. ET. There are a number of high quality options in the NBA DFS player pool to build your daily Fantasy basketball lineups around. Stars like Cade Cunningham, Ryan Rollins, Derrick White, Jalen Brunson, Trey Murphy III, Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam, Julius Randle and Zion Williamson are scheduled to be in action, so you certainly have plenty of directions to go with NBA DFS picks.
McClure is a DFS professional with more than $2 million in career winnings. He’s also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine who uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They’re a must-see for any NBA DFS player.
For Friday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham at $10,200 on DraftKings and $10,600 on FanDuel. The Pistons are on the second half of a back-to-back after a surprising loss to the Wizards on Thursday. Cunningham played well despite the loss, scoring 30 points and recording eight assists and eight rebounds. With Jalen Duren (knee) questionable against the Knicks on Friday, McClure is expecting another heavy workload for Cunningham in the top game of the evening. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
He’s also building his NBA DFS strategy around Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, who is $4,400 on FanDuel and $4,100 on DraftKings. The Pacers traded Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson for Ivica Zubac on Friday, and Zuban is not in the lineup, so the Pacers will need some additional scoring options. McConnell has been dealing with a knee injury, but has been cleared for this one, and McClure is projecting above average production at a value price against the Bucks, a team ranked 24th in defensive efficiency this season. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.
How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Friday, Feb. 6
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Friday because of an optimal matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
Watch the moment a referee is forced to stop play in the match between Union Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, after the home fans set off flares in the stands in celebration of their 60th birthday.
Should the Players Championship become golf’s fifth major?
That’s the question the PGA Tour not-so-subtly wants you asking.
The Tour released a provocative new Players promo video on Thursday afternoon during late-window coverage of the WM Phoenix Open that felt like an exercise in subliminal messaging.
Seems like the PGA Tour wants the “5th major” debate back on.
The Players Championship just dropped this new ad. Should get you fired up for TPC Sawgrass — but it’s the half-second at the end that’s going to raise eyebrows:
The opening shot — an upside-down reflection of J.J. Spaun — serves as a callback to last year’s dramatic, splashy Players finish, where Spaun made an inspired charge before his hopes ended in arguably golf’s most famous lake.
Next there’s Sepp Straka gazing at TPC Sawgrass’ iconic island-green 17th. (Why Straka? I’m not exactly sure, but my best guess is his was the steeliest stare the Tour had on file.)
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Then recent big-name Players champs tick past, Scottie Scheffler (who won in 2023 and 2024) and then Rory McIlroy (2019 and 2025) and then Justin Thomas (2021), the three most recent in-good-standing tournament winners who are also three of golf’s most popular stars (you won’t be shocked to hear that 2022 champ Cameron Smith, now of LIV Golf, does not make an appearance).
The shots are desaturated, overcast, moody, dramatic. A voice drifts over the scenes.
I can’t get you out of my head
Suddenly you’re underwater, then halfway out, then rising into the sky. The island green appears before you, and the stadium around it. There are a lot of people there.
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There’s Corey Conners. There’s a ball in the water. There’s Tony Finau. Another splash. There’s a player in anguish, and then another. There’s Collin Morikawa, so agonized he’s taken off his hat. Another splash. A hole-in-one from Shane Lowry. (Remember that?) A grin from Brooks Koepka. (Remember him?) A leap from Ryan Moore. (His days as one of the faces of the Tour may be numbered.) Then, boom. Uppercut fist-pump from Tiger Woods, punctuating the iconic “Better-than-most” moment.
And then comes the tagline.
MARCH IS GOING TO BE MAJOR
It’s barely on screen; blink and you could just about miss it. But the message seems pretty clear.
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The Players being described as “major” is, at the very least, a strong suggestion. Greenlighting this particular tagline does not happen by accident — especially not for a PGA Tour under new CEO Brian Rolapp, who has started his first full season on offense. In recent weeks, the Tour has recruited multiple players back from LIV and pushed forward plans to reimagine the schedule under the guidance of visionaries like Tiger Woods and Theo Epstein. The latest development is only a piece of marketing material, but it suggests something bigger: Rolapp is ratcheting up the size of the Tour’s visionboard, and in the process, testing the limits of his newfound momentum.
The Players-as-fifth-major discussion is not new. It certainly predates my arrival in the world of golf media. Based on conversations with smart people, the Tour has vacillated on the seriousness of the “major” moniker many times over the years.
Still, it’s easy to see why the Tour would want the Players to become a major. By most objective measures, the PGA Tour is the strongest and wealthiest Tour in the world — but if we’re judging by ownership of golf’s most important events (the majors), it comes up empty. The PGA Tour does not own the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, the Open Championship or even the Ryder Cup. I doubt Rolapp is particularly pleased about that structure. I doubt the Tour’s private-equity partners are, either. They would like to own all four majors. At the very least, they’d like to own one.
And so here we are, with the Tour using its marketing material to test the waters of the major championship discussion again. Is this a trial balloon — or the beginning of an organized campaign? It appears we’re about to find out.
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Update: I emailed the Tour asking for comment on the new ad. Just as we were publishing this story, they sent over the following statement. The second sentence seems…suggestive:
“Fans and players have long discussed THE PLAYERS Championship’s status as a major. We understand that is not for us to decide. Ultimately it is up to our sport and its fans to recognize what the professionals who play the game already know.”
In the meantime, it’s worth running through five questions on what a theoretical Players-as-fifth-major would mean.
1. Who decides the majors, anyway?
Oh boy, good question. The short version: Some golfers and some writers. It was murky for a while, but it’s been a mostly settled discussion for decades.
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There was a time, pre-Masters, in which the U.S. and British Amateurs were considered majors. In 1930, just four years before Augusta National’s first invitational tournament, Bobby Jones won those two plus the U.S. Open and Open Championship and was considered a grand-slam winner.
The modern Grand Slam, per our in-house expert Michael Bamberger, had its roots in the 1930s but didn’t become a “thing” until 1960, when Arnold Palmer and his preferred sportswriter, Bob Drum, decided on the four events during a flight to St. Andrews … or so the story goes. There were other top players involved in choosing the majors, and other top sportswriters, too (I type, wistfully, imagining this power), but the power to make such pronouncements was derived primarily from the rise of golf on TV, which elevated stars like Palmer and Jack Nicklaus into authority figures. Of course, that leaves a deep irony in the formation of the modern slam: The majors are each 90-plus years old, but the Grand Slam may not yet be 70.
There was still some murkiness around the Grand Slam the ’60s and ’70s, when it was unclear whether Nicklaus should count his 1959 and 1961 U.S. Amateur titles as majors. But eventually a common vernacular emerged around the four big events: the Masters, the PGA, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship. Horse racing has its Triple Crown, and golf has its Grand Slam, an epic foursome of tournaments stretching from the beginning of spring through the end of summer.
The majors are “official” in certain ways; they’re referenced in handbooks, Hall-of-Fame criteria, media guides, Wikipedia pages and the like. But there’s also no organization or individual in charge of amending their definition. It’s a funny thing to think about. They’re the majors because we all agree that they are.
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If the Players isn’t a major, what is it?
The Players isn’t a major and hasn’t been a major — but it is the next best thing: the second line in the counting stats of PGA Tour players. Justin Thomas has two majors plus a Players. Rory McIlroy has five majors plus two Players. Yes, this is a bit bulky. Rolapp’s quest is for “simplicity,” and this could be simplified. But it’s also the way things are; the Players is the PGA Tour’s biggest event … but it’s not a major.
It is worth emphasizing just how good the Players has become. It’s not just No. 17; TPC Sawgrass is a terrific tournament venue. I’ve written that it’s the Florida Masters; we return every year to a familiar, iconic venue with famous hazards, big-time champions, and highlight-reel moments. Sub out Rae’s Creek for the island green, and sub out Augusta’s historic manor clubhouse for the towering Ponte Vedra palace, you get the idea. The crowds are terrific, it’s the event in town, the broadcast feels big and it seems to get bigger every year.
What’s the case for the Players as a major?
I guess I sort of just made that case. Iconic venue, memorable moments, 50-plus years of history, big-time winners, a massive purse, elevated TV coverage, enormous crowds. It’s objectively one of the best tournaments on the golf calendar.
About the biggest thing working against the Players as a major is its field. The majors have gained strength in the 2020s because they’ve served as the only mutual meeting ground for stars from the PGA Tour and LIV. In some ways, it could be argued that what makes a major in 2026 is that all the best players are in attendance. Currently, the Tour only welcomes Tour players to compete in the Players.
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But there’s an intriguing potential subplot here. This is pure speculation, but if the Players wanted to achieve major status, could it create an eligibility category for top LIV players and serve as a crossover event transcending tour rivalry? I dunno. But it does seem like you’d need to open up the field in some way to seriously enter the conversation.
What’s the case against the Players as a major?
There was a quote, some years ago, from John Feinstein on Golf Channel: “When you go to Denny’s and order the Grand Slam, they don’t give you five things, do they?”
You get the idea. A grand slam means four wins in tennis, a grand slam means four runs in baseball, a Grand Slam means four things at Denny’s. In golf, the Grand Slam means four events.
The LPGA added a fifth major last decade. I’d argue that has only served to muddy the waters as to the important tournaments on their schedule. Five majors is one too many.
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Here’s where I’ve landed: I’m fine with the Players being a major in the abstract — but I’m not okay with five majors. Whether via a duel or a hostile takeover, the Players has to demote another major to elevate itself.
What would happen if it became a major?
We’d need to do some serious arithmetic, for one thing. Nicklaus won three Players, so he’d suddenly have 21 majors. Woods won two of ’em, so he’d be up to 17 total majors but even further behind Jack.
Fred Couples would jump from one major to three, as would Steve Elkington, as would Hal Sutton, as would Davis Love III. I’m guessing we’d have their votes.
Perhaps the biggest change would be among those whose current major total is zero. Matt Kuchar would suddenly be a major champ. So would Rickie Fowler. And Si Woo Kim. And K.J. Choi.
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Scottie Scheffler would suddenly have six majors. Rory McIlroy would suddenly have seven. On the other hand, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen would see their major totals hold, as neither player overlapped with the Players. Cross-generational scorekeeping is tough. Apples and featheries.
I imagine we’ll hear more from the Tour in the coming weeks. I imagine we’ll hear from Rolapp himself at the Players itself. I’m curious what he’ll have to say — and whether the M-word is part of it.
Protests take to the streets to show their displeasure at the presence of ICE in MilanImage: Alkis Konstantinidis/REUTERS
Before the show tonight, there were protests on the streets of Milan as hundreds of people, mostly students according to reports, voiced their unhappiness at the presence of American ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents in Italy.
Our correspondent Elisabetta Galla was at the protests today and passed on the following information:
Many were protesting about the social issues in Milan, such as rising rent costs and how spending money on an Olympic Games was not the right choice right now. Others were upset about the environmental impact of all the new construction that has gone on, particularly in Cortina. There were also protesters about Isreal being at the Games and not being banned like Russia. Around 10,000 protesters from all across Italy are expected in Milan tomorrow, but tonight, in front of the stadium, Galla reports a totally different atmosphere with many happy people from Milan who are proud of hosting the Olympics.
The US ambassador to Italy, Tilman J. Fertitta, recently said that the ICE officers would be deployed “only in an advisory and intelligence capacity, without patrolling or enforcement measures.”
This is likely in reference to the Homeland Security Investigations unit, which is a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes. It frequently sends officers to events like the Olympics to help with security, and they are completely seperate from those currently at the forefront of the immigration crackdown in the US. However, as the protests show, any ICE presence in the country has increased the tension.
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US vice president JD Vance and secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be at the opening ceremony tonight, and Vance met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier on Friday. Meloni said sport and religion were “values that keep together Italy and the US, Europe and the US, Western civilisation.”
